Thinking About Log Length Firewood

[GregbkH]

I can carry more wood on my pallet forks than you can carry in your grapples. Nanny Nanny Boo Boo! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Seriously, I can carry a bunch more wood than shown in the photo of the grapples. This depends on the tractor and FEL but I can carry at least twice as much as what is in the photo.

Yeah, that photo shows a small load. I was hinge cutting and accidentally cut one all the way down so I carried just that tree out. However, I can get 5-6 10" logs in there. I cut them at 9' and carry them out of the woods through hilly terrain. I usually never get off the tractor, just grab and go. No lashing the load. I'm thinking the grapple gets them out easier and faster.

 

[dstig1]

Ummm, having used both forks and a grapple to move logs, I can assure you that the grapple is far faster. With forks, you have to be balanced very close to the Cg of the log to make it work. Much less so with the grapple, though that does also make you more careful in transport as you can get tippy if you are too far off. I never was able to just lift a log with forks and drive away (for the most part). Always required adjustments to keep it balanced. Never an issue with the grapple, and I can just grab a log or two and go without getting off at all. Dismounting to futz with stuff is the biggest time killer I have run into.

Dan, maybe you are God of the Forks, but I sure wasn't...the grapple fixed all that.

 

[PapaPerk]

Ummm, having used both forks and a grapple to move logs, I can assure you that the grapple is far faster. With forks, you have to be balanced very close to the Cg of the log to make it work. Much less so with the grapple, though that does also make you more careful in transport as you can get tippy if you are too far off. I never was able to just lift a log with forks and drive away (for the most part). Always required adjustments to keep it balanced. Never an issue with the grapple, and I can just grab a log or two and go without getting off at all. Dismounting to futz with stuff is the biggest time killer I have run into.

Dan, maybe you are God of the Forks, but I sure wasn't...the grapple fixed all that.

You should have log CG aligned with tractor CG anyway. I like my forks... They are real forks not bucket forks. You put them down... Drive them up under the log and pick up. Doesn't get easier than that! If log is odd shaped and won't balance back up and drive forward towards one end of log.

Also forks adjust to around 48" spacing so they tolerate some CG misalignment. Forks are my most used implement... Moving pallets, logs, brush, machinery, furniture, etc etc! Handy as a pocket in a shirt. And with the QA bracket they pop right off in seconds so I can install my loader bucket or tree spade.

 

[TnAndy]

I'm pretty good with my forks as well. Rarely have to I have to re-position on an off centered log.....after a while, you can just about look at one and tell pretty close where the center of balance is. Spread the forks 4' wide, and you can be off quite a bit and still go with it.

But I can see where a grapple would be quite handy for brush and gathering bunches of small logs....that IS a PITA with forks.

One question for grapple owners.....where do you get the extra hydraulic connection for the grapple ? ( I assume the top part is hydraulically operated) And how do you operate it ?

 

[gwdixon]

Or just build one of these (smallest of 3 tongs shown):

View attachment 365189

Then haul the logs one at a time to the splitting area and cut them up at waist height. Great for a bad back.

 

[GregbkH]

One question for grapple owners.....where do you get the extra hydraulic connection for the grapple ? ( I assume the top part is hydraulically operated) And how do you operate it ?

I use one of my 3 hyd. remotes with lines that I have run up front.

 

[CalG]

Or just build one of these (smallest of 3 tongs shown):

View attachment 365189

Then haul the logs one at a time to the splitting area and cut them up at waist height. Great for a bad back.

The front end of the tractor can sure take a beating that way!.

I use the tongs on the loader to lift big rounds up on to the splitter. That's banging around enough!

 

[CalG]

On the splitting side of the house, we burn 33 centimeter logs. We cut our logs at one meter, split the wood and then cut the splits into thirds. saves a lot of splitting.

How do you safely and efficiently cut a 1 meter stick into 3 pieces? Cutting shorts has always posed a problem for me.

(With that, the downstairs stove takes 28" (71cm) so the X3 size is very manageable to cut. But the parlor stove could do well on 33cm pieces. And you are right, splitting the shorts is wasteful of time and effort.

Tell me your method! ;-)

 

[i579rbd]

We use a pto driven saw. You have a large tray that can hold several logs at once. Throw your 1 meter splits on and lift the tray. The cut is made, drop the tray and slide the splits over for the final cut on that group. I am actually collecting some pics of friends and I cutting wood for a thread on how they do that here. (I live and work most of the year in Bavaria or southern Germany). A large majority of my German friends heat with just wood or a combo of solar HW and wood.

 

[brokenknee]

I purchase most of my wood from the local loggers in 8 foot lengths. Just had 12 cord delivered last week. I do have 40 acres but mostly poplar and pine. I pay $70 for a full cord of oak and ash mix delivered. I am sure the driver will know, but make sure they lay the first logs down the way the pile will run, that way you only have about eight logs on the ground. If done this way you do not need to worry about the logs rotting on the ground.

