Waste not, want not

Geoff · July 23, 2002, 08:19:35 PM

After much consideration, I think I actually may have an intelligent question to ask. 8) Likely covered somewhere else in the forum, but here goes...

SLABS...

We tried a few things.

1) Pile and forget. Well that just meant a big pile.

2) Pile and hope to burn in the woodstove. It's cold up here north east of Toronto, but not that cold. Thought about an outdoor furnace, but the economics are simply not there.

3) Strap & sell. Hard to get folks to come by and pick them up. The pile keeps ahead of the people. Supply exceeds demand.

4) The latest effort is placing them in a rack, and chainsawing them into 16" long bundles and strapping with nylon banding. Hoping to sell as campwood. Kind of kills the one-man show philosophy when I have to spend so much time dealing with this process.

Any help out there would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Geoff

Tom · July 23, 2002, 08:30:53 PM

I've no answer but I think you are on the right track Geoff.

Stove Wood, small kindling like firewood for urbanites to burn in their stand-alone fireplaces in their apartments is a real hit down here in Florida. Most, if not all, is split round wood but is sold in ricks or bound in Saran like plastic in quantities that would make one or two fires. What would amount to a healthy double armload will sell for $7 to $15. The grocery stores are buying it from Mass Producers but there is plenty sold on the side of the road by individuals. My sons split wood and cut slabs for $70 per pickup load, filled level to the top. They seldom were able to park the truck and sell it like they wanted because people would yell at them to follow them to the house.

I think Presentation is the most important part of it. These folks aren't looking for a woodpile, just a couple of fires for atmosphere. It's the die-hard heat-by-wood folks that want the truckloads. Perhaps a red ribbon would work instead of the Plastic wrap.

woodman · July 23, 2002, 08:50:15 PM

Put up a sign FREE FIRE STARTING WOOD

Bro. Noble · July 23, 2002, 08:55:44 PM

we are fortunate to have charcoal kilns in the area. We get $176 for a semi load and pay $100 to get it hauled. At least it gets rid of it.

We tried selling it, but firewood is cheap here. One local mill advertises tie cutoffs for $15 for all you can put on your pickup. When we did sell slabss for firewood, we put three bands on a bundle(8'), held them over the buyers truck or trailer on forks, cut off the ends (outside the bands) and then cut between the bands. You can cut it up fast this way if you can get a good enough price.

We have a wood furnace, my parents have a fireplace, and my son a wood stove. We leave a trailer parked by the cutoff saw and throw anything (trimmings) in it that makes handy firewood. We get all we want in as short while.

Sometimes we use bundled slabs to put in a ditch while logging to make a temporary crossing.

I saw a local mill owner had lined up bundled slabs to make a fence along his lane. It makes a really effective fence but really ugly.

The only other way I can think of to get rid of them other than burning them would be setting them out by the road----sooner or later somebody would probably steal them.

Noble

ARKANSAWYER · July 23, 2002, 09:47:23 PM

Pine and cedar slabs I sell to a chipper, I could sell my hardwood and hickory to the charcoal plant but they do not like them as to much bark and no wood. Said that DanG toy of mine cuts them to thin. I live in the hills so I put them about half way down to the dozer deck to help with errsion. (like we have dirt any way) We do burn a few of them. Have thought of getting a large chipper and makeing mulch out of them. Always the hot dog roast.
ARKANSAWYER

Paul_H · July 23, 2002, 11:51:21 PM

We lay our slabs along the road beside our sorting yard as free firewood for locals,campers,and hunters.We would like to process and sell them, but people want proper cordwood,and they are too thin.
If there was a chipper in the area,it would make a great landscape mulch.

I like the idea of firewood bundles for campers/urbanites,but everybody and his dog are in the firewood biz around here :-/

Tomorrow,we'll bundle some up and give it a try.It can't hurt.

Bibbyman · July 24, 2002, 06:11:04 AM

Maybe when Don Laskowski gets his Stirling engine electric generation plant into production we can each buy one and produce electricity to be used to power our house and mill and sell the excess back to the electric company. 8)

Here is a web site with more info.

http://www.gatheringweb.com/entre_giving.htm

Geoff · July 24, 2002, 07:40:21 AM

I have been been drooling over the cogen plant for some time. It's the main reason I haven't gone with an outdoor furnace. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS THING!! Think about it, kiln power, lights etc.

Geoff

Sawyerfortyish · July 24, 2002, 09:07:15 PM

Our slabs come off the mill and through a cornell slab saw and in a dump truck cut in 16" length we dump them in a pit with a floor sell what we can to campers for 5.00 a pickup load and grind whats left into mulch. It will take a while to get back our money for the equipment but you got to get rid of it some how

Bibbyman · July 25, 2002, 07:18:36 AM

Sawyer40,

Can you tell us more about your slab saw? Cost, how it works, etc. Is it something that could be worked into a Wood-Mizer size operation? Got pictures of it?

Frank_Pender · July 25, 2002, 12:24:29 PM

Hey Bib..., I sent Don an E-mail after I went to his sight the other day. The response was that they would be out sometime around the middile of 2004. I, like you, can hardly wait myself. I offered too set up an experimental site, here on the West Coast on the farm, as well as to have one sent to my son for his Missionary work in Haiti. ;) He (my son Michale) already has a Woodmizer mill at the site. They have to use a diesel fired generator only during special times throughout the day and very little evening use. Michale is working with the FLO program. They have been heavely involved in a reforestation tree nursery program, also. so, 2004 cannot get here fast enough. 8) 8)

Bibbyman · July 25, 2002, 12:38:15 PM

Hay Frank, what site are you referring to? One other than the two I linked?

Sawyerfortyish · July 25, 2002, 08:56:19 PM

Bibbyman I will try to get a picture of the slab saw on soon. The machine has a 10' infeed trough with a 24" wide flat belt that feeds to a switch that stops the belt and makes the saw<a circle saw> cut the slab and drop on the conveyer.The bigest problem is the machine is three phase and uses a 15 hp on the saw and 5 hp on the hydraulic pump and 1/2 hp on the conveyer so if you dont have 3 phase it's impossible to convert it over to single phase

Frank_Pender · July 25, 2002, 09:08:55 PM

Bib, the "gathering.com is the one I sent a messsage to Don.

Mike_D · August 06, 2002, 09:51:18 AM

How much do you have? I know a mulching company in Michigan that will pick up slabwood with a log truck.

Ron Wenrich · August 06, 2002, 03:09:27 PM

Cornell hydraulic slab saw: http://www.cornellindustrial.com/hss.htm

It can be used on any sized operation, also has options for single phase. I haven't seen any used ones come up lately.

There are also hogs that can be used to reduce slabs to mulch or animal bedding. But, the needed power can make the units pretty expensive.

Geoff · August 06, 2002, 06:46:03 PM

Thanks for the info. I added the slab saw to the bookmarks & my to do list. As for the slabs to Michigan, that's about a 7 hour drive, but it got me thinking, and I put a call into a bedding plant near here. Just need to convince him to drop by.

Geoff

Ron Wenrich · August 07, 2002, 03:34:32 PM

That reminds me. There are also shaving mills where you can reduce your slabs to shavings.

http://www.jacksonlbrharvester.com/shavingmills.html

I only saw this at one small operation. He would take shavings to local pet stores, and was getting 35 cents a pound and that was 20 years ago. He sold anything that was aromatic - cedar, sassafras, apple, etc.

I've seen drying of shavings go from clothes dryers to heat lamps. I've also seen shavings balers that make it much easier to handle.

For larger operations, you could go the poultry route, but they need it blown in.