So I was thinking today...

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I often think about the same thing. Imagine going back to the 1800's with modern equipment and seeing the looks on their faces! AND imagine how much money you could make.

As others have also mentioned, life expectancy was low back then. Here in the US in 1850, the life expectancy of a man was late 30's. Being 43 years old now, I would be a great grandpa and probably have no teeth left.

They didn't have any money back then. A dollar was a days pay. As impressive as a chainsaw would be to them, there not gonna give 2 years pay for it. Besides some back woods preacher would have you burned at the stake for dancing with the devil. lol
 
Firewooding IS a lot of hard work!

To me it saves a lot of money on the heat bill but also helps keep my woods clean of deadfalls and provides me with much needed exercise both during gathering and burning cycles.

Boiler wood is almost like cheating though as anything smaller than 12" for me does not even need to be split.

Correct but, How many hours would you have to work at a regular job to pay for a cord of wood vs. how much time and money would it take to cut/split/stack a cord?
 
Logging in the old days turned a boy into a man quickly....and turned a man into an old man equally fast.

I have seen a lot of the old logging pics from around here. The guys at the front of the mess hall table looked OLD and in reality they were probably in their 40's.

The old black and white photos made you look old though.
 
Correct but, How many hours would you have to work at a regular job to pay for a cord of wood vs. how much time and money would it take to cut/split/stack a cord?
Since I am in sales that is very subjective....I am most certainly losing money by doing my firewood versus working extra. But if I worked every weekend I would burn myself out versus doing firewood which is normally fun and rewarding as long as nothing breaks.
 
Since I am in sales that is very subjective....I am most certainly losing money by doing my firewood versus working extra. But if I worked every weekend I would burn myself out versus doing firewood which is normally fun and rewarding as long as nothing breaks.
Making your own firewood vs. buying it is like a second job or working overtime. But it makes use of a valuable recourse that would otherwise rot away.
That's where the modern tech comes in. With modern tech we can produce more in less time.
 
Making your own firewood vs. buying it is like a second job or working overtime. But it makes use of a valuable recourse that would otherwise rot away.
That's where the modern tech comes in. With modern tech we can produce more in less time.
Well yes and no....In my case I would just pay the heating bill if I did not enjoy making firewood.

With bucking/splitting/loading/driving time/unloading/stacking I am probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 hours per cord of wood.

If I had to do something I did not enjoy for those same amount of hours to have no heating bill in the winter I would rather go to work. Since I enjoy most aspects of making wood I choose to do it. If I needed to do something more difficult/less fun such as digging ditches or roofing for 60 hours (in my case 5 hours per cord times 12 cords) there is no way in hell I would work a "second" job like that to pay my heating bill. I would just work more at regular work.
 
Virgin forests, they could pick and choose what they wanted with little concern or regulation.
It may be different here that where you are but they took everything that wasnt a "pecker pole". A hundred and some years later the pecker pole trees that were left are now huge norway and white pine of 2-4+ foot diameter. We have fished a lot of old logs out of the lake by my cabin where they logged and some are down to 5" diameter. Long story but they suffered an early spring and ended up leaving 900k BF of timber in the lake.
 
It may be different here that where you are but they took everything that wasnt a "pecker pole". A hundred and some years later the pecker pole trees that were left are now huge norway and white pine of 2-4+ foot diameter. We have fished a lot of old logs out of the lake by my cabin where they logged and some are down to 5" diameter. Long story but they suffered an early spring and ended up leaving 900k BF of timber in the lake.
I live in an area that was clear cut in the past, most trees in my area are now second growth, around 80+ year old timber. Mining was king around here and most of the trees went to building on an industrial level, or was used as fuel for steam engines. I’ve seen old pics of my area from around the early 1900’s , and the hills were bare, except for a few sprouts here and there. They were a hearty bunch back then!
 
SVK that is a great point. I feel the same way...I enjoy the process of collecting/cutting firewood and will continue to burn as long as I do. Wife says she enjoys staying warm and what a great reward for me playing with my "toys" (chainsaw, tractor, splitter).
if anyone ever gets a chance to spend a day with steve(svk), I did times two. you are in for a treat ! he's a stand up, out front honest hard working type that don't bull **** the job/work and gets it done with vigor. this I know first hand!
 
if anyone ever gets a chance to spend a day with steve(svk), I did times two. you are in for a treat ! he's a stand up, out front honest hard working type that don't bull **** the job/work and gets it done with vigor. this I know first hand!
Hey thanks man but you will work me into the ground!
 
I only burn about 2 or 3 cords a year, due to lack of storage space. For what I have in gear, I could pay natural gas the rest of my life. I started it 25 years ago for a few reasons:
-physical work and therapy gong through divorce.
-grew up on a farm. love to be in the woods, with saws or motorcycles.
- since my parents sold their farm, and my ex got our 10 acre hobby place, it is my connection to machinery and the land.
-It is a constant reminder of what is noted many times above. comparing my ‘hard day’ with power saw, gas pickup, hydraulic splitter, efficient stove, good insulation, good windows with what life was like then, reminds me no matter how much I think life is hard, I am SO blessed in so many ways. It was good for my kids also.
 
Logging in the old days turned a boy into a man quickly....and turned a man into an old man equally fast.

I have seen a lot of the old logging pics from around here. The guys at the front of the mess hall table looked OLD and in reality they were probably in their 40's.

And they weren't big. In hte pictures they look like 160-170 and few going 6 or more.
 

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