I don't techniqually need small scale. I can make due with what I have. There is no reason to wear myself out by getting wood. With the volume I need it makes sense, to upscale.
Interesting, I just told my financial planner the same thing about firewood. He looked at me like I just dropped out of a spaceship. Collecting equipment one piece at a time.
I have a great life, no complaints, I am not complaining about the amount of wood I need for a winter. With the amount of wood I need per winter, I can justify buying forestry/logging equipment. I would rather wear out old equipment than myself. We had all 3 of our local loggers stop logging, one died, one retired and one went to full time preaching. There is a vacuum for wood.
I was hoping someone with a OWB would chime in and agree with the craziness of whats needed for the volume of wood that we consume.
Now all I have to do is get you to move up and we can get into the firewood biz. A&R logging ---R&A firewood---?????/firewood/logging/timber corp.
That would be me, I burned 10ish cord per year with the old furnace, & it'll be 12-13 with the boiler & longer cooler weather we've had. I really don't care that much as the temps inside have stayed just right, not to mention no LP for hot water. I like my equipment regardless, but I can justify it now lol. Skidding setup & big splitter along with a dump trailer & loader take the back breaking work out of it. I can make 20-30 cord per year no problem. Frees the mind from the clutter & keeps the body moving. R & A does have a nice ring to it. Nobody left doing it up there, might be a real winner!
I have a feeling that most financial planners are not equating that firewood is fuel. Would they say the same thing if you told them that you found out under your land and are going to drill it to make money? It's really the same thing, just Jess regulations to deal with certainly.
The way i see it even though a ridiculous amount of wood is needed couldn't imagine paying the electric bill every month! Would be crazy in itself I have people tell me just put in a little overtime and pay the man, but i tell them work is the work, whether it's firewood or at a job where a good chunk is going to the tax man or do wood and keep my time for myself At the end of the day I'm tired of doing the job thing and look forward to working with wood
If there was forestry roads it would be easy. If you super imposed the state of Texas over my 1/3 of the state, there is only 3 roads. Access is difficult, everything easy has been long gone. Now that my house in Maine sold, I will have more $$$$ for equipment. I have to figure out a skidding/forwarding from stump to trailer. Using the wheelers and snow machine works just not the volume that I want, per turn.
Been told that too, & I own my own business which makes it a lot easier, but you still gotta pay the "man" plenty & he didn't earn it, I did. I like my work, but it ain't my life, it's just a way to make money. Woodcutting. I love, there is a difference.
I am going, when is the question. I just made up 2 chokers, to see what whole tree skidding with the snow machine is like, will be interesting.
How well would a small tracked machine get around? D3 cat or 410 Deere dozer. It's a pretty easy rig to attach a cable skidding set up to. A small track loader with forks would do everything from stump to dump.
Good, they have been used in operations here. They are good in the hilly areas, but slow. A wheeled unit would be the time saver. I think I would prefer a forwarder with processor head for CTL. That way wood is clean, less handling, fewer machines. A log trailer with grapple can unload the forwarder to the trailer.
That's for sure the way to go if they can get around. Faster & less steps. Log trailer & grapple is the easiest/quickest combo I've seen for all around versatility. A grapple will do a respectable job of loading a processor also. Processor/conveyor into the dump truck & sold & delivered. I think I wanna come & play.
A guy in the UP let me run one of these on a logging operation a couple years ago, that thing was incredible! They were pulping a friend of mines property up there & we went to check out the progress.
A forwarder w/processor head and cut logs to 105" right on the back, bring to trailer-grapple from forwarder to trailer. Get to processing area, lay logs up. Use tractor/skid with fork load on live deck of wood processor, cut, split, conveyer belt loads the dump.
That's a nice Ponssee, harvester, has the computer that controls the cut to length. That is a $350K machine, the new latest and greatest is $500K. I want a forwarder with that processor head.
