If you had a choice - what size tree would you choose to cut

[brenndatomu]

I get the giants. Denser inner heartwood and more wood/bark outer or cambium/secondary phloem ratio. Big hogs are available and weeds out the pussies.

Huh? You have a giant forest infested by cats that are afraid of large swine?!

Sorry. I'll go to my room now...

 

[Chris-PA]

I cut what falls or dies, but I prefer stuff under 24". I mostly CS&S in place where the tree falls, or as close as practical, but still maneuvering big rounds has potential for back injury which I am always on the lookout for. Lately though I have had lots of big oak to deal with since we've lost so many big trees due to storms. I end up with several foot diameter rounds, often with big knots since these were field-edge trees with branches. I find it a PITA and I end up noodling much more than I would like just to have wood that is stackable. I can't waste all that. If I can get the front end loader in I'll tip them up with that and then slice them up. Otherwise I end up tilting them up with a prybar or such.

Small trees = to much brush to deal with. Bigger stuff get more wood from, but have been following a logger around and cutting up the tops. Most easy to get to and don't have to worry bout much clean up.
View attachment 329466

Funny thing is, I noodle those right up with a 40cc RedMax or a 42cc Poulan and an 18" bar. Sometimes I'll get out the McCinderblock and a 20" bar. Those are very similar to the stuff I've had to work up lately.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

I like 10" to 24" diameter. I just like to handle and burn splits better than small unsplit wood. It stacks better also. A few 24 inch ash trees adds up to a big stack of wood in a hurry. The oaks rounds i cut in the bigger diameters get real heavy though and sometimes I'll noodle those if need be. Any small stuff or funky stuff I don't want to deal with goes in the woodpile for the shop stove. I end up with 3 or 4 face cords of that a year.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

I really do not want to noodle big rounds. Not really sure why I do not care to do it. I'd rather roll the suckers with my pickeroon to the splitter if I cant get the splitter to them. And I do not like cutting small wood unless I have too. It takes about (20) 6" DBH trees to make a cord of firewood and only one 22" DBH tree. I'd rather cut the one vs the 20 to get the same volume. Sounds corny maybe, but if the bar isn't at least half buried in the wood, it just isn't as much fun cutting wood IMO.

 

[sb47]

I like 8”to20” rounds, easy to lift without the extra saw work noodling. But I do a lot of much bigger wood, up in the 48" range and bigger.

 

[Icehouse]

16" and larger, like the real big stuff cause I love to noodle and am getting to old to lift onto splitter. But wood is wood so I take it as it comes.

 

[Squintacular]

The bigger the better! Makes my big saws seem even more badass

 

[ttyR2]

Little trees don't make nice sawdust rooster tails either at full throttle.

 

[Vibes]

Unfortunately, I have to take whatever I can scrounge up. When the pile is big, I get lax in scrounging, and then it gets super cold like this year.

That being said, I like that 8 to 20 inch stuff. but generally I burn whatever fits in the door of my stove. I just went by a spot where I cut up a cherry that the power company dropped last year. I noticed a good bit of 2 to 4 inch limbs that I left laying. At least a half load for my T100 short bed. I'll be back over there as soon as it warms up a little.

 

[Doug Fir]

As I have gotten older I prefer smaller trees. It's easier to move and split the rounds, and I can use a smaller saw. I can work faster and longer without getting worn out.

I only cut conifers, and the smaller diameter trees are often found growing in dense stands. These have two other advantages: They grow tall without getting very wide, and the crowns are up high so there is a long portion of the log that has no limbs! No limbs makes for very easy limbing. The smaller diameter trees growing in dense stands are also slower growing (due to crowding) which makes for denser wood. More heat per cord!

Fewer branches, better wood, and less wear-and-tear on the old body. What's not to like?

Doug

 

[B Harrison]

Small stuff is ok, but one big tree yeilds so much more wood for the same gas, travel time, and hauling around bark. Also 24" stuff yeilds 3x the wood as 12" stuff so its worth twice the work. Barkless splits save me from sweeping the floor every day when I carry wood in.

I used to say I wouldn't burn poplar, but its clean and splits easily, so I changed my mind about that too. I split with a hand tool and don't mind noodling at all.

 

[mainewoods]

I hate to admit it but age does seem to be a factor in my liking the smaller wood a little better. But I still cut a lot of big stuff too. I ain't ready for the home , yet!!

 

[muddstopper]

I take what I can get. I have a boom mounted cable winch mounted on my splitter and an adjustable 6-way blade. As long as my log tongs will grab hold of the round, I dont lift anything. The 6-way makes fast work of the large stuff and makes any re-splits easily picked up by hand and put back on the splitter. I havent ran into larger than about 36in dia and I havent had any problems splitting that size of round. Big rounds make a big pile of wood in a very short time.

 

[MountainHigh]

I hate to admit it but age does seem to be a factor in my liking the smaller wood a little better. But I still cut a lot of big stuff too. I ain't ready for the home , yet!!

