First Cord of Firewood

[Geotech]

OK...so I got an impulse to cut some firewood.  A neighbor down the street had a large pecan tree that was recently felled.  So I spent a day to cut up and bring this stuff home.  Now, I don't have a need, or really a want, for this firewood.  I mostly wanted to put my new saw to work.  But now I have what appears to be 1.5 cords of pecan wood.  I bought an axe, a maul and a hatchet (about $100.00 in total) to chop it up.  Bounce bounce bounce went those tools on most of the big rounds.  So now I need to rent a wood splitter (another $100.00) for a day to process the rounds.  

I'd like to sell this stuff after its cured for a few months.  Firewood is not a particularly valuable commodity around here.  Fireplaces are more for looks than function here in Texas.  But I think there is a better market for BBQ since it's pecan.  I've checked Craigslist and Offerup and there appears to be only a handful of sellers and some random one-off folks (like soon to be me) selling similar wood.  Seems like going price for a cord is about $300.00 and that may or may not include delivery.  Then there are some adds for basically $1.00 per piece of wood.  These are just adds. I don't know if these guys actually have buyers. 

What is the best way to sell this stuff?  I don't want to deliver, requiring me to load, drive and unload.  Plus it could be quite a long drive depending on where in the DFW metroplex area the customer is located.  I think I'd have to charge more than the customer would pay to make it worth my while?  I don't really want to coordinate 100 separate sales of people coming over to buy a single small bundle.  But I don't know what other options I have.  I could contact any of the countless number of BBQ restaurants around town, but I'm a little self conscious that they have people like me bothering them all the time?  I'm just a guy with a desk job that likes messing around in my spare time.  This was some hard labor though, and I'd like to make some money out of it.

Thanks in advance!



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[Hilltop366]

Splitting wedge?

You can use your chainsaw to cut a grove in the end of the block if it is difficult to start a wedge.

[JJ]

If that is all of it, its not a cord.   Maybe 1/2.
Forget the axe and hatchet, keep bouncing that maul - if you can hit same mark couple of times it will split.

Another tip for splitting by hand; don't try to split through center of the big rounds, take off edges and whittle it down.

       JJ

[EOTE]

Advertise it on Craigslist.  Name your price and conditions.  Someone will bite.

[Geotech]

Thanks Etote.  I'll give it a try.

Not a cord?  A cord is 8x4x4.  That's a 20 ft trailer you see in the pic..  Perhaps it will be less than a cord after it's split.  I'll follow up when it's done.  

[JJ]

Was looking at 2nd picture of stacked rounds, I'm not there so not a good judge how much is there at all.  Could be a cord more or less.

       JJ

[barbender]

I'm with JJ. I don't think that's a full cord. Loose rounds take more volume to make a cord. A cord is 128 cubic feet of neatly stacked wood. Loose thrown wood is in the area of 170-180 cubic feet for a cord, depending on length. But yes, it is hard to judge by a picture.

[Wudman]

A pecan tree made me buy my wood splitter.  A tree came down in a neighbors yard and I volunteered to remove it.  I was in pretty good shape at the time and I beat on it for hours with a splitting hammer without much progress.  The hydraulic splitter did the job.  I've been using the same machine for 20 year now.

Wudman

[jmur1]

sell it as smoking wood - smokers like pecan!

[Geotech]

Turned out to be a cord...plus a tiny but more.


 

 

 

 

[straincm]

I was skeptical too of how much was there. Photos can be deceiving. I really like the "portable shade". I will have to remember this next time I need to set up in one spot for a while.

[Geotech]

Yeah, there were some pieces hiding behind the trailer on the second pic.  I debated about putting that canopy up, thinking it might not be worth it for the two morning hours of splitting time I estimated.  After a full day of splitting with a ragged out rental splitter, I was glad I put it up.

I have a 24-acre property about 1.5 hours east of my home chocked full post oaks - mostly small 8 to 12 inch diameter.  I am wondering if it would be worth it to buy an Eastonmade 22-28 with a box wedge and process 4 inch cubes of smoker wood.  Probably not, but it would be an excuse to buy a nice wood splitter.  Problem is that I also want to get a sawmill....

[btulloh]

Problem?  No problem there, just get both. 

Buying more equipment is never a problem. Paying for it can be a little snag sometimes.  :D

[Tacotodd]

Yeah, paying for them is definitely a problem. But with enough of a mindset, it CAN be done. I just hope that I could do it. Swinging a maul gets old fast, but it keeps you in shape.

[EOTE]

Yeah, paying for them is definitely a problem. But with enough of a mindset, it CAN be done. I just hope that I could do it. Swinging a maul gets old fast, but it keeps you in shape.

My wife insisted that I trade in my splitting maul for a splitter even though it is only for personal use heating my barn.  I liked the exercise but honestly with the splitter we bought (Champion 27 Ton) I have done the whole winter's firewood in two afternoons.  Saves me a lot of time.