Just for fun on a Friday afternoon, I saw the following on the local Craig's List
That's a new one for me ;-)
Ken
That's a new one for me ;-)
Ken
Face cord?
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Hum, I understood a "face cord" to be 4' by 8' and whatever length you use, could be as short as 15" or as long as 2', considerable difference in amount of wood. In the case of the second, 2' length, two face cords would be a full cord.
My 2cents....
...we should all start referring to our burning requirements by face cords only. Full cords were only relevant to the railroad when they use to buy wood along the tracks. Unless you have a monster OWB no one here is going to burn a 48" log. Even half that 24" is too big for most of the stoves here.
Our needs require 40FC's 18"-20" for a season Oct- May weather depending on average conditions.
Down with 'cords'! That term is just confusing in this day and age.
...we should all start referring to our burning requirements by face cords only. Full cords were only relevant to the railroad when they use to buy wood along the tracks. Unless you have a monster OWB no one here is going to burn a 48" log. Even half that 24" is too big for most of the stoves here.
Our needs require 40FC's 18"-20" for a season Oct- May weather depending on average conditions.
Down with 'cords'! That term is just confusing in this day and age.
I cut to 16" lengh so 3 face cords are a cord for me.
I wish people would say:
I have a 16" face cord
I have a 20" face cord
etc.
It really would clarify things.
I wish people would say:
I have a 16" face cord
I have a 20" face cord
etc.
It really would clarify things.
The problem people have is that so many states and localities make it illegal to advertise anything other than in terms of cords. In Virginia if you advertise face cords it is a Class A misdemeanor and Weights and Measures will drop a citation on ya. You have to provide an invoice with seller's name and address, the invoice must contain the purchaser's name and address, the date of delivery, the quantity delivered, the quantity upon which the price is based (if it differs from the delivery quantity), and the total price of the amount delivered.
One neat feature of the law here is that if you give somebody permission to cut on your land you are not liable if they whack themselves or drop a tree on their head if the wood isn't for resale.
One neat feature of the law here is that if you give somebody permission to cut on your land you are not liable if they whack themselves or drop a tree on their head if the wood isn't for resale.
A cord is a cord (at least it should be). A face cord means nothing quantitatively unless the length of the splits or rounds of which it consists is specified. BTW, it was certainly not just the railroad...steamboats contracted for wood to be felled, limbed, bucked, split and stacked all along the navigable inland rivers at specified pickup points as well. Then there were the stationary steam engines and the steam tractors and the steam sawmills and the steam everything else. By no means did they all use 4' lengths of wood, as it was all handled split by split by hand to feed all those boilers. Rick
A cord is a definable term/amount without further explanation. Fossil had it right. Just for fun--isn't possible to have a face cord cut to 48" lengths? It would then be a full cord. So you see, a face cord can be anything. A cord is a cord.
The Liberal Elite said:
Well, you know, after 30+ years on active duty in the US Navy, I learned one thing...how to spell straight. Rick
EDIT: BTW, LE, you can only dream of being as sharp as some of the tools I worked alongside in that shed.
RonB said:
Of course. And to carry it to the next level, a face cord of 96" length rounds would be two cords of wood. Face cord means nothing unless the length is specified. A cord is a certain volume of wood (128 cubic feet), a three-dimensional value. A face cord with unspecified length is two-dimensional, so it lacks sufficient information to convert to volume (cords). Rick
Guess that guy selling those "face cords" is the same one that sells those "JUMBO" rolls of wrapping paper at Cristmas time that are standard width but have a huge cardboard tube in the middle, and are really only 72" long. 
Gotta get me a deli slicer and Im gonna start selling them thar "face cords" $$$$ 4' x 8' ...(x1/8").
Gotta get me a deli slicer and Im gonna start selling them thar "face cords" $$$$ 4' x 8' ...(x1/8").
Not sure what the dillema is. I have single stacked rows, 16-18" logs , 4 -4.5' high and the rows are 85' in length.................I guess I have 3.5 - 3.75 cords
But 'face cords' are what we burn...and imo a more useful term for our discussions around here. Not that I'm promoting insurrection or being an anarchist ya know...just saying is all.
savageactor7 said:
No, I burn wood. If you say your used ten face cords, that doesn't tell me anything at all. For all I know, that could be 3 cords or ten depending on the length (and I won't make an ASSumption as to the length YOU burn.)
