Estimating the length of a 4ft stick of firewood.

[Al_Smith]

Way back 1980 or so with those 8-10 foot skinnys it was ash from a woods we were logging out prior to the D8s leveling it off .Stupid but that's what the farmer wanted .

Stacked them upright like fence posts .I mean thousands of them .Never cut another stick of wood for several years .

Cut all winter on 5 acres and only got about half of them .The big dozers had it all piled up in a couple of days come spring time .

[DeerMeadowFarm]

but I'd rather use  the http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=15730&catID=  on the landing.

Hey I just ordered one of those myself; free shipping right now! I hope it works as good as it looks in the video!

Like John and others mentioned, I prefer to process down to boiler size right where the tree falls; less handling overall. That being said, I obtained a lot of free wood this year due to the tornado that went through Brimfield last June and the heavy snowstorm we received in October. The people affected wanted the wood gone ASAP so I moved a lot of it in log length either on my trailer or in my dumptruck, but you gotta do what you can when the wood is free!

[John Mc]

I considered one of those log holders, but couldn't decide which I liked least, bending over to cut logs on the ground, or picking them up to put them in the holder.

When I'm lucky, I can drop one tree to act like a saw bench to hold the others up off the ground for cutting.

[KBforester]

it sounds like it's small softwood sticks to me , like tamarack.

You are correct SD, Tamarack, most about 6" dbh. I like it just fine for firewood. You can certainly order maple and yellow birch around here, but its quite rare here on the coast. I hear Tamarack has as much BTU per cord as Red (soft) maple. It takes about 5 cords to heat the 1500 sq ft house for the year. Oil heat doesn't come on unless we're on vacation. 

[SwampDonkey]

That doesn't sound too bad. But I've not burnt it for heat. Some say it can get mighty hot. But, if it's like red maple I would be cold. I can't get warm enough on red maple fire. ;D My firewood guy has strict rules set by me to not deliver swamp hardwoods (red maple, elm, black ash, white birch). ;)

[Jim_Rogers]

I have had a fiberglass tail on a saw for a long time. They still carry those and are really easy to put on, only need two holes drilles and then you cut the tail to what ever number suites you. 

One guy did that and the gas tank was in the shoe of the handle and he bored a hole right into it.

We have used a short piece of rope.

Set your saw down and pull the rope to the end of the log, where the tip of the bar is at is 4' from the knot on the end of the rope....

Jim Rogers

[bandmiller2]

KB,its only going to get burned, just estimate the legnth you can get very close with a little practice,heavier pieces cut shorter.I have tried 4' finishing them up on a buzz saw, was more work than cutting to legnth and being done with it.Dragging out log legnth to a landing has alot of merit. Frank C.

[Al_Smith]

If you have the place to do it you can really make the wood on fence post sized stuff with a buzz saw .Back in the day I could wear two people out off bearing .

Rigged up a piece of barn tin to chute the pieces clear of the saw and went to town .One guy feeding me stock,me sawing  and two off bearers .

[NWP]

Why does the length have to be exact when it's going in an OWB?  I use odd length end cuts from my processor in mine, but if I had to cut it I think I would estimate it close erring a little short it anything.  As long as it fits through the door opening and the door closes and latches, I'm good with it.

[isawlogs]

 Maybe he is like my dad  ;)  The man would not stand for un-even wood in his stack for the sugar bush stove ( that thing could eat a six foot long peice ) let alone the stack for the house  :   :D :D

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Maybe he is like my dad  ;)  The man would not stand for un-even wood in his stack for the sugar bush stove ( that thing could eat a six foot long peice ) let alone the stack for the house  :   :D :D

Sounds like my wife....I think the affliction is known as "OCD"; Our friends and relatives call my wife "OC-Debbie"  ;)

When she stacks wood for me, she makes sure all the ends are even and she'll hunt for pieces of wood to fit perfectly together. When I dump the last load for the day and help her finish stacking she gets all kinds of mad at me for just "throwing" wood onto/into the stack. I tell her "Hon, we are stacking cordwood to burn, not laying a brick foundation for a church!"  ;D

[KBforester]

Maybe he is like my dad  ;)  The man would not stand for un-even wood in his stack for the sugar bush stove ( that thing could eat a six foot long peice ) let alone the stack for the house  :   :D :D

Something like that  The rest of the yard is a total mess so I figured I better start straitening up.

[Al_Smith]

Once you do enough firewood bucking you can hit the lengths pretty good just by eye balling it .I suppose the pulpwood cutters get pretty good at it too .

What little lumber log stuff I do I use a tape and get them 6 inchs or so over whatever size .Say 12 foot 6 for a 12 foot lumber log etc .

It's really not a big deal in my case  because they're for my own use .What doesn't cut out right is just high priced firewood .

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Once you do enough firewood bucking you can hit the lengths pretty good just by eye balling it

I don't know...I must really suck at it then.  :( I bet for every dumptruck load I buck, I probably have 2 or 3 that just doesn't quite fit on the splitter.  :'(

[Al_Smith]

Cut-em into .Short rounds burn just as good as big uns  ;D.

Really though I shoot for 16" simpley because 3 face cords of 16" equal a cord .They won't vary more than an inch usually .Close enough it isn't like a guy is entering firewood in the county fair or something .