cord wood. A thing of the past?

[JerryK]

Up here, you can buy split firewood by the face cord.. but that could be anything from 12" to 18" depending on who is cutting it or who is selling it. It is buyer beware, keep you eyes open... Have a lot of logging up here, and they sell firewood by the truckload in 10 or 20 cord loads, each cord being 4'x4'x8'. That's what most folks buy to cut up for boiler wood. The truck holds 10 cord, and the pup trailer hauls another 10. I cut my trees 7.5', and my firewood is cut into 18" blocks, then split and stacked. The 18" fits my stove and makes my piles a little less tippy when I stack up to 5' high. I cut/split/stack the good part of the trees and give the odd pieces/chunks/etc. to my neighbors... Usually have too many trees I want to take down to keep up with burning it all.

 

[EddieWalker]

Interesting discussion.

 

[EarPlug]

A "cord" of wood does have a Legal description - From Wikipedia

The cord is a unit of measure of dry volume used to measure firewood and pulpwood in the United States and Canada.
A cord is the amount of wood that, when "racked and well stowed" (arranged so pieces are aligned, parallel, touching and compact), occupies a volume of 128 cubic feet (3.62 m3).[1] This corresponds to a well-stacked woodpile 4 feet (122 cm) high, 8 feet (244 cm) long, and 4 feet (122 cm) deep; or any other arrangement of linear measurements that yields the same volume.

 

[jerrybob]

Old Jake had cut firewood by hand with a swede saw for a living going on 50 years. He averaged about four cords a day. His son was home from college and watching him work remarked, "You could probably cut 10 times as much if you bought yourself a chainsaw."

"Not interested in those new fangled things," Jake responded.

His son returned to college and Jake began to think that maybe the young guy was right; his old body seemed to ache more and more at the end of the day. So he went into town and bought a brand new top-of-the-line chainsaw.

The first couple days were not very productive--he only cut one cord each day. By the third day he had cut 3 cords but was dead tired. "This is not working," he thought to himself, "My son said I should be able to cut 10 cords a day. I'm taking this stupid thing back."

The next day he was in the hardware store complaining to the sales clerk about his lack of production. "Blade seems a little dull, but not that bad. Let's start it up," the clerk muttered as he pulled the starting cord.

"What the **** is that noise?" Jake hollered.

 

[turnkey4099]

A "cord" of wood does have a Legal description - From Wikipedia

The cord is a unit of measure of dry volume used to measure firewood and pulpwood in the United States and Canada.
A cord is the amount of wood that, when "racked and well stowed" (arranged so pieces are aligned, parallel, touching and compact), occupies a volume of 128 cubic feet (3.62 m3).[1] This corresponds to a well-stacked woodpile 4 feet (122 cm) high, 8 feet (244 cm) long, and 4 feet (122 cm) deep; or any other arrangement of linear measurements that yields the same volume.

Same in most states. Where it is included in the state weights and measures regs, they usually also go on to state that any othr measure such as face cord, pulp cord(which is the same as a "cord"), load, rick, etc. are specifically banned for selling wood. Rarely enforced though.

Harry K

 

[Garandman]

Same in most states. Where it is included in the state weights and measures regs, they usually also go on to state that any othr measure such as face cord, pulp cord(which is the same as a "cord"), load, rick, etc. are specifically banned for selling wood. Rarely enforced though.

Harry K

Live and learn. PRM*:

Section 298. Cordwood sold or offered or exposed for sale shall be four feet in length. The term ''firewood'' shall be construed to mean and include wood cut to any lengths of less than four feet and more than eight inches.

Cordwood and firewood shall be advertised, offered for sale and sold only in terms of cubic feet or cubic meters which will be construed as indicating the closely stacked cubic foot or cubic meter content to be delivered to the purchaser.

The terms ''cord'', ''face cord'', ''pile'', ''truckload'' or terms of similar import shall not be used in the advertising and sale of cordwood or firewood.

The term ''kindling wood'' shall be construed to mean and include all split wood, edgings, clippings or other waste wood averaging eight inches in length.

Except as provided by sections two hundred and forty-three and two hundred and forty-seven, the standard unit of measure for kindling wood shall be the bushel of two thousand one hundred and fifty and forty-two hundredths cubic inches.

* People's Republic of Massachusetts.

 

[turnkey4099]

Live and learn. PRM*:



* People's Republic of Massachusetts.

Did you miss the "usually"?

I wonder if dthere is even a market for 4' "cordwood" anymore. Used to steamer stops up and down the Mississippi and other rivers for the paddle wheelers to load up to feed the boilers.

 

[KennyG]

The Massachusetts law is a great example of over regulation such that no one understands it and no one follows it. I would guess you would find ads for wood in violation of this statute all over the state. A few years ago a book was published called "Three Felonies a Day" suggesting that the law is now so complex and illogical that anyone can be arrested on any day. It was written by a Boston lawyer.

 

[GLyford]

I had to dig to find the change. Wow, selling by the cord in MA has been illegal since 1979! That was not a well publicized change, I still see wood advertised by the cord (as well as truckload).

I also see that anything under 8" long is not to be listed as "firewood" but as "kindling". Considering that was 1/10th the last load my wife bought.

Pretty sure the next load I buy will be a truckload of hardwood logs. I'll get to turn it into firewood myself...

 

[CobyRupert]

Yeah, a cord is a well defined amount (128 cu. ft). Well, sort of well defined until you get into how tightly stacked (if stacked!) and the geometry of the pieces (round pieces, many small diameter pieces of the firewood, etc..) which can determine how much, and how many, air gaps are between the pieces. And frankly, how many pieces (labor) you need to handle 4 times before it gets into your stove!

...but who cares!
If I sell you "that much, right there" for x dollars, what does the government care what I call it? Buyer beware if I call it a "face cord", " 1 pick-up load", or "this much". This is where "the market" / consumer should decide if the price is worth it. The market will then demand (or at least inquire) on how many cords ( or cu.ft.) they are buying for x dollars and if the guy down the road has a better price. .
Besides, there's so many other factors besides volume (the moisture content, type of wood, etc.. ) that are a factor. - I'd better be quiet, or the government will make sellers list the moisture content, species, age of tree, average grain width, date cut, date split, density, bark content, etc...