Wood management proof of concept

[SpaceBus]

A while back while browsing the forum I saw a member was using large metal baskets to manage firewood. I love the idea, but hated the thought of paying for the baskets. Thinking along the lines of a breathable wood container that can be moved easily with a tractor I built a basket out of pallets and long wood screws. I plan on putting a 6x6 tarp over the top with some bunjies. We will see how this one holds up. Soon I'm headed to the hardware store for more free pallets and some wood screws to make a few more. I figure it will probably hold 1/3-1/2 of a cord per basket. Getting the firewood out will be handled with log tongs and my Hookaroon. Maybe I'll lean them over with the tractor.

If the first few hold up I'll make a few more. The goal is to make firewood gathering operations smoother since I have only have about two cords worth of shed storage for firewood. Ideally I'll be able to bring the splitter to the tree, buck and split the wood in place, throw it in the basket and season it until its ready to go into the shed. This should really cut back on the amount of times I have to touch the firewood.

 

[webby3650]

I’ve made a few of these in the past. They don’t hold up well, and driving them over rough terrain breaks them down pretty quick. It’s worth a shot though, especially if you have flat ground.
My metal baskets last for many many years with no repairs or replacement. At $20 a basket its not worth my time to build and replace/maintain these baskets on a regular basis. They hold right at 1/3 cord if it’s stacked , thrown in stores substantially less wood.

 

[SpaceBus]

I’ve made a few of these in the past. They don’t hold up well, and driving them over rough terrain breaks them down pretty quick. It’s worth a shot though, especially if you have flat ground.
My metal baskets last for many many years with no repairs or replacement. At $20 a basket its not worth my time to build and replace/maintain these baskets on a regular basis. They hold right at 1/3 cord if it’s stacked , thrown in stores substantially less wood.

Where do you even get the metal baskets? Looks like it wouldn't be easy to stack the wood in them. I liked the idea of just throwing the wood in there. I plan on building two more for stuff I have to cut soon. The snow is really preventing me from making a better stationary rack.

 

[webby3650]

You just lay it in there in 2 stacks and drop odds and ends down between the stacks. It’s not hard, takes a few minutes longer but it’s worth it.
They are available from a lot of places. Craigslist, marketplace..etc
Do you move the baskets you’ve made with a tractor?

 

[SpaceBus]

You just lay it in there in 2 stacks and drop odds and ends down between the stacks. It’s not hard, takes a few minutes longer but it’s worth it.
They are available from a lot of places. Craigslist, marketplace..etc
Do you move the baskets you’ve made with a tractor?

I didn't get around to making the second basket today, but after adding a bit of bracing to first one it seems like it will hold up well if I don't smash it around. I like being able to just toss stuff in the basket.

 

[SpaceBus]

I'll have to keep an eye out for the baskets.

 

[webby3650]

I like being able to just toss stuff in the basket.

Me too, I used to do it that way. It allows too much wasted space though. I’d rather spend a bit more time loading them and save the space. It can hold about 1/3 more in the basket by stacking it.

 

[thewoodlands]

I'll have to keep an eye out for the baskets.

Did you get pallet forks with your tractor?

 

[billb3]

IBC totes are cheap in some areas and quite expensive in others. Even the non-food grade recycled ones here are often over a hundred bucks with the tub. Supply and demand I guess.

 

[maple1]

Totes are pretty dear around here. I was on the hunt for a year or so then gave up.

You can do OK with the pallets. I couldn't tell from the pics though - are you making them with 4 sides? If so, I would only do 2 sides (at the ends of the bottom one), and maybe diagonally brace them with some boards across the other 2 sides. Some of mine, I had some used drywall corner laying around - I just screwed those in diagonally bracing, in the middle of the 2 upright ones. Also you can tie across the top of the upright ones, with rope or wire you might have kicking around. Do that about 2/3 of the way up, then bury the wire/rope as you fill the pallet up the rest of the way. That also firms them up. I double stack on them, one tie for each stack (2 per pallet).

And - don't set them right on the ground. Get them up on concrete blocks or something like that. I usually put blocks down, then a single pallet, then the 'bins' on top of that to try to prevent them from sagging in the middle.

 

[Sawset]

I'll have to keep an eye out for the baskets.

Tractor supply has heavy duty gate material 50" x 16ft 4ga (.20 dia)wire?
$19
SKU # 350207799 tractor supply

 

[SpaceBus]

Did you get pallet forks with your tractor?

Yes.

 

[SpaceBus]

Totes are pretty dear around here. I was on the hunt for a year or so then gave up.

You can do OK with the pallets. I couldn't tell from the pics though - are you making them with 4 sides? If so, I would only do 2 sides (at the ends of the bottom one), and maybe diagonally brace them with some boards across the other 2 sides. Some of mine, I had some used drywall corner laying around - I just screwed those in diagonally bracing, in the middle of the 2 upright ones. Also you can tie across the top of the upright ones, with rope or wire you might have kicking around. Do that about 2/3 of the way up, then bury the wire/rope as you fill the pallet up the rest of the way. That also firms them up. I double stack on them, one tie for each stack (2 per pallet).

And - don't set them right on the ground. Get them up on concrete blocks or something like that. I usually put blocks down, then a single pallet, then the 'bins' on top of that to try to prevent them from sagging in the middle.

Thanks for the tips. I have about 12 fully intact pallets now, so I can experiment. I hadn't planned on keeping them on the ground full time, just since everything is covered in snow and I have no place to put them. I'll have to go to the lumber yard/building supply place today and see if they have some heavy duty wire, all I have is picture wire.

For this prototype I used five pallets and attached them at the bottom and used cross boards to hold them at the tops. Wire sounds nice for the sides so it's easier to reach in, and if I have the wire perpendicular to the split ends they shouldn't roll or fall out.

