Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[4570Man]

First, huh? Why would the density of the wood change how much volume of wood is in the stack? If a stack of wood is 128 cubic feet, the amount of airspace is only affected by the tightness of the stacking job and the size of the pieces. Second, I thought you were right about the split smaller can be stacked tighter thing, but it's not true. You can fit more wood in the truck (or any stack for that matter) if it's in rounds than if it's in splits. Once you split a piece of wood there's no way you can stack it tighter than it was when it grew. Bigger pieces equals less air.

I might have to test that theory. I’m pretty sure more split piece will fit in the truck. You’re right when applied to one piece, but a bunch of circles don’t fit together very well.

 

[goeduck]

I might have to test that theory. I知 pretty sure more split piece will fit in the truck. Youæ±*e right when applied to one piece, but a bunch of circles don稚 fit together very well.

Uh oh, sounds complicated. :scratchchin: :scratchchin:

 

[Jstpssng]

Take a stack of wood 8' long x 4' tall x 4' wide. Cut it to length, split it, then stack it. It will take up less space.

 

[Jstpssng]

Measuring wood can be tough, as every time that you make it smaller it can be stacked tighter, hence into less space. After you take out the air space hardwood should have 85 cubic feet of actual wood; whereas softwood will have 96 cubic feet.

Never make this type of comment unless you can verify. Next time I will have the book in hand, as it isn't where it's supposed to be.
However, from this site;
How Much is a Cord of Wood? — & More Firewood Facts.

A full cord of wood assumes that the wood is arranged in a way that all the individual pieces are stacked (aligned, parallel, touching and compact) and fit within the following dimensions: 4 feet high x 4 feet wide x 8 feet long. A cord of wood occupies a volume equivalent to: 128 cubic feet (3.62 m3).

The actual wood volume is closer to 90 cubic feet due to all the air in between the firewood.

I was looking for the textbook from the wood scaling course which I took years ago. Said text also said that a "thrown cord"; when you dump a load on somebody's lawn; is 180 cubic feet.

I'm not a big fan of "Wiki" but from their site ;3 Ways to Measure a Cord of Wood - wikiHow




Know the dimensions and volume of a full cord. A full cord, also referred to as a "cord," is a stack of wood that measures 4 feet (1.2 m) wide, 4 feet (1.2 m) tall, and 8 feet (2.4 m) long. Its total volume should be 128 cubic feet (3.5 cubic meters).[1] 逼ote that the exact amount of solid wood in a cord will vary based on the size of each piece, but most cords of firewood average 85 cubic feet (2.4 cubic meters) of solid wood. The remaining volume is taken up by air.
謬he entire length of the pile should be 8 feet (2.4 m), but the length of each piece of wood matches the width or depth of the pile and should average about 4 feet (1.2 m).
é«*ven though the cord is the standard unit of measurement when selling wood, most firewood dealers do not sell 4-ft (1.2-m) long pieces of wood to home consumers. As a result, other cord-based terminology is often introduced.

and

Familiarize yourself with the thrown cord. A thrown cord or loose thrown cord is a rough measurement of volume on wood that has been tossed or dumped into a truck, rather than stacked into neat, compact piles. 柊 loose thrown cord should take up about 180 cubic feet (6.66 cubic yards or 5.1 cubic meters) of space as is. The idea is that, when stacked, the total volume would equal roughly 128 cubic feet (3.5 cubic meters), or the volume of a full cord. A "thrown" cord takes approximately 30%+- more space than a stacked cord. A typical pickup truck w/ 6ft. bed is 54 cubic feet (2 cubic yards - level load-Stacked); an 8ft. bed is 81 cubic feet (3 cubic yards - heaped load- Stacked). Remembering now! that "thrown" takes 30%+- more (space) than stacked. Therefore a 6ft. truckload has 30%+- of a "thrown" cord; an 8ft. truckload has 45%+- of a "thrown" cord. [2]
謬his usually applies to wood pieces between 12 and 16 inches (30.5 and 40.6 cm) long.
標hen wood pieces are sold in lengths of 2 feet (60.1 cm), total thrown cord volume should be about 195 cubic feet (5.5 cubic meters).

How could it be illegal to sell a truck load of wood. When selling the two parties have to come up with an agreed-upon price which doesn't make any any difference what the volume is.

As long as you don't call it a cord or any other set volume, you are absolutely correct.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Take a stack of wood 8' long x 4' tall x 4' wide. Cut it to length, split it, then stack it. It will take up less space.

If by wood he means logs then this has been my life long experience but I don't know how to prove it with mathamatics or theories.

gg

 

[BrokenTrack]

I can think of several ways, most up here buy a 10 cord load of tree length and cut it right on the pile. My father really liked his old cordwood saw behind the tractor. I was always on the receiving end, right next to that open blade.
I've cut and stacked it in the woods, then gone in with my snowmobile and tote sled to fill my wood box every Sunday. One year I drove to Wilton and cut my brother's wood on the back side of his 12 acres; then my father brought it to the house with his ATV and trailer.

It looks like GG knows what he's doing.

I hear ya!

Growing up we used to fell the trees, buck them into 4 foot length, then load them onto a woods trailer, haul them out then pile them up. Then we would cut them as you did on a buzz saw. Then we would split the wood and let it dry. Then we would pick it up, put it into the trailer and haul it to the woodshed