About to score a lot of wood...

I am about to score a bunch of wood...sort of.
We have a bunch of trees [8 to be exact] that need to come down with the most serious being a 40 foot-ish pine tree that is starting to uproot and a maple that is rotting out a bit at the bottom. Have a tree service coming to take them down. Any branches 3" or bigger the are leaving for kindling & such, and the wifey got them to agree to cut the trees into manageable rounds as they take them down. The branches will be chipped for us to landscape our yard. Going to cost a couple of "g" that we were not planning on spending, but I am going to guess we are going to wind up with 2-3 cord of maple and 4-6 cord of pine when all is said and done.
I will grab some picts tomorrow of the trees that will be coming down...because no picts, it didn't happen...and it is dark & raining really hard right now.
Of course, the wifey asked, how are you going to split it all, and I replied, "One round at a time."

No such luck on a splitter...need a larger vehicle and need to replace windows on the house. I can dream however...and maybe win the lottery.
We know someone with a splitter but more than likely, we will be renting one. Likewise, the Fiskars will be getting a bit of a workout.
From the pictures, you can see the lean on the pine tree...got topped after a ice storm, according to a neighbor. Obviously, it kept growing.
The large maple has a bad spot at the bottom and if it goes, it's hitting the neighbor's house.
The ivy covered ones are widow makers for a novice like me and will let more light on the wifey's gardens they are gone. That will make her happy, more light, less ivy [she's allergic & I am killing & pulling ivy out all the time].
Then there are a couple of maple along the driveway buckling & splitting the pavement.
When the service comes, I will talk to them. The wifey said they would cut to about 16' [which means I will get 18"-20" pieces]. If they can cut them to about 6' lengths, I can manage them with the chainsaw. We will see what happens..we are looking at probably Monday or Tuesday of next week.
Not an expense we were planning on, but the wood supply for 2018/2019 is looking pretty good.

Chimney Smoke said:

I'm thinking your 6-9 cord estimate is a bit high for 8 trees. I didn't see any in those pictures that would even come close to one cord per tree. Either way, you'll be adding to the pile just maybe not as much as you hoped.

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Probably is a bit high but I like to guess high...you know "my fish was this big" syndrome.
That being said, the pictures are a little deceiving. The leaning tower of pine has a base about 36" in diameter and the maple has a base around 30" inches on diameter. The ivy covered pines are on a steep embankment and have about 8' of tree that cannot be seen. Instead of cords, we will say I will wind up with 6-9 pallets of wood.

woodhog73 said:

This is true lots of times. I work part time for a tree service ( the money's ok but all the free wood I want right is icing on the cake anyways if the tree is being climbed sometimes it just chunks down in odd sizes. No climber I know will cut them size specific while in the tree if it makes his/her job harder. Groundsman should know how to cut a firewood length log but then again some don't or can't be bothered I guess.

Whenever a customer asks me to leave fire wood length logs they are in for a treat because I burn wood and know what they want but most city tree guys are not used to people asking for logs to be cut and left behind so they don't bother. If a customer is a wood burner I try my hardest not to waste any wood at all when processing the tree . us firewood folks understand the need to have nice wood and nice stacks !

I'm assuming they are doing a top down removal to avoid damaging other trees and landscape ? I agree though unless they stay on top of cutting them firewood length perhaps ask them to leave the logs as long as possible. Then you can buck them to your stoves length.

Otherwise you may end up with some logs at 10 inches , some at 20 inches and everything in between

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They are going to cut the tree down, then the cut pieces into rounds at ground level. It is safer, easier, and faster that way.

Rained last night. Cleaned up the yard after Church and called the insurance company. I think the tree service's job is a little easier now.

The tree service comes tomorrow at 8:00 am. They have their work cut out for them...literally.
Here are a couple more picts of the downed tree and damage. The corner of the driveway looks a little naked now. I think the wifey is going to plant a redbud or a dogwood in it's place.

Very thankful because this could have been much worse.

Quick pict on my way out the door this morning.
Made quick work of the pine. As they started on the other trees, the wifey said she couldn't watch. The way the guys were jumping from branch to branch made her queasy.

More pictures to come...

Was dark and raining a tad when I got home tonight...not good for mobile interwebbery picture taking.
Most of the trees are down and they need to be cut into rounds.
For fun, I broke out the Fiskars and the pine is pretty wet...but it was no match for the mighty, mighty Fiskars.

I love that axe! ! !

iron said:

that's pine? man, my pine is stringy and would never split that cleanly. looks like my equivalent of cedar...

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Yep...the long needle and really annoying kind that sheds all over your car, yard, and clogs the gutters on your house.
Will miss the character it gave the property but won't miss the mess...and will definitively enjoy the heat.

The guy cut those small accidentally. I am going to chop them into small pieces for fire-starters and kindling.

Got home early from work today. Started splitting all the many rounds lying in the yard. We are going to have a lot wood. This stack is 5 rounds... And the Fiskars was amazing as usual.

Two things to note:
1) When a branch is cut off and the trunk grows around it, the pine is a major pain to split.
2) Went to help my son move a piece of wood. The Fiskars is pretty sharp. Got a finger nail sided cut through my pants. Bled like crazy for a minute or two...
All good now & I have learned to not walk with the Fiskars over bumpy ground without the blade protector on.
A good day,

iron said:

that's pine? man, my pine is stringy and would never split that cleanly. looks like my equivalent of cedar...

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Follow-up to the stringy pine. I have an apple box that I am tossing the splinters and chips in so we can use for kindling and such. The box is 2/3 full after what I have cut so far. It is stringy.

The call was precautionary. Our policy has some coverage for wind/rain/act of God damage & if we can get the insurance to cover the cost of the tree removal instead of paying out of pocket, then that is nominally better for us financially as we have a very tight budget.
The tree service gave us a small break because they didn't have to take the tree down. Regardless, in the end it all worked out.

georgepds said:

If you have not heard about it, you might want to check out the harbor freight manual hydraulic splitter ( ~$100)

I split about 1/2 chord of 18 to 20" pieces without working up a sweat, and, at my age and condition, climbing the stairs works up a sweat

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I have heard of them and I know someone who has one. They like it but my question is how long did it take you? May be less effort, but if it isn't fast, it may not be worth the effort given the amount of wood I have to process.
Thanks!