Nothing stopping you from doing both, selling wood, and custom splitting for people. Get around three years ahead, and always cut every year twice as much as you burn, and you can make some bucks a year and be paying off the splitter and saws, etc that way. Nothing extreme, just "some". Say you burn five cord year. Once you have 15 cord up, and cut ten cord a year, well....add in custom splitting for people, there ya go, this isn't any huge wear and tear on the equipment given proper maintenance.
with firewood, stay small or go huge, in between...err....you can't afford the equipment, it makes no economic sense. Small *or* large pro level, either one, but not in the middle...
Small scale, you need that level of equipment anyway for your own use, you have it, some saws splitter and truck, so....make it pay for itself without going nuts and overtaxing yourself or gear.
I have been rearranging some piles, etc from around here, restacking and cleaning up. I technically have this years ready to rock in two stacks. Then over yonder in split/stack area #2, I have several more stacks as my future stash, several winters worth. Been going through the leftovers in my first stacking area from the last three winters, those stacks, putting them all in one new stack, and DANG if I ain't sneaking up on two full cords of oak and hickory "surplus" (all leftover tornado blow down wood). If I wanted to, I could sell off this surplus right now or swap or whatever. Not a ton of cash, but basically like scrounging change under the cushions, it's leftovers for me, it was cut and stacked to be used, but made it through these past winters without it. Surplus, well seasoned good stuff. Just sorta snuck up on me. And I have tons more kicking around, and I split it all, every stick (whatever needed it, half is just small rounds branch wood), by hand! And most of that was in 15 minute to half hour sessions, just putzing around, my little woodrobics workout time I give myself. And that doesn't count the several cord of pine campfire wood I have which can be stove wood as well..I just had it, so..cut split stack (still a lot to go actually, but a lot is done)
Think about just something like one truckload cut on the weekend, half a cord maybe, or one third, whatever your truck would hold without overloading it, then putz around and bust it up during the week sometime. Do it again, do it again. That's a decent amount per year, at small scale. 15-25 cord, if you could move that much, all with light duty equipment. wouldn't take too long, all your gear is paid for, with a lot of life left in it, along with saving on your own heating. A few steady customers, especially if you can deliver as it is split, one less step in handling, from splitter tossed right into the truck, throughout the year, and you are set then, gravy train.
