How Long to wait for cutting up tree into Firewood?

[deepNdirt]

lately here in Ga, we have been experiencing large amount of rainfall, Yesterday we had a flash flood on top of already soaked grounds, when the rain stopped I took a walk down to our creek and found it out of the banks and the large Oak tree that stood on the bank-side the water had washed out the root system and the tree fell, the tree stood close to 100 ft tall and was approx 3 1/2 ft. thick, the root ball is the size of an SUV, ... other then the tree being and eyesore to the creek area it is not hurting anything laying there,
This tree will provide many truck loads of fire wood and I would give it to anyone who is willing to cut and take it away, However if no one wants it,
I'll most likely cut it up myself get a splitter and sale the wood to pay for my time gas and effort,....... My question is how long should a hardwood tree lay before attempting to cut it up into firewood? or is there a time at all? I do cut down small tree's from time to time and when I cut them I go ahead and cut it into manageable lengths so I can handle them and get them out of the way,
but never really bother to split the wood into firewood, as they usually are only less than 1 ft thick,
Thanks

 

[MMagis]

I’m sure someone know better than me, but I would think that if you went ahead and started cutting/splitting now, but the time “firewood season” came around it would be seasoned enough.

 

[dmccarty]

I would TRY to cut it up as soon as you have time and you can safely access the tree....

Some oaks will last years on the ground and still make good firewood. Others do not last long at all.

We had a wind storm at least 2-3 years back that took down some of our biggest hardwoods. One was 32-36 inches. I have used the top for firewood. The trunk to the first limbs was 60ish feet. I can't afford a saw mill to saw it up so it will be cordwood. Which I hate to do. Straight trunk and big.

I checked the tree a sixish months ago and it was still ok. A tree that came down with it was not in good shape.

The same storm took down a large hardwood, I think it is a Hickory, that is over 36 inches. A BIG tree. When it feel it took out big oaks and as a result it is not laying on the ground. But it is remote and I will have to build a trail to get to the tree. No way to get a tractor to it....

I cut down three dead oaks last Friday. They have been dead a couple of years. One seems to be in great firewood shape. They other one looks to be past its firewood prime but we will still use it.

Later,
Dan

 

[Mousefield]

Should be easier to split before it drys. Will make it heavier to move around but I try to cut and split before to many months go by.

 

[beenthere]

Agree, no time is good. but no time is bad as far as cutting and splitting if not going to supply your own dry firewood (dries better/faster when split).

Mousefield, that sure looks like a handy tool/attachment for moving big blocks of wood and logs.

 

[magicheater]

My question is how long should a hardwood tree lay before attempting to cut it up into firewood? or is there a time at all?
Thanks

You can cut it up right away or wait 10 years if you want. Logs kept out of ground contact can last a long time. Each species differs. With hardwoods, when dry, they are a little harder on your chain and bar than when green. I try to chunk mine up as soon as possible and then split when I have time. Chunks will dry more than a long length. Oak needs to cure 2 years before use. Hope this helps.

 

[forgeblast]

Normally i try to drop, cut, and split the same day. I will then take the spits and throw them into a pile out in the sun for 3-4 weeks, then i will stack them. I must say i will only stack them in the rounded (cant remember the name) hay stack form from now on. It went from green to seasoned in 4-5 mts (even with the whole summer not haveing 3 days between rain last year). It was easy to pull logs from and took up less space.
If you are going to sell it, you may want to stack it in the amount you will sell it as.
cord, 1/2 cord, face cord, or campfire bundles.
But cutting while its still green makes it easier, splitting if it is not splitting easy just let it dry a bit, but i split by hand if your using a splitter then you shouldnt have any issues.

 

[brin]

deep - I had a big Oak like you describe come down right at the entrance to my farm..those things are huge...I found a guy down the road that wanted it and he had a big enough chain saw to handle it and I gave it to him...he cut it into slices and his son split it by hand on site while it was still green..and they hauled it away ..They even left me some..saved my back.

 

[rmully]

The sooner you cut and split the faster it will dry.

 

[Mousefield]

[QUOTE
Mousefield, that sure looks like a handy tool/attachment for moving big blocks of wood and logs. [/QUOTE]

Thats part of the reason I got the tractor with backhoe, has a 7 position thumb. Easy on the back, splitter has a flat "table " so nice for putting the rounds on without rolling off. :thumbsup:

 

[Mousefield]

You can cut it up right away or wait 10 years if you want. Logs kept out of ground contact can last a long time. Each species differs. With hardwoods, when dry, they are a little harder on your chain and bar than when green. I try to chunk mine up as soon as possible and then split when I have time. Chunks will dry more than a long length. Oak needs to cure 2 years before use. Hope this helps.

