Cutting techniques...

[tungularafishcamp]

Dont know that one Massey and I usually add the saw one to my Sven and Oly jokes.

Rick

 

[LD1]

Storing the wood is a highly debated topic.

Some say outside to let the sun dry it, others say inside (barn/shed) to keep the rain off. Then you have people who tarp it, or only tarp it when it rains, etc.

So I guess there is no right answer. We do both. Inside and outside.

But I will advise of a few things.

1. Stack it on something to hold it off the ground IF possible. This keeps the bottom layer from rotting. Like cement blocks, RR ties, 2x4's, etc.

2. If split, always try to do it bark up if outside. This helps prevent it from soaking up as much moisture every time it rains.

3. If you have to stack more than 1 row, dont stack tight. Leave about 6" to a foot in between rows to help air circulate.

A lot of guys suggest letting wood "season" for 3-4 years, but we burn everything cut over winter-spring, the following year. About May-ish is when the cut-off is for us. After that, what we cut wont be burned that winter, but the following one. But 90% of what we cut is Ash, oak, and maple. They all dry quickly. There are however some species that dont do so well without waiting a few years on. Like ELM (if it wsa green when you cut it), hedge (osage orange), loctus, and I am sure there are a few others.

 

[massey990]

Dont know that one Massey and I usually add the saw one to my Sven and Oly jokes.

Rick

If your not Polish I will PM it to you tomorrow or maybe I will clean it up (PC wise) and post it in the current joke thread...
thanks again for the good timing and the chuckles

 

[Grant1994]

Okay thanks for the advice we have had a real problem with field mice getting into the house since we got the stove and had the wood so I was contemplating building a large open sided shed to stack the wood in but leaving about 12" between rows to make it as uncomfortable for them as possible...also got a few kittens to help try to control the mice!

 

[massey990]

IMO, the point is moot.

It is as simple as....DONT HIT THE DIRT. In MANY years of cutting firewood, downed trees, tops, etc to the tune of 25-30 cord per year, I have NEVER been in a situation where I HAD to go into dirt. There are ways/techniques around that. Hence: why the OP is asking questions. And simple answer is...NO its NOT ok to cut into dirt.

Well, I guess I shouldnt say never, because cutting stumps/roots below ground level is a different story. And even when clearing ALL the dirt possible, you have to change chains VERY frequently.

Fortunatally, we dont cut stumps very often.

curious if you cut all this wood by yourself? even with a tractor and leverage tools cutting that much wood is a lot of work for just one person. Positioning some logs to cut can be a lot more work than sharpening or changing a chain from time to time...

 

[massey990]

Okay thanks for the advice we have had a real problem with field mice getting into the house since we got the stove and had the wood so I was contemplating building a large open sided shed to stack the wood in but leaving about 12" between rows to make it as uncomfortable for them as possible...also got a few kittens to help try to control the mice!

If your bottom rack is off the ground I suggest using something like galvanized wire lathe (stucco type) as a screen to stop snakes trying to get to the mice etc. that make nests in the stacks!

 

[LD1]

curious if you cut all this wood by yourself? even with a tractor and leverage tools cutting that much wood is a lot of work for just one person. Positioning some logs to cut can be a lot more work than sharpening or changing a chain from time to time...

Usually just me and the old man.

And with a tractor, positioning is WAY easier than sharpening.

 

[Grant1994]

Here is our situation... I am 17 years old and I am working with my father to do all of this work so some of the posts are from him and some are from me. Usually we drop one tree at a time and we trade off tree by tree on one I will do all the limbing and positioning an he will buck and then we switch it up on the next one. Up untill this year we were trying to all of this with the ms250 and a 16" bar. Finally we bought the ms290 this year with an 18" bar and we use that for bucking and the 250 for limbing it been a pretty good system so far. We would like to look into getting a small utility tractor but at this point our property can be easily cut with a lawn tractor an besides the wood cutting and minor landscaping tasks we have to use for one so we can't justify it at this point

 

[crazyal]

Okay thanks for the advice we have had a real problem with field mice getting into the house since we got the stove and had the wood so I was contemplating building a large open sided shed to stack the wood in but leaving about 12" between rows to make it as uncomfortable for them as possible...also got a few kittens to help try to control the mice!

I use a shed with one side wide open and the opposite side having the top 2' open. When I stack wood in it I don't tightly stack it so air can blow through it to help it dry.

 

[trailbuilder]

Proper, SAFE and effecive cutting with a chainsaw is difficult to learn from a book...or forum. I sugeest you hire a trained chainsaw pro to give you some hands on lessons.
The tips given are very good but I fell this is a time for hands on with instructor.