My weekly foolish question....

[never2muchwood]

I was cutting up a few logs I had drug home today, and I was wondering about this. Keep in mind I haven't split or stacked wood for about 10 years and the memory is shot anymore. If you had a pile of wood, not split, just cut in rounds, and that pile was 16" wide, 4' tall, and 24 foot long and stacked tight as possible.....ok--now split that same pile and restack it as tight as possible. Here's the question, what happens to that pile, does it get bigger, or does it get smaller?
To make a long story short I'm wondering what takes up more room, logs cut into 16" lengths and stacked, or logs cut, split and stacked?
Thanks!

 

[TreePointer]

A recent discussion: http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=86689

 

[Marklambert61]

stacking question

The more you split it the bigger it will stack...

Mark

 

[thejdman04]

The more you split the smaller the pile, triangles and squares stack better then 0's

 

[PA Plumber]

Personal experience; stacked rounds take up less space, than after that same stack is split.

 

[Raymond]

I have to agree with Mark here. When ya split it up it's like fluffing it up, it'll look bigger.

 

[never2muchwood]

Thanks guys! That is interesting--thanks for sending that link TreePointer. It is interesting to think about. I have a stack of rounds that is about 24 foot long and 4 ft high, and alot of them are pretty good size, upwards of a couple feet, some even more and they actually stacked together pretty well when mixed with smaller rounds, which got me to thinking once split the pile would grow considerably. The way I stack it anyway! The other thing I was thinking about though is I saw a facecord stacked the other day (split already) at a place that sells it, and while it was 4 ft tall, full 8 ft long, if you counted the pieces it took to make that facecord, it really wasn't many rounds at all. Thanks all!

 

[turnkey4099]

The more you split the smaller the pile, triangles and squares stack better then 0's

Nope. You wind up with a lot more spaces that add up to more space than original. You cannot split a round and stack it into less space than nature did unless you put it back exactly as it was.

Harry K

 

[K7NUT]

Nope. You wind up with a lot more spaces that add up to more space than original. You cannot split a round and stack it into less space than nature did unless you put it back exactly as it was.

Harry K

Never thought of it that way Harry, but I think your right! Good call

 

[thejdman04]

Nope. You wind up with a lot more spaces that add up to more space than original. You cannot split a round and stack it into less space than nature did unless you put it back exactly as it was.

Harry K

Next time I am out, first of next week, I will try to take pictures and illistrate my point of view, I could be wrong, but it just seems my wood shrinks when split. If you go to the above posted link and go to page 2, this is what i find as well. If you look at the pictures of the logs in the truck and then stacked onin the row, espicially with bigger rounds, you are going to have gaps, they are unavoidable, when you split the wood the gaps will be filled in.