How many times do you touch each piece of wood?

[Jules083]

I'm at 7, which seems way too much.

1. load round
2. unload round
3. split round
4. stack splits
5. load splits
6. unload splits
7. burn splits


I'm thinking of how in the heck to drop that down, haven't came up with much of a good plan. I have a dump bed on my gator, so that can help some. Any suggestions? I'm going to try something different for sure, just need to think every step through.

Here's what I've thought of, and what I can see on pro's and con's-

Split in the woods, load splits - Not bad on paper, but in reality I think I'd fight the splitter too much. What the gator lacks in capacity it makes up for in speed and manuaverablity. I can almost always get the bed right beside the tree, so no carrying.

Dump the rounds - That would help a bit. It's one of the quickest steps though, and while unloading manually I just roll off the big ones and set the small ones on the stack.

Split as they come off the gator - Think I might try this one next time. I'd be done splitting before the splitter even warms up. Feeding a SuperSplit with a little gator bed just doesn't seem right.

Unloading splits with the dump bed doesn't seem like a good idea. I back the gator into the basement and stack it against the wall. Dumping it would leave a messy pile in the basement floor right in front of the door.


I think the only way that would help some is to split as I unload, which I plan on trying next time.

I'd rather not make the stack right next to the house, I have a termite problem out here and I'm trying to starve them out. It would save a few steps, but not worth it. I really need these things to die.


Is everyone else handling their wood this much? Seems like a lot, but I can't really come up with anything better other than either not stacking it to dry, or stacking close to the house. Or both. How long would a 'pile' take to dry instead of a stack? Maybe 2 years? I guess I could quit stacking and start piling on pallets. I hate stacking as it is, I'll take an excuse to stop.

 

[msvold]

I'm hoping to try a new style as well. I'm worse than you, after I split, I pile for seasoning for a year, then in the next Fall I load from the seasoning pile and stack under a lean two cover to keep dry, then I load into the tractor and unload at my house garage for use.

Palletized system would be better, but can't figure out how to move it right now.

 

[hanniedog]

My little boiler is in the garage, so i can back a trailer of wood in an work off that. So i can have a minimum of 2x handeling or 4x if it needs split to burn it. This stuff is all standing or blow down dead stuff.

 

[Jules083]

I'm hoping to try a new style as well. I'm worse than you, after I split, I pile for seasoning for a year, then in the next Fall I load from the seasoning pile and stack under a lean two cover to keep dry, then I load into the tractor and unload at my house garage for use.

Palletized system would be better, but can't figure out how to move it right now.

I don't even bother keeping it dry through the winter. I'm about a week ahead inside with the duckwork vent blowing right on my pile. I've pulled them in covered with snow and had dry wood after a couple of days. Surface moisture seems to dry out pretty quick.

It's really dry and warm in my basement though. I can hang clothes up and the next morning everything is dry. Jeans and all.

 

[farmboss45]

Been there, done that, now I'm down to,,,,
1, load round onto hydraulic log lift and split
2, throw split into trailer
3, stack splits in woodshed
4, take splits into house and burn

I have held off cutting more wood because I am out of room in the wood shed, and don't want to handle it more times stacking somewhere else. BUT, might get some on the ground and cut into rounds just so I can run the saws!:chainsawguy:

 

[Fred Wright]

If there was a way to handle the stuff fewer times I'd be on it.

We're in pretty much the same scenario. Buck, load, unload and stack, split, stack the splits. I've been able to shave off some time by performing each step in entirety before moving to the next. Get the felling done, then limbing and bucking done. Load the rounds out and stack 'em near where they're gonna spend the next couple years. Bring out the splitter, spilt and stack.

I don't split on site, that's done in the yard. Onsite splitting can save handling and I'd do it if we could.

 

[Stihl310]

We are going to try pulling logs directly to where our stacks are at, cut them right there and split them right there. Might not cut down on touches so much as it will allow us to stockpile logs on the concrete during the frozen months, leaving the warmer months to cut and split. Essentially allowing us to get more wood in, rather than cutting and splitting where it falls.

