Firewood sizes

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hawkeye4771

Member
Dec 3, 2009
57
western NY
I cut mine 17 1/2 inches as the stoves will take 18 inches. For overnight I load a couple of these with a half round on top of one laying flat and the other up on it's edge which will nearly fill the stove. Always on a good bed of orange burning coals. Damper is turned midway or lower and the wood will slow roast all night.

redoak2.jpg
 

Woody Stover

Minister of Fire
Dec 25, 2010
13,121
Southern IN
Folks cut it shorter than 16" if they have an E/W loader and want to load it N/S in order to get a fuller load into the stove without it rolling up against the glass.
I cut at 16", which fits in my E-W loader. If I get some twisty wood that's gonna be hard to split, I might cut those rounds 8-10" for easier splitting, then mix two shorties end-to-end when stacking, surrounded by full-length splits so that the stack remains stable. The shorties will fit N-S in my stove when side-loading.
 

xman23

Minister of Fire
Oct 7, 2008
2,597
Lackawaxen PA
I cut by eye, 18". But my stove can do 25", E/W.
 

fvhowler

Burning Hunk
May 4, 2018
229
Heart of NC
16-17" is my sweet spot but stove can handle 18. I also cut by eye using the saw blade as the measuring tool.
 

Woody Stover

Minister of Fire
Dec 25, 2010
13,121
Southern IN
I do that some times but turning the saw sideways and back for every cut gets tiring and slows me down.
It's not too bad measuring with the bar when I'm using the little saw, but it's more of a pain with a bigger one.
I've also used a tape measure and a piece of chalk to pre-mark the whole log; that's pretty quick and easy..
 

buc74

Burning Hunk
Oct 16, 2012
192
Fort Atkinson, WI
We cut 14" so we can load N/S with both or stoves.
 

hawkeye4771

Member
Dec 3, 2009
57
western NY
A measuring tool I put together that's 17 1/2 inches long that I lay on the log and then give a couple strokes with the folding saw to score where I want to make the cut. I can go down the log and make numerous scores and then proceed to cut up as many pieces as marked. All the exact same length!

measuring tool.jpg
 
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Poindexter

Minister of Fire
Jun 28, 2014
3,151
Fairbanks, Alaska
I like 16" splits. My stove can swallow 18" NS no problem, but 16" seasoned I can sell easy if/when the price of wood approaches the price of oil.
 
Feb 13, 2017
11
Mississippi
I generally cut mine between 12-14 inches. When split, these shorter lengths facilitate the drying process. The draw back is more work is involved. Cut short and split thin means more work.
 

Highbeam

Minister of Fire
Dec 28, 2006
20,742
Mt. Rainier Foothills, WA
Mingo marker guys. Super fast and easy to mark the 16” splits. Then start bucking. The saw hardly gets any rest.
 

Tar12

Minister of Fire
Dec 9, 2016
1,867
Indiana
Mingo marker guys. Super fast and easy to mark the 16” splits. Then start bucking. The saw hardly gets any rest.
Thats what i use as well especially if I have a a bunch of logs drug out..the saw only gets shut off to refill..
 
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bigealta

Minister of Fire
May 22, 2010
1,192
Utah & NJ
Tape measure and chalk 18". You can mark the whole log in less than 1 minute. Hold / Lock the tape open just past the 18" mark. then just mark away measuring from the new chalk line each time. Makes Neat stacks and fast cutting.
 
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Itslay90

Feeling the Heat
Dec 16, 2022
356
Upstate,NY
Tape measure and chalk 18". You can mark the whole log in less than 1 minute. Hold / Lock the tape open just past the 18" mark. then just mark away measuring from the new chalk line each time. Makes Neat stacks and fast cutting.
Thank you, I will try it the next time I cut a tree down
 

jblnut

Member
Dec 21, 2022
103
Central, MN
I shoot for either 22" or 40" depending on the size of the wood. Stove has a 48" firebox so either works great. Bigger chunks get cut where they will be split at 22" which works great as the splitter will do a 28" chunk.

This may seem like a noob question but ...... When y'all say n/s and e/w are you talking about throwing the wood in lengthwise with the stove as n/s and turning it 90° as e/w ?
 

NickW

Minister of Fire
Oct 16, 2019
1,141
SE WI
I shoot for either 22" or 40" depending on the size of the wood. Stove has a 48" firebox so either works great. Bigger chunks get cut where they will be split at 22" which works great as the splitter will do a 28" chunk.

This may seem like a noob question but ...... When y'all say n/s and e/w are you talking about throwing the wood in lengthwise with the stove as n/s and turning it 90° as e/w ?
Yes. For example, my fireplace in the Northwoods is 12 3/4" deep from the back to the andirons, 18" wide at the back and 22" wide in the front. I can fit 18"+ long pieces e/w, but it doesn't burn well; so I have been cutting to 12" long to load n/s. I can actually fit up to 16" n/s and be close to the glass, but it really messes with the airflow with anything over 14" or so...
 

bigealta

Minister of Fire
May 22, 2010
1,192
Utah & NJ
E/W is Side to side
N/S is Front to Back