I do not have the luxury of a grapple, but did purchase a set of pallet forks last year (not bucket forks) as others have stated one of the best purchases I have made for my tractor. It is not difficult to grab a load of logs off the stack and have them balanced to move. I plan on building a rack once the frost goes out of the ground were I can grab a load of logs with my forks, set them on the rack so I can cut them without bending over. The way the weather has been it will most likely be about a month or so before I can start my project.

I have the logs delivered right next to were I process and store my wood. Buying wood in log length does take a lot of work out of the process, but is still a lot of work. I have been burning around 10 to 12 full cords a year. This year I put in a new epa stove, which should cut down on the amount of wood I burn. I also put in a pellet stove for when I am out of town for work so it is easier for the wife to handle. The pellet stove heats the house fine, however they are noisy and not as nice to look at as a "real" fire. There is also work involved with them.

Wood is are main source of heat with electric baseboard backup.

 

[deerseeker001]

I always cut mine in 8 ft lengths and would pile it up when i figured i had enough which was about 10 full cord.I would setup the saw rig and cut it up.

 

[Rustyiron]

I have been thinking about buying log length firewood. I could get easy delivery and off-load at the bottom of my hill, but after cutting would have to haul up the hill to split and stack in the shed. Also, I would need to rent a splitter once a year for about 3 cords at a time.

What is your experience? I have cut a bunch of logs that I skidded out of the woods but ran out of that supply. I only have the tractor bucket and chains to move the logs around. What is the best way to manage cutting a stack of 6 to 10 cords of log length?

Just yank 'em up the hill to where you process them. Most log loads here in ME are pretty small (logs) with a 16" being on the big & rare side (for size). Even with your smaller tractor you should be able to pull them one at a time from the pile with a chain, get it to where you can short chain it, and if you don't have some sort of hitch on the 3pt to raise it off the ground, use the bucket and back up. A log dragging on your new driveway will not harm it if properly compacted, but might end up with a little bark ground into it that will come out. Avoid dragging the log on the edges of the pavement.
Be careful around your log pile, they can all of a sudden shift and roll out flat when disturbing it. No harm done, just be aware of it and don't leave a saw or worse, a helper stand to either side of the pile while dragging the logs out of it.
edit; where your chain is attached to the log WILL mess up your pavement. Raise it off the ground.

 

[gwdixon]

The front end of the tractor can sure take a beating that way!.

I use the tongs on the loader to lift big rounds up on to the splitter. That's banging around enough!

Actually, the butt of the log never gets near the front end or grill guard. The log is lifted so 6" to a foot of the butt is sticking out toward the grill guard front of the tractor. The lugs (actually short lengths of welded re-bar) holds the log in place. With proper ballast it can lift a 16' length of 30" green eucalyptus. Any longer or heavier and it is cut to 8' for loading.

I take the 16' lengths home from the wood lot on an 18', 7000 lb Big Tex diamond plate car hauling trailer. The same log carrier is used to load the trailer. It doesn't take too many logs to overload the trailer but is only pulled at 5 mph max down the road with the tractor.

As already stated, standing straight up while sawing the log into rounds is a breeze. All the rounds end up in a pile waiting for the splitter to do its work.

Here is a photo of my smaller L3650 (since sold) when the logs were chained to the bucket for cutting. Same idea, just a smaller tractor and smaller log. I call it the "narwal look".

View attachment 365284

 

[Creamer]

I have pallet forks for my 3 pt. It is easy to back-up under big logs and smaller ones I can pile on top. A couple of straps and i can haul a half a cord out of the woods in one load. Get to where I am cutting it and leave the straps in place and start from the outside in. The logs are held secure and off the ground and makes it really easy to cut a lot very quickly. I just have to watch the front bottom one because it is next to the toolbar but a couple of cut pieces to space it away solves that problem. This is hte least handling i know of.

 

[dmccarty]

Yeah, that photo shows a small load. I was hinge cutting and accidentally cut one all the way down so I carried just that tree out. However, I can get 5-6 10" logs in there. I cut them at 9' and carry them out of the woods through hilly terrain. I usually never get off the tractor, just grab and go. No lashing the load. I'm thinking the grapple gets them out easier and faster.

Ummm, having used both forks and a grapple to move logs, I can assure you that the grapple is far faster. With forks, you have to be balanced very close to the Cg of the log to make it work. Much less so with the grapple, though that does also make you more careful in transport as you can get tippy if you are too far off. I never was able to just lift a log with forks and drive away (for the most part). Always required adjustments to keep it balanced. Never an issue with the grapple, and I can just grab a log or two and go without getting off at all. Dismounting to futz with stuff is the biggest time killer I have run into.

