Just some musings as I age. Stacking... chief reason for "there goes the profit." This is my observation from having to hire help these last two seasons. Because I had so much wood available, no way could I do it all. Well, I guess I could but I don't want to. Am no spring chicken. I still have a bunch of big oaks (logs) down and I'm not even going to buck and split them until next winter, it's too hot! Anyway, my helper is not much more than half my age and he certainly has more stamina. And paying him, I am aware of how long tasks take. I think stacking is not a good thing when one is selling and hoping to make any sort of a profit. I can simply split and toss into a pile and that saves money. A key is that down here, most people do NOT buy seasoned wood. Actually, hardly anyone does. It's like it's 'normal' to burn semi-green wood. Like, harvested one to 12 months before and then sold. About 90% of all wood sold here is oak. Trust me, it's not seasoned. They're buying 38-45% moisture content wood. Granted, this is not a cold climate. If most customers can get a fire going, they're good with it. And if they are one who wants seasoned wood, they can buy ahead. I actually got a few 'educated' customers last year who realized they need to season their wood. My main competition here is a guy who has sold wood for years and he has never stacked. He brings logs that have been cut for a year or two, bark tending to fall off, and splits those into a pile. The wood won't be seasoned much but it's a bit better than splitting green logs. Of course, he sells them as 'seasoned.' I won't sell it as seasoned but this will likely be my future method. Another thing is... no more deliveries. I can sell all I want a face cord to 2 cords per customer at a time with them coming to me. Next season, I will deliver to a handful of loyal customers and after that, I'm done. I will either give them the name of my worker for him to deliver and stack and they can hire him or they can arrange for it somehow else. Another way to do it would be to take the splitter to the woods where downed logs have 'rested' for a season or two and split it to a trailer and make deliveries. I mean, I can toss that load off to a customer just as easy as I could toss it off my trailer to my woodlot for 'pile' storage. Since I don't want to stack, they could stack it or they can hire my helper or someone else to stack it. Alas, most of my customers that want delivery are not able to stack or just are not going to do it 'cause like me, they don't want to! It's a bummer to me for wood to sell for such a 'low' price. I have sold for $240/cord for the past several years and I went up to $300 for this next season. I'll go higher if I can! I assume I can sell it, lol. Actually, already had my first sale at $300. Regarding stacking, last thing to mention is I live on a busy highway and I made some good-looking stacks at my house, including close to the road. I think I have maybe a dozen cords on display. That is fantastic advertising, don't even need a sign, they just stop and ring the doorbell. Now, since I complain about stacking, lol, those stacks will stay there until they have GOT to be sold due to their age. I don't like stacking! I'll probably have enough customers by then it won't matter anyway. If I had a better back, I would not mind stacking as much.
I hear ya. Stacking is not my thing either. I give you a lot of credit for all the wood you process Bill. Storage my main problem...lack of it. Multiple handling of wood is a PITA, but we do what we have to do.
I have the same dislike for stacking. Also don’t believe wood seasons much in a big pile on the dirt. I’m working on this problem. Give me another month. Stay tuned LOL
I try to stack a little at a time. I did a holzhausen and a regular stack 2 years ago side by side throwing wood equally to each one. When I got into the middle of the holzhausen, the wood was still at 30% moisture but the stacked two rows together was at 17%. I’ve been thinking of making a pile on top of a tarp on the ground and pallet floor as I see a lot of commercial guys seem to forego stacking and pile it just to see what the inner pile vs a stacked 3 row cord moisture levels difference would be. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
If the tarp is sloped to dispel water and keep ground moisture from evaporating up I could see a benefit. If it’s flat and puddles I think you’ve gone nowhere. Better to tarp over the pile while still allowing air and evaporation from the wood to take place. Keep the rain off the area and the ground will dry itself. It’s not hard to build a peaked tent structure using a large tarp, rope for a ridge beam and a heavy weight on one end to allow for wind and snow loads.
The idea is tarp on the ground and the pallets on top of that. I agree completely with a tarp over the top though they are a constant PITA to keep on for me. I’m planning on tarping this years stack mid August but really want to get a pole shed covered over with tin roofing built for the permanent solution. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes tarps laid flat are almost impossible to hold down. I use EPDM rubber now and that’s hard to keep in place. When you think you have enough weight on it,,,,double it Many years ago I dabbled in woodworking. My Godmother had a tree taken down in her yard. Usually they became firewood but this specimen of red oak was so large and straight I decided it would be lumber. If I remember right the sawyer said I got 3000 bd ft out of it but my memory,,,, I know as he was driving the truck home he looked at me as we were struggling down the highway “I’ve never had this much weight on the truck”. Anyhow I built a tarp roof for it. Stacked between two large trees which is a help. 5/8” Rope tied to one tree and on the other I had an old well wheel. Rope passed through and I had a little over 100lbs hanging from it. Tarp was 12’x20’ I think, again with the memory. Cheap thin Home Depot tarp. Some rebar driven into the ground at an acute angle and bungee cords on every grommet. I was very surprised how well that contraption worked. Thought I’d be replacing it monthly. That first cheap tarp last three years. Replaced it with a better one. What was cool was a heavy wet snow dropped the tarp flat onto the lumber stack but witHin hours to days it would spring itself back up. Something about all that flex gave it longevity I wouldn’t expect. And because it wasn’t flat even when the tarp was getting worn it still shed rain. The cheap bungee cords required more replacement than the tarps. This was in my backyard which is more protected by trees than a wide open field so,,,, I’ll be trying that again this year over some pallet pens I plan on splitting into. No more stacking. This time there will be no trees to rope to and it will be on a field edge. I expect more trouble.
Yawner the places around here that sell firewood (by the face cord) just run it through their processer and leave it piled into a pyramid shaped heap; not bothering to stack it. They load it with a skid steer and through experience know how many buckets it'll take to reach a desired quantity. Also, they have said that if you are "shorted" they will make it good by bringing you the balance. Pretty good of them, I think. That was as recenbt as last year. I have never utilized their services but am thinking about it this year and getting some cut and split red oak from them for $65/face cord.......just for extra, ya know? Maybe a few experiments with your tractor bucket will give you the same results?
We have firewood guys advertising seasoned wood, size cut to order. Those two statements cancel each other out.
It's funny you shouold bring that up! I was talking to the processer operator and he told me............ "That red oak was cut almost a year ago. It has been stacked (in logs in their yard) here since then, so you know it's good and dry!" I laughed and asked if he burned wood? "Yes, I do" "Then we both know that oak has a long way to go before it's ready to be burned"
He was OK. I just wanted to let him know where I stand and that he could drop the BS. He is just a worker for the company.
Well right now the clutch is shot. Maybe just a bleeding, not sure. To my way of thinking I bought a conveyor. Yes I could fill the dump truck and stack. So much easier to let it fall into a pile. I just don’t like the large pile scenario on bare ground. So I’ve come up with the hope of pallet pens. Pallets on the ground about 8’ wide and pallet walls 6’ high. Got a bunch of six footers that are hopefully tough enough. Have some white oak collar ties. Put one between each pallet standing up with a cleat on the outside. Should work are my famous last words LOL. Just keep moving the conveyor back and building the pen as I go. Tarp tent roof. Picking up wood to use or sell from a pile instead of stack is a PIA but the motorized conveyor should help with that scenario. Even if I’m working on my knees at that point I’m not tossing onto a high truck. The kinetic trough didn’t offer that loading option
I see the same as Dave described. Sellers around me leave wood in a huge pile and when they sell it, a bucket loader is used to load a dump truck. No stacking involved. And I also see the same with not very seasoned wood. Guarantee it's no where near my standards.
Mixed hardwood here majority soft maple is $240.. $240 for oak, I would buy 2 cord and wait.. I have no oak’s
