That’s a nice load of logs! Take care of your back. Mine is currently Thats a nice load of logs! Take care of your back! Mine is currently giving me fits.
That's the price I got in the northern ozarks of Missouri. I thought it was high. I'm buying slash lumber that still needs to be cut, split, and aged at almost the same price as buying processed firewood. I'll go buy a cord of slab wood for $20 and haul it myself. It's aged and split. I just have to cut.
I've pushed a pencil really hard on buying a processor and just can't make it work with fewer than 100 cords going through it annually. Renting one, however, seems quite attractive, and a 24-cord weekend would be a fun challenge!
Thanks - and you, too. It is frustrating, but working at 80% or even 50% of my younger self is so much better than 0%.
There is about $25 to $30 per cord in trucking, depending on distance, but the slab wood is still a very viable option for some needs. We've used Hemlock slabs for making syrup because of the price and ease of processing. For home heating up here, however, the lower density of softwoods mean we would have to handle too much volume to get enough heat. As it is, I've seen a drop in my wood consumption due to the kids no longer filling the stove in mid-afternoon (they've packed their bags and moved on).
The plan is chainsaw and splitter, and stacking right there, which is a corner of the pasture that can be fence off easily. I've started nibbling, but need to knock a few of the large logs down before doing more. It will be a one tank of gas per session type of approach to the cutting.
Do you pick logs up with the tractor then cut or use a sawbuck? Or just climb up and cut right on the pile?
In the past, I skid trees down, push them up in a pile, and then cut by climbing on the pile. I'm not quite as nimble and surefooted these days, and he piled these logs a little higher than I would, so I'm not going to climb up on it. I bought a grapple for the tractor this spring, but I wasn't thinking of it when he unloaded, so there is a tree on one side, and a stone wall on the other, making it difficult to pick individual logs, then back away and turn. I might be able to get at the pile from the stone wall side. It is worth a try, anyway. If that doesn't work, I'll use the tractor or peavey to roll logs down off the pile and cut there.
Very nice load of logs. Maybe you can grab enough of one end to pull some out. I would definitely cut in the ground. Be safe.
Flamestead I use a sawbuck and it allows me to cut a lot more in a short period while saving my back. I use the tractor to get the logs on the sawbuck of course. Bending to cut on the ground wears me out fast by comparison.
This could easily be scaled up a little to accommodate longer logs and a larger tractor. I was surprised how much I got done in a short period of time. It was easy pulling the logs from the end of the pile when I had to, then hook up from the side. Of course a grapple would be easier and faster.
I'd have a very hard time finding the motivation to cut and skid my own trees for that cost! I really like Warner 's single cord delivery plan. Manageable, and they can maneuver to where I would process them. There was a guy selling $100 a cord logs last year, but I havent seen it since. I've been way too busy these days with two jobs to be out scrounging like I used to. I probably only have a cord ready to stack or process this winter.
We all need to remember this was a company deal specifically for employees. While it’s awesome his wife was able to get them that deal, it’s not happening for the rest of us!!! For anyone else they probably get $1500 for that 12 cord load. Now get out yer saws and cut that
I went out last night to test the grapple, and I do have just enough room to maneuver on one side. My grapple is 6’ wide, so that covers a bunch of the log with steel - if this were a two-person operation the grapple operator could dump the last bit of log and go for the next, while the person cutting tended to the piece on the ground. The fastest I’ve seen is three people using two saws and an excavator with a thumb. I like the saw buck idea - I used to think they were silly, but my back agrees with you about all the bending. This version, from fuelrod, has been on my mind now that I have a way to lift the logs... Log butchering table I like this because it would be fewer trips on and off the tractor, but especially because I could lift the rounds from waist height to put on the splitter.
