how many cords in a log

[tim 1]

average diameter??

Hey New Mexico, following your math, I got lost at average diameter of 2.375 foot. Is that a 16 in diameter or are we talking the 28.5. This is helping, just still a bit confused. Sounds like you know this stuff. This particular log won't happen because he believes the tree cutters who charged him a mint to take it down and he won't allow me to rick it up. I will move on, but really need to understand this. thanks Tim

 

[TheLazyBFarm]

Hmmm, someone who thinks a big pine tree is worth $$$$. Sounds a lot like this guy: http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=132764&highlight=

 

[slowp]

Everybody, I'll type slow so you can read slow.

The tree is not a pine. It is a Douglas-fir. Pseudotsuga menzizii. Oh my, I can't spell it anymore!

Dougs, as we shall call it, are darn good firewood when seasoned properly. We don't have all the hardwoods so this is primo, second to Western Larch in likability. Since the OP is on the wet side of the cascades, Larch is not an option.

OK, now a rule of thumb rough conversion of board feet to cords is, think of a regular sized log truck. Not the eastern kind but the kind you see going down the roads in Oregon. The gross scale of that log truck is around five thousand board feet. That translates roughly to 10 cords of wood.

Visualize a log truck. How much of the trailer would that tree fill? 25%? 30%? That will give you a very rough idea of what you have. Or, you could scale it out and convert to cords.

 

[ropensaddle]

I might depending on how far haul it off for 350.00:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[forestryworks]

Hello, new here and new to buying wood,used to get a permit and cut. When looking at a tree in somones yard to buy for firewood, how do I calculate how many cords are there to be fair to the owner? I trie to visualize a box 4x4x8 or 128 cu.feet of wood, but is there a formula to tell me more accurately. The tree is a downed fir 45inches at the butt and 12 inches 80 feet away. I checked other sites and they give me board feet, not cords. You guys will know, that i am sure. Thanks Tim

http://www.globalwood.org/tech/tech_log_cubic_foot.htm

According to that calculator and based on your information on the downed log, I put your mid-log diameter at 22in. and got 211cu. ft. 211/128 = 1.6 cords.

How accurate is that calculator? I don't know. Not sure what percentage to give or take from that 211cu. ft. either.

If I was cruising logs in people's backyards, I'd give them a plus/minus error of 15% - tell them they could expect 15% more or 15% less than what that calculator gives.

Any log rule or calculator is only going to be an estimation.

How big or small you split and how loose or tight you stack will have an effect in volume as well.

 

[forestryworks]

Everybody, I'll type slow so you can read slow.

The tree is not a pine. It is a Douglas-fir. Pseudotsuga menzizii. Oh my, I can't spell it anymore!

Dougs, as we shall call it, are darn good firewood when seasoned properly. We don't have all the hardwoods so this is primo, second to Western Larch in likability. Since the OP is on the wet side of the cascades, Larch is not an option.

OK, now a rule of thumb rough conversion of board feet to cords is, think of a regular sized log truck. Not the eastern kind but the kind you see going down the roads in Oregon. The gross scale of that log truck is around five thousand board feet. That translates roughly to 10 cords of wood.

Visualize a log truck. How much of the trailer would that tree fill? 25%? 30%? That will give you a very rough idea of what you have. Or, you could scale it out and convert to cords.

slowp, what scale do ya'll use out in your neck of the woods?

Scribner?

 

[tim 1]

cords

Wow, now I am confused. 354 cu feet to 211 cu feet. Since I will not be getting this tree, the next one I do get, I will work both calculations and then rick it up and see what gives. It will be hard to visual what percentage of a log truck this would be, as well as visualizing it in a 4x4x8 box. tim

 

[ropensaddle]

Wow, now I am confused. 354 cu feet to 211 cu feet. Since I will not be getting this tree, the next one I do get, I will work both calculations and then rick it up and see what gives. It will be hard to visual what percentage of a log truck this would be, as well as visualizing it in a 4x4x8 box. tim

What I do sometimes is use the log weight calculator and then convert cord weight by species. Everytime I try to get it the way your trying it always is less than what I thought. Someone had a calculator for cordwood and I lost it after copying. I have been trying to haul cords loose thrown in my one ton dump with sides and find I am under or over by several cubic feet going by 180 c ft loose stacked.

 

[banshee67]

keep in mind air space and how much it fluffs up once you split and stack it, a solid chunk of wood thats 128cu.ft will stack out to more than a cord of wood, no matter how tight you stack

 

[MadCutter]

Guys around here are getting around 600 for a whole truckload of hardwood logs for firewood, that you have to buck and split yourself. Even if that tree has 2 cords in it I wouldn't give 200. For one tree, that seems like a lot.

