best way to get ahead?

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Lynch

Lynch

Member
Dec 13, 2010
192
northern maine
at this time i only have a wood stove in the garage and dont burn very much at all, maybe 1/4 of a cord.

i plan on getting a stove for house sometime this year,
i have about 3/4 of a cord of white birch split and stacked right now was free off of a jobsite, and maybe 1/2 cord of maple.

I dont think i would burn more than 3 cords maybe 4 at the most,
soooo.... to get myself ahead a couple years would it be best to buy 6-8 cords at once and try to get it all stacked this summer.
what would you suggest?

thanks
 
Either that or scrounge like crazy this winter & spring. Winter cut live trees would be seasoned in 2 yrs. other than oak. Standing or down dead would probably be good to go next fall if c/s/s between now & summer. A C
 
Lynch, you probably have the right idea with buying 6-8 cord of wood now. You may or many not have to resplit it and you don't know for sure what size you will need. I'd go for 16" length which will fit in most stove. Get it stacked out in the wind and then when you start burning the new stove, keep replacing whatever you burn so you stay 2-3 years ahead. That will save you a lot of heartache when it comes time to burn the wood. You are a wise man thinking ahead like you are.
 
Buying the 6 or 8 cords would be a good way to get ahead. After that you shouldn't have too much trouble scrounging 3 or 4 cords a year if you are so inclined.
 
well alot of the jobs i work on i usaually can get afew truck loads here and there but didnt before . but now ill start loading up after work or on weekends for sure.
 
If you can scrounge a little wood here and there you'll have no trouble keeping up with the wood you use. It would still be nice to get a head start. Scrounging wood is fun unless you are under pressure to find wood or stop burning.
 
Yes, get ahead even my fat, lazy, old, retired a$$ could keep ahead if I would buy 6 cords, (Did that last year) before I retired.
 
im really thinking about a splitter too!
i have only split about 4-5 cords by hand and the ol gas splitter is much faster and easier
just dont know much about them to go and buy one.
 
Buy a truckload of log length if you want to save some $.
 
yeah i would like to but i have looked for log length but there arent many people that will even sell it that way.
i could get a tracker trailer load maybe. but i dont really have the room for it. i live intown with a pretty small area for doing all my wood cutting.
but yes i agree i would much rather get log length and cut it to my desired length and split sizes
 
Lynch said:
yeah i would like to but i have looked for log length but there arent many people that will even sell it that way.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised it would be hard to find with you living in north Main. Logging must be a big part of the economy.
 
yeah it is for sure thats all i see is log trucks every where i go, but the are all going to the mills.
all the guys i call that sell firewood dont want to seel you log length.
and when you ask them who they buy from its like a big secret. and they dont really help you out with getting the number to a guy that would sell it that way.
guess i just need to work alittle harder at it. next time i see a log truck stoped at the local gas stations ill talk to one of the drivers and ask them.
 
Needshave said:
Lynch said:
yeah i would like to but i have looked for log length but there arent many people that will even sell it that way.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised it would be hard to find with you living in north Main. Logging must be a big part of the economy.
Click to expand...
Yes, but my guess it much of it is softwood. Cheers!
 
Lynch said:
im really thinking about a splitter too!
i have only split about 4-5 cords by hand and the ol gas splitter is much faster and easier
just dont know much about them to go and buy one.
Click to expand...


Warning: Once you split with hydraulics, you won't go back! You'll wonder how you got along without one!

I recall when I was forced into buying a splitter (injury). I knew nothing about them except for what they did. I'd never seen one operate except for some home made splitters that were used behind a tractor and those were poor at best and took a long time to do much. But one evening we were in town and happened to need something from the farm store. They had splitters on sale and we were standing there looking at them.

The manager saw us and came over to talk. He asked some questions and I told him I really did not know what to buy and that I was in the dark. He guided me towards a 20 ton unit and said that should do the job for me. I think the price was around $900 at the time and was $100 off on sale. I told him my fear was that I might buy one, take it home and then find out it would not do the job for me. He stated if that happened he would take it back with no questions asked. So, I then told him that if he were willing to do that I might consider it. I also offered him about $100 less than the sale price....and he took it.

This all happened around 20 or so years ago and we have split a lot....a lot of wood in that time with absolutely no problems. It is a little 20 ton with a little 5 hp Briggs & Straton engine. It splits great and is not slow.
 
