Firewood season

[lopet]

Been busy the last few weeks with shipping firewood. Thought I will throw in a few pictures for all you firewood guys.  There is also a idea of a low cost firewood cleaner made off a old manure spreader.  Of the 40+ loads I shipped , it probably took out two thirds of a dump load of debris. It's not perfect , but I would say it's taking about 75 % of the stuff out , what shouldn't be on the trailer.
I know the trailer box looks a little rough, it's because I am also using it to haul logs and it has seen a lot of abuse over all those years.
A replacement trailer project ,i have started last winter, kinda stalled and didn't get finished for this season.   Hoping for next year 
So , how are you guys doing it ? Are you using dump  trailers , dump trucks or both ? And how far are you traveling ?

 

  

  

  

  

 

[BargeMonkey]

 Now thats pretty neat.  :D
We have a chip seperator off the processor that catches 80% of the stuff. They fall thru and go out the building in a converted gutter cleaner. A 10" sawdust system runs about 250' thru the building and dumps into a sawdust room. You make 1 large trash can of sawdust for every cord. We have a F-350 dump, and a 2 cord dump trailer for deliveries. We cant move firewood in NY more than 50 miles due to the EAB. We have a Brute H-106 processor which we have modified over the years, .404 sawbar and adjustable 8 way, about 45mins for a full cord on decent wood.

[lopet]

It sounds like you have a pretty good set up  Barge Monkey. A couple of years we had some limitation due to the EAB as well, but they all lifted that, because nobody can stop it anyways.  It seems some areas get it worse than others.

[BargeMonkey]

 Its all politics. I wanted to buy 200+ cord of wood that lay in the flood plains outside Prattsville NY after hurricane Irene, but because its in an "EAB" quarantined county they wouldnt allow me to truck it 15 miles to my mill. They come in, chip it, with a chipper making large chips and truck it 40 miles north of me. Here I would have paid for the wood and cleaned it up, but no.
We supply wood in about a 50 mile area, alot of it goes thru the state for heating assistance. Nothing goes to waste with us, we ship 90% of the good logs, we saw the low grade and ash into grade stakes for surveyors, if not it goes thru the processor. The sawdust goes to local farmers and horse people, and the fine chips and bark get mixed thru our trommel screen and turned into topsoil.
We have a kiln, and baskets to dry firewood, but its costly and very labor intensive, about 3 cord in the kiln and pre-heat the rest in the main section of the sawmill which is heated. The market isnt there for it around here, its our back up plan if we cant get enough wood in to dry thru the year. The landscape nursery we sell wood too is getting 6-700 a cord delivered and stacked this year, gotta love that undocumented cheap labor.  ;)

[Firewoodjoe]

I use just the dump truck. And I'll travel as far as they want to pay!  Bargemonkey? You log, do firewood, have a sawmill, and a building that is 250 foot??? And work the boats? How? Lol just wondering where the time comes from lol

[BargeMonkey]

Bargemonkey? You log, do firewood, have a sawmill, and a building that is 250 foot??? And work the boats? How? Lol just wondering where the time comes from lol

My father started with a left hand frick mill in 96', now a large timber harvester bandmill, planer, gangsaws, logosol. The main business is a quarry and excavation. 1 week on, 1 week off now,  Cut what I can, park the woods equipment till I get back. Every once in a while someone looks at me funny when it comes up about the "boat job" and "home job".

[thecfarm]

lopet,use what you got. Out of the cattle business?

[lopet]

We used to be in pigs and fed some heifers for a neighbor. After he build a new barn the old spreader was just sitting there, until I had the idea  to make this.  Yes, I like to use what I ve got ;D

[BargeMonkey]

 Selling clean, uniform firewood is the trick. I figure we leave 1/2 a wheelbarrow of bark, small chips and pieces in each load, you cant get it all. We had competition scooping wood out of large piles, rocks, dirt, chunks of ice. They didnt last long. I would have never figured to build 1 out of an old spreader, that is neat and makes sense, you should try to get a patent on that before Multitek come out with a new "spreader attachment".  :D

[lopet]

Those big drum cleaner you can buy and are made for this purpose, are probably taking 90% or more of the bark and small stuff out.   Just didn't feel like spending thousands of $$$
It's good enough for me, the only thing I would like to change is, to make the apron chain run a little faster.

[Stephen Alford]

   Great pics lopet, you seem to cut your firewood to just one length ??  When the bottom came out of the pork industry it was tough sleddin. They just announced the closure of one of our main potato processing plants. I used a 450 ford 1&1/2 ton two wheel drive to deliver a 1&1/2 cd payload. Do from 10-24 in firewood.  Pics in my gallery,do not want to repost and bore folks.  ok just one  :D

 

[thecfarm]

@Stephen Alford,please bore me some more.  ;)

[lopet]

You can't bore me either with pictures Stephen
Yes  I cut everything at 16".  I have about 25 to 30 customers , who relay on wood heat and get either one or two loads or a couple of them with outdoor boiler get even three loads.  I  sell by trailer load only, witch is a bit over three cord . Because it's all seasoned i have to deal with some more debris, but my customers like dry wood.  I also found it's a lot easier to deal with people, who really relay on that kind of heat source, than the guy who wants a face cord or two for his fireplace.  I always send them to my competition  ;D ;D   

Lots of birch over your way


 

[SLawyer Dave]

I just sold my last cord of the year tonight, which brings me up to a whopping 10 cords for the year, (which is a lot for me).  All told, I cut and split a little over 20 cords, but I gave most of it away. 