 

[SpaceBus]

I checked locally and can't find any IBC type totes. Also I'm nowhere near civilization, so it's no shock. I bet in NC folks give them away

 

[maple1]

Here's a couple older pics of some of mine, if this works.

They're only fastened at the bottom. In such a way I can pull them out to collapse them. Like stake pockets. Haven't had any come apart when moving, but I don't move them far and it's fairly smooth going.

EDIT: Geeze, I had some crappy bits of wood that year.

 

[SpaceBus]

Here's a couple older pics of some of mine, if this works.

View attachment 242212 View attachment 242213

They're only fastened at the bottom. In such a way I can pull them out to collapse them. Like stake pockets. Haven't had any come apart when moving, but I don't move them far and it's fairly smooth going.

EDIT: Geeze, I had some crappy bits of wood that year.

I like your design. My land is fairly bumpy and hasn't been maintained in many decades. Pretty soon here this snow will start to recede and I can get some earth working implements to tame this place a little. The sides of my boxes are attached to the outside edge of the bottom pallet. Perhaps on V2 I'll do something like yours but with diagonals. That will help keep the wood from bouncing out and keep the whole thing from breaking. I haven't built much with wood, so I just went at the project with a prybar, drill, and 5" wood screws.

 

[maple1]

The collapsibility thing was kind of a pain to build in, when I made those.

I used to roll them right into the basement & park them there for the winter. Made them collapsible so I could pile them up & take up less space as I emptied them. I don't roll them in any more, so building more would be easier not doing that.

 

[webby3650]

The collapsibility thing was kind of a pain to build in, when I made those.

I used to roll them right into the basement & park them there for the winter. Made them collapsible so I could pile them up & take up less space as I emptied them. I don't roll them in any more, so building more would be easier not doing that.

Careful doing that. You’ll also bring in rodents! They love the wood piles!

 

[maple1]

Careful doing that. You’ll also bring in rodents! They love the wood piles!

That's sort of why I stopped. Sort of.

I never brought any rodents in - that I know of. But when I started doing the pallet thing I also started seasoning it an extra year. In some cases 2 extra years. Those extra years gave more time for 'stuff' to accumulate in the stacks. Like pine needles, snake skins, wasp nests, and yes mouse nests although I never found any mice in them. Just made for more dirt inside. So now I get the pallets to outside the basement door, and wheel barrow it the rest of the way. Makes for some pretty clean wood. Have never found any rodents in the stacks doing that either, but stuff they've left behind - yes.

 

[webby3650]

That's sort of why I stopped. Sort of.

I never brought any rodents in - that I know of. But when I started doing the pallet thing I also started seasoning it an extra year. In some cases 2 extra years. Those extra years gave more time for 'stuff' to accumulate in the stacks. Like pine needles, snake skins, wasp nests, and yes mouse nests although I never found any mice in them. Just made for more dirt inside. So now I get the pallets to outside the basement door, and wheel barrow it the rest of the way. Makes for some pretty clean wood. Have never found any rodents in the stacks doing that either, but stuff they've left behind - yes.

A buddy of mine was opening the French doors and setting a whole basket inside. One day he saw several mice jump out and run around his basement.
I’ve seen chipmunks jump out of the baskets while I’m moving them out of the woods.

 

[SpaceBus]

I wouldn't be bringing them indoors, at all. These would be seasoning bins for an eventual transfer to a shed for winter burning. This method just takes a lot of stacking out of the equation. Ideally I only like to keep a day or two worth of wood in the house. Just long enough to thaw the wood, but not so long that any lingering bugs get out. I was also thinking about building a solar kiln to kill bugs in firewood and dry lumber. Theoretically I could just staple plastic to the bins and make a vent exit. Maybe use some board and rope to make ridges.

 

[maple1]

I wouldn't be bringing them indoors, at all. These would be seasoning bins for an eventual transfer to a shed for winter burning. This method just takes a lot of stacking out of the equation. Ideally I only like to keep a day or two worth of wood in the house. Just long enough to thaw the wood, but not so long that any lingering bugs get out. I was also thinking about building a solar kiln to kill bugs in firewood and dry lumber. Theoretically I could just staple plastic to the bins and make a vent exit. Maybe use some board and rope to make ridges.

They would work very good for transferring to a shed too, with a FEL. Build the shed with open sides & sized to the pallets, and you can just set them right in there. Might even be able to stack them two high if solid enough.

 

[SpaceBus]

They would work very good for transferring to a shed too, with a FEL. Build the shed with open sides & sized to the pallets, and you can just set them right in there. Might even be able to stack them two high if solid enough.

I was thinking about building them to be stackable as well. I'm going to build one today when I get home so I can winch a tree down and have somewhere to put it.

 

[spudman99]

While I do not have any such wood storage devices, I just want to offer a word of caution when stacking home made pallet racks.

Remember wood shrinks as it dries, and that can cause some lateral shifts. Be doubly sure the racks will not tip or fall over after stacking. Could cause a hurting on people or animals if nearby. As these things are not engineered to be stacked, I just recommend caution and build in some safety measures if possible.

 

[Sawset]

While I do not have any such wood storage devices, I just want to offer a word of caution when stacking home made pallet racks.

Remember wood shrinks as it dries, and that can cause some lateral shifts. Be doubly sure the racks will not tip or fall over after stacking. Could cause a hurting on people or animals if nearby. As these things are not engineered to be stacked, I just recommend caution and build in some safety measures if possible.

A 5ft stack can shrink by 6 inches going from 50 to 20% moisture. Tangential shrinkage is half that of radial, so it all doesn't shrink evenly depending on knots and branching etc.