bucking firewood there has to be a better way

[Splinter]

Hi All,

Been lurking for a while lots of good stuff here. Did my first harvest last winter, and had the logger leave a few cords of firewood on the landing. I like making firewood, even splitting by hand, but bucking on the ground I do not enjoy. So who has a better way without spending big bucks? Have a kubota RTV and a tractor with loader. My initial thoughts are to make a deck of some kind and cut off of that.

Thanks!

[Ironwood]

Welcome,

  I use a LOOOOONG bar and hire cheap labor to pick it and put the rounds in metal crates or pallets w/ sides. It is hard finding cheap labor even for this. Be careful of the dangers of the long bar :(

Ironwood

[beenthere]

Corely5 has the perfect system....
Place the log, and keep the chain teeth sharp.

[Splinter]

beenthere,

That sure is nice but doesn't pass the big bucks test.

[zackman1801]

really there are only a few things you can do, you can do what you suggested deck them up with the tractor so they arent touching the ground. you can get one of those things you just saw (full processor). or you can do what i mostly do, cut the tree into firewood where it hits the ground, make small community piles from 3-5 trees, and leave them where they are, come back in a month or 2 and move them with a pick up.

[beenthere]

beenthere,

That sure is nice but doesn't pass the big bucks test.

Welcome to the forum...I didn't know there was a test... :D :D :D

[zopi]

getcha a timber jack...lifts the log off the ground, and use a long bar with a powerful saw..I use an MS660 for bucking, and a little Ms180 for limbing...go through an average tree in a few minutes..

[Splinter]

beenthere,

That sure is nice but doesn't pass the big bucks test.

Welcome to the forum...I didn't know there was a test... :D :D :D

I'm gonna like it here. Let me run that one by the finance minister.

[zackman1801]

I use an MS660 for bucking, and a little Ms180 for limbing...go through an average tree in a few minutes..

WOW you use a very large saw for firewood. My Little (in comparison) 365 will do the same job on firewood in no time at all. that thing can do it all.
I also assume when you say through a tree in a few minutes you mean the whole thing limbed and bucked not a few minutes in one cut.

[Tom]

If you do some research and are careful, obeying all of the safety recomendations, you might benefit from a bowbar on your chainsaw.  It is built for bucking and even works pretty good on the ground.

[Onthesauk]

I bought a timber jack, (a homemade one,) at a garage sale a few years ago.  Works pretty slick, but after while gets to be more trouble then it's worth packing it around, putting the saw down, cutting, moving, ect.  Mostly I've now got a routine of cutting as far as I can without hitting the ground, finding a cut I can make all the way through, roll the log with your foot and then go back and finish the cuts.  But doesn't work on the really big stuff and hard on the knees.  My neighbor has a good sized tractor with forks and simply lifts them up, cuts back and forth on each end at waist height.

[Splinter]

I knew i'd see something new here.
never heard of a bow saw before tonight, might take the drudge out of bucking.
Lots of scary comments about them on the web, but not sure how they can kick back if the spur is used.

[Tom]

Here is a Forum thread with a lot of  forum links on Bowsaws. "link"

[zopi]

Yes it is overkill...I bought the saw for milling, then bought a WM, so unless I have a great big log to
quarter out, it sits there..nuh-uuuuhhh...it's gotta earn its keep, so I bust wood with it..it's heavy, and i can't run it for too awful long..about a tank of fuel at best..but it is like cutting wood with a funny car.

I limbed out and bucked a 16" sweetgum the other day...took a half hour, including the drop.

I did have little girls dragging the light stuff out of the way so I could get around it, though.

[beenthere]

I bought a timber jack, (a homemade one,) at a garage sale a few years ago.  Works pretty slick, but after while gets to be more trouble then it's worth packing it around, putting the saw down, cutting, moving, ect.  Mostly I've now got a routine of cutting as far as I can without hitting the ground, finding a cut I can make all the way through, roll the log with your foot and then go back and finish the cuts.  But doesn't work on the really big stuff and hard on the knees.  My neighbor has a good sized tractor with forks and simply lifts them up, cuts back and forth on each end at waist height.

I do as you do...

Tried the forks but there again, the time it takes to get one lifted, then move back and forth from end to end to keep the log balanced, I find that leaving the log on the ground...is much quicker.
Now, if one had a top finger to hold down the log on the forks..then might have a good better system. Also, one reason I like the 20" bar (on Stihl MS361) is it is less bending over for me (5'9").
Now, just needing to get out there and tackle the piled-up logs that have been waiting 2 months for me.

