recutting a split?

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toonces

toonces

Member
Nov 7, 2011
158
Farmington Valley, CT
i'm coming up with all sorts of stuff to ask...

i've scrounged some wood that was cut by a tree service and left in the homeowner's yard. problem is, it's all different sizes ranging from 16-20" in length. i don't have a stove yet, but whatever i get is going to be fairly small since i have a small place. so i've been cutting to 16" lengths whenever i need to make cuts b/c that's a safe size to fit almost any stove. obviously, i had no say in this scrounge. to save time, i've been splitting anything up to 18" and putting larger stuff aside so i can snip it with a saw. when the glorious day comes that i get that stove and if it does end up taking nothing bigger than 16", how best would i cut down those larger splits? maybe line them all up and buzz them with the chainsaw? i'm also thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to cut a few inches off the bigger rounds just in case. thanks for the help!
 
I made this rack for cutting the splits to size.....made it out of scrap wood....got the idea from here....stack the splits, bungee them down so they don't move, and buzz the chainsaw straight down....I can cut up to 15 splits at once
DSCN2070.jpg
 
If you have a piece that is too long for a stove, say its now 20", I'd cut it in half, not at 16" with 4" left over.
Your stove really won't care, but your stacks will.
And don't forget that some people put their wood in North / South, typically 16" stuff, while others go East / West, and use their shorter pieces, like 12" or so.
Personally, I throw it all in North / South, any length, and find it all burns down to ashes....
When stacking, if you have any really short or gnarly pieces, save them for the top of the stacks.
And post pics, please! So to practice what I preach, here's my 9 cord of hardwood for next winter:
DSC00066.jpg


And here's 12 unprocessed cord just arrived, for 2013-2015:
DSC00067.jpg


I burn half hardwood that I buy in tree length, and half softer wood that I cut from my own property. Here's some poplar I'm cutting:
DSC00069.jpg
 
I agree with maplewood- cut the long ones in half rather than make a 16 inch piece and a very short piece. It is conveninent to have some pieces that fit north/south, especially if you have some that are around 12 or 14 inches. Those slightly short ones can be loaded east/west pushed to one side leaving a space on the end where a shorter piece can be loaded north/south.

I would split all of the wood now so it will season. I have a sawbuck where I stack long pieces. When I have a bunch I bungee them together and cut then in half with a chainsaw.
 
Which ever way you choose, do it prior to splitting. Cutting 8 splits is harder than 1 round.
 
I usually cut overly long stuff in half. two 10" pieces are easier for me to cram in than a 16" and a 4". Plus what the heck do you do with a 4" stub? I don't have a place to store that stuff. But a 10" piece can go right in the stack and hold its own.
 
seeyal8r said:
I usually cut overly long stuff in half. two 10" pieces are easier for me to cram in than a 16" and a 4". Plus what the heck do you do with a 4" stub? I don't have a place to store that stuff. But a 10" piece can go right in the stack and hold its own.
Click to expand...
Those little 3-4 inch pieces I call "shorties" are thrown in a bin and tossed in the fire for a quick burst of fire to get things fired back up.....just gotta be careful, one time I threw in about 8-9 of them...pegged the thermometer at 900+ in a heartbeat
 
Posted above but here is is again.
 

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Wood Duck said:
I agree with maplewood- cut the long ones in half rather than make a 16 inch piece and a very short piece. It is conveninent to have some pieces that fit north/south, especially if you have some that are around 12 or 14 inches. Those slightly short ones can be loaded east/west pushed to one side leaving a space on the end where a shorter piece can be loaded north/south.
Click to expand...

Glad someone else sometimes mixes E/W with N/S as I was starting to think I was alone.

My long splits gets cut in half just for that reason, they load N/S easily.

Although I try to plan my bucking around 4 split length when possible, so there's no odd lengths (try does not always mean succeed though)......... ;-)
 
I have a lot of splits that are too long to fit in my new stove. I made something like Beer Belly's, but with legs about 1.5' tall, so I don't have to bend over. I made it two inches smaller than the max length that will fit in my stove, so I can run the felling dogs on the splits right along the 2x4 upright. The splits end up just right, and if the cut wanders a little they still fit. The small chunks burn fine. I burn them when I am at home, and don't seem to end up with a surplus.
 
i have a few that are too long (not many) but i'll use my cheap Ryobi chop saw
 
I cut everything I can to stove length. (17")
The shorts/ uglies/ misfits get burned first in shoulder season or the outside cook out fire pit.

I'd rather have one good full stove size piece than 2 shortys/uglies. Stack better & more full stove size pieces :)
 
yup this year all logs were marked at 11 inches before cutting
 
Since I've gotten a few years ahead, I've been kinda picky. I haven't made many uglies lately. After next winter, I won't have any, and all the long ones will be gone. Then I'll be into the purty stacks.
 
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