 

[Jules083]

If there was a way to handle the stuff fewer times I'd be on it.

We're in pretty much the same scenario. Buck, load, unload and stack, split, stack the splits. I've been able to shave off some time by performing each step in entirety before moving to the next. Get the felling done, then limbing and bucking done. Load the rounds out and stack 'em near where they're gonna spend the next couple years. Bring out the splitter, spilt and stack.

I don't split on site, that's done in the yard. Onsite splitting can save handling and I'd do it if we could.

Yep, except your 'unload and stack' is an 'unload and throw wherever' for me. Probably no difference in time.


I wish we didn't have to let it dry. Pull the trailer in the woods, fill trailer, back trailer in the house. Burn.




I wonder how quickly wood will dry stacked in the woods? I'm not against have a bunch of small stacks everywhere. Load a couple of pallets and the saws in the gator, hook to the splitter, find some down wood. Stack the stuff right there, come get it next winter. Hmmmm.......

 

[mbergeon]

I made a plywood box for the gator that lets me stack another row in it, it also helps with the electric dump as it puts more weight behind the hinge.

I cut dead elm and ash, split the big rounds in the woods, load the gator and dump the pile at the outdoor wood stove.

So once to split, once to load the gator and once to put it in the stove.

Done

 

[Jules083]

I made a plywood box for the gator that lets me stack another row in it, it also helps with the electric dump as it puts more weight behind the hinge.

I cut dead elm and ash, split the big rounds in the woods, load the gator and dump the pile at the outdoor wood stove.

So once to split, once to load the gator and once to put it in the stove.

Done

I'm out of standing deads, burned them all, and I have an indoor stove. Otherwise I'd be all over your method. Before I ran out of standing deads I didn't handle them as much. That I know of I have one dead tree left and it's a big one right next to the wood pile. Kinda saving that one. There are a few others, but nothing over 6 or 8" that I can get to.

Also ash is somewhat scarce out here. Mostly cherry and oak. Some walnut and hickory, and some locust in hard to get to spots. No easy locust.

 

[Mac88]

How many times do you touch each piece of wood?

Too many. I store 8 cords under roof, the rest is outdoors, on skids. When the wood shed is empty it gets refilled from outdoor storage for the next season.

1. Move round to trailer
2. move round to ground (at splitter)
3. Move round to splitter
4. Move split to trailer or throw on ground
---> extra move if splits are on ground, move to trailer
5. Move split to stack (open storage)
6. Move split to stack (woodshed)
7. Move split to wood rack (garage)
8. Move split to wood box (indoor)
9. Move split to stove

In an ideal world I would have a covered wood processing/storage building.

1. Move round to trailer
--> Move loaded trailer into building.
-->Employee overhead trolly/crane to move round to splitter (hands off).
2. Move round to splitter
-->Split rounds directly onto a conveyor. Conveyor delivers splits to stacking area (hands off).
3. Stack splits.
4. Move split to wood rack (garage)
5. Move split to wood box (indoor)
6. Move split to stove

I have no practical solution for steps 4-6.

 

[KyleOh]

I am with ya! I used to be in the same boat. Now I cut, then split onsite and throw into my truck. I back my truck into my basement (sweet double doors and a toyota), then stack there. I can put 6 cordin there. Then load into fire. 2 touches if you dont count loading into burner. I still have to bring some rounds out the woods for the 35t splitter but I handle most in the woods with the x27. Sure saves on me even hand splitting because I dont handle the wood 4 or 5 times. Btw my rounds sit in the woods for at least a year...no green here.

 

[savageactor7]

No doubt, the number of times you have to handle the wood is the curse of wood burning. On the other hand you can ponder....'how many times would you bend down to pick up a dollar bill, or a quarter?'

Here we've eliminated a few steps, while splitting we just tossing the spits in a huge long pile and there they stay to season a few years or more. Crude but effective.

 

[AIM]

If you really hate handling wood get an OWB.:msp_biggrin:

Load wood.
unload wood into pile next to OWB.
Load wood into OWB.

If you can lift it you shouldn't need to split it.

