I found a source for cheap firewood

[WiscWoody]

There’s a lot of paper and saw mills up here with the abundance of good hardwood in the area and the woodyards sometimes will either give you the knarly stuff that they can’t process or they sell it for a reasonable price. I stopped at one woodyard that chops up all of the wood they get on-site for a paper mile a mile from them 20 miles from here today and they have rejected wood that their metal detector has kicked out and then they stack it and sell it for $35 a cord. The thing is is that I’d have to either use my 20’ skid steer trailer to get a few cords which means they’d have to grapple it for me and they frown on that since there’s only 3 guys at the place at anytime while it’s running on 3 shifts or I can hire a logging trucker I know for $0.30 a mile and $10 a cord to go get it and bring it to my place, about a 55 mile round trip for the trucker.
I wander if it’d be worth it...? Here some photos I took of the cull pile. I also swung around and took a shot of the paper mill that they supply to. Apparently they metal detect the logs after the bark is taken off the logs. I also swung around and snapped a photo of the paper mill that they supply wood shop to.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Looks like deal to me. .30 a mile is cheap.

 

[peakbagger]

If you are in an area that has active logging and have a way to haul it, there are many operations that will sell you wood at the yard for cheap.The landowner effectively does not get paid or at best is paid a couple of bucks per cord for the tops that do not have a market unless there is local market for biomass fuel for large industrial boilers.Some contractors dont want the hassle as many folks try to buy it and dont have the equipment or motivation. The logger sets the wood aside and its never picked up

I had a friend who worked for a dowel mill, tramp metal in the wood was very hard on the gear. They had a couple of metal detectors in the process. How they tested the final detector was to throw a matchbook on the conveyor. If the detector rejected the log because of the staple in the matchbook it was considered working.

 

[Soundchasm]

Boy, that is really tempting. If I didn't have to go get it and THEN still do all the work...

Seems to be financially plausible at a minimum.

 

[WiscWoody]

Boy, that is really tempting. If I didn't have to go get it and THEN still do all the work...

Seems to be financially plausible at a minimum.

I might have some metal stakes made for the stake pockets on my 20’ skid steer trailer so I could bring logs home on it but then I probably would have to cut the logs on the trailer itself. Or just hire the log truck to go get them. I’d probably do it that way.

 

[jackatc1]

Having to deal with some level of hardware in every log doesn't sound
cheap to me.

 

[weatherguy]

That wood looks better than I thought it would, I'd find a way to get a few cords home.

 

[WiscWoody]

Having to deal with some level of hardware in every log doesn't sound
cheap to me.

I think it’s just a nail or two or maybe a bullet or some fence wire. I found a .22 bullet in some wood I was splitting once, some years ago.