Ask around town . . . and at the local chainsaw shops . . . they'll know who is cutting firewood and who you can go to for a decent deal on buying tree-length wood.
 
also, make checking your local Craigs List, Freecycle, etc. a daily routine to keep yourself ahead. It may take several weeks before you come across something but you can get some good wood "free"...I scored a little over 2 cords of ash and 1+ of maple last year this way. Even put up your own ad in CL to take dead/down trees away for people although be prepared for some unreasonable requests :)
 
There are two sides to scrounging.

If you have a huge pile of wood outside your house, you may find scrounging a tad more difficult than if you were seen to be wood poor........

However, overall, I like the idea of buying a couple of years worth of wood in soonish, as the others say, this means you can go out and enjoy scrounging and foraging without having the desperate need which can spoil the fun.

And I can say that from personal experience......... :)
 
Want to get ahead? Never turn down a reasonable opportunity to obtain wood fuel.

When you have a 2 to 3 year supply of fuel, with the coming years seasoned, then you can lighten up a bit.

I prefer to be 3+ years ahead of wood fuel in the sheds and barn.
 
If there is that much logging going on, there are probably a bunch of landings that need to be cleaned up.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Lynch said:
im really thinking about a splitter too!
i have only split about 4-5 cords by hand and the ol gas splitter is much faster and easier
just dont know much about them to go and buy one.
Click to expand...


Warning: Once you split with hydraulics, you won't go back! You'll wonder how you got along without one!

I recall when I was forced into buying a splitter (injury). I knew nothing about them except for what they did. I'd never seen one operate except for some home made splitters that were used behind a tractor and those were poor at best and took a long time to do much. But one evening we were in town and happened to need something from the farm store. They had splitters on sale and we were standing there looking at them.

The manager saw us and came over to talk. He asked some questions and I told him I really did not know what to buy and that I was in the dark. He guided me towards a 20 ton unit and said that should do the job for me. I think the price was around $900 at the time and was $100 off on sale. I told him my fear was that I might buy one, take it home and then find out it would not do the job for me. He stated if that happened he would take it back with no questions asked. So, I then told him that if he were willing to do that I might consider it. I also offered him about $100 less than the sale price....and he took it.



New post:

Hydraulics will make wood scrounging a real fun and productive sideline. Depending on what type of woods you have native to your area, the splitter is a neccesity. I deal with alot of oak. That stuff is loaded with knots. I beat my wat through a couple of trees with an axe, but found that I was getting quite a large pile of unsplittable pieces. Combine that with a good storm, where I got 3 trees- a red oak, white oak and an ash, and that was all I needed to justify buying the splitter. When splitting red oak and ash, the splitter cycle time does not mean much; the cycle runs about 20% and the log is free. This allows for quick splitting. I split a 4x8 trailer load of red oak this morning in about 40 minutes.

This all happened around 20 or so years ago and we have split a lot....a lot of wood in that time with absolutely no problems. It is a little 20 ton with a little 5 hp Briggs & Straton engine. It splits great and is not slow.
Click to expand...
 
Lynch said:
at this time i only have a wood stove in the garage and dont burn very much at all, maybe 1/4 of a cord.

i plan on getting a stove for house sometime this year,
i have about 3/4 of a cord of white birch split and stacked right now was free off of a jobsite, and maybe 1/2 cord of maple.

I dont think i would burn more than 3 cords maybe 4 at the most,
soooo.... to get myself ahead a couple years would it be best to buy 6-8 cords at once and try to get it all stacked this summer.
what would you suggest?

thanks
Click to expand...

For me the acquisition of firewood is year-round and non-stop. If there's firewood to be had I go get it. Sometimes I'm years ahead. Sometimes (like this year) I have only this year's wood cribbed up. The key is to always be ready.
 
If there is that much logging going on
Click to expand...

Most of the logging is predominately softwood for the paper mills. The woodlots that are owned by large corporations are generally monoculture now.
Large operators use feller bunchers or chip everything. Still some skidders though.
All the wood is cut on contract with time limits.If the logger wants another contract they better get it done on time no matter what the weather.

Smaller woodlots will still have a mix though the hardwood that is left is for the mills also. Lota wood for the flooring, turning, furniture industry. Best way to get long length is to find a logger or excavator who is clearing house lots.

Put a wanted ad in your local stores "downtown", craigslist etc. Something will shake out.

Will
 
May not be the best way, but possibly the cheapest?
lololol.jpg
 
Bigg_Redd said:
For me the acquisition of firewood is year-round and non-stop. If there's firewood to be had I go get it. Sometimes I'm years ahead. Sometimes (like this year) I have only this year's wood cribbed up. The key is to always be ready.
Click to expand...

Best way to be.

Why turn down wood just because it's summer, there's no wrong season for a freebie :)
 
Watch for the bees and the spiders in the summer though!! I hate spiders................
 
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