What do you consider the perfect sized tree?

In another thread someone mentioned that Blue Beach was too small to bother with. I like it because it’s easy for me to gather. This got me to thinking what is the best tree and size to cut for firewood. I like small Ash trees in my woods. They tend not to have a lot of branches and I can (usually) drop them without getting them hung up. I can also split them up quickly by hand. I don’t agree with the common statement that Ash dries quick though. I think it’s drier than most wood when first cut but still needs 2 years of drying time to be properly dried out. I don’t like to cut big trees because I tend to get them hung up and they are heavy to handle.
What size and kind of trees do you like to cut down?

 

I'm not so interested in the size or type of tree but rather instead if it's standing dead or fallen over...and can I get to it. I don't like cutting most live trees because I like them too much.

When I do cut live trees I like boxelder and sweet gum... because I like killing those sobs. Other live trees I'll cut are Hackberry and Elm... they're everywhere and they make great firewood.

Most of what I have standing dead or fallen over is Black Locust and Honey Locust. Those are my favorite all around firewood based on availability, drying time, heat output, burn time, and overall work involved.

I prefer trees anywhere from 8" - 20" but I'll take what I can manage.

I have several blue beech that are 8" dia and fairly tall and straight for that species, but those seem to be in the sunnier wet areas.

 

I'll cut and deal with any tree or branch from the thickness of my wrist, up to 3ft across. I try to not cut down anything bigger than 2ft across by myself, just because I like having another set of eyes on things. from 30-36 in diameter, I'm apt to let the pros drop it. Once on the ground, I can usually work with it.

As previously mentioned in an above post, I like to let live trees live, unless their limbs are beginning to pose a problem with hanging over cars/buildings. Standing dead wood is the best.

 

Cutting the pine, douglas fir, and larch trees if everything else is equal bigger is better. I like a 28-30 and will cut down to about 6 on the tops. I will cut limbs to stove length if they are large. Limb wood on these trees is more dense and burns good.

 

What I like is free 16 to 20 inches across with very few limbs. What I get the most of is 3 + Footers that are too big for the loggers deal with in the processor. The good thing about a huge round is you get a butt load of splits. The bad thing is getting them on the splitter.

 

12". Easy to cut. Easy to move. Quarter it and get 4 decent sized splits. Move on to the next.

 

These seem to be the most productive. Big stuff makes lots of wood but its difficult to handle.

 

I don't have to fell many trees but I like anything in the 8-20" range. I cut on my neighbor's ground. He had 800 trees cut off of 40 acres, so most of what I get is tops or blow-downs. I like when the blow-downs uproot and keep the log up off the ground till i come to rescue it.

 

My dream tree is a hardwood, 14" at the base, 90 feet tall, barkless, straight, no branches, next to my driveway with top blown off that fell all on its own....

 

Did it break into perfect sized pieces when it hit the ground?

 

I`m lucky enough to have access to about 450 acres of whatever. I tend to look for dead standing or fallen oaks, cherry, and ash. I like anything from 8"-24".

 

a 30 inch 4 cord red oak that someone else has dropped
with no stump rot that has grown up the center and carpenter ants have inhabited
yeah, the trunk rounds are back-breaking heavy but they yield nice splits

I don't have big saws so I much prefer them on the ground.
Plus I've had standing/leaning swamp maples barber chair on me far too many times with one too many close calls.

Not a fan of spending time on small stuff because it can be so time consuming.
But if I have to move it haul it off I'll spend that hauling time cutting some of it.

 

I’ll fall whatever size tree. The big ones are the most fun! But for firewood, the processor loves anything 8”-14”. 15”-18” usually requires re-splits, depending on the customer the wood is going to. Anything over 18” won’t fit in my processor. Anything below 5”, the clamps don’t hold. If I’m bucking and splitting firewood without the processor, I don’t like to handle anything over 14”-16”. I do agree, the big boys make a lot of splits, but it’s hell on the back working them up. Luckily, all the wood that I sell, comes from a logger. Which happens to be my father in law. Needless to say, all my wood is the size I like!!

 

If I am felling, I don't fell comfortable working anything much over 18"Dia. As far as splitting, I love the 12" to 14"s.
Most of my wood comes from a land clearing company and is generally 18" to 30". Mostly on the higher side. I do have a mini skid steer that saves the back when splitting the larger stuff. I wouldn't sell that mini for 3x of what I have in it. What a back saver.

 

or a piece of pipe to roll or teeter them on.

 

My ideal tree is a hardwood, about 12 inches in diameter, straight, not too many crooks or big limbs. Every 7 I cut and haul out of them I know is a cord. They add up quick, especially for pulpwood. 10 twitches of 7 of those trees and I have a load of wood.

Now firewood for myself which goes into a pot bellied stove, is 4 inches in diameter, and few limbs. I cut these in 6 inch lengths right into my dump box on my log loader and haul them into my firewood shed. next year I hope to have a chunker to process these faster.

 

18" diameter White Ash. Hand splits like a dream

 

That's just silly talk right there... I forgot to add with woodpecker notches every 18" or so..