First off, talking hardwoods. Oak, hickory, mulberry, red (soft) maple, etc. I scrounge firewood here and there but I also have a woodlot with more hardwoods than I cut ever need. In fact, I'd like to thin a bunch. What do you guys think is the ideal DBH (diameter at breast height) tree to harvest for firewood? And why? What if it's a two-part question and for the second part, we add another factor, and that is that the trees need to be felled? As for me, it seems that the bigger, the better, for bang for the buck, meaning that the larger the tree is, the more (wood) you get per round. HOWEVER... I don't like big rounds. I don't have any way to get them into my truck except lift them. I guess I could start using a trailer and roll them! Anyway, the big ones seem to get to be a burden for me. Really big, need to be noodled. I usually work alone and I am no muscle man, just reasonably strong. Active for age 65. For pretty big trees, I'm thinking not more than 24 inch DBH. I can lift those rounds. As for trees in the woods that need to be felled, I am thinking something smaller. If we're talking ideal, maybe 12 inch DBH? Then again, if you cut only 6 inch DBH, you wouldn't even have to split the rounds! For these 6-12 inch DBH trees, they are less dangerous to fell and they don't have huge, dangerous limbs that can surprise you (with danger) once the tree is on the ground. I also love running a chainsaw and the smaller trees seem more fun somehow, lol. Last thing on that is that I will not cut a big hardwood unless there is a reason it needs to go. It has to be dead, dying, diseased, a danger to me without it being felled, or some other reason it has to be felled... or I won't cut it, because I am all about BIG trees on my place. I love running a chainsaw so much, I have thought of hiring someone to dump a big load of logs at my place just so I can cut them up! I'm serious. I am actually considering finding a guy to take it from there and we'll make a deal to sell firewood. I sell some firewood but I'd rather ramp it up and I am the chainsaw guy and the other guy is the delivery guy! I also don't mind splitting. I bought a 25-ton splitter but I'll do some (some!) by hand. I have a brand new chainsaw inbound, can't wait! It's a blue Makita EA4300, a 43cc saw. Has good reviews. I mostly like running my mid and small saws. My ported 362 is fun every once in awhile because it is bad to the bone but the others are lighter. Look forward to your responses to this long-winded post!
I prefer the size that mother nature fells. I was just up on the neighbor's ground where i cut. He has 35-40 acres. There were at least 5 new trees down from the last couple storms. If thats not a years worth then I'll be looking for standing dead trees in the 8-14" range.
I like 12-18" diameter rounds. So figure how big of dbh you can say 12-18". Depending on stem taper they may narrow up quick or stay that size for quite a ways? I have split 40-50" stuff , never again. Too hard to handle. Have to saw in half just to flip to splitter. Takes forever to split. Sure I made 30 splits or something per round (I don't remember how many really) but to get those it took forever cause the big rounds are just so heavy. I could of processed a dozen good splitting red oaks about 12-16" in the same time all yielding 3-5 splits or so each and get more than the one large one. Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
I don't have a lot of large/massive trees in our woodlot, most would likely fall in the 10-15" range, with many exceptions of course. That said, I have been after ash trees that are within my capabilities that are along a newly proposed gas line Right Of Way. They'll be dropping everything along the route, and I'd become overwhelmed quite quickly, so I'm trying to get ahead. I also have some dead ash that need felled as well. Enough to keep me busy for a while. Cut within your comfort zone, and you should be able to get all you need.
Yes, i beat through the woods and make trails in to get wood pretty easy with the quad. It is pretty rocky here in the mountains though
I like 20-25". I like a nice long straight log that produces a lot of splits per round. It's easy enough for me to noodle them once to lift and load.
I really like from 18" to 26" but as I get older, it is getting more difficult for me to wrestle those bigger ones. The last time I cut a 30" it was a struggle. This year I even struggled with some oak that we cut at out gtg last May. But, I can still do it; it just takes longer.
Another fan of 16"'or so wood-the kind you get 6-8 splits out of-it adds up fast and is not overly heavy to handle.
As long as it hand splits some what reasonable the bigger the better. I’ve had 30+” rounds split well (outside in) and 20” ash not spilt worth a crap. I like the big stuff for the many rounds they produce.
Maybe its a dirty pleasure, a sick fetish, a love to hate kind of relationship. I dont know but I enjoy the big uns! If I could only scrounge just 20" that would be great. In a world where beggars cant be choosers I wont kick the large ones out of the splitter.
Bring on the biguns. Whooooooood! I like cutting, rolling and lifting the big ones. I don’t like splitting and stacking. Who wants to switch for a week! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I enjoy getting a ton of nice blocks of heart wood out of a large round. However, my back usually doesnt share my same enthusiasm. I'd say 16-18" would be the sweet spot.
I prefer under 20" as well due to an injured back and smaller saws. But now that I have a bigger saw with a 28" bar I might enjoy tackling the larger ones I have quite a few of right now.
