Man, firewood is a lot of work!

[gzecc]

I just decided to move some new splits with my wheelbarrow, because its so muddy here I didn't want to make a muddy mess.
Wow, do I take my tractor for granted. I can't believe how much work it was moving wood around without a tractor. Thought I was going to have a coronary! It was up a slight muddy incline but still

 

[Coach B]

Doing anything with firewood yourself is work...and great exercise....and cheaper than someone else doing it. Trying to look on the brightside!

 

[lukem]

When making firewood stops being "fun" and starts being "work", I stop doing it. I'll just put up the equipment and stop for as long as it takes to get the itch back. Happens a couple times per year, usually doesn't last long, and I'm always back for more. I don't mind the "hard".

 

[oldspark]

When making firewood stops being "fun" and starts being "work", I stop doing it. I'll just put up the equipment and stop for as long as it takes to get the itch back. Happens a couple times per year, usually doesn't last long, and I'm always back for more. I don't mind the "hard".

+1 When I get burnt out I quit for a while and then go back to it.

 

[bogydave]

When making firewood stops being "fun" and starts being "work", I stop doing it. I'll just put up the equipment and stop for as long as it takes to get the itch back. Happens a couple times per year, usually doesn't last long, and I'm always back for more. I don't mind the "hard".

+1 When I get burnt out I quit for a while and then go back to it.

+2
When the soreness wears off, you'll want to be back at it.
Having equipment to help is real nice, doing it all by hand makes you appreciate your equipment.

 

[ScotO]

My back and shoulder are still sore from cutting and splitting the big load of dead white oak I did Sunday evening up in the woods. But it's good exercise, and the benefits I get at home (great home cooked food and a little 'luv' from 'da Boss') are worth the aches and pains

 

[eclecticcottage]

Last summer/fall I couldn't wait to get out to the Cottage to process the rounds we scrounged. DH split, then I wheelbarrowed them to the pile and stacked. I got a nice old wheel barrow too, the metal wheel type, so the wheel isn't all soft and squishy making it hard to push. Then I changed jobs and was typing all the time and I dreaded it-my wrist/elbow/shoulder still aren't used to this and it's been about 4 months!! It just hurts to move/lift with my right arm still. sucks. I'm a little worried about spring still to be honest. I LOVED the work, now I'm not so sure. It's better, but all the stuff I was excited about doing (manual labor wise) isn't looking so exciting anymore. I just hope it's going to get better before then...or we might be needing a cart for the tractor!

 

[gzecc]

Last summer/fall I couldn't wait to get out to the Cottage to process the rounds we scrounged. DH split, then I wheelbarrowed them to the pile and stacked. I got a nice old wheel barrow too, the metal wheel type, so the wheel isn't all soft and squishy making it hard to push. Then I changed jobs and was typing all the time and I dreaded it-my wrist/elbow/shoulder still aren't used to this and it's been about 4 months!! It just hurts to move/lift with my right arm still. sucks. I'm a little worried about spring still to be honest. I LOVED the work, now I'm not so sure. It's better, but all the stuff I was excited about doing (manual labor wise) isn't looking so exciting anymore. I just hope it's going to get better before then...or we might be needing a cart for the tractor!

Get the cart for the tractor. I forgot how hard moving wood in a wheelbarrow is. The cart is 100 x's better if there are any hills.

 

[Jags]

..or we might be needing a cart for the tractor!

I would say - YES.

 

[eclecticcottage]

Lol, that's two votes for the cart! I'm still not sure yet, it's not like I can't use the exercise. But if my arm still hurts like this, it won't be an option. Actually the stacking was about as bad as lifting the handles on the barrow...so...is there a stacker for the tractor too?

 

[Jags]

Lol, that's two votes for the cart! I'm still not sure yet, it's not like I can't use the exercise. But if my arm still hurts like this, it won't be an option. Actually the stacking was about as bad as lifting the handles on the barrow...so...is there a stacker for the tractor too?

Reduce your wheelbarrow work (with a cart) and the stacking won't have such a negative effect.

 

[Stegman]

Moved 20 wheelbarrow loads from my stacks to my front porch this past weekend solo [about two-thirds of a cord]. My son broke his damn arm snowboarding a few weeks back, so it was just me. Loved every minute of it, though. And I think it was faster with me working alone than with my son and daughter [12 and 11] stacking.

I'm a desk jockey during the week, so I relish anything to do with wood prep. Felling, bucking, splitting, stacking, moving - it's all good. Great exercise and an excuse to be outdoors.

This year I'm going to fell a bunch of trees from our small property in Vermont, haul them home and prep them. Also planning to bulid a woodshed. Can't wait for the warmer weather.

 

[Maplewoodie]

Google Muck Truck

 

[brogsie]

Moved 20 wheelbarrow loads from my stacks to my front porch this past weekend solo [about two-thirds of a cord]. My son broke his damn arm snowboarding a few weeks back, so it was just me. Loved every minute of it, though. And I think it was faster with me working alone than with my son and daughter [12 and 11] stacking.

I'm a desk jockey during the week, so I relish anything to do with wood prep. Felling, bucking, splitting, stacking, moving - it's all good. Great exercise and an excuse to be outdoors.