Now Splinter...we do like pics... ;D ;D ;D

[RSteiner]

A few poles or some limb wood on the ground under the stem of the tree usually hold it high enough to buck it up without hitting the ground.  On bigger stuff I saw half way through then roll the stem and finish the cuts. 

However, the method I like the best is when I pull several pieces into a pile with the winch.  The top pieces are easy to buck then I lift the bottom pieces on top of the cut pieces and nothing gets bucked on the ground.

Randy

[John Mc]

Here's a link to the Speedy Firewood Jig: http://www.snakemtrattler.com/Woodjig.htm There are models to mount on a tractor loader or on the 3 point hitch. I like the looks of the loader mount myself (scroll down the page a bit for photos).

The slots to allow cutting to length while the tractor is holding the logs at a comfortable height is a great idea. The idea of holding a load of wood over a truck or trailer, and cutting to length and dropping right into bed seems convenient.

John Mc

[zackman1801]

wow the guy in those pictures scares me cutting with shorts and sneakers on.
usually what i have done in the past is have the wood decked up in a triangular shape like any log deck and start cutting it that way. you just have to be carefull that you dont get a rolling log on your leg or a wood chunk fall off and hit you.

[John Mc]

wow the guy in those pictures scares me cutting with shorts and sneakers on.

Yeah, no eye or hearing protection either. He's not exactly OHSA's poster boy for chainsaw safety, is he?

[leweee]

wow the guy in those pictures scares me cutting with shorts and sneakers on.

Yeah, no eye or hearing protection either. He's not exactly OHSA's poster boy for chainsaw safety, is he?

adds credibility to the product .....don't ya think  :

the name of that website  Cooked it for me. : :D  ;)

[Woodhog]

Just use your loader to brow up the logs as you keep cutting off the pile,  that way most will be off the ground until the pile is almost gone...flip the last few over the last log on the ground then cut that up, if the saw is dulled on the last one your on your way home anyway.

Throw the short pieces in the bucket as you cut along and dump em into your truck or that other thing you mentioned for hauling the firewood out. That will keep them clear of the long wood.
I think you have all the gear you need.. anyway you do it will be the usual sweat shop work...

I used to pick up a grapple full with the pulp loader, hang it over the truck box and cut right into the box, drawback was you got all the sawdust with the load.


Happy grinding ;D

[leweee]

I used to pick up a grapple full with the pulp loader, hang it over the truck box and cut right into the box, drawback was you got all the sawdust with the load.

watch your shins,ankles & feet when you kids at home try this : .....stepping on round rollers can flip you out of the box with a live chainsaw in your hands. :....not a pretty picture.

[beenthere]

Finally tackled the pile of logs, and bucked them up while in the pile.
About 4-5 cords in thus wood pile.



Stacked on 20 pallets for 2 years drying.  About 1/5 cord on each pallet.

[Mooseherder]

Nice Pile BT. ;)
I love your pallet idea.
Do you have a splitter?

[rebocardo]

I love that wood on the pallets with one in the middle, excellent 

[CarlR]

Beenthere,

You said in another post you cover the pallets with roofing material (rubber?).  Are you still using that?  I am tired of getting my tarps back from the east end of my field!

CarlR

[beenthere]

CarlR
Yes, rubber roofing.
I toss a couple split firewood pieces on top to hold it down, and seems to work well.
I've thought about a better way to hold it, but none has come to the surface yet.

I picked up quite a bit of used rubber roofing off craigslist at a reasonable price. Have it cut into squares for each pile. Then I just add a packet of mouse poison to the stacks once in awhile, and a couple weeks before moving a pallet of wood into the garage. That has taken care of the mouse problems pretty much...nock on wood. 

[Meadows Miller]

That sure is nice but doesn't pass the big bucks test.



I'm gonna like it here. Let me run that one by the finance minister.

Gday Splinter and Welcome to the forum Mate.

How Did You go with the Finance Minister  ??. Hope You dont always get a NO  ;) :D You might have to let Her know that theres alot of other Brokers looking for Your
buisness  ;) ;) :D :D :D :D

Reguards Chris McMahon

[warmhart]

CarlR, we use old billboard covers (heavy duty printed vinyl tarps) that we get from the billboard company, and use lengths of chain link to hold them in place. For pallet width.
you need about 10 of fence. I already had some from a project, but it seems to be available on
C.L.

[John Mc]

I had forgotten all about this thread. My techniques have evolved since it first started years ago.

