Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Billrog]

Creamer for me I find 6 to 10" diameter about the easiest to deal with. To small it seems forever to cut it up to large harder to handle. 12" isn't all that bad but the ones bigger than that are more handling for me splitting. Even 4" cut and left round takes so many trees the clean-up is a big chore. 10" dia. trees here are 5 trees per cord of wood so if I had the choice that's what I'd cut.

 

[Rustyiron]

Just kind of seems that when I work with smaller wood, I am always pleased with the added stockpile. When I bust my back with big wood, I always seem to end up thinking "Is that all?" I got for all that work!

I understand your question and have wondered the same thing. One thing with the smaller (6-10") stuff is that it takes a LOT of those stems to make a pile. What is more effort, gathering up 20 or so smaller stems, in my case from thinning/maintaining the woods, or a half dozen or so 16-18" nice mediun sized logs but more splitting?

 

[Rustyiron]

Just kind of seems that when I work with smaller wood, I am always pleased with the added stockpile. When I bust my back with big wood, I always seem to end up thinking "Is that all?" I got for all that work!

I understand your question and have wondered the same thing. One thing with the smaller (6-10") stuff is that it takes a LOT of those stems to make a pile. What is more effort, gathering up 20 or so smaller stems, in my case from thinning/maintaining the woods, or a half dozen or so 16-18" nice mediun sized logs but more splitting?

 

[terryknight]

and here i like 5 cords of wood per tree

 

[Creamer]

I am thinking kind of like Billrog - up to 12" maybe 14" are ok but after that the pieces are so big to handle to get to the splitter I am thinking it becomes more work. 12" I would just split in half though as I do not need them real small.

With my buck though it is nice to put 10 pieces or so of 2-6" wood 10' or so long and cut them all at once then. Then when I get my skids with sides made I can just stack them in place and that is the last time I handle them. The cutting is quick and very little handling.

 

[TomSeller]

and here i like 5 cords of wood per tree

Lots of good wood there for sure. Lots of room around the tree to get it all cut up, even a lounge chair for when you want to take a break.

 

[Thomas]

You need darn good chain saw for that beast and splitter. :confused2:

 

[Creamer]

I would like a piece of that one - give my Stihl 029 a challenge - have to come from both sides.

Where did all those leaves come from this early?

 

[terryknight]

you do need a big saw, but i have a big saw

stihl 660 wearing a 36" bar



that pic is from a while ago. it has all been turned into firewood by now

 

[Mike68]

You guys are missing the question though - at least what I was asking and I think what industrial toys was asking. What takes more work for the same BTUs - cutting smaller diameters that do not need to be split or cutting larger diameters and splitting it. The smaller would you cut and stack and are done but the larger ones you can cut more volume quicker but then you have to split it.

I will use everything but given the choice I like to work with big chunks. I will take the chunks of a 3 foot diameter tree that no one else wants. It is easy to deal with when you have a tractor. I load 1 or 2 big rounds (they roll easy) onto the carryall and stack it on pallets,to keep it off the ground and start the drying, near my splitter. When I am ready I will sometimes noodle it with the big chainsaw and then split. You get a lot of wood out of a big round. I also think the heartwood is denser than the sap wood which means it has more energy content. There is more heartwood in a big round than a small one.

I will also use branches down to 4". The wood in the branch is supposedly more dense than the trunk.