Don't tar and feather me for this.

[Small Slick]

I get the impression many FF members are sawmill purists; so be gentle.

Does any one use their mill to split logs for firewood?  My dad wants to build a wood processor and about the second question he asked about my mill is if it could be used to make firewood.

I have no intention of doing so but it seems to me two passes through the mill is a lot faster than splitting a bunch of individual blocks.

John

[Chuck White]

John, I'm sure there are quite a few here on the Forum that use their sawmills to split firewood!

Hey, what the heck, if it makes things easier and cheaper, go for it!

[ladylake]

 
  Yes.    Steve

[bandmiller2]

A better tact if the logs are half decent is slab them real heavy you not only get your firewood but lumber also, for a wood shed. Frank C.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Never tried this.
My most efficient method is a chainsaw, tractor, hyd splitter ,52 yr old son and 24 yr old grandson.

[GDinMaine]

TAR AND FEATHER THAT GUY!!!!

Just kidding.  I would say why not, if it makes your life easier. The mill doesn't know if the wood will make a cabinet or burn in the stove.  You are not abusing the equipment, just use the product for a different purpose.   

[thecfarm]

I have never intentionally made firewood with my mill. A few times I have made firewood.  ;D
If you think it will save time,go at it.

[Cedarman]

Come on guys.  You know very well you have made firewood with your mill. Some of you  just not intentionally. :D :D :D :D
Ok, now you remember that shim board you made when you forgot to let the toe roller down. :D :D :D

[YellowHammer]

Sometimes I thought that was all I was doing, generating firewood


YH

[dboyt]

Yes, I've made firewood on the sawmill, and I tend to take heavy slabs when working with low grade wood, because I know it will eventually be used for firewood.

If you set up an efficient way to handle the logs, I believe you'd find that it is faster and more efficient to cut to length and split with a hydraulic (or flywheel) splitter.  Splitting on the mill gives you four times as many logs to crosscut (assuming you are quartering the logs), and you'll probably figure that as long as it is on the mill, you might as well get a few boards out of it.

I set up a log deck for my firewood, sort of a step toward a processor.  It lets me do all the lifting with the front end loader, gets the wood off the ground for cutting, the chain saw only starts once per log, and all the wood is next to the splitter, ready to go.  What it comes down to, is that the splitter is more efficient at splitting wood than a band saw blade, with less maintenance.

Here are a couple of photos of my log deck.


  

 

[Billbob]

I get the impression many FF members are sawmill purists; so be gentle.

Does any one use their mill to split logs for firewood?  My dad wants to build a wood processor and about the second question he asked about my mill is if it could be used to make firewood.

I have no intention of doing so but it seems to me two passes through the mill is a lot faster than splitting a bunch of individual blocks.

John

The firewood would stack alot nicer!

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

The first year I got my mill, I did cut firewood.
I would saw a log into strips and then to lengths with the chainsaw.
IMO....no work was saved.
The second year, the sawmill business exploded and I didn't have time.
Now I give a guy all my crooked logs for firewood has long as he cuts me 2 loads a year.
Works out pretty good this way.

Tar and Feather?......I get it every week from somebody.  ;D

[Magicman]

It would be better to say that I have used stuff off of the sawmill for firewood rather than intentionally making firewood on the sawmill.  Yes it would work, but it would be slow and very inefficient.  The close stacking would impede drying and two pieces together in the firebox can be cumbersome. 

No tar or feathers for you.   

[trapper]

Even if not stacked tightly wouldnt split dry faster than sawed?

[Barney II]

I tried it  one time some years back--a lot of it.  It made the nicest stack, even the neighbor commented-----------It just did not dry----yep, should have known better.  Haven't done it since and it really never saved that much time-----Don

[Al_Smith]

I've had stuff sawn that probabley would have better served as firewood if that accounts for anything other than stupidity .

[Dave Shepard]

I've cut up stuff that I couldn't split with a maul, like a 24" knotty hard maple.

[OneWithWood]

I have cut some firewood on the mill and even dried some in the kiln.
None of it was intentional but all of it burned just fine  ;D

[GAB]

OneWithWood wrote: "I have cut some firewood on the mill and even dried some in the kiln.  None of it was intentional but all of it burned just fine."   To me this is a salvage operation you salvage what you can.
Al_Smith wrote: "I've had stuff sawn that probabley would have better served as firewood if that accounts for anything other than stupidity."   I have seen some very interesting and unique wood from some butt ugly logs, and some bad lumber from beautiful logs.  I agree with the statement - a log is like a Christmas present - you do not know what is inside until you open it.  Gerald

[Al_Smith]

I've got some interesting rough sawn that was the top 35 feet of a hundred foot white oak .Some is usable in board lengths and some will make shortys-6,8 footers .Some of the limb knots air dried solid and some did not .

I suppose that's just the way that works out on a log or logs that would otherwise be a cull .The drops will just be higher priced firewood if nothing else .Ooooh white oak burns goood .

[Ianab]

Local guy was using a twin saw (Mahoe) to break down big old pine logs. The logs were a bit everage, some big knots and rotten spots, so he was only getting about 50% recovery of good boards.

But what he did was cut 4x4s, which he had a good market because of the size, age of the trees, which made strong posts for building.

Anyway his setup was the mill dragged the sawn board back onto a roller table where they could check the quality. If it was good, it was flipped off onto the "good" stack. If it was a reject or a slab, it went on out the other end, and into an automatic chop saw and conveyor, powered by a tractor. This cut the 4x4s into ~12" pieces, and loaded them onto a small dump truck with no extra handling.

So he had it figured out that with the low sawing costs of he small circle mill, even if the whole log was rejects, he still made a small profit on the 2 loads of firewood it produced, with very little labour input. The boards where only handled once on the roller table, and where either stacked (ready to be loaded on to a truck) or pushed into the processor.

So I don't think the idea is so crazy.  :D

Ian

[47sawdust]

Dboyt and all others,

Log deck for firewood--youtube''Best way to cut firewood Al Holter''
No tech good idea!
How ever you do it,still hard work but satisfying.

[Small Slick]

So I said in my post I didn't plan on using the mill for this purpose and that hasn't changed; however.

My dad has a dream of building a processor for fire wood. He is going to build a guilateen (that word is French and I can't spell in English so...) first to be sure  that works before he makes the splitter part. My Idea is this:

In order to save him time and money we use my saw to split logs. Then there is a gravity powered roller conveyor the split log flows down until it hits a stop plate. This stop plate is 16" from the shear my dad made. The shear shears and the block falls into a hopper is conveyed up an elevator to a dump truck and off to be stacked.

Again my mill wasn't bought to do that task but dull bands could be used and splitting is very labor intensive. I know it won't dry as well as split wood. It will have to be stacked differently too.

John

[customsawyer]

I do it on occasion. When I do it I unload with the tractor and place a bunch on a log type log deck. I then take the saw with the 48" bar and cut about 15-20 blocks per cut. I then stack it with other wood that was split on the splitter so it will dry better.

[Sixacresand]

A log splitter is a lot cheaper than a mill.