does anyone in western mass get log length wood /anyone know how to get it?

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iceman

Minister of Fire
Nov 18, 2006
2,403
Springfield Ma (western mass)
is it reasonable? and where do i get it from?
 
I get it in eastern MA, and it is VERY reasonable, but I seem to have an exceptional deal.

What I would do is grab your local Yellow pages (try several, as different places advertise in different ones) and start calling your local tree services, asking each for a quote on a truck load of log length, or whatever their best deal is.

Find out what they consider the number of cords is in their definition of "truck load" (it varies) and what kind of wood it is. The trees will be "yard trees" which probably means above average for gnarly bits, and with a potentialy greater risk of finding nails or other metal in them, but that sort of tree will probably be your best cost per cord. My deal is a local tree guy who will bring you his "cut of the day" for $50, and unload his truck in your yard instead of his - so far every load he's brought me has been about 3 cords, and all red and white oak. :coolsmile:

More typical around here was about $300 for a truck load, which was 4-6 cords depending on the size of the logs and how they pack onto the truck - log length is more variable than cordwood in terms of how much you get...

If you are in an area where they actually do serious timber harvesting, try contacting the timber companies, they may offer a good price as well, and possibly better quality trees.

Gooserider
 
i have found two suppliers

1) from Craigslist at 75 for a cord 1/2 Medway MA

2) local tree guy at 350 for 6-7 cords from a BIG truck in Walpole ma

speaking of which - Goose you menntion yard trees with metal - i finallt did get a few logs with metal and it dulls my chain each time i hit a nail / screw and what ever else was in these logs - how do you deal with it?
 
Stevebass4 said:
i have found two suppliers

1) from Craigslist at 75 for a cord 1/2 Medway MA

2) local tree guy at 350 for 6-7 cords from a BIG truck in Walpole ma

speaking of which - Goose you menntion yard trees with metal - i finallt did get a few logs with metal and it dulls my chain each time i hit a nail / screw and what ever else was in these logs - how do you deal with it?
I believe Goose's solution is mead :lol: Not a lot you can do except resharpen your chain.
 
Stevebass4 said:
i have found two suppliers

1) from Craigslist at 75 for a cord 1/2 Medway MA

2) local tree guy at 350 for 6-7 cords from a BIG truck in Walpole ma

speaking of which - Goose you menntion yard trees with metal - i finallt did get a few logs with metal and it dulls my chain each time i hit a nail / screw and what ever else was in these logs - how do you deal with it?

are you in franklin cty ..if not where is franklin mass?
is that close to walpole
if you are on the western side and that is the price please pm me with info... thanks
 
There is an outfit in ashfield, Roberts brothers I believe, maybe Harley knows about them. You could try Lashaway in N'hampton and I'll pm you the # of a guy in southern VT.
 
Stevebass4 said:
i have found two suppliers

1) from Craigslist at 75 for a cord 1/2 Medway MA

2) local tree guy at 350 for 6-7 cords from a BIG truck in Walpole ma

speaking of which - Goose you menntion yard trees with metal - i finallt did get a few logs with metal and it dulls my chain each time i hit a nail / screw and what ever else was in these logs - how do you deal with it?

With a chain file or grinder.... :long: Obscenity is not particularly helpful, though it may make you feel better.

It is part of the risk of cutting stuff and there is only a limited amount you can do about it. You can watch what you are cutting and try to avoid obvious stuff. Maybe try to avoid cutting into odd bulges in the tree that are possibly over grown items. If you want to spend a lot of extra time and effort, you can get a metal detector and scan your logs - some of the mills do this, with great success, but their equipment is much more powerful than anything you can afford / hand carry. What you can use will find stuff that is an inch or two deep, if you're lucky, but isn't real reliable. You will probably spend more time scanning than you would have spent sharpening after hitting the metal you found, and pay more for the scanner than the extra damage to the chains.

You can keep an eye on the wood you are cutting - at least some metals will cause the tree to get a large black streak above / below the nail or other object - if you see a "metal streak" in the wood, be a bit more cautious.

OTOH, it isn't a huge risk most of the time - I've probably cut over 20 cords over the past few years, or been with friends cutting, all yard trees. I think I've had ONE cut that involved metal - and that one could have been much worse, when I split the involved log, I found we had just missed about three nails driven into the same area, and had nicked the end of a fourth... I've had maybe a half dozen times that I've found nails and such in the ashes when emptying the stove, and couldn't account for them other than to assume they must have been in the splits I was burning. Yes, there are some amazing tales of odd metal items found in trees, but they are told because they are UNUSUAL, not daily events... (I think the best one is the guy that found a stainless maple sugar tap - in an oak!)

Remember that the nail you don't hit is a non-problem, and most nails are driven in fairly straight - even on a heavily nailed tree, the odds of hitting the one or two inches with nails when making one cut every 18 inches or so is pretty low. Bottom line is I don't worry about it. If I hit something I sharpen the chain...

Gooserider
 
marshrat said:
There is an outfit in ashfield, Roberts brothers I believe, maybe Harley knows about them. You could try Lashaway in N'hampton and I'll pm you the # of a guy in southern VT.

Yup - both supply log length, or cut and split. I did buy a long length truck load from Robert's 10-12 years ago. It was a good load - pretty decent wood. I think both are about the same in price... I have no idea what they would charge based on today's prices. At the time - I'd say he was right around in the ballpark for pricing in the area... certainly no bargain, but no complaint about the load or pricing.
 
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