I mostly get Large, 2-4’, yields more wood but slower handling and harder to deal with. Is there a sweet spot?
I think there is variance in what folks say is their sweet spot. Some factors can be physical and/or age related but most has to do with what is available to them. In my case, we do not have much for really big stuff and I rarely cut anything 0ver 30" diameter. I also am to the point I don't want heavy stuff like I did when I was younger (I am 83). I do like the 16" - 24" to work with now. One can split more with the smaller diameter trees. True, you get much more wood from the large diameter but the work tends to be slower because of the weight and overall size. One only has to think (or even watch others) about placing the wood on the splitter and then turning it. One it has been split smaller then it goes easier. Also one should always consider what happens to their bodies while working. I always wonder when on this forum how so many speak of how much ibuprofen they have to take after splitting wood. That tells a story. But, when you are young...
More heart wood in the big stuff. And less bark. It only matters if you believe that heart wood burns longer/hotter than branch wood. I like the smaller stuff, that can be split in half or quarter, and is easier to lift.
Whoever mentioned heart wood, yep, I agree. Those big rounds yield so many splits! I have a worker who sometimes helps me and he's 30 years younger than me and he can manhandle big rounds pretty good. We also halve and quarter big rounds by noodling. But I have often pondered the question in this very thread. If I were felling trees from my woodlot tract (and then that means getting them out of the woods), I'm thinking smaller trees would be better. At age 72, the big ones are more of a challenge. Getting it done but also safety. Smaller being, say, 12-20" DBH. What changes that is I swear, about every 3 years, a windstorm comes through my land and topples a number of huge trees, usually oak. And then it drives me nuts to just have them rot and not get them out of the woods. I know that dead trees are kind of like fertilizer for the forest floor, but I still prefer to get them out (except for the slash) if I can get to them. Which means cutting a trail to some of them. I have this very problem right now, I have a bunch of big ones down. It would, literally, take me a couple of winters to get them out and a lot of that is due to having to cut trails to get to them. I am thinking of cutting bigger trails from now on such that I can get my tractor to them and skid the logs out rather than buck and haul them out. We'll see!
I try to avoid huge logs (24"+ diameter) as its just me and saws. Fun to take a big saw to, yes, but to load and handle by hand, no! Back breakers and hernia makers as I like to call them. Ill only take if mostly knot free and if I can roll them to finish a cut. Usually oak of some sort. Huge gnarly/knotty maple trunks are a dime a dozen around here. Quality of split most important. Ill section up with the Isocore maul and/or noodle for ease of handing/loading. Most hoarders here prefer "Goldilocks" logs as jrider calls them and a term that should be in the FHC lexicon.
I prefer 12-18 inch diameter but like Yawner said you have deal with whatever comes down on your property and trying to catch up or stay ahead of it can be madness with all the wind!
There is absolutely a sweet spot when it comes to diameter and efficiency/speed of processing but there are many factors that go into determining what that size is. Some factors include but are not limited to: age, overall strength and health (including your back) knots/straight grained, are they logs being dropped off or do you have to get them out of the woods, amount of brush that has to be dealt with, the equipment you have access to, etc. I sell wood and deal mostly with logs that are dropped off. Time is money for me and I have varying size saws - up to 90cc with 36" bar, 2 different log splitter - one with a log lift and adjustable 6 way wedge, and a 1060 JD tractor with forks. I can work longer and produce more splits per hour with wood that is roughly 8"-16" in diameter than any other size and that is what I call Goldilocks wood.
Wow, do you have that much dead standing oak that is that size? If I have dead oak, it is usually big, but not always.
I prefer the bigger stuff honestly. Namely oaks and locust, those are primarily what I keep for myself for heating. Lots of heartwood splits with no bark or dirt to deal with. Yes it's a PITA to deal with sometimes but once you get those big logs busted into quarters it's not too bad.
I know oaks get big, real big but do you deal with big locusts? We don't have them much here at all and I'm not sure that they get big like oaks. Locusts I have dealt with 200 miles north of here, none of them are huge.
I’m getting wood delivered from tree services so the felling and hauling part of the equation is moot to me. I like the 18-22” diameter logs. About the point where you can start getting 6x6 square splits. I also have enough slope in my yard to use gravity to roll rounds back to where I split/stack which is pretty efficient with 20”+ rounds.
I do. Had an insect out break here a few years ago on Chestnut oak that took out a lot that size. Also, on State Land near my cabin, that seems to be the size that dies from whatever. Don't get me wrong, there is big standing dead stuff too like you have, I just don't/can't handle them any more.
I did a removal a few years back on this 80' tall black locust in a back yard, the butt rounds were around 40" diameter. Biggest locust I've ever cut. And another big one we did a removal on was this beast, it was around 36" at the stump, if you look closely at the first pic, that is blacksmith standing beside it (he's 6' tall), the other pic is the stump with my 395XP wearing a 28" bar. So yeah, we see some really big locusts here. I've even removed honey locusts that were over 3' diameter.