 

[newmexico]

Wow, now I am confused. 354 cu feet to 211 cu feet. Since I will not be getting this tree, the next one I do get, I will work both calculations and then rick it up and see what gives. It will be hard to visual what percentage of a log truck this would be, as well as visualizing it in a 4x4x8 box. tim

I think the difference in the two numbers is attributable to different ideas of midpoint size of the log. I used your measurement of 45 on one end and 12 on the other to get an average diameter of 28.5 45+12=57 and 57/2 = 28.5

plugging 28.5 into the calculator that Forestry found it comes up with about 354.

and as Foresty mentioned and Banshee elaborated on it does make a bit of difference how big you split things into. Picture a 8 foot long log 4 feet in diameter.. that only comes out to about a hundred cubic feet, but after bucking, splitting, and stacking the wood--- it certainly isn't going to fit into a hundred cubic foot box.

on a log that long it's going to be difficult to get accurate numbers out of the calculator... on shorter logs the calculator will be more accurate. so If you end up estimating more cubic area of logs and get long ones you could break the log up into smaller sections, take diameter readings at each section then plug all the measurements of the different sections of the log into the calculator and add them up for a more accurate estimate.

And SlowP. Thank you for reaffirming my belief that Doug Fir is pretty good firewood.

here's a little sketch of how I came up with my numbers, but the calculator is using the same formula I am I'd guess and it's a lot easier.

 

[slowp]

slowp, what scale do ya'll use out in your neck of the woods?

Scribner?

We are supposed to think in cubic feet now. However, I am a dinosaur and my brain tends to automatically think in board feet.

Most of the timber is small, second growth Doug-fir and hemlock so we now require many of the purchasers to pay by the ton.

A PNW logtruck will hold an average of 27 to 29 tons. Just adding to the confusion.

Oh, I once learned to scale in scribner, but do not have a scale stick to read off of at the moment.

 

[jefflovstrom]

I would just ' eye ball ' it. Move on!
Jeff

 

[pbtree]

When I first started selling firewood and did not have a great/consistent source for wood, I would pay no more than $25 for an unsplit cord of wood. Basically, $25 for a 4x4x8 of rounds that I cut from the owner standing and hauled away. There is not enough money to be paying $100 per actual cord, IMHO.

I agree

 

[pbtree]

Oh, don't go there!

Too late...

 

[hunter0182]

firewood,

wow here in georgia, most of the time people give you the tree to cut and haul it away,or we charge them, the average price for a split cord here is 120.00 to 180.00 , i get 120.00 i have already sold over 100 cords, and cant keep up,i cut all summer,and its gone, over 250 trees,but i have 355 acres i have only cut about 4 acres, i have about 20 more in this bottom i want to clear ,also a lady gave me 15 red oaks 24 to 36 in 60 to 80 ft tall to get them out of her way,between weather,work and not enough time in the day ,its imposible good help is hard to find to,:greenchainsaw:

 

[tim 1]

logs to cords

I agree to just look and go from there. The larger logs, 36 and 48 inch are easier to figure. Looking at another set of logs 9 logs 22 feet long looks to be 24 inches at butt for 60 feet and then 12-14 for most of the rest. Offered 250.00 but we will see. I figures 3 cords. Will haul in logs if he calls. He was at 400.00 but I did not see that much wood. Mabe just me. My wood shed is full, so can be picky. Thanks fellas for the help. Tim

 

[rarefish383]

I skipped most of the thread, and if someone already came to this conclusion, sorry for the repeat. What the home owner forgot to tell you is the tree company that took the tree down wanted $600 more to haul away the debree, and he was too cheap to pay. Over the years I've known folks to pay about $17.50 per cord of good hard wood tops, left over from logging. I wouldn't even go $25 for a fir log for firewood. With the tree tops from a logged out plot at least you can cherry pick the nice straight pieces. You can get big limbs 18" and 15-20 feet long that turns into prime firewood. If the wood shed is full try contacting small logging Co to see if you can buy the leftovers. For us wood was a necessary evil of the trade. Hi labor cost for very low return. If the same tree Co that took that tree down, had of got paid to haul it away, he might have sold you the whole truck load for $50 delivered. For an hour on the phone I bet you could find more than one local tree service that would be more than happy to sell you wood dumped in your yard for cheap. We would wholesale out a 12' long 6' high dump load of junk wood for $50 just to keep it off our lot.The other thing is whats gonna happen when your done and the home owner says you tore up half his lawn getting the wood out. Another thought, and it might just be me, but I really hate to pay some one to let me do really hard work, Joe.

 

[Streblerm]

I agree with rarefish. Though this is not an answer to the question that the OP asked, I would not pay for firewood unless it was more or less ready to burn and delivered to my house. Around here you can buy split firewood delivered for $150-200 per cord.

The expensive part of firewood is the labor and handling. If you are going to remove the tree and pay for the wood, that is just crazy! In the spring and summer there will be plenty of wood on the ground for free, trust me. I dragged home probably 8 cords of wood from within 5 miles of my house for free last summer. It was all on the ground already.

I paid a guy to bring me bundles of slab wood this year. He was bringing me bundles that worked out to be between 1/2-3/4 of a cord per bundle. Just cut and stack. He was charging me $30 per bundle which is reasonable, but I still had a hard time paying for firewood.

If you are going to pay for firewood and still process it yourself, you might as well pay for fossil fuel or electric heat.

 

[tim 1]

cords from logs

Hey New Mexico, How did you come to 4.43 from a diameter of 28.5? I am getting there. Tim