Yeah, if the weather is a hot day when you are cutting, you tend to leave the smaller stuff alone. But if it is cooler and you're thinking of a quick heat shoulder fire or adding to a stuffed stove or using the small stuff for starting fires, well then, it seems to get cut up, no?
When we had our wood cook stove we took everything down to 1", not so much small stuff with the Central Boiler it likes the bigger wood.
I don't mind keeping some of the smaller stuff down to about 2", depending on how straight it is. If it's a dirty old crooked top, I top it it and launch it into a brush pile. But those small pieces are perfect for short cycle fires in my little stove, especially when the weather is staying just above freezing.
For sure when you are cutting on someone else's land, you need to keep the small stuff and also leave the place clean.
I've kind of taken a liking to the smaller stuff. Usually I'll go down to 1 1/2" stuff, ideal is in the 8"-10" range. I've kind of sworn off much over 18", kind of that is I've got 3 piles of poles stacked to be cut right now that are 1 1/2" to 6" thinking on a big cutting crib and laying the 36" bar into them
There have been comments about brush piles, cleaning up, etc. Remember that brush piles serve a purpose for smaller wildlife. Brush piles no higher than your waist are actually beneficial. Of course, if you're collecting wood from someone's residential 1/4 acre lot, cleaning up everything for the free wood may be expected. Situations vary....
We have some acreage in PA that we get logged on 50 acre rotations and we have a DEC forestry consultant walk it with us and we figure how much and what to leave where for the critters, seems to make them happy
It all burns. What do you have time for and what is your time worth ? For me that changes, month to month, year to year, project to project . Whatever works today.
Was just re-reading through the posts and noticed the guy that I left at the top of this one! Sorry about that must have dragged a finger over the faces
Depends on the day/the mood most times, when I'm in no hurry I cut up to the crotch down to 1.5" once it splits you start getting less wood. If I have better stuff to do I go to 2.5-3 inch pieces at the smallest.
How small is too small? There's no one right answer. I cut down to 2.5" , maybe less if it's straight and easy to get to and load. I prefer 4" and up.
If I'm removing wood from somebody's yard, I'll take whatever the tree service didn't chip and it all goes in the horde, 'cause if I take the time to bring it home, damm sure I'm burning it. If I'm the first one there, I politely offer to pile the brush wherever they want it, and cut to manageable size for them. I'll take three fingers and up in that case. Not too much cutting going on here on my mostly open land, but I'll stack everything three inches plus, save the rest for the pit. Or the smoker if it's apple. I have a pile of brush that I've been picking over for kindling and pit use for a couple years from a three stemmed young maple that would have been a threat to the house as it grew. I can never seem to get the whole thing to disappear, because every time I start pulling off of it, rabbits and chipmunks scatter. Can't bring myself to completely evict them. Daughter and wife would be mad, too.
Leaving some tops and smaller stuff in the woods is good for the soil. It is a little un sightly but Mother Nature breaks it down efficiently in a season's time. I have taken the loppers to a top (in the woods) and in just a few minutes have it all laying flat on the ground, where it rots much faster.
