If I stacked 16ea logs 12" in diameter 4 logs (4ft) tall by 4 logs wide (also 4 ft) that were 8 ft long, that would make a cord. 4x4x8 = 128 cubic ft. If I took those 16 logs and figured the volume of a sphere by math. Pi x Radius(squared) x Height 3.14(Pi) x .5(squared) x 8 (length of log) x 16(number of logs) 3.14 x .25(.5x.5) x 8 x 16 = 100.48 cubic ft. 128 cubic ft of a cord (4x4x8) vs 100.48 cubic ft of 16 logs 1'x8' long.... Where's the slippage? In the rounding of Pi or I make a mistake? Wait, I think I answered it myself as typing this. 1'x1' square = 1 square ft. but a 1' circle is only 3.14 x .25 (radius .5 squared) = .785 square ft .785 x 8 ft long x 16 logs = 100.48 Never mind. But I had already typed this as I sit here & listen to a 2 hour budget meeting so I'm leaving it. Lenny
There's very little math involved here. A "cord" of firewood is a unit of measure for 128 ft3 of tightly stacked firewood...not a stack of logs. The stack of firewood has a lot of airspace not found in the logs....which cannot fill out the full 128 because of the space in between the radius (radii?) of the logs.
And after splitting that 100.48 CF of log volume, the stack will be closer to 128...maybe 110-120, depending on how tight you stack.
Also the method of figuring is not right because one log would not be stacked on top of another but would fit between 2 logs so the height would not be 2 times the diameter of 1.
<laughing> I knew there would be some input back! This is a lot better than a budget meeting! Good catch on the logs not laying directly on top of each other, Dennis. To stir the pot farther. I cut each of those 16 logs into 16" pieces. That make 6 rounds each x 16 logs = 96 rounds 96 rounds quartered would be 96 rounds x 4 = 384 splits per cord.
Somebody, somewhere is building an Excel spreadsheet right now. They just added the column where you can input your kerf width. They’re mulling over rhombus/trapezoid/rectangle/square/right and oblique triangle shapes and how that correlates to stack space. I am not that guy.
Adjusting your math for the taper of the logs would drive me crazy.... I'm detail-oriented, but not THAT detail-oriented!!