If a guy has a dump trailer or truck you could be down to 2 times handling it.

 

[beerbelly]

If I am lucky...zero! Goes like this:


Call firewood guy.
Pay nephews to stack it.
Sit on sofa and bark at Wife...."I'm getting cold here...why don't you go out in the cold and get me, I mean us, some more wood and keep that dang stove stoked...will ya!"

:hmm3grin2orange:

Life is good!



PS-I sure am glad she doesn't read these!:msp_scared:

 

[Perk]

The process could be a bit different for a load of delivered log lenghts. I'm assuming that we are talking about a tree that we have cut down. Beginning step (pick up round) and ending step (throw seasoned split wood into stove) are given and unavoidable. Its all the little move- here and move- there steps that wear us out.

I have an OWB, but split anything over 2" in order to facilitate the seasoning process. I'm lucky that the spot where I have set up my splitter is on a part of the property where a roadway was graded on the side of a hill. There is a slope leading down to a 20' wide flat spot and then a 3' drop off to the roadway. I can back the pickup full of cut to length rounds down the slope and the bed liner is slick enough that when I put on the brakes most of the wood will slide out and come to rest beside the splitter. (one handling saved - poor man's dump bed) I then move the truck around to the roadway below the splitter, and as I split the wood, I can easily toss it to the side and "down" into the truck. When the truck is full, I drive it to the OWB, which is beside the barn. It sits on a concrete 10' x 20' concrete slab, under a lean-to roof where I store the wood. There is a slope leading down to it as well, so the "back up and brake" unloading method works for part of the load, and the rest is accomplisned via a long handled pickaroon. The wood is arranged so that its a short step and a toss from the pile into the door of the stove.

 

[deutzman]

Once and that's when it goes in the OWB door.

In the last 2 years I've been able to get things set up to avoid all the handling. First was to lay out 9' x 25' metal screens for my log pile. Logs lay on these to dry and keep the dirt off. Logs are laid in place with a 80" root grapple from W.R. Long. Logs come out of the pile with the grapple and hold them off the ground to cut with the chainsaw. I cut so the pieces are laying right so I can get the splitter over each piece. The splitter is mounted upside down on a Stoll loader on a Deutz Fahr tractor with cab. I operate the splitter from the cab and drop the split wood in a Brimar 12' dump trailer. When full I dump under a 28' x 56' shed and then pile with the grapple. Shed is open on 3 sides and dries up any moisture from the outside weather. I have a metal carport over the Central Boiler and then transfer the wood from the large shed to the carport with the grapple. Sheds are about 200 yards apart. From there in the stove door is by hand.

As long as I keep wood cut to split I can split night or day and rain or shine. It's all a one man show with that Deutz Fahr sitting under me.:msp_wink:

 

[darkbyrd]

If I am lucky...zero! Goes like this:


Call firewood guy.
Pay nephews to stack it.
Sit on sofa and bark at Wife...."I'm getting cold here...why don't you go out in the cold and get me, I mean us, some more wood and keep that dang stove stoked...will ya!"

:hmm3grin2orange:

Life is good!



PS-I sure am glad she doesn't read these!:msp_scared:

We have a winner!

 

[OhioGregg]

1. load round
2. unload round
3. split round
4. stack splits
5. load splits
6. unload splits
7. burn splits


Sounds about right to me as well. I suppose you could add a #8 to that list. Hauling the ash from the furnace. After all, it was splits earlier.:msp_biggrin:


Gregg,

 

[rancher2]

I try to keep the handing down. I burn hedge only in my Garn. I have built enough dump trailers to hold about 12 cords of wood that is plenty for the years heating season . We take empty trailers to the timber cut the trees down, split if needed, stack in trailer, put trailer in shed and let season until fall. Back trailer to Garn barn and load in boiler. The extra trailers save a lot of time. Trailers are mostly big made out of old grain trucks or old dump trucks. I am lucky I have room out here on the farm in the sheds to store these trailers. We sold wood for years and I feel the pain for people that have to move their wood a lot before it is burned.
P.S. I do have about 20 cords of hedge stacked in the barn just in case.