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firewood business

Started by aksawyer, August 07, 2010, 02:15:26 PM

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aksawyer

How has the firewood business doing in your area?We normally sell about 100 cords of wood through the winter,and some slabwood in the milling season.This summer we have allready gone through 70 cords and weather is just starting to turn.our winter comes early up here.The sawmill is doing well also.Seams as though we are north of the recession.Hope it stays that way.

Magicman

Recession or not, I would think that your customers need firewood.  That's what I would call a "captive audience".   ;) :)
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TeaW

Wood is moving pretty good considering all the heat we have. Is it cooling down in Faibanks yet ?
I have a lot of old customers and if they left it to late last year and I was sold out they call early this  year .I also have a lot that get fresh (cut & split) early May &June . I am starting to put up next years wood now. 80 cords gone so far.
TeaW

fuzzybear

well after jumping through our governments hoops and many hours on the phone with various government offices, I finally got my permits in order. This was a major head ache because they are rewriting the laws and still have not figured out what they are doing.
  The whole process used to take 3-7days, now it took me 5 months. So far only 1 other has followed me through all of this red tape.
  So to make a long story shorter, there will only be two of us cutting firewood to supply an area where 9-10 homes burns wood. In other words as soon as the rain stops and the ground dries some I have to start pulling logs FAST.  I have orders for 300 cords at this point and only about 100 cords dropped in the bush.  I had to cut orders off until I can get into the bush.
  It is looking like I will be able to sell 400-600 cords this year, and still not have enough.

  AKSAWER,  Is the weather cooling off on your side of the border yet?  Here in the Yukon it's dropped to 0c already and it's looking like it's going to be cold early and very cold over all for the winter.
I never met a tree I didn't like!!

aksawyer

Yes the weather has began to turn here.Getting foggy on the marshes and the moose are starting to bunch together.We have a spruce sawlog sale that has developed alot of standing dead wood.Also have a birch sale but nothing dead there.We buy commercial firewood sales that are in same area to get the most of our 400 cords well log this season along with next summers milling inventory.Last nites over nite low was 42 degrees but up to 73 degrees already.8:30 A.M..Aksawyer....Fairbanks Alaska     wish Obama would come visit for a hunting trip,would solve all our problems.........

plasticweld

My firewood business is off quite a bit this year compared to last year and way off of what it was 2 years ago. I think a couple of factors play into this, Oil is cheap, the economy is bad so no one is going to invest in wood if they think the price will stay low for oil. The orders I do get seem to be off a couple of cords from what they used to be; customers who  normally order 4 to 5 cords are ordering 3 to 4. This may be a lack of funds or they maybe thinking of using some other forms of heat. Last year I sold most of my wood 1 cord at a time. I am also getting requests for face cords of wood which I do not even mess with. I get the feeling that in mid winter I will be getting lots of orders for seasoned wood which I will be un able to fill, we normally do our green wood orders and cut and split the rest of the day for our seasoned wood. With fewer orders we have fewer days to build up our supply. The good news is that the logging part of our business is busy, there is a panick here to cut all of the ash due to the EAB we have also sold more tree length wood  by the trailer load than we ever have before.

alaskan

  The bad economy is what is driving the firewood buisness.One of the FEW up sides to a recession!the demand for firewood is what got me started.Boy what a steep learning curve it has been for me lol.But would'nt trade it for anything!

CX3

Here in MO the firewood season is looking good so far.  I have already filled my green wood orders, maybe 10 cord, and have orders for several more cord after this hundred degree heat stroke passes.  We usually sell over 200 cord, with four guys working it up all winter.  We cut the oak wood out of tops from logging jobs.  And as usual the wood customers dont call until the snow is a foot deep on top of and inch of ice!

Three years ago was our best year when gas was 5 bucks a gallon.  With the propane costs back down to affordable, people just dont burn the wood like they did then.  And I dont blame them one bit.
John 3:16
You Better Believe It!

Buck

I'm getting orders every day.  Made a deal on a multitech processor. This will definitely change my lil operation.
Respect is earned. Honesty is appreciated. Trust is gained. Loyalty is returned.

Live....like someone left the gate open

tihi

I am living in Bosnia & Herzegovina and looking for buying firewood processor. There is one with band saw with splitting function and price is 3500 EUR. Please see on this video and I am expecting your comments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxGYq89xqK8

barbender

Tihi, while that machine looks very effective it also looks very dangerous. To many opportunities for your arm to be cut by the band saw and hands to be smashed by the splitter. It is definitely quick though.
Too many irons in the fire

WH_Conley

Looks about as safe as playing with a rattlesnake with a hangover.
Bill

pigman

I think the band saw would work if it had some form of sliding table to hold the logs. If not there will be a lot of one armed men in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The splitter will only work on straight grained wood since it only goes part way through the block of wood.
Things turn out best for people who make the best of how things turn out.

woodmills1

most smaller firewood processors are Dangerous.....  I love my 1610EZ but call it my little hematoma maker.  I could not access the video to comment on yours
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

John Mc

Quote from: pigman on December 21, 2010, 11:50:05 AM
...The splitter will only work on straight grained wood since it only goes part way through the block of wood.

That's probably one of the few safety features... if you grab the log down low, the splitting wedge can't smash your fingers.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Bobus2003

That rig looks as safe as a guy i know that converted a Square Baler to a spliter.. Wood Splittin machine, but it could eat you alive

WILDSAWMILL

i had a trailer load of firewood at the end of my driveway for sale but some one stole the wood left the trailer
i see it in paper for $80. a cord
hard to make money at that rate
farmers auction gets $40. a pu load
Kascosaw2B

H60 Hawk Pilot

Wow... what a Little Beast and Little Scary for the Long Run.

I think.. the Dim Witted Guy would Not Survive the Day with this machine; if the blade didn't get Ya.. the ram would !  Drunks would not do too well either (presence of mind) but they would have a certain amount of pain killer in them when they got Doink'dd.  I see this machine as the Mongoose and the Cobra or Russian Roulette Machine but two bullets instead of one.  Sooner or Later.. it would get ugly and bloody fire wood and all that !

I think a guard on band saw that rises & falls vertically as the wood is pushed through would lessen the risk. Looks like a guide track that pre-fits the wood to the right cut off height is required too. This is part of the solution would match up to the correct height for the ram stroke.  The spliting ram should have a transparent ring at the top. This way you could still see how to re-positioned the wood under the striker ram. The ring would (help) keep you from getting your hands and finger's under the ram strikker.. unless the wood was too short.

All in All it's a different mind set over there. We can not twist our mind around that machine and give it the safety approval  award of the month. Also, don't run this this machine by OSHA  for their evaluation... they will get chest pain and bring a suit action against ya (little joke'ee  :D).


Lots of Fun :D, thanks for sharing.

Avery

P.S.  You can se the Fastest Spliter in the World on UTube. It's wilder than this machine. I don't have the link but easy to find, type in fastest log splitter and it will come up and other designs as well.
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