Selling Logs to a firewood buyer

[stihly dan]

I think he does not want tops. He is talking trunks.

 

[merc_man]

Buddy of mine cut logs for lumber at the same length. 8'6"

 

[CRThomas]

Of it's oak rail road tiers

 

[Guswhit]

Actually I believe 3/8 pitch chain cuts a 5/16 inch kerf, so 29 cuts equals only 9 1/16 inches of total kerf... but hey, what's an inch or two between friends??
*

So I didn't measure the chain, was talking out my@#$$ with my numbers, but at least the math was right if you used my number.
Darn pot stirrer.

 

[Mx377]

Who wants to take the time to mill out of tops? Usually pretty marginal wood for sawing. IMO, the tops are by and large, by definition, the part of the tree that is no longer producing saw logs. Tops are perfect firewood, though.

Is he picking them up or are you delivering? Maybe he needs them a certain length for transport or maybe that's just what he prefers for making firewood?

Most of these "tops" still have anywhere from 20 to 40 feet of what I would call Strait trunk... It looks like the loggers only took the first 8 or so feet of each tree..

He wants me to deliver. I don't think we are going to see eye to eye on price. I was just wondering why he wanted them 8'6" & not 10' or 16' when he is just going to run them through the processor.

 

[cantoo]

He might know someone with a small bandsaw mill and will sell better logs and process the rest. Still a lot of extra handling for the stuff he does run thru the processor. Or maybe his processor is set up to process pulp wood which is 8'-6"? When delivery is included I'm sure it will be difficult to make more money than you just doing the work and selling firewood yourself.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Maybe my mammory is fuzzy. Either way it's a crap ton of sawdust. Fill a couple 3000lb rated super sacks a week.

I'd like to know what kind of saw you are using. My math tells me that you should get 30-16" rounds out of a 40'er so that means 29 cuts and using 3/8" chain it comes out to 10 7/8". I can't believe that 404 chain would bump you up another 5 plus inches, but maybe it would.

 

[blackdogon57]

If I told any of my log suppliers I wanted my firewood exactly 8' 6" or any other specific length they would have a good laugh. Around here firewood logs are culls and generally range from 8-10 feet or 16-20 feet. No supplier is going to take the extra time to cut to exact length.

 

[CRThomas]

Where I live they don't care because they don't pay juse a little over trucking

 

[066blaster]

If you buy 10 cords from a logger, in log length, does it equal 10 cords when split? I sell the wood and have always cut my own. I usually have $40-60 per cord into it with hauling costs. I think logs go for $100 a cord around here. I'm just worried if it don't yield enough it would be a waste of time. I also don't have a processor, just a splitter.

 

[ncpete]

10 cord is 10 cord, except when it isn't. It is also common to call face-cord a cord ---- face cord is really 1/3 cord. I forget the standard height used for cords, it seems like it is 48"? and the full measure is 8' x 4' x 4'. Standard firewood length is 16" (16"x3=4'). anyone care to help with the firewood math? When I was younger, we could stock 10 full cord in our basement, and in the mildest winters we could get by with that - I do remember several where we were forced to kick in the oil furnace until we could restock - and taking 'emergency' re-stock trips with my dad in our early 70's Bronco.

sadly, the attached image is not my Bronco, but a nice restoration of one like I remember my dad having - same color, and top style.

 

[zogger]

10 cord is 10 cord, except when it isn't. It is also common to call face-cord a cord ---- face cord is really 1/3 cord. I forget the standard height used for cords, it seems like it is 48"? and the full measure is 10' x 4' x 4'. Standard firewood length is 16" (16"x3=4'). anyone care to help with the firewood math? When I was younger, we could stock 10 full cord in our basement, and in the mildest winters we could get by with that - I do remember several where we were forced to kick in the oil furnace until we could restock - and taking 'emergency' re-stock trips with my dad in our early 70's Bronco.

sadly, the attached image is not my Bronco, but a nice restoration of one like I remember my dad having - same color, and top style.