Dan, maybe you are God of the Forks, but I sure wasn't...the grapple fixed all that.

Just takes practice with the forks. Moving wood is easy. I bought the forks to move cubes of bricks we had from building our house. The cubes needed to be moved which require pallet forks. The forks are JUST small enough to fit inside the "tunnels" in the brick cubes used to pick up the mass. The forks have to be aligned just right in three dimensions or bricks will be broken or pushed out of the cubes. I broke and pushed out a few bricks but I learned real quick on how to get things aligned just so. Some of it is by feel too. Moving logs is easy peasey.

A tree in the woods seldom falls where it is easy to get the tractor. Usually, for the larger logs, say the first six logs from the stump, I can get get the tractor in to load the loads on the pallet forks without having to leave the seat. The first few logs from the stump I might only be able to get two or maybe three logs on the tractor before hitting weight issues. The last few logs I can get more on the forks but then you get into the smaller logs from the tree tops. Those logs simply have to be manually loaded. No way to get to those logs without moving them by hand first. If I thought a grapple would help, I would go buy one. Right now I have a mess to clean up from trees we had bulldozed down. A grapple would be better than my 4n1 bucket but not that much better to justify the cost since I will only have to make a few more trips with the 4n1 vs the grapple.

I cut my logs into 6 to maybe 9' feet which is very easy to balance on the forks. I can't go much bigger since that would make it harder/impossible to drive out of the woods. The biggest time killer for me is running from the location of the downed tree to where I split store wood. Transporting the logs is what takes time. Getting off the tractor to load logs that have to be manually moved anyway is nothing in comparison to moving the logs from point A to B. I am all about saving time, since I don't have much time to get chores done, if I thought a grapple would be more efficient I would buy one ASAP. For me, the pallet forks works much better for moving logs AND I can use the forks to get palletitzed stuff into and out of the truck.

Later,
Dan

 

[dstig1]

I cut my logs into 6 to maybe 9' feet

Aha! We have a difference of opinion as to what construes a "log"! I would agree that using forks on such short logs would not be all that bad. You set the forks wide and you are only hanging over a couple feet at most. In my definition, a log is basically a whole tree or maybe half or third of it (depending on how massive the tree is). Almost impossible to get perfectly balanced on forks. With the grapple, that is much improved. Sure, you cannot be waaay off center or you will cause all kinds of other problems and potentially tweak the grapple or loader or even tip the tractor, but it allows you a lot of flexibility. When you have something sticking out 10' on each side of the grapple or forks, it gets a lot more interesting... Now I see where you are coming from.

 

[TnAndy]

I cut most of mine 8-10' lengths as well, and haul out on pallet forks. If you cut much longer, you spend a whole lot of time manuevering around other standing trees.

For sawmilling, I do cut them 8-20', but then I skid out with a rear mounted winch. Often, I'll have both smaller stuff on the forks and dragging a larger log behind.

 

[HillStreet]

UPDATE: I did in fact buy a truckload of log length wood, delivered yesterday. The driver delivered them to the flat area at the bottom of my hill where I have access all the way around.

He put the pile on runners to keep them off the ground. My plan is to cut/split/stack at least half of the 9 cords this spring, and do the rest in the fall/winter.

My wood for the winter of 14/15 is already put up and seasoned and dry, so this puts me 3 years ahead of the game.

My motivation for doing this was the cost of propane going up, and lately it has been hard to find wood delivered under $245 a cord green. So now, I feel like it's money in the bank. I need the exercise too.

Oh, and I just sharpened my 5 chains on my new Chicago Electric chain saw sharpener from Harbor Freight. It clearly is not a commercial grade tool but it seems it did a good job, I will know soon how well they cut wood.

 

[murphy1244]

UPDATE: I did in fact buy a truckload of log length wood, delivered yesterday. The driver delivered them to the flat area at the bottom of my hill where I have access all the way around.

He put the pile on runners to keep them off the ground. My plan is to cut/split/stack at least half of the 9 cords this spring, and do the rest in the fall/winter.

My wood for the winter of 14/15 is already put up and seasoned and dry, so this puts me 3 years ahead of the game.

My motivation for doing this was the cost of propane going up, and lately it has been hard to find wood delivered under $245 a cord green. So now, I feel like it's money in the bank. I need the exercise too.

Oh, and I just sharpened my 5 chains on my new Chicago Electric chain saw sharpener from Harbor Freight. It clearly is not a commercial grade tool but it seems it did a good job, I will know soon how well they cut wood.

What did you pay for that 9 cords? What do you call a cord?

 

[peterc38]

What did you pay for that 9 cords? What do you call a cord?

In Maine (where the OP is) we call a cord 4' x 4' x 8'. I have never seen other colloquial terms used like "face" cord or "rick".