If I just have a few logs to cut, and no equipment with me other than the chainsaw, I have a few methods, depending on the size/weight of the logs (and my mood at the time):

• Pick them up and throw them on top of some rounds or branches to get them up out of the dirt.
• Pick up an end and kick some smaller logs underneath, then do the same to the other end.
• Cut part way through, stopping before I hit dirt, until I find a spot where I can cut all the way through. Then roll that section to finish the cuts. Having a peavey with me minimizes the need to find a place where I can cut through, since it's more likely I can roll the log whole.
• If I have a plastic wedge with me, and the log is just too big to roll (dang, wish I had my LogRite peavey with me), I'll cut most of the way through, then drive a wedge in behind the the bar. If you've cut through far enough drive the wedge hard enough, the log bends at the cut, lifting the cut area up off the ground, allowing you to finish the cut without hitting the dirt. If I don;t have something better with me to drive the wedge, I'll cut a branch of something hard and heavy and a good size for gripping and use that. (I've been known to cut myself a wedge as well, if I don't have my plastic ones with me, but I'm more likely to just wait until I'm back with more equipment before I resort to that)

If I have my tractor and grapple with me, I pile the logs, and just cut from the pile. If I was thinking ahead, I start the pile with skinnier logs on the bottom. When I've cut through the rest of the pile, I just lift up the remaining small logs and put them on top of the already cut rounds. (If I was not thinking ahead, I get the tractor and lift up any large logs and lay them on top.)

[doc henderson]

this is how we cut standing dead elm for firewood to minimize handling.  full crates go on the trailer, off at home.  split it 1 crate at a time, into another crate. bring wood to the house in a crate with pallet forks on skid steer or pallet jack on sidewalk.  Each crate hold 1/4 cord when split. dries ok in crate




 




 




 




 

[mike_belben]

<----- that guy has iron envy. 

[doc henderson]

   amen brother!

[thecfarm]

I like that!!
But I lack a few pieces of equipment to do that. ;D

[Ljohnsaw]

CarlR, we use old billboard covers (heavy duty printed vinyl tarps) that we get from the billboard company, and use lengths of chain link to hold them in place. For pallet width.
you need about 10 of fence. I already had some from a project, but it seems to be available on
C.L.

I've tried getting billboard "tarps".  A guy on CL keeps posting he has some for $10 each but he takes 2 or 3 days to respond - sometimes a week - and I haven't been able to connect to get some.  He just goes dark.  Where do you get yours?

[g_man]

I sell a little firewood but only 8 to 10 foot log lengths. Bucking and splitting would be a big loser for me. For my own modest use I like to buck it up on the trailer, run it thru the splitter, and stack it in the shed in one fell swoop.



 

gg

[John Mc]

g_man - It looks as though you have some hydraulic lines going back to the trailer. What do they do? It doesn't look as though there is a dump bed on it.

[moodnacreek]

Nobody wants to here this. Go to all the sawmill auctions you can and buy a log trough. If they have a L@M cut off saw buy that also. You will need an engine driven hyd. power unit, hydrolic motor for trough and hyd. for saw.  We have done all this. Don't know how? Go to wood shows with camera, pencil and paper and copy others. Most all the parts are off the shelf and have tags on them. And today it is much easyer with the inter net than ever before.

[g_man]

g_man - It looks as though you have some hydraulic lines going back to the trailer. What do they do? It doesn't look as though there is a dump bed on it.

It is a dump trailer


 
But I wanted something more versatile so I added some cross channels and brackets to support stake pockets. I also made some removable side boards.
So now besides the dump bed I have a flat bed.


 


 


 
gg

[mike_belben]

Awesomesauce.

[doc henderson]

very versatile

[gasman1075]

I thought I could re-invent the wheel ( bucking firewood anyways ) so I took 3PT hitch mounted pallet fork ( from Titan )  bought a thumb ( Greens ) had the thumb welded onto the pallet fork, plumbed it and valved it from my read hydraulic ports on my JD 790 and voila I could back it under the log, lift it and pinch it and then buck it up in the air and save my 60 year old abused body. I sold the JD 790 and have not re-plumbed my JD2520 so it sits in my neighbors shed under cover. I spent $1500 more or less to build it and barely used it......

[doc henderson]

great idea.  Keep that bar and chain out of the dirt.

[GRANITEstateMP]

gman,

I saw one of those on C-list a while back, it caught my eye.  I didn't have enough $$$ in my firewood expense account (a small white envelope tucked under my pillow) to buy it.  If I would've had the forethought to have both a dump trailer and flatbed, I would have gone out in the yard and dug out one of my emergency fund mason jars!!!  I really like what you got AND all the versatility of that dump trailer

[g_man]

Thanks for the comps guys

gg