4x4x8 is a cord, 128 cubic feet. Or any other stack or pile that equals that.

cool bronco man, I had a 68 once.

 

[cantoo]

ncpete, full cord is 4'x4'x8' so if you are cutting 16" that's 3 rows that are 4' high and 8' long. If you are cutting 12" the you need 4 rows 4' high and 8' long. If you are cutting 24" then you need 2 rows 4' high and 8' long.

 

[ncpete]

ncpete, full cord is 4'x4'x8' so if you are cutting 16" that's 3 rows that are 4' high and 8' long. If you are cutting 12" the you need 4 rows 4' high and 8' long. If you are cutting 24" then you need 2 rows 4' high and 8' long.

So, 2' strong then. Been a long time since I was concerned about the exact volume, but, to answer the question that brought is to measured volume, 1 cord is 1 cord.

 

[066blaster]

So, 2' strong then. Been a long time since I was concerned about the exact volume, but, to answer the question that brought is to measured volume, 1 cord is 1 cord.

That doesn't answer my question. The logs aren't square. And if we are talking large diameter logs there is no way it's going to be exact. Plus if you get a couple crooked logs you will have some air space. I think it will end up being more or less once cut and split. It's like if you ordered a 5,000 gallon semi load of water and we're gonna put it in 16 oz bottles to sell. If the truck was a couple inches low it would affect the yield big time. I think a firewood guy who buys logs and sells firewood could answer this.

 

[CRThomas]

10 cord is 10 cord, except when it isn't. It is also common to call face-cord a cord ---- face cord is really 1/3 cord. I forget the standard height used for cords, it seems like it is 48"? and the full measure is 10' x 4' x 4'. Standard firewood length is 16" (16"x3=4'). anyone care to help with the firewood math? When I was younger, we could stock 10 full cord in our basement, and in the mildest winters we could get by with that - I do remember several where we were forced to kick in the oil furnace until we could restock - and taking 'emergency' re-stock trips with my dad in our early 70's Bronco.

sadly, the attached image is not my Bronco, but a nice restoration of one like I remember my dad having - same color, and top style.

A cord is 4 ft by 4 ft by 8 ft But not really because you have air pockets

 

[cantoo]

Logs and splits are never the exact size so the amount will always vary. I will guarantee that if you take a pile of wood then stack it up to measure a cord then get someone to take that pile apart and restack it, it will be a different amount every single time. Just like a snow flake, no two are ever alike. Sometimes we just think things way too much.

 

[Whitespider]

If you buy 10 cords from a logger, in log length, does it equal 10 cords when split?

If you start with a cord of logs...

...I promise you'll end up with more than a cord of bucked and split firewood.
I know it don't seem right, but you'll have way more "air space" in the stacked splits than you'll have in the stacked logs.
*

 

[Mx377]

I have a 16' flatbed truck. So I would be better off to cut logs to length & haul & cut & split at the house? I have been cutting & splitting in the woods.

 

[Philbo]

Do you have a good way to efficiently unload 16' +? log length at home? By that I mean a pretty stout loader with grapple/thumb or at least pallet forks? And do you have room for stacks of logs at home before/during processing? If not, I would just stick to splitting on site in the woods as long as it's pretty easy to get the splitter where you need it to be and you can get the truck right next to the split wood to load directly. Then again….is the flatbed a dump? Unloading a 16" flatbed full of split wood could be quite a chore depending on how exactly it's being handled….

Hard to say without more details.

Are you selling split firewood primarily? If it's a one time thing till supply is gone (clearing 1 lot) then I would try my best to sell 16' log length firewood, say 2 cords at a time and be done with the handling…as long as it was a dump bed or you had a decent loader or way to roll them off easily. 16' not-so-straight "firewood tops" don't always roll of the flatbed as easy as you want em to with a cant hook…

For that approach, make a truck-accesible landing in the woods for your log length, load truck when you get a 2 cord order, and unload truck at customer's place…done. Split wood that you intend to keep and season for a while takes a whole 'nother set of logistics.

Just some thoughts. Handling kills profit in the firewood business.