coyotedown
ArboristSite Lurker
Does the thickness that you split your pieces make any difference in how much money you can make when selling wood by the cord?
? selling firewood
- Thread starter coyotedown
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toddstreeservic
ArboristSite Guru
Not really. It might be the difference between a happy/unhappy customer though.
woodbooga
cords of mystic memory
Do you have an existing customer base and network of relationships - or are you looking to find a happy medium-type size that will make the largest number of clients happy when people respond to advertising?
If you know your customers, you can ask preference in terms of length and split size.
If you know your customers, you can ask preference in terms of length and split size.
pacman
ArboristSite Operative
I just started selling wood one year ago. I found out the less you handle your wood the more money you will make. Less time handling wood the more time you have to do something else. I use to split everything. Now I split anything over 6-8 inches in diameter. Keep in mind that the less you have to split the more wood you can gather to put in your pile. I use to try to make all my cuts 24 inches. I try to cut them at 16 inches now. It means I handle more wood anyway but most of the people I sell to are wanting it that size. I think the best size to sell wood is the size that your customers want.
OilHead
ArboristSite Guru
What ever length they are they should be able to still be picked up with one hand
Ohiowoodguy
ArboristSite Operative
:agree2: That's my standard too. The ladies really like it split smaller, I never leave even small rounds unsplit; 16" seems to be the industry standard, although I do some "custom" cutting/splitting.
Handling it the least possible, and keeping customers happy are VERY important.
Handling it the least possible, and keeping customers happy are VERY important.
yotehowler
ArboristSite Lurker
:agree2:
The smaller you split the wood the more time you are putting into it, and time is money. Our standard is 16" length, and everything split small enough to be lifted with one hand.
We are a "custom" firewood company and will cut and split our wood to the customers preferences, however the price does go up if they want it cut shorter than 16" or split smaller than our standard.
The smaller you split the wood the more time you are putting into it, and time is money. Our standard is 16" length, and everything split small enough to be lifted with one hand.
We are a "custom" firewood company and will cut and split our wood to the customers preferences, however the price does go up if they want it cut shorter than 16" or split smaller than our standard.
toddstreeservic
ArboristSite Guru
I require special requests be made 6 months in advance.
drmiller100
ArboristSite Guru
absolutely.
the more you split it, the more it poofs up and gets bigger.
also, the more you split it, the longer it takes.
at 7 second cycle times with a 4 way splitter, a 6 inch diameter piece ends up being about the smallest that is worth running through again.
Both good, valid points although the gain in the size of the pile split small vice midium won't add up to much. Now splitting big rounds into saleable size _will_ make a significant increase in the pile.
Harry K
The "perfect" size
I don't know if this will work for you, but
If I can pick it up from the end with one hand, then it is small enough.
I try and get some smaller, and larger in the same load.
Forget all that, and just go for it! :hmm3grin2orange:
-Pat
-
I don't know if this will work for you, but
If I can pick it up from the end with one hand, then it is small enough.
I try and get some smaller, and larger in the same load.
Forget all that, and just go for it! :hmm3grin2orange:
-Pat
-
Zodiac45
Paleostoveologist & Sawwhisperer
Here in Maine we have two sizes generally speaking. Stove wood (smaller) and heater wood (larger).
pacman
ArboristSite Operative
Stove and heater ? I thought they were the same. I guess we learn some thing every day.
Zodiac45
Paleostoveologist & Sawwhisperer
Yep stove as in cookstove which the smaller pieces allow for better cooking control and of course smaller firebox. Allot of folks still have cookstoves around these parts. Heater wood is everything else.
woodbooga
cords of mystic memory
:agree2:
Yup. Zodiac and I have the same kind of set up, my cooker being about 10-2oyears older. Mine's a real monster and throws off heat by the bowlfull.
I get all kind of grief from the wife when I bring in "big wood" from the barn for the stove.
Maybe its a New England thing. Up here, we drink Moxie and the old timers still call the mid-day meal dinner. At night we have supper. The first meal of the day is "breffis." The meal called lunch is a colloquial term favored by residents of the 47 states outside of northern New England.
Yup. Zodiac and I have the same kind of set up, my cooker being about 10-2oyears older. Mine's a real monster and throws off heat by the bowlfull.
I get all kind of grief from the wife when I bring in "big wood" from the barn for the stove.
Maybe its a New England thing. Up here, we drink Moxie and the old timers still call the mid-day meal dinner. At night we have supper. The first meal of the day is "breffis." The meal called lunch is a colloquial term favored by residents of the 47 states outside of northern New England.
avalancher
Arboristsite Raconteur
Oh, you are so wrong about that one. When I moved from Washington State to Mississippi, I called the noon day meal lunch. The first day on my new job at a truck repair shop I asked the guys what time was "lunch". They all looked at me like I had lost my mind. One of the old guys then stepped in and mentioned that "I was a yankee, and didnt know any better"
He then explained that the noon day meal is dinner, and the evening meal was generally referred to as supper. Then he also let me know that the sooner I learned how to talk, the sooner they would all forget and forgive that I was a yankee.
arlen
Me and my wife at Wild Amimal Park San Diego
The more you split the wood the more air space you create the less wood you need for a cord.
I am just making a guess I bought some big rounds up with my tractor and quartered them they took up a lot more space maby 50%
I have heard members say that they bought a couple of cords in 4' to 8' rounds and when they were finished splitting and stacking they had more then they payed for ?:monkey: David
I would estimate 75% of my customers like most their wood at that considering my strength with 1 hand. Most households have a smaller or older person that may be closer to 1/2 my strength and that would be a 2 hand load for them. A lot of repeat customers have quit another suppliar and buy wood from me because its what they can handle and the fact that its dry enough to burn good. I try to make it a point to ask customers if they like larger split wood and if they do I pick out some bigger pieces for their load.
Stock piling I try to get it split small enough to be dry by winter. Dead wood without bark usually I do not split as small so I have bigger pieces for those who want it.
Blake22
ArboristSite Lurker
In north Florida when somebody says it's dinnertime that means it is about 11:15 am. We eat supper right after dark. Unless you're on a liquid-diet, that's beer
til 5pm then you can have a likker drink.OH, wood size, 16-24 inches that you can pickup with one hand. I have an open fireplace and I like mine at least 24 in. I like the odd shaped stuff with knots that doesn't sell good. I also like 4-8 inch unsplit liveoak. It gets hot and last longer.
I don't think you can go wrong with the "pick it up with one hand" rule. However when you are dealing with people and they are going to give you money, it doesn't really matter what you do they will grumble. As far as making money? The more you split the more time you spend on a particular piece and money is time to me.
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