Suburban firewood processing :)

[Shari]

Let's face it: I'm getting old! The one thing that bugs me about processing firewood is having everything on the ground and having to lift it/move it to the splitter which requires a lot of bending/lifting which can get real tiresome by the end of the day when you are of an 'advanced age'. So... with that train of thought I'm trying a new setup - here's that setup from yesterday with a description below the photo:

1. Wood in trailer is rolled to the ramp (ramp is blocked up level with a jack)
2. Wood is sorted out as it comes out of the trailer: If too long (this is scrounged wood), the long pieces get stacked into our cutoff bin on the right.
3. Wood that is the correct length proceeds to the log lift.
4. Log lift feeds the splitter.
5. Splits come off to the splitter table.
6. Splits are placed into the utility wagon which is below the splitter table.
7. Splits are then wheeled to the stacking area.

Nothing - nothing - nothing - is on the ground.

Sweet!

A couple of things are not in the picture: I hadn't placed the wheelbarrow under the cutoff bin to catch the cuts and instead of using the utility wagon, my preference would be to load splits into our 4'x6' trailer but my tow vehicle (riding mower) is out for repairs.

EDIT: Added another picture so you can see the utility wagon a little better.

 

[maxed_out]

Very nice setup. definetly saves some advil.

 

[zzr7ky]

Well done!

I'm gaining an appreciation for this type of thing. When I cut I accumulate a lot of rounds all at once.
Changes I've noticed in the last couple years:

Stacking neater, and in more uniform rows has improved things.
Splits go into wheel barrow right away.
Splitter is moved frequently, very close to the stacks.

Less stuff on the ground is good.

No stuff on the ground that's priceless!

Mike

 

[velvetfoot]

I like it!

 

[ponyboync]

Nice indeed.
What do you do with the cuts from the cutoff bin?

 

[Shari]

I added a second picture so you can see the splitter table/utility wagon a little better.

Also, you can now see hubby's new 'toy' - his Peavy Pickeroon - awesome tool to move those rounds where you need them.

 

[Shari]

Nice indeed.
What do you do with the cuts from the cutoff bin?

They get burned 1st thing in the heating season. I have a stash of just cutoffs piled up. If I have room in my stacks the cutoffs get put in there. The only thing that I toss out are the "crumbs" from under the splitter and even those are taken to the recycling center to be made into mulch.

 

[smokinj]

That is a nice set-up love work-in on a clean hard surface! Dry grass would be my 2nd choice.

 

[velvetfoot]

I'd settle for a level surface!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Shari, that is called using your head! It is making things work for you in order to save you work. The pickeroon definitely is handy for that setup. Congratulations to you for using your head.


But I still have to add one thing lest others become disappointed; the only fault I see is that you can't sit down while doing this work.

 

[velvetfoot]

I think the workflow is good because you're not doing the same stuff over and over again-you get to mix it up a little.

 

[midwestcoast]

Very well laid-out process there. Shows me I have a ways to go in the efficiency department. I'm still handling it all too many times & doing too much moving by hand.
Goes to show you don't always need big equipment to make things much easier & more efficient.

Would it be worth-while swapping the jack for a couple stacks of wood or cinder blocks? I'd be a bit leery of a round bouncing on the ramp & the jack slipping out. Could be a lot of weight coming down on your toe. Maybe a none-issue, but looks a bit teetery in the pic.

Thanks for posting this. Gets me thinking about adding a table to my Fiskars

 

[Shari]

Shari, that is called using your head! It is making things work for you in order to save you work. The pickeroon definitely is handy for that setup. Congratulations to you for using your head.

Shall I admit I used to work in the time study department at a manufacturing factory years & years ago?

But I still have to add one thing lest others become disappointed; the only fault I see is that you can't sit down while doing this work.

I've got a 1940's vintage tall drafting table chair (which a backrest) that I was thinking about bringing for use at the splitter - does that count?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hey Shari, I did a bit of that myself! As for the chair, it might work! It even has a back rest. :lol:

 

[Shari]

Thanks for posting this. Gets me thinking about adding a table to my Fiskars

Well, I'll tell you that tailgate is only about 15-16" above the ground but not bending down that extra 15-16" is well worth it.

 

[Flatbedford]

Nice setup. This firewood thing is so labor intensive! Anything to streamline the operation is a help. Keeping stuff off the ground is a huge help.
I try to always split the rounds as I pull them off the truck. I split by hand so they go right from the truck to the chopping block. I do have to carry them the couple feet, but at least it is with the help of gravity. I do have to pick the splits up off the ground to load the tractor cart, but they are much lighter as splits than as rounds.

 

[woodchip]

That's a very nice setup obviously well thought out.

Anything that reduces bending down and lifting wood up has to be a good idea.

Curiously, we call a pickaroon a hookeroon over here, same tool though

 

[SolarAndWood]

Nice setup. Do the splits find their own way to the wagon or do you have to encourage them?

 

[PapaDave]

Shari, that is called using your head! It is making things work for you in order to save you work. The pickeroon definitely is handy for that setup. Congratulations to you for using your head.

Shall I admit I used to work in the time study department at a manufacturing factory years & years ago?

But I still have to add one thing lest others become disappointed; the only fault I see is that you can't sit down while doing this work.

I've got a 1940's vintage tall drafting table chair (which a backrest) that I was thinking about bringing for use at the splitter - does that count?

Did some myself working for Mazda many moons ago. When you start splitting work processes into seconds, or less, is when it gets ......um.....interesting.
Had you thought of maybe using jack stands instead of the floor jack? I'd also be a bit leary of that thing losing it's grip. Nice setup. Anytime you can save is time for other things.
I've thought that at some point in the not so distant future, of just having wood delivered. I'll still stack for a while though. Tomorrow's another day.

 

[velvetfoot]

Anything that reduces bending down and lifting wood up has to be a good idea.

Curiously, we call a pickaroon a hookeroon over here, same tool though

HOLD ON THERE!

Let me refer you to my extensively (though perhaps flawed, as usual) researched and illustrated thread on the very subject!
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/75239

Just joking of course, but the hookaroon I got definitely has a hook, and the pickaroon, which is still in the mail, doesn't look like it has one, according to some fine images on the interweb.
I'm thinking the pickaroon could make a cleaner hole in one's leg.

I guess that would be called "getting 'rooned".