Earlier this week, I was driving along and saw where a farmer had taken out a bunch of large black walnut trees, and had pushed them all together in a large burn pile.  Took me a couple of days to track down the owner, but just got permission to cut as much firewood out of the pile as I want, (I just have to leave a neat pile since he will end up burning it when it is dry enough).  So time to start building up next years supply.  Figure there is at least 4 or 5 cords, so should keep me busy for a few weeks.

[lopet]

I am completely sold out too and no  carry over at all this year. Nice to have some extra cash , but on the downside  I have to work my a$$ of the get my inventory  back up again.    :(

[BargeMonkey]

 No ones got enough, or extra firewood this year. Talked with a few other guys when I was dropping logs off @ the mill the other day and they laughed. The 20-40 cord guys are getting less and less around here.

[Corley5]

I'm caught up to 55 face cords behind now.  It's all green, no seasoned.  Clients know what they're getting.  I'm hoping to dump a couple hundred face cord in the old hay barn for later this winter.  We'll see if that works out.  I still need to put 30 face cords for myself in my shed too.  October 1st starts the state heating assistant program.  That'll be interesting.

[lopet]

What you mean by state heating assistant program ?
I know customers always come first and than you run out of time to do yours. I've got mine in now but it's just all the crappy stuff I can't sell. ;D

[BargeMonkey]

We call it "welfare wood". Its actually HEAP or home energy assistance program in ny. About 50% of ours actually deserve it. Must be nice to sit on the couch, throw the last stick in the stove and not worry about it because your dependent on someone else.

[Corley5]

Yup, welfare wood is what we call it too

[lopet]

Never heard of that, but as long you get paid for , why not.  I assume it's cash before you dump. 

[North River Energy]

Farthest delivery is maybe 18miles distant. Should have the two-cord truck up and running for next season.

Tine bucket is one of the better investments.  Suspect the round tine works better than flat plate version.
http://youtu.be/FZjX7L7fYgU

Got a little schmutz in the third tip... 
In my defense, is not my tractor, and I have very little time on it.

[lopet]

Yes , the stone forks work pretty good too. I like to shake my bucket while i am loading , but its 'pretty hard on everything so i am thinking about adding a accumulator  or whatever you call that thing ,what absorbs the shock. 

[North River Energy]

^
Like one of those spring-a-ma-jigs mounted back by the operator on the Drott skid-shovels?

Definitely easier to shake the bucket with a skid-steer.  The Deere has push-pull cable controls to the valve bank, which does nothing for dexterity.

[Corley5]

Never heard of that, but as long you get paid for , why not.  I assume it's cash before you dump. 

In Michigan we submit an invoice to Dept. of Human Serv. after the delivery is complete and receive a check in the mail sometime later depending on how fast the local social worker gets their paper work submitted to Lansing.

[BargeMonkey]

Never heard of that, but as long you get paid for , why not.  I assume it's cash before you dump. 

In Michigan we submit an invoice to Dept. of Human Serv. after the delivery is complete and receive a check in the mail sometime later depending on how fast the local social worker gets their paper work submitted to Lansing.

They tried that game with us for quite a while, waiting 30-60-90 days. Nope.  :D Quite a few yrs ago everyone got together and basically froze them out. We get paid, in full, long before the load is even put on the truck. The only thing is, the customer is responsible for any difference from the price and the check, thats where we can get screwed. I believe it starts for us the 2nd week of November. I plan on selling every stick I can lay my hands on this year.

[timberlinetree]

That is a really nice set up!

[Stephen Alford]

 Here you go cfarm, shear in action. The red maple seems happy just to be wanted.  :D

  

 

[thecfarm]

Happy it is-or was.  ;D

[lopet]

So  you're shearing the small stuff and block the bigger ones with the chainsaw and after the splitting it all goes on the conveyor and gets mixed ? Can you tell us a little more about your outfit ? If you already have done so, I must have missed it.

[Atlantic Trader]

Stephen
Could you post a couple of pics of the grapple add on you made for pucking up grabs of split firewood. I want to make one really good idea.

[Stephen Alford]

 

  

  

 

   Just a piece of pipe 20$ cut in half with a couple of tabs. Now that I have access to a plazma cutter I would serrate the lower lip.   


Got to scoot lopet but will be back. Shear is a bit like firearms. Got to pay attention.   

[lopet]

I like your help you self ideas.
Btw  hope you don't mind I copied your vice idea. If it was yours, i owe you. If it wasn't, we both owe.

[Atlantic Trader]

Thanks Stephen

[Stephen Alford]

   Well lopet firewood season never really ends.  Shear wood has been discussed before and it is not every ones cup of tea.  But for me it works.  Land owners I deal with want very little waste. It also is a great way to deal with wood that comes in contact with our clay. Because of early settlement our woodlots in general are not in great shape. So any improvement work or harvesting of any sort yields firewood. For example this is a lot clearing just started...


  

 
The wood is sorted and the shearwood is handled on the right and the larger dia on the left.


 
The shear wood runs between 20 and 30%. It has been referred to as smasher or shovel wood. But it sure dries quick and most folks like the kindling. Looks better on the truck.   :D


 

[lopet]

Hey everybody has got their own way. Most important thing    it works for you.
I bet that took some time to build.
Thanks for re posting.

[BargeMonkey]

 Thats some beautiful round firewood, we get about 10% thats nice like that.