we have a 25 acre wood lot , it was heavily logged years ago and there are mostly 12inch trees there. it is a mixed hardwood bush. is it worth the time if the rounds are so small? it would take a pile of them to get 5 or 6 cords ahead.
small trees
- Thread starter bucketboy
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Cowboy Billy
Minister of Fire
A lot depends on how tall they are and how many branches. On my cousin's he has maples that are 80' tall and almost no branches until the top 15 feet even on a 8" tree you get a lot of wood easily. Where I am at the trees are shorter and have a lot of branches and its a lot more work.
Billy
Billy
bogydave
Minister of Fire
bucketboy said:
depends on your stove and how you burn.
personally, I would leave a 4" round whole, split a 6" round in half, an 8" round into 4, and a 12" round into probably 8.
ecocavalier02
Minister of Fire
12 inch trees equal easy handling and splitting. i love getting into that stuff as i get a lot of huge diameter trees
Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
No doubt with it being logged it has grown back much thicker than before. Cutting some 12" trees is good and you should not have a lot of branches to contend with. For sure I split 12" logs. I usually split anything 5-6" or larger. I do like to have some rounds as they are good for holding longer fires.
+1 on thinning. Pick your crop trees, then cut down other trees until the crown has room to grow. I'm in the same boat, only my trees are alot smaller. Your county extension service or state may offer free forester advice, and can help you get the most from your woodlot.
jimbom
Combustion Analyzer
Definitely worth it. Other than dead trees, 12" and smaller is my staple. It takes about ten to get a cord. But they are easy to move around and get on the barrow. Reasonable to split. My place needs thinning bad.
The armadillos bounce off two or three trees every time they make a leap. All my shotguns look like hockey sticks. Taint enough space between trees to bring the gun down otherwise. I've got half the trees on the place cut, but few have fallen. When we get up the fox, they run with their tails straight up instead of straight back. Did I mention my place needs thinning.
The armadillos bounce off two or three trees every time they make a leap. All my shotguns look like hockey sticks. Taint enough space between trees to bring the gun down otherwise. I've got half the trees on the place cut, but few have fallen. When we get up the fox, they run with their tails straight up instead of straight back. Did I mention my place needs thinning.
Wood Duck
Minister of Fire
As an amateur cutter I find 12 inch trees just perfect. They are not as dangerous to fell as larger trees (but still dangerous so be careful), but not so small that they are all sapwood. I split wood larger than 6 inches or so.
Jutt77
Feeling the Heat
+1...its always a treat to have some smaller diameter stuff (12" or less) to split after splitting monster silver maple logs. Like others have said, cull the herd a bit and have fun splittin that small stuff!ecocavalier02 said:
that somewhat defines most of my wood lot
I have a lot of pine trees that grew out rather than up at the beginning of reforestation ( especially the ones I planted) and have little value beyond pulp, firewood.
Certainly easier on the back not having huge rounds to maneuver around.
If they're not thinned out selectively the forest tends to thin them out by starvation, sometimes leaving trees you might otherwise not want.
White oaks tend to go here first, so I cut pines down around them if it looks like that might help.
I have a lot of pine trees that grew out rather than up at the beginning of reforestation ( especially the ones I planted) and have little value beyond pulp, firewood.
Certainly easier on the back not having huge rounds to maneuver around.
If they're not thinned out selectively the forest tends to thin them out by starvation, sometimes leaving trees you might otherwise not want.
White oaks tend to go here first, so I cut pines down around them if it looks like that might help.
Stump_Branch
Minister of Fire
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