Diameter and species druthers?

[Rusnakes]

Greetings everyone.

We are planning out our wood supply for the next millennium (okay, probably 7 or so years) and are strongly considering getting a semi load of cord wood delivered. I'm curious about others' experiences with getting cord logs delivered. The supplier is saying he would likely bring about 20-23 full cords' worth of logs out on a delivery and is offering up options on diameter of logs and the species we want.

We are currently debating the diameter of the logs we want delivered. Any suggestions from those who have taken on this big of a job? We have an 18" Stihl chainsaw and have learned about (and built) log saw horses and bucking racks.

And we are also debating the species. Part of me wants to get all oak and the other part of me wants to get a mixture of hardwoods, to have different species to choose from for different times of the year and purposes. We already have mostly oak and a bit of mixed on hand, but 20-some cords makes you start to consider things differently given that this will last us a good long while.

Thoughts/suggestions?

 

[Babaganoosh]

I'd get some maple in there too. Shoulder seasons. If possible I would get 12 to 16 inch diameter logs. Oak is heavy and you don't want to be picking up anything much bigger.

That much wood... Do you have any machinery? If not I'd get a cant hook or peavy, a few chains, a pry bar, and maybe a pickaroon. I'd get that stuff anyway. Oh and some wedges. A few cases of water won't hurt either.

 

[Rusnakes]

LOL We don't have any machinery. We were looking to have them drop on site and then just take our relatively sweet time working our way through the pile (which would be incomprehensibly large at 20-23 cords). I considered nothing more than about 12" logs, mostly to be able to hoist them up without too much trouble, then figured the Stihl would cut through the 16"ers fine...if we could lift them, that is.

I wondered if smaller diameter wood (under 12") would actually be an asset with this much wood delivered. Easier to pick up, cut, and...really no need to split. Not sure if that would be dumb or not though.

 

[Rusnakes]

And thanks for the thoughts on the equipment. Those are all good suggestions.

 

[Jags]

Hmmmm...color me suspicious, but 20-23 cords on a single delivery doesn't sound right. Most logging truck deliveries are 10-12 cords. The amount you speak of is somewhere around 80 to 100 thousand pounds of wood not including truck (depending on species). I could be off my rocker (and might be, cuz it is often claimed I am a few French fries short of a full happy meal) but that sounds like one helluva truck load. Buyer beware. Just say'in.

 

[Rusnakes]

It is a double semi load with a boom. A single load would be about 10 cords from what I understand. I appreciate the concern though. We have been scammed locally once before on the amount of wood delivered (oak...short almost a full face cord when 6 where delivered). We stack to 4x8 so it is easy to see when we are being scammed. They, of course, had to deliver us more wood as a result (and they lost our business).

 

[blades]

Diameter doesn't matter still has to be split to dry properly. Leaving in a round gets you know where. Dense wood - Oak, Hickory, Sugar maple and the like I wouldn't want to go beyond 16" dia. as the weight will stress you out, even if using a splitter in a vertical mode. ( still have wrestle it between the wedge and the foot plate) I am too old and too many busted parts to be swinging a maul or axe for any extended time, yet I routinely put up a min of 10 cord a year. I have tools to handle very large logs so most of what I do is in the the 24-60" class. 2 or 3, 8FT pieces in that class can be a 1/2 cord or more. 10-12 " stuff goes fast when splitting, 1/2 or 1/4's. Easy to toss around and the full logs are not too intimidating. Still have to be very careful when working down a pile of pick-up-sticks, they have there own animation at times. The bigger they are the more stored energy when they decide to go somewhere else.

 

[Rusnakes]

Yes, we are definitely purchasing a splitter with this adventure. We drop, cut, and split wood off of our own property by hand, but nothing to this magnitude.

Good thoughts on the animation of the pile. I am cautious around this kind of stuff already, especially with no former experience. I was hoping to get it all dropped along the roadside, close by where it will eventually be stacked to dry, but still have to image what that amount of wood would need for space to keep it in the "reasonable height" arena for piles so we don't end up with an unfortunate/dangerous event.

 

[Rusnakes]

Here is a link to the guy selling the wood and a pic of his rig and boom: https://centralmich.craigslist.org/for/6074578099.html

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

Greetings everyone.

We are planning out our wood supply for the next millennium (okay, probably 7 or so years) and are strongly considering getting a semi load of cord wood delivered. I'm curious about others' experiences with getting cord logs delivered. The supplier is saying he would likely bring about 20-23 full cords' worth of logs out on a delivery and is offering up options on diameter of logs and the species we want.

We are currently debating the diameter of the logs we want delivered. Any suggestions from those who have taken on this big of a job? We have an 18" Stihl chainsaw and have learned about (and built) log saw horses and bucking racks.

And we are also debating the species. Part of me wants to get all oak and the other part of me wants to get a mixture of hardwoods, to have different species to choose from for different times of the year and purposes. We already have mostly oak and a bit of mixed on hand, but 20-some cords makes you start to consider things differently given that this will last us a good long while.

Thoughts/suggestions?

Good luck on this ambitious endeavor!

I'm used to dealing with 30+" diameter stuff normally, so I'd be in hog heaven if I could deal with 20" and smaller. I like a mix, but all oak would probably be fine, too.

My problem is where to stack it all. I'm going to have to figure that out this year. Do you have enough in the way of racks, skids, etc., to get it up off the ground?

 

[Rusnakes]

Good luck on this ambitious endeavor!

I'm used to dealing with 30+" diameter stuff normally, so I'd be in hog heaven if I could deal with 20" and smaller. I like a mix, but all oak would probably be fine, too.

My problem is where to stack it all. I'm going to have to figure that out this year. Do you have enough in the way of racks, skids, etc., to get it up off the ground?

We've considered this method here: But, with 20 cords, not sure the amount of space needed to make this happen.

 

[Dtcryan]

I would go with 8-12" dia. Lot easier to handle 23 cord is a lot of wood. Oh and when they deliver make sure it's a full load 23 cord should pretty much fill truck and trailer.

 

[Dtcryan]

And also remember oak needs at least 2 yrs. drying time.

 

[Rusnakes]

Dtcryan, that is the primary thought for us for the oak. We already have wood stored back for at least the coming year, maybe more.

And nice to see a Yooper on here. I'm down state near Ann Arbor. I think these logs are coming from the Harrison/Clare area. Nice guy to deal with so far (we'll see how the whole transaction plays out).

 

[Rusnakes]

My problem is where to stack it all. I'm going to have to figure that out this year. Do you have enough in the way of racks, skids, etc., to get it up off the ground?

This is something we are constantly thinking about. We have built racks for the wood we have on hand, but this is another endeavor entirely. We do have ample access to free pallets in our area, so we will likely use that to keep the wood off the ground, thinking forward. Biggest worry right now is where to get this wood delivered on our property, since we have very little open space along the roadside (and there is no way to get a double logging truck into our drive). We will need to get seriously creative on that front!

 

[Woody5506]

Question...why do you want 20 something cords of wood at once? Don't get me wrong, I'm addicted to wood hoarding (free wood only) but if you don't have adequate storage or racks or methods to keep it off the ground, aren't you worried about much of it just rotting or getting bug infested?

Reason I ask aside from the obvious impressive amount you're taking on is that just yesterday I picked up about a face cord of seasoned maple someone had for free on Craigslist. They had it stored on the ground against their house and i couldn't believe how rotten and bug infested the stuff towards the bottom was, considering they said it was split last year. I didn't even take the lower stuff.

 

[Dtcryan]

This is something we are constantly thinking about. We have built racks for the wood we have on hand, but this is another endeavor entirely. We do have ample access to free pallets in our area, so we will likely use that to keep the wood off the ground, thinking forward. Biggest worry right now is where to get this wood delivered on our property, since we have very little open space along the roadside (and there is no way to get a double logging truck into our drive). We will need to get seriously creative on that front!

You would be surprised at where we can get those trucks in and out of, not sure how your driveway is but I would ask the driver what he thinks when he gets there, just have plan b ready in case.

 

[Rusnakes]

Question...why do you want 20 something cords of wood at once? Don't get me wrong, I'm addicted to wood hoarding (free wood only) but if you don't have adequate storage or racks or methods to keep it off the ground, aren't you worried about much of it just rotting or getting bug infested?

Reason I ask aside from the obvious impressive amount you're taking on is that just yesterday I picked up about a face cord of seasoned maple someone had for free on Craigslist. They had it stored on the ground against their house and i couldn't believe how rotten and bug infested the stuff towards the bottom was, considering they said it was split last year. I didn't even take the lower stuff.

It is really a matter of access and long-term affordability for us. A face cord here is about $95 for oak (sometimes upwards of $110-120) and $85 for mixed hardwoods (and these pieces are all over the map in terms of length; anywhere from 9-21" with many below 12"). We can get a full cord of oak, maple, and a bit of ash for $117 for a full cord (logs) delivered (we could request all oak if we wanted, but are going to opt for a mixture). The guy offers 20 cords only and we've not found anyone else who will deliver to our area. Nice guy, too.

As for rotting, I plan to not have this stuff rot at all; we are very meticulous about keeping our wood off the ground on racks and covered, with adequate ventilation. This is obviously a much bigger endeavor that we are mulling over, so we need to figure out how best to keep this stuff off the ground and protected enough for it to season properly and not rot the bottom layer due to contact with the ground/elements. So, we are just knocking around ideas right now on the topic. Pallets seem like a workable solution since we have so many of them available in the area for free. That said, that is a LOT of pallets (thinking about 2 pallets per full cord stacked).

 

[Tar12]

It is really a matter of access and long-term affordability for us. A face cord here is about $95 for oak (sometimes upwards of $110-120) and $85 for mixed hardwoods (and these pieces are all over the map in terms of length; anywhere from 9-21" with many below 12"). We can get a full cord of oak, maple, and a bit of ash for $117 for a full cord (logs) delivered (we could request all oak if we wanted, but are going to opt for a mixture). The guy offers 20 cords only and we've not found anyone else who will deliver to our area. Nice guy, too.

As for rotting, I plan to not have this stuff rot at all; we are very meticulous about keeping our wood off the ground on racks and covered, with adequate ventilation. This is obviously a much bigger endeavor that we are mulling over, so we need to figure out how best to keep this stuff off the ground and protected enough for it to season properly and not rot the bottom layer due to contact with the ground/elements. So, we are just knocking around ideas right now on the topic. Pallets seem like a workable solution since we have so many of them available in the area for free. That said, that is a LOT of pallets (thinking about 2 pallets per full cord stacked).

Pallets we get usually run 4x4 ft square. If that's the case you can double your estimation.

 

[Rusnakes]

Pallets we get usually run 4x4 ft square. If that's the case you can double your estimation.

Right, if you have 2 pallets side by side, you'd get a 4x8 square, so you'd need 2 pallets by 20 cords, or 40 pallets. I don't see where I'd need 80 pallets, but maybe I am missing something or making a mathematical error?

 

[Montanalocal]

You might want to tell the driver when he comes to use his boom to lay a few logs down crosswise as stringers to keep the main load up off the dirt. That will keep them clean and dry if it takes you longer to cut up than planed, and will also help when cutting up the bottom layer.

 

[ohlongarm]

I'd get some maple in there too. Shoulder seasons. If possible I would get 12 to 16 inch diameter logs. Oak is heavy and you don't want to be picking up anything much bigger.

That much wood... Do you have any machinery? If not I'd get a cant hook or peavy, a few chains, a pry bar, and maybe a pickaroon. I'd get that stuff anyway. Oh and some wedges. A few cases of water won't hurt either.

Why not most of the huge stuff is free because nobody wants to handle it.
about 100 tons of these monsters were free,requirement is strength,determination ,this blue tool ,perserverance and common sense.Just saying

 

[Tar12]

Right, if you have 2 pallets side by side, you'd get a 4x8 square, so you'd need 2 pallets by 20 cords, or 40 pallets. I don't see where I'd need 80 pallets, but maybe I am missing something or making a mathematical error?

You are correct! In my defense it was early! Lol

 

[Rusnakes]

You are correct! In my defense it was early! Lol

Ha! :D I appreciate that. I kept staring at the numbers going...I must have missed something here, but I can't figure it out! LOL

 

[Rusnakes]

You might want to tell the driver when he comes to use his boom to lay a few logs down crosswise as stringers to keep the main load up off the dirt. That will keep them clean and dry if it takes you longer to cut up than planed, and will also help when cutting up the bottom layer.

That was our first plan, if we do nothing else with the cord logs themselves stacking-wise. I imagine this will take us most of the year to cut, split, and stack (probably more, depending on what other projects and our sincere lack of ability to estimate these types of projects...).