I know some of you have firewood processors that cut and split in one machine.. I enjoy cutting with my chainsaw and splitting with a cheap hydraulic splitter. Someone needs to invent a stacking machine though. Stacking to me us tedious. It took me about 6 hrs to cut and split 2 cords. Then the next 2 days to stack it. I was procrastinating because I don't like it.
I hate stacking. I can do it with and audiobook or podcast on though. And some wobble pops. I did invest in 4 stackers though. One is 37. The others are 9, 7, and 4. The newest model gives me fits though
Cribbed ends? I find that pallet bookends are a lot faster. Even for my wife, who is not a fan of stacking.
Yawner, you have a million dollar idea! You would mention stacking. Been stacking all this week. I have about 4 cords split and thrown in a pile with one more cord to cut up that’s in big chunks and 8-10 ft long pieces. I keep walking right by that split pile and starting the chainsaw and then the splitter rather than starting stacking. And it keeps bigger. I do it with an audiobook and 3m headphones but my hard part is knowing it’s going to have to be moved at least one more time! From there to the shed next to the house and porch. I’ve been playing with some of the bags but worry about wood seasoning. The tote cages seem to be a good idea but it’s right on the limit of my tractors abilities to pick one up full of green wood. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Here's my "stacking" system... Theoretically possible to do entire "chain" in bulk, if you have enough room, and a tractor. Piled up off the ground... plenty of airspace around the splits... a pole roof over all piles would keep things dry. Guessing it would take 3x to 4x the space as stacking. Doubt if anyone has actually done this... but, I bet plenty have dreamed about it...
Friday I stacked never touched the saw or splitter. Even though I got about 1.5 cord to process sitting right next to my split pile that I'm working on stacking. It almost painful to see that uncut unsplit pile and not touch it. There's a downed cherry tree I want to start processing now, but forcing myself to clear out the other stuff 1st.
I’ll admit stacking is my least favorite part. I need to get out of the habit of throwing splits on the ground from the splitter. In a trailer or tractor bucket cuts down one step.
I really don’t mind any of it except after I throw splits into our basement. It then needs carried about 20’ and stacked. I usually always get help from wife and daughter, thankfully. Stacking outside, no problem.
Because of limited space and the fact that I split (90% by hand) on my asphalt driveway that is a few steps down from where I stack, I try to be efficient as possible when handling splits. I don't make a pile of splits because of exactly what you posted - when you see a huge mound of splits it's a little disheartening and looks overwhelming. Also I just don't have the room to have a ginormous pile of splits. It's musical chairs everywhere I look as it is. I split in the tire and then transfer directly into my 8cu ft garden cart. When the cart is full, I stop splitting, walk the cart, and then stack. It's nice to change up the pace and give myself a small break from splitting, and it's a little calming for me to just stack nice and easy. I'm in no rush. I do this for fun, excercise, and to clear my mind. When I'm out there splitting wood I try real hard not to think about anything else. The garden cart I use is quite a bit bigger than a traditional wheel barrow. I did all this wheeling the wood over one garden cart at a time. I've got 21 of these stacks, roughly 8' diameter, 6' tall, hold just over 2 cord each. I feel like when you break it up into smaller pieces it makes it easier to get through. I remember the first time I got a truckload of rounds dumped it was intense and I thought maybe I had bitten off more than I can chew.......but one round at a time......took my time and enjoyed it.
My buddy did that with old telephone poles that were removed/replaced. He dragged them with a tractor and used a post hole drill. Its probably 20x30.
My process is evolving. I used to make a rack/s next to split piles, so I didn’t have to load unload. Than I learned I could pile higher if more racks were together, but it involved more labor. I’d run out of space and dump sites if I kept racking next to splitting sites. I used to make huge split piles and stacking took days. Piles of stacks sitting for extended periods also interfered with room for easy ingress egress for 1&2 ton trucks to dump. Now I’ll cut for a day, split one day and stack for a day. Stacking eats up time and I don’t like it, but it keeps room available for more wood. I spent this morning stacking splits from yesterday. Wet weather also changes where trucks can dump, so I gotta keep the little bit of flat ground I have clear.
Yup. We park the trailer beside the splitter. Load it as we go and move it and restack under cover. That poor trailer will hold 1 cord stacked on it. I probably wouldn’t take it down the road like that.