Storing log sections properly?

[Tron]

All,

There's currently much more firewood in our woods than we can properly process (drought weakened the pines, and then the pine beetles moved in), so I'm looking for a good idea for intermediate storage of log sections, about 6-7' long. I want to store them a couple years until we get around to cut and split them.
We have a tractor with a grapple incoming, so I intend to use that to get the logs out of the woods and stacked.

My idea was to place two sacrificial logs on the ground (10' long, 3-4" diameter or so) and then stack the logs perpendicular to them. To prevent them from rolling off, I envisage pounding some 1/2" 4'-long rebar into the ground at each end of the sacrificial logs, maybe a foot or so that they protrude about 3' above the ground. Is that enough to hold at least the bottom the logs in place when I intend to stack them maybe 6' high? I guess the stack will need to get smaller the higher I get. Or do I need to bury 6' wooden fence posts or something?

I was then intending to cover them with a tarp.

Any better ideas?

Thanks!

 

[stoveliker]

The rebar one ft into ground won't hold that; cross section of bar to soil is too small to withstand the force of stacked logs.
I'd put in 4*4s, three ft deep and three ft tall. Stack between them and then a higher triangle of logs on top

 

[Tron]

yeah, I wasn't sure if that'll hold. Ramming in the 4x4's is going to take some effort, though.

 

[stoveliker]

I have a manual auger for that.

Something like the top left pic here (slightly different; brought cut in half in a suitcase from Europe, and welded together here )

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

I have a neighbor with a similar setup as @stoveliker is suggesting. I get a bit jealous when I see it.

 

[Tron]

Hmm, maybe a 7' T-Post driven 2' into the ground? A lot more "earth contact surface" than the rebar rod.

 

[stoveliker]

Even then I think having 5 ft of above ground post against which logs are rolling/pushing, with only 2 ft underground, is dicy.
Hence my suggestion to have a larger fraction underground, fill that up "square", and then add nested logs on top of that which necessarily will shape the whole thing towards a ridge (like a gable end house).

Anyway, that's how I would do it - doesn't mean something else may not be successful too.

 

[Tron]

Even then I think having 5 ft of above ground post against which logs are rolling/pushing, with only 2 ft underground, is dicy.

Yeah, I may rather go with a 3'/4' ratio. The advantage for me is that there may be a lot of roots in the ground, and pounding in a steel T-Post is a lot easier than digging a hole with or without an auger.

I just looked, these posts are 5" wide and have an even wider anchor plate welded to them.

Then, as you said, fill up that rectangle and stack the nested logs on top. If I make it about 10' long, I suppose I can stack quite a few rows into that "triangle". If I estimate the logs have 16" diameter, that gives me an extra six rows (that get shorter the higher I go) on top.

 

[Montanalocal]

If you have room to string them out some, I think you do not need to worry too much. I get a truckload at a time and do not put anything in the ground. All I do is put a triangle shaped split up against the bottom log on top of each stringer. That seems to hold the pile just fine.

 

[Tron]

That might actually be best, string them out, one row only, and get a 10x40' tarp to cover.

 

[johneh]

We stack our logs to be cut (bucked) later never
use anything to hold them in place just stacked in a Tri-angle
there are 2 logs under them the 2 on the ground have been rolled off for cutting