This year I'm going to fell a bunch of trees from our small property in Vermont, haul them home and prep them. Also planning to bulid a woodshed. Can't wait for the warmer weather.

Don't you have tons of downed trees in Worcester from the ice storms and beetles?

 

[gzecc]

Lol, that's two votes for the cart! I'm still not sure yet, it's not like I can't use the exercise. But if my arm still hurts like this, it won't be an option. Actually the stacking was about as bad as lifting the handles on the barrow...so...is there a stacker for the tractor too?

Stacking is much easier if you didn't have to move it there yourself.

 

[mywaynow]

+1 on taking a break once in a while. What put the fire back under my feet was calculating the amount of wood in the pile. It is like loosing your favorite boots everytime a stack disappears. Second row is almost gone now and decided I had to get more, and quick.

 

[Flatbedford]

I upgraded from wheelbarrow to tractor and cart a couple years ago. My not so young anymore body has been very happy about this upgrade. Going up and down the small hill in my yard was really beating up my legs and back. I do feel kinda lazy siting on the tractor, but I'll get over it. Anything that one can do to reduce the work in firewood processing is worth doing. There is a reason that somebody invented and many prefer oil and gas fired central heat.

 

[RORY12553]

Moved 20 wheelbarrow loads from my stacks to my front porch this past weekend solo [about two-thirds of a cord]. My son broke his damn arm snowboarding a few weeks back, so it was just me. Loved every minute of it, though. And I think it was faster with me working alone than with my son and daughter [12 and 11] stacking.

I'm a desk jockey during the week, so I relish anything to do with wood prep. Felling, bucking, splitting, stacking, moving - it's all good. Great exercise and an excuse to be outdoors.

This year I'm going to fell a bunch of trees from our small property in Vermont, haul them home and prep them. Also planning to bulid a woodshed. Can't wait for the warmer weather.

I also work at a desk all week and right now doing it 6 days a week and it is killing me. Last saturday night I went outside and burned my christmas tree in the firepit. Good time!

 

[WellSeasoned]

Its alot of work, no doubt. Taking a break from it once and awhile is healthy. That why burning the best wood you can gets your hands on is important. Less trips to the wood shed.

 

[maplewood]

I can so relate!
I had the bright idea that I should harvest some Poplar from my own property. Had to carry it about 700' or so.
Had the same thought during the second trip, carrying two 4' pieces, one on each shoulder (about 8" diameter)....
"I'm gonna die!" I was huffing and puffing, and starting to sweat in -10C weather!
So I bought a tough plastic sled from the hardware store: 60" long, 17" wide, with about 9" side walls.

Now the youngest son or I pull the sled with about 8-10 chunked up pieces, and we split it by the stack.
All in all, we're still doing the work that a horse or tractor should, but I kind of like it.
And using the sled I'm less likely to die in the process.
But we'll see how much we get out of the woods this way. I bet it's less than 2 cord! Ha!
Happy burning.

 

[Huntindog1]

The way I look at it , its a chance to get out in the woods and enjoy mother nature, plus it makes me get some exercise. Its a good feeling to get your year or two worth of wood cut split and stacked (CSS). Plus I just keep thinking for about every 6 to 8 ricks (4'x8') as we call them ricks around my part of the country, I keep thinking this is gonna save me like $1000 to $1200 in heating cost every year. As Electric baseboard heat aint cheap. I think its good to get wood pile OCD as it keeps you focused on the task and leaves you with something to be proud of.

 

[oldspark]

OCD means once cut dead? :cheese:

 

[TradEddie]

Enjoy that work, it'll help you live longer. There's a place and time for machinery, but if you have the time to do any of it by hand, why not? The more exercise you get, the more of everything else you'll be able to do too, and for longer. Don't overdo it, a little at a time, take a rest, wait a few days.

Obviously if you're burning 24/7, working fulltime and the wood is 2 miles away down a hill, some internal combustion assistance is warranted, but if like me you only need a cord or so each year, all within 200yds of the house, you shouldn't need anything more than a chainsaw, maul/ax/wedges and a wheelbarrow.

TE

 

[Jags]

but if like me you only need a cord or so each year, all within 200yds of the house, you shouldn't need anything more than a chainsaw, maul/ax/wedges and a wheelbarrow.

TE

But if your like me (and others) and typically torch off 5 cords per year - you may want to use the assistance of anything that makes the job easier/faster/more efficient. Just say'in.

 

[Stegman]

Moved 20 wheelbarrow loads from my stacks to my front porch this past weekend solo [about two-thirds of a cord]. My son broke his damn arm snowboarding a few weeks back, so it was just me. Loved every minute of it, though. And I think it was faster with me working alone than with my son and daughter [12 and 11] stacking.

I'm a desk jockey during the week, so I relish anything to do with wood prep. Felling, bucking, splitting, stacking, moving - it's all good. Great exercise and an excuse to be outdoors.

This year I'm going to fell a bunch of trees from our small property in Vermont, haul them home and prep them. Also planning to bulid a woodshed. Can't wait for the warmer weather.

Don't you have tons of downed trees in Worcester from the ice storms and beetles?

I'm north of Worcester, just outside the beetle zone, but it doesn't matter anyway because all the beetle stuff gets chipped. It's too bad, in a way, but understandable.

There was a decent amount of stuff down after the Halloween snowstorm, but that's long gone.