In the wood furnace we have used in the past, I aimed for 22" logs. In our new PE Summet, I'm cutting more in the 16-18" range. About a 50" difference is actual wood if I were to measure in face cords.
Ken
Not too much different than if I state I used two tanks of oil last Winter.
No one knows for certain what size tank I have.
The only relevance might be if I mention using three of the same tanks the Winter before.
When you don't reference the same common denominator accidents can happen.
Just ask Nasa and Lockheed Martin 'bout that.
I think it's just easier for many to visualize a face cord due to stacking.
Really should do the math.
No one knows for certain what size tank I have.
The only relevance might be if I mention using three of the same tanks the Winter before.
When you don't reference the same common denominator accidents can happen.
Just ask Nasa and Lockheed Martin 'bout that.
I think it's just easier for many to visualize a face cord due to stacking.
Really should do the math.
The Liberal Elite said:
Hah, like your screen name!
But, I wish those liberal elites would learn how to spell strait straight.
:coolgrin:
A strait is what you sail the war ships into to control the port. Straight is what the ranks should be during the review parade.
In terms of liberal elite, straight is how you lay a line of cocaine and strait is the jacket they put on you when you go nuts from it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straitjacket
Ok, carry on men.
Seems in Michigan very few know what a cord of wood is. At least in our area all advertisers sell by the cord....that is, by the face cord. But they still call it a cord. Standard is 16" length.
Funny that I lost a sale because I offered a fellow a cord of white birch at a very reasonable cost. I had beforehand told him that was equal to 3 face cords. He just couldn't get it through his head, I guess because I offered him the full cord at $90.00, or $30.00 per face cord.
Another term and more correct is a rick, rather than a face cord.
Funny that I lost a sale because I offered a fellow a cord of white birch at a very reasonable cost. I had beforehand told him that was equal to 3 face cords. He just couldn't get it through his head, I guess because I offered him the full cord at $90.00, or $30.00 per face cord.
Another term and more correct is a rick, rather than a face cord.
I lived most of my life in Michigan, and firewood was almost always sold by the face cord. In Northern Wisconsin a full cord is sold as a "loggers cord".
I was going to buy wood from a tree service guy for $75 a cord, cut and split and tried to nail him down on what kind of cord he was talking about. He told me it was 4' x 4' x 8' x 18". I hung up on him, as it seemed like too good of a deal, and I didn't know how well my stove would burn four-dimensional wood.
I was going to buy wood from a tree service guy for $75 a cord, cut and split and tried to nail him down on what kind of cord he was talking about. He told me it was 4' x 4' x 8' x 18". I hung up on him, as it seemed like too good of a deal, and I didn't know how well my stove would burn four-dimensional wood.
Most people in my area also buy their wood by the face cord if it is cut and split before buying. Usually cut to 16 inch. If you take a ruler all pieces won't be exactly that size either. If you get log lengths , which are usually cut by machine to exact 108 inches, then it is full cords. You just have to ask the seller how much and what size you are getting. Not a big problem in my book as it is good to know exactly what you are paying for. 
When you buy a car do you get the specifics or just buy a car? :question:
When you buy a car do you get the specifics or just buy a car? :question:
4'x4'x8'x18"
"4th dimension" would be length of splits/rounds.
A few years back I bought two cords and the guy asked what length I wanted.
A week later it was dumped in the driveway. Shorthand bill was written 2X4x4x8x16,25x2,total $50
I picked out all the ends that were grey weather exposed and burned those first.
"4th dimension" would be length of splits/rounds.
A few years back I bought two cords and the guy asked what length I wanted.
A week later it was dumped in the driveway. Shorthand bill was written 2X4x4x8x16,25x2,total $50
I picked out all the ends that were grey weather exposed and burned those first.
Backwoods Savage said:
????? As far as I know, a "rick" is even more meaningless. From an online dictionary:
My hardbound dictionary (I still have one and can use it!)also says that a rick could be a stack of split cordwood from short logs.
I think what this all points out is that various vague terms are used in different areas. A "cord" is the only standard term with a universal definition (4x4x8 or 128 cubic feet). In many states, that is the only legal measure of firewood. Your state may vary.
Ken
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