I went to a county agricultural school in the mid 70's, my major was forestry. I was told if you are willing to spend $11.00, you can make $10.00
My neighbor was getting low and asked me to sell him some wood this past winter. I told him he'd be better off to buy some off CL. By the time I've got it all cut, split, stacked and seasoned in my yard, it's worth way more than what it sells for. My labor is expensive.
Not necessarily too much trouble, especially if you have an answering machine. But one does have to beware of how much time is spent doing it vs how much you get in return. For a short term thing it can be okay to pick up a few dollars but not long term. I'll still sell some occasionally but rarely any more. As stated, I've given more away than I've ever sold.
Good luck trying to find a paper mill to work in. There are 6 left in Maine, none in NH any more and none in VT. I remember the good ole days when a guy got a job in the paper mill, they were set for life. Sad times...
I have never been pinched "by the man" so to speak, but did have a Forest Ranger as how much wood was on back of a single axle dump truck I was using at the time. I told him the volume which I now forget what it was, and he seemed happy with that, but chided me some on the content. He said I had more maple and ash in the wood pile then I probably should have. Whatever... But the thing of it was, in the State of Maine it is against the law to sell by cord anyway, it has to be by weight, so if he really wanted to pinch me, I was already breaking the law. I don't get it; then or now????
that's odd because wet wood is worth more than seasoned... in that scenario?? here to get state heat voucher it has to be guaranteed below 15%Mc and pest free.. read kiln dried.. and they sell it for about 375 a cord plus delivery... anyone can buy whatever they want... green.. log length is about 120 cord and cut split about 200...
Interesting. It seems that most states are just trying to get people to sell by the cord or fraction thereof, attempting to eliminate bogus, undefined terms like face-cord and truck load. Weight is obviously the most accurate measurement of BTUs, unless the wood's green, but it also means you have to pay someone to weigh the load. I smell the work of the Truck Scale Lobby.
Not really...the law only states that the wood has to be sold by weight...the law never states what the price will be. In your scenario you are talking about a specific contract: a state wood heat voucher and the specifics thereof. In that situation there is a price stated, and a moisture content rating that must be met. In my case where I most often sell to a paper mill, there is a price stated and it is assumed the wood will be evenly mixed species wise, and green (wet). Now I am free to haul in wood that has been laying in the sun all summer, but I am going to take a hit on its weight and not make as much money. But I can inadvertently stack the cards in my favor too. For instance if I take a 100% load of beech to the paper mill, it weighs up a lot more then their mixed hardwood species assumption. Right now my loads are weighing up really well, but for a different reason...it is muddy out. Now they cannot rightfully declare all loads get docked 5% lets say because some may be muddy and some may not, so I get a little extra money for the same amount of wood volume. BUT in the end it basically all washes out. If you were to buy a load of tree length firewood off me legally, it would be relatively easy. A "load" would be 57,000 pounds of wood, and I would sell it to you for $90 a cord, a cord being 5400 pounds green mixed wood, so it would be around 10.5 cords. Most people also request, not too much ash, a little maple, birch is okay...but not too much, and no oak. So that is a typical order for me. Legally it should roll over a scale and you see exactly how much wood you have and you pay by that weight. If you pay by the cord, it really is just a guess. The problem is...finding a truck scale between my house and yours. Now here is where loggers can really shaft people. I can make 9.5 cords of wood look like 10.5 cords and it is actually easier on me if I do. It is all in the way I cut my limbs off. If I cut the limbs so that they are cut off at a 45 degree, or even 90 degree angle, it causes protrusions and when the trunks are laid in the truck, there is a lot of air space. Unnoticeable really to the uninitiated, but it really adds up. I don't do that. I don't do it to firewood customers because I am a Christian and believe in honesty. God sees what I am doing even if homeowners may not, and I would never do it to a paper mill. I cut my limbs so that they are cut parallel with the trunk as much as possible. Sometimes this means cutting a limb twice just so that the trunks lie flush together. On a paper mill it is more important and for two reasons. (1) I want as much wood on that truck as I can get. The more weight, the more wood, and the more pay I get for less trips taken. (2) Failing to cut smooth trunks can jamb up the works inside the paper machine. Granted they have no idea who cut the tree, but still, if I am going to cut wood professionally, I am going to be professional. But the thing is, most of the time my truckdriver knows how much is on his truck just by looking at the stakes. If the wood is down by a foot or so,he knows it is 9 cord instead of 10.5, and whatnot. But rolling across a scale would make everyone honest.
Probably needs to have some much more clarification on that law. The loophole is there thats probably why he didnt stop you because a cord is really considered a processed cut and split 4x4x8 stacks.
No loop hole which is why the law is in place. A cord of wood, cut split and surfaced dried is going to be x-amount of weight. A cord of green tree length pulpwood going to the mill is going to be x-amount of weight. Sure there will be slight variations because it all depends on wood species and exact moisture content, but it is far more exact then by cord measurements. In that situation a person has to take into account loose piling, short sticks, piling the most flared ends to the outside, and wood species. These are things the average wood buyer does not take into account. For most firewood dealers they do not even stack the wood. it gets conveyed into a dump truck body and it is dumped at the house and the homeowner is expected to pay for it on the spot. Only after hauling it into the house and stacking it do they realize they were shafted on cordage. That is why there is a law on selling wood by weight. It is far more precise.
Well Im going to guess that there are more hardwoods for this matter than soft. It would be a huge rip off if selling by weight were perhaps poplar which is going to dry out and feel like a feather when dry.
