Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Field Grade, firewood ???

I have always gotten my own wood for as long as I have had wood stoves..The problem is,some of the guys that sell wood think those that buy it are just lazy and don't know chit about wood or how much is a real cord and to a point,it's true..

This is a Rick(my youngest son) loading the shortbed..



And this measured out to about one cord after we got home and stacked it..



When I turned 70 my son bought me a wood splitter..I hate the thing but it is easier on the back....I am not done getting wood yet but this is 6 cords measured and split..



If I had to choose to get rid of either the Rhino or the wood splitter,the wood splitter would be gone in a heart beat..This yamaha Rhino is a wood getter's dream in your golden years..Love this machine for haulin wood..



5-6 loads is a cord..

Heck of a load you have on the chevy, is that truck really small or is your boy really big?

Rhinos are tough....

He's really big... Good to have around on wood getting days...i think he's 6'4" and 260 not sure though but close.. The truck is a 2002 Chevy 2500 HD..

Glad you enjoy cutting your own. I like splitting it by hand, as I said, good exercise.

You need to get a set of air bags or overloads on that truck though

If my friend didn't sell it for such a good price, I'd consider getting a saw, chaps, oil, files, etc. Then get the permits for the BLM or NF land nearby. They're easy enough to get as they want the juniper out of there in many places. My friend gets his on private land that has cut a bunch of juniper for rehabbing the grasslands.

But, as I get it delivered, don't have to put miles and hard usage on my truck, don't have to buy more toys to cut it with, I'll just keep getting it from him until something changes. He needs the cash too, so I get a good deal and help keep him in groceries.

Probably will put up nearly 3 cords in the shed this year, there's some more, maybe a full cord of juniper, that will stay outdoors and get worked into the shed as that wood it used up. Mild winter last year, only got down near 0F a couple of times. Burned about 2.5 cords, maybe 3. Year before, it got down to -25F so I went through about 3.5 cords. Have some ponderosa pine out there too, but mostly use that for camping wood, as it creates more creosote in the chimney and doesn't heat as well as the juniper.

Got down near 40 last night, so it won't be much longer. I expect before the end of the month I'll start a fire.

Geno

673,

$250 a cord, even Canadian, sounds like a good price up there. Heck of a nice way to make a living too, out in the woods and such, working for yourself instead of the "man".

I laugh at folks that call a small pick up load a cord. The math to figure it out, and the internet to get the dimensions, make it too easy for any half smart person to determine who's scammin' who.

Enjoy your woodcutting season.

Geno

Use my mahindra loader for wood now, drag everything to a staging area and saw it up into rounds.

I don't need to split anything below about 24" diameter. I can just roll the rounds off into the Heatmor and they 'dissolve'. I use a steel rail ramp so I dont have blow out a nut doing any lifting.

Since my 22 ton splitter went kaboom, I have been sawing the rounds lengthwise from the bark in. Made some nice white oak chunks.

I mostly cut red, white, burr oak, hickory.



Think I'm set for winter.





32" dbh hickory I had to quarter and cross section. Had some large white in this with it too.

Not split, sawn into quarters and wedges with 20" bar stihl 290. Even white oak doesnt put up a fuss.

My wood pile is gorging out the confines of the furnace shed. I keep bringing in more rounds and just dumping them.








Started a new shed roof to put additional wood in, been working on this last couple weeks. Finished up framing this morning inbetween sit down breaks messing with you dudes on the campfire.

I'll go order my metal in the morning, cut to fit. This will free up another bldg I have equipment in now. More wood, like money in the bank. I only have sweat equity in my wood. The family farm here is 200-\+ acres of hardwood uncut since the 1970s.
I can cut lightning strikes and blow downs and not touch anything marketable

Can’t even give away wood around here. I bet we have 25 downed white oaks within an easy drive of a pickup or utv on our property. For the last two years spread the word it is free for the taking and no one wants it.
When winter rolls around going to have some fantastic brush fires!

I got a pretty good guesser I think. Thought I'd have enough for one row on the wall.

When I took a break for dinner I had this much room left on the top of the first row of wood on the back wall.




Went back out to that big pile and had just enough left to fill it nearly full. I'll find some thinner ones to chunk up near the rafter and fill some smaller holes between splits too.



Managed to get a box of kindling split too. Wife is going to be happy about this when I go to AZ in October to get an elk. She doesn't like splitting wood or kindling. No pic of that, I took one but just looked at it and it's not even up to cell phone standards.


Now to go start splitting more. Preparedness rocks, eh?

Geno

Sweet deals, one the build out and the woodlot. Merchantable timber is always a good savings account. And "free" firewood.

Did you run that shed roof past the planning dept?

Geno

Combustible Materials Storage Permit?

Huh?

Never heard of such a thing around here.

Geno

The City requires the permit from people on their chit list.

I keep telling him that but he listens like all kids do...

I cut wood because I made my living logging and we have around 5-6 saws laying around the place..I like running a saw and falling tree's..The rest is like hunting,once the tree is down, the work starts..Packin/cuttin/loadin and splittin..But it gets me out of the house looking for game on every trip throwing down some cold beers to kill the pain, when I am done for the day..

A couple weeks a go I tore my right shoulder cuff throwing a big Dewalt air compressor in the back of my Rhino and my son is 2-3 cords shy of getting all his wood in..The wife is refusing to go with me to get more wood because of it, and the boy is working his tail off with not much time on his hands..I'm going for more wood period even if it's a Rhino load at a time..It's just what I do and have for many moons...I refuse to buy wood from one of these money grabbin youngsters trying to short people on firewood besides,I owe my son two cords on a deal we made..

As you mentioned,it ain't free..There's saws/chains/files/oil/gas/wedges and pickup gas to get there and back..I figure it cost me about $50 each trip not counting beer and food but pellets are through the roof and propane isn't far behind it,and heating with electricity from Avista is unbelievably high...So wood it is..

Around here if you hear "face cord" you're getting screwed. We that burn wood use more than a few "cord" a year. It is a way that the wood jockeys have used to scam the unknowing. Bring me a darn cord of wood or don't enter my yard. A cord is 4"x4"x8". A face cord is whatever they want to give you for their asking price. We like tamarack around here for heat and it usually comes in 12-20 cord loads in 8' lengths unless otherwise specified. $90ish/cord. The rest selling by the face are screwing you. Buyer be wear.

Getting firewood is my time, usually just me and the dog. I bring most of mine off the mountain with the Rhino[5-6 loads a day] on weekends in winter.

Like stated above I've got plenty of blowdowns and standing dead so it doesn't need to sit and dry for long after splitting.
Still have 3-4 years worth of standing dead black locust on my land.

When I'm out cutting I scout for hunting and when I'm hunting I scout for firewood.

Always a smart idea. Look for arrowheads too, to show up slumlord on the better ones

That locust is pretty good wood, but sometimes a bear to split by hand.

Geno

logcutter,

having torn both shoulders, seriously torn, I feel your pain. Take care of that bad one when you can slow down for awhile. You'll thank me afterwards, and you'll thank the surgeon too if that's what's needed.

Geno