I pay my nephew $50 a cord to cut split and stack. I supply saw wood gas splitter atv trailer and a helping hand.

Got Wood - 06 November 2009 01:09 PM

Without trying to be a wise guy, processing wood take a significant amount of time, labor and cost. Much more then you think. You will never realize how much wood a cord is until you have cut, split and stack a full cord. If you intend on processing (find, transport, cut, split, stack) the wood yourself I suggest trying it out before commiting to the life style. Also, it takes significant investment in wood processing equipment, things like transportation, saws, protective gear, splitting tools (manual, machine). I don’t mean to discourage you but I think it is important to be aware of. Personally, I love the life style that goes along with it. The work is fun, great physical exercise and mental therapy. But its not for everyone. I would say the majority of wood burners purchase their wood and have it delivered and stacked. For me, I wouldnt even consider that but I certainly understand why those that do chose to.

This is certainly true!

Its a real lot of work! 

I busted my hump over the last few years to get years ahead of the game…

I now have at least 5 seasons worth of wood on hand.

In the future I will purchase my wood cut, split and maybe even stacked.

If it were me getting into the game knowing what I know now…...I might just call a firewood dealer ......maybe

EKLawton - 06 November 2009 08:06 PM

I pay my nephew $50 a cord to cut split and stack. I supply saw wood gas splitter atv trailer and a helping hand.

Your nephew must love you or owe you big time.  He could make a lot more than $2 per hour mowing lawns or collecting carts at the local supermarket.  That being said, I would happily make my son do it when he is old enough (he’s only 7).  Manual labor for low pay can teach good life lessons. Cheers.

No he only does it when he need money bad… Hes 16 so he doesnt need money
I figured it out and whith my help he is getting $9 hr…

smokinjay - 06 November 2009 01:05 PM

I’ve got a woodlot, not sure what kind of trees are on it. Since my husband is not interested in this endeavor, I’m on my own. Since I don’t have the gear, knowledge or strength/dexterity to cut my own, I’m wondering if I could offer to go shares with someone who has the gear, etc, but not the woodlot - he gets a certain amount of what he cuts as do I. Does that happen? What type of arrangement is usually made?

here’s the part I like sure wish you lived closer! I would keep you well supplied….

I am sure there are guys who would be willing to go shares, but you need to find the right guy. You need also to discuss what tree will be cut, so that you don’t have somebody doing more harm than good, leaving tree hung up in the woods, blocking trails, etc. I’d do it, but the drive from Indiana would severely limit the time I’d have left for cutting.

EKLawton - 08 November 2009 09:40 AM

No he only does it when he need money bad… Hes 16 so he doesnt need money
I figured it out and whith my help he is getting $9 hr…

I pay 10 bucks an hr. and “we” can process start to finish with 2 of use cord every 2 hrs and with gas I figure I am coming in around 30 buck a cord.

Hmmm. I think BrotherBart is a wise man and I’ve learned heaps from him on these forums, but I disagree with his statement that “seasoned” is an antiquated term and we should all just use dry, which = 25% or less moisture content.

Seasoned means the wood has the extra-cellular moisture / water removed through exposure to wind and sun over time. Sure, some woods need 2 or 3 summers / years to accomplish this whilst others need only 1 “season” so I guess you could say that if a wood like red oak has only been “seasoning” for 1 year it is not fully seasoned, only partially seasoned.

Wet and dry refer to the current external state of the wood eg if it has been rained on, hosed down or chucked in the water.

You can bring wet seasoned wood under cover or inside and it’ll dry out in a couple of days and be excellent for burning. You can throw dry unseasoned wood on a fire and it’ll hiss and smoke and be poor for burning.

Wood needs to be seasoned and dry for optimum burning, but they are different things and I think we should continue to use the terms for clarity.

I know we can get subjective about the cross-over between moving from extra-cellular to intra-cellular moisture loss, 25% vs 20% vs 15% for different species being “seasoned” and length of time it’ll take given various environmental conditions like temps, wind, sun, humidity etc, but I think seasoned and dry are different terms.