Holy score Batman!

[amateur cutter]

Well, we finally got over to look @ fence row & pasture cutting on a large beef farm belonging to a family from our church. I knew they had a fairly large operation, but after a 30 min ride around 3 fields & a pasture, I can't even wrap my head around the entire job. We looked @ approximately 1/4 of the total acreage, & a rough guesstimate is about 800 to 1000 trees that need to come out or be cut up. No I didn't stutter or mistype that Mostly standing dead Ash & Elm, with 100s of cords of down deadwood in the fence rows.

Got the signed permission papers today, & signed the liability waiver as well, good roads in & out, & a lot of fairly hi & dry ground to work on, good access for the trailers, splitters, etc. My partner just bought a Built Rite 24 HP with a 6 way wedge, I'm gonna pick up a dump truck in the next month or so & we're going for 1yr roi in sales as well as our own firewood. May eventually look into a used skidder if things go well, but that's down the road.

For the moment I have a very full time "hobby" to look forward too. We're gonna try for 200 cord c/s/s by May to hopefully be able to sell some good dry wood later in the year. There's probably 100 cord of tops, limbs, & dead fall that could be burned with just a little seasoning time.

Wish us luck & good weather, cause this is gonna be a long project. A C


PS Firewood for sale! :bug:

 

[amellefson]

Be careful...When it rains it pours. Anytime I make a commitment in one area I get stretched thin in others without even trying. Sounds like a fun and demanding project. Be safe.

Tony

 

[mking7]

Wow. Either congrats or condolences. Lol.

I don't think you can call it a hobby anymore.

 

[amateur cutter]

Be careful...When it rains it pours. Anytime I make a commitment in one area I get stretched thin in others without even trying. Sounds like a fun and demanding project. Be safe.

Tony

Thanks Tony, Yes it will be demanding, but the only deadline is self imposed, so we won't have the landowner pushing us. He's happy with anything we can do, & yes we really do try to work safely, we both have family's & people that depend on us, so safety has to come first. A C

 

[amateur cutter]

Wow. Either congrats or condolences. Lol.

I don't think you can call it a hobby anymore.

Good point about the hobby thing, but truth be told I'd cut firewood full time if it paid what my day job does. A C

 

[begreen]

You are going to be one busy feller. Be safe and careful.

I think after this you are going to need to change your handle.

 

[weatherguy]

Have you looked into a used processor? you could really make some hay with one of those.

 

[bogydave]

Lots of long work days there.
If you have fun cutting wood & working outdoors, it will be great.
Keep us posted as you progress. Few pics now & then

 

[nate379]

You are going to be putting some serious hours to get 200 cords in just a few months with just 2 guys! My brother cut wood for a while to help out some of the farmers on his wife's side. Him and another guy where getting about 5 cords/day skidded with a dozer and then limbed/bucked.

 

[SolarAndWood]

My partner just bought a Built Rite 24 HP with a 6 way wedge

Looking forward to your reviews, that is a sweet looking machine.

 

[thewoodlands]

Well, we finally got over to look @ fence row & pasture cutting on a large beef farm belonging to a family from our church. I knew they had a fairly large operation, but after a 30 min ride around 3 fields & a pasture, I can't even wrap my head around the entire job. We looked @ approximately 1/4 of the total acreage, & a rough guesstimate is about 800 to 1000 trees that need to come out or be cut up. No I didn't stutter or mistype that Mostly standing dead Ash & Elm, with 100s of cords of down deadwood in the fence rows.

Got the signed permission papers today, & signed the liability waiver as well, good roads in & out, & a lot of fairly hi & dry ground to work on, good access for the trailers, splitters, etc. My partner just bought a Built Rite 24 HP with a 6 way wedge, I'm gonna pick up a dump truck in the next month or so & we're going for 1yr roi in sales as well as our own firewood. May eventually look into a used skidder if things go well, but that's down the road.

For the moment I have a very full time "hobby" to look forward too. We're gonna try for 200 cord c/s/s by May to hopefully be able to sell some good dry wood later in the year. There's probably 100 cord of tops, limbs, & dead fall that could be burned with just a little seasoning time.

Wish us luck & good weather, cause this is gonna be a long project. A C


PS Firewood for sale! :bug:

Happy cutting amateur cutter, take care of the back, the mayo clinic online does have some nice stretching exercises for your back.



zap

 

[ScotO]

Great score, amateur!! My only question is when are you hiring? ;-P

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Well, we finally got over to look @ fence row & pasture cutting on a large beef farm belonging to a family from our church. I knew they had a fairly large operation, but after a 30 min ride around 3 fields & a pasture, I can't even wrap my head around the entire job. We looked @ approximately 1/4 of the total acreage, & a rough guesstimate is about 800 to 1000 trees that need to come out or be cut up. No I didn't stutter or mistype that Mostly standing dead Ash & Elm, with 100s of cords of down deadwood in the fence rows.

Got the signed permission papers today, & signed the liability waiver as well, good roads in & out, & a lot of fairly hi & dry ground to work on, good access for the trailers, splitters, etc. My partner just bought a Built Rite 24 HP with a 6 way wedge, I'm gonna pick up a dump truck in the next month or so & we're going for 1yr roi in sales as well as our own firewood. May eventually look into a used skidder if things go well, but that's down the road.

For the moment I have a very full time "hobby" to look forward too. We're gonna try for 200 cord c/s/s by May to hopefully be able to sell some good dry wood later in the year. There's probably 100 cord of tops, limbs, & dead fall that could be burned with just a little seasoning time.

Wish us luck & good weather, cause this is gonna be a long project. A C


PS Firewood for sale! :bug:

We do wish you well and good luck. That was a great find.

You mentioned a skidder but for what you are talking about it seems to me that a dray would suit you much better as it can be pulled with a tractor or atv. The picture below shows one I built and they are quick and easy to build and I think I have less than $10 into this dray. You can build the dray to the size you want depending upon what is going to pull it. And you do not need snow. Many moons ago when I logged, we used a dray for most of the moving of the logs and got along just fine. We pulled it with a tractor.

 

[maxed_out]

That sir is a jackpot. congrats. I dont think you could do any better. Hope you have lots of room and please take some pics for the rest of us in the cheap seats!

 

[amateur cutter]

That sir is a jackpot. congrats. I dont think you could do any better. Hope you have lots of room and please take some pics for the rest of us in the cheap seats!

Yea, I've gotta remember the camera, it's a beautiful piece of property we're on right now. We cut a dozen trees today & got them limbed & bucked before the ground got soft & greasy. Stacked the rounds on the edge & left about 2 pm so as not to tear up the field.

The beauty of this is, we can pretty much drive a truck & trailer right to the splits when the ground firms up. Current plan is to put a farm hay elevator at the end of the splitter & run the splits into a grain body dump truck. We can cut fast enough in these areas that we're probably gonna drop trees one day, then pay 2-3 guys to split & haul as we buck the logs the next day. Haven't put many hours on the built rite yet, but that thing looks like a great & well built machine. I'll continue with progress updates as things move along.

Thanks for the well wishes & advice, this really looks like it'll be a fairly smooth operation once the ground either freezes or dries up.

Keep your chains sharp. A C

 

[Bwhunter85]

Curious how this went for you?

 

[woodsmaster]

With that much wood, I would see if any of it could be sold for lumber. Then I would return the splitter and put the money towards a processor. My 2 cents.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Happy cutting amateur cutter, take care of the back, the mayo clinic online does have some nice stretching exercises for your back.



zap

Zap, where have you been??? Saw your name and thought "I don't remember seeing him on here lately"...hope you are well!

 

[HDRock]

Zap, where have you been??? Saw your name and thought "I don't remember seeing him on here lately"...hope you are well!

This is an old thread
Zap is over at Firewood Hoarder's Forum