How long on average do you think it takes you to get one full cord of wood? Thats gathering, (travel if you need to), Cutting, splitting, and stacked in your yard? How many hours? I know it varies but what's a good average for you?
can speak about gathering that's too variable.. working alone... I can block it in couple hours (if normal sized) split in 3 hours and stack in 1... so 6 hours for me if my cousin shows up together we have blocked and split 6 cord in 12 hours... but took me another week to finish stacking he's over 6 foot 6 so the splitter gets raised some..
I do not have to transport it, as I have a supply behind my house. I would say from the time the saw starts, skid it, block, split and stack it would be between 4 and 8 hours. If I use my 461 with a new/sharp chain, on larger trees I can block in 1-2 hours. Splitting takes another 2, and depending on where I split in relation to the final stacking would be 2-4. I hate stacking though.....
Far too many variables. Some wood is five minutes away, some is 30. Can you park next to the tree, or are you running it jn a wheelbarrow? I split with an axe, some pops easily, some you're hacking away to get it to split. I'd say that if a trees on the ground and easily accessible, you could buck and load a cord in about 2 hours, as long as the rounds arent massive. Maybe another 2-3 to split and stack depending on ambition.
I've thought about a lot over the years. But the question I ask myself is." How many cords of wood do I move before I have a cord worth of ash?" Or said another way, how many times do I move the same cord of wood? The answer always comes up around 8. I move the same cord of wood 8 times before it's burnt. Drop the tree, buck and cut 0 Into the trailer 1 Out of the trailer and into a pile 2 Out of the pile onto the splitter 3 Off the ground as a split into a pile to be stacked 4 Out of the pile and into the shed for stacking 5 Out of the shed and into the garage 6 Out of the garage and into the basket by the stove 7 Out of the basket and into the stove 8 I move 8 cords for every 1 burn. Or 32 cord in a 4 cord winter. A perspective on it.
Going in the woods......about 12 -14 hours/cord. Logs in my driveway....7-8, if I feel especially ambitious. In other words, 3 days. Lots of variables.
I just wonder why it makes a difference on how long it can take each one to cut a cord of wood? I will say it takes me about 4 times longer than it used to so therefore it would be of no use to anyone knowing how long it takes me. And as someone said, there are just so many variables. The hardness of the wood? How many limbs do you have to contend with? How far to move the wood? How big of a load can you move at one time.? On and on the questions could go.
Gosh I am really close to a cord of white birch but since I didnt cut it up into rounds Im not factoring that in. But I have given at least 2 hours about 3 separate situations. One was the initial stacking on the pallets as rounds. Then there was the two split and restacks so in all about 6 hours. The heavier the wood, the more time this will take so I am doing this at its most heavy as it was fresh cut last week and now I am just trying to finish at bit at a time. I have about 3 cord of this so in all may take about 6 more hours of split and stack. Depending on my splitter situation(Im separating my really knot filled wood for later so the splitter takes care of them) my work load should equalize so Im dedicating more time to just lifting the wood on the splitter and not wearing myself out so quickly.
Exactly Dennis. I came back to this thinking the same thing, then saw your post. I like to keep track of things (OCD type stuff, a little), so I kept track, but it starts to vary so much in the woods, it's kinda pointless. You're gonna' spend whatever time you spend processing wood, or paying someone else to do it, then go and earn the money to pay for it......so, time can be important if you want to do that math to compare. Sometimes, if you just aren't able to work as fast, it takes even longer than it used to. I've slowed down considerably in the last few years, and just don't give too much of a rat's patootie how long it takes. And, I've also started buying more firewood, already processed. See, lots of variables.
He makes a really good point because this goes along the lines of how much time do you take to process wood and how much does this translate to handling the wood "too much". Since I don't use a tractor to move my stacks, Im not burning fuel moving them so much as getting them out of the place where they were felled. Then there is the chainsaw. Yes I agree too many variables here. But being practical its nice to understand how much work is put in a cord of wood. We all process it differently, some have no problem others plain give up after the first two rounds being a bear to split.
I could never guess a time, as motivation and ease of access determine a lot. Sometimes I give 'er like a tazmanian devil and others it's just a relaxing time cutting trees/drinking coffee sitting on a stump.
I definitely find myself working for a bit, then enjoying my surroundings, then working a bit more most days.
A full day in Oct , to Fell & buck & load & off load Haul to trailer & load (a cord +/- per trip) & get it off loaded by/at/near dark When the weather stops me or I get 8 - 9 cord I start splitting & stacking Split & stack about 2 cord / day About 1-1/2 days/cord to CSS & to the seasoning stack for a year. Fun work :
This January we took logs off the pile, bucked up a cord for my friend and a face cord for me, split and stacked his cord and had my trailer loaded in an hour and a half. I was shot. Haha
Okay... I'll bite. It makes a difference because we haven't all figured out the most efficient and/or productive way to get our wood or whether we think we should be able to CSS our own wood as we advance in age. It's nice to strike up a conversation about something we all like to talk about. Carry on and Keep Smiling!
Nice break-down, good way to look at it M2theB. May I add the last move... Out of the stove and into the pail/ash dump box to finally return outside for whichever use 9
I've always figured about 12-16 hours a cord. I've done three cords with three of us in one day working from a pile of logs but I was beat at the end of the day. We each got a cord. I included the hour or so it took me to stack it when I got home. We started late and quit early. I was beat. I tend to cut from my own woods now and work at it an hour or two in the afternoon when it is nice and I can.