Up our way it takes about 2 years on the ground or off the ground (left in the open) and logs will start to get rotten, it's our wet climate.

 

[Pilot]

As someone said, it depends on the species and conditions.

We dropped a bigleaf maple a few weeks ago and have just finished splitting it. Split OK when wet, a lot easier than Douglas-fir.

I have been told that maple requires over a year to cure.

Doug-fir, on the other hand splits better when dry and dries faster when cut into firewood lengths. And leaving it in the woods invites bark beetles which carry with them a fungus that rapidly rots the sapwood. In just a few months, the sapwood can be rotten. Still burns, tho. DF can cure in one summer if cut up, kept dry off the dirt and if you start early in the summer, but late spring is even better.

You can get a moisture meter for about $20 or less from Harbor Freight. My DF stabilizes at about 16% moisture and that's as dry as it gets except for a little day to day variation with humidity in the air. That's stored under shelter on concrete, protected from rain, but open to surrounding air.

 

[MossRoad]

The sooner you cut and split the faster it will dry.

That is about the only 100% sure advice given here today! :laughing: :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

If you have a decent splitter, it really doesn't matter when you split it, because the splitter is doing the work, not you.

What does matter, and someone else has mentioned, is wet logs are heavier, so if you wait for them to dry out it will be easier to lift them onto the splitter.

Once it is split, how long it will take to dry depends on a lot of variables:
Species of wood.
Size of pieces.
Starting moisture level.
Relative humidity.
Shade or sun.
Wind or calm.
Lots of things.

I had great success cutting the trees in the fall and leaving them lay all winter, then splitting and stacking early in the summer and burning the same wood in the fall/winter/spring last year. But I would really like to get two years ahead to get a little more drying time. That would be nice.

 

[deepNdirt]

That is about the only 100% sure advice given here today! :laughing: :thumbsup:

If this tree were to be in my front yard I would be cutting it up today instead of sitting here on this puter I'm hoping I can find someone to take it away and I not have to deal with it and this is kind of the reason I asked about the time of leaving it sit, if needing to cut it now while still green will make it easier on the saw then I might need to go ahead and do it, my saw only has a 20" bar so its not going through the trunk in just one pass, it will be a bit of a challenge for me, but the right person with the right equipment could most likely get the job done quickly, to have such a large tree I'm wondering if they would need to wait or could go ahead and start cutting now, if it winds up I do have to cut it myself it will probably not be done until fall when the ground is dryer and temps are cooler,
so far from what I can tell the tree has taken down several other smaller tree's, actually mangled them up pretty bad, so these will have to be cut as well, we try to keep the creek and woods around it cleaned up and hang out some there with the granchildren playing in the water they like fishing for the horny heads, & crawfish etc, so I wouldn't want the tree to lay there for a real long time, So Brin! who is this that will take tree's away for the wood?:thumbsup:

 

[Uncle Doug]

A tree that size is not one that will be cut up over a weekend. I would start with the small limbs and work my way back to the trunk. The trunk will last for years. I still have several 36" oak trunks down in my pasture from Hurricane Ike about 18 months ago. I went thru and cut all the easy stuff first then work on the larger pieces when I have time.

 

[dodge man]

Like someone said, the time it takes to dry varies. Oak may dry as fast as a few months, or it make take over a year. I've cut up a few larger trees, but still smaller than you have. It's not worth the effort unless you have a big saw, which I don't. It's really not worth the effort to cut it up, split it and sell it unless you enjoy the work, or already have the equipment. Around here a truck load of fire wood will go for less than $100, and maybe closer to $50. For me thats not worth the effort to load it and unload it, let alone cut and split it. I cut and split my own, and thats about all the fun I can stand.

A tractor does make the work alot easier in terms of moving the large pieces around and hauling the split wood.

 

[WayneB]

Up our way we burn a bunch of White Oak. Normally, I will cut and split the wood and then it will be two years before I start burning it. Oak takes a bit of time to dry.

Green wood here sales for around $175 - $225 a full cord. I would think you would be better off finding someone to come and cut it up and haul it away. Not fun trying to cut and split the big ones. Just moving a piece of the trunk wood will be extremely heavy, be careful on your back!

Not sure what type of oak you are talking about, but green white oak will weigh in at around 68-70 pounds per cubic foot.

Someone mentioned cutting up the small stuff and work your way to the trunk, good advice.

Good luck with the project.

 

[two_bit_score]

The sooner you cut and split the faster it will dry.

Brevity is the soul of wit.............and in this case absolutely accurate. :thumbsup:

 

[PILOON]

To dry and season, wood needs to breathe and the best way is in cut/splt form as there is more area for it to breathe,
So while cut and split is best, at least cut to lenghth'
In fact you will probably see the sap oozing out of the cut ends.