Youth is wasted on the young.

Better to croak in the woods with chainsaw in hand, than in a hospital with hoses stuck in every orifice

There's something to be said for how some old folks up north traditionally have ended their lives - they just wander off into the woods in the middle of winter - end of story! . . . but that's another whole potential thread


-

 

[Patrus Monk]

24" and under works fine for me. I'd prefer not noodling rounds but sometime ya got no choice. Can't bear to leave good wood lay just because it's too big or too heavy to lift.

Have found that with smaller trees - say, 8" to 12" - ya do a lot more cutting to get your wood. I've taken several smaller ones, ugly leaners and other junk trees just to make the woods look better. But my preference is bigger trees. More splits versus the number of bucking cuts.

I prefer bucking to splitting. Both fun but I enjoy bucking big wood. I like the challenge of cutting rounds greater than the length of the guidebar.
Felling preference is for any diameter I can get a wedge into without having to do a reverse conventional or other such small-diameter, leaning tree technique, though truth be told it is fun to break the monotony sometimes.

Good question as to what is more effort-efficient; unsplit rounds or large rounds that require splitting. I would think the least efficient execution would be when noodling is also required. Hard work man-handling those huge rounds. Six to eight-inch diameter rounds are easy to handle.

 

[rarefish383]

I'll be 58 in a couple weeks and my back is shot, but, I tend o go for the bigger stuff. I'm one of the lucky ones with several wood lots to work on. I usually let the dead ones stand till all the small limbs have fallen off. I have also gotten pretty good at getting the logs up to a level ground for splitting with 17,000 pound test bull line and a snatch block. I can pull a 30"X 8' log with my half ton Dodge 2wd. Here's one we cut up Sat. We were going to cut the whole thing up for firewood, but I think I'm going to take a 10 foot log to my friend to mill me some 5/4 board and batten for siding, Joe.







PS I've got 80, 90 and 100cc saws but I cut this one up with my MS290. This Red Oak was 27" where I made the notch. The 290 has an 18' bar so I had to make half the notch from one side and finish on the other. With a sharp chain and a little practice I can make a pretty good notch with the shorter bar. I seldom take my 100cc with 36" bar off the mill anymore.

 

[Woody912]

I am also curious how many of you, that seem to prefer the very large wood , are using OWB or wood furnaces. If so then these 30"+ diameter rounds, so many of you seem to prefer, are most likely 24"+ in length also. That is some serious weight to be lifting, moving around and processing, which usually requires some pretty serious equipment. So far it seems that most of the "big" wood lovers have such equipment, and that would seem to explain the preference for such large diameter wood. Perhaps this fondness for huge wood is only due to the fact that a lot of you "take what you can get", "when you can get it", as many have stated, and really have no choice. That is certainly understandable. I wish you all could have your own woodlot. Every one of you deserve it for all the hard work you put into keeping your families warm. You all are to be commended. Besides it's good for you, right? Up to 24 inches anyway!

I have an indoor smoke dragon and split everything by hand and I will take all the big stuff I can get. I take a 2x12 to the woods with me and roll the big ones into the truck and just split them when the notion strikes me. Much more heartwood in those big sections, make great all night, subzero wood

 

[chucker]

??? 12" red oak that are 100 feet tall from stump to top!?? but of course this would be a dream..... easy to block and easier yet to split by hand..... halves stack so much better than rounds with full 90* corners and flat tops!

 

[CTYank]

I like anything from 2" to 2' diam, partly because most all the storm blowdowns I get to around here are in that range. Not to mention that my "long" bars are nominal 20".
Species is very important. For the bigger ones, northern red oak is a fave because it's so easily quartered in the woods with only a maul. Pretty much the same for ash and white oak. Black birch much tougher, so may need noodling- worth it.
For the smaller ones, I much prefer species like sugar maple or beech- those sticks are straight. I haul them out 6-7' long, toss them in the p/u, and buzz them whenever at home with a bandsaw. Then into a big covered bin with chunks & uglies.
For in-between sizes, it's all supply & demand. Whatever works, long as it'll burn.

 

[Oliver1655]

I'll admit it, I'm spoiled. With the 70 hp tractor/loader/log winch, log bucking trailer, & dedicated horizontal wood splitter with 4-way wedge & log lift, it is easy to process a batch of firewood with minimal stress to my back.

In most cases anymore I haul the wood home in 9-12' long logs. If a log is over 20" on the small end, I set it aside to take to the saw mill unless there is a chance it has imbedded objects.




The logs are set up on the bucking stand on the trailer. The cut rounds go to the side of the trailer opposite of the saw operator where the splitter is staged.


The larger rounds are rolled onto the log lift & the smaller rounds are added to fill the lift up. Then I start the splitter & split to my heart's content.


I do the majority of the cutting on the bucking stand with a Huskvarna 338xpt 14" bar & a Jonsered CS2139T with a 12" bar. The Stihl 08-S with a 25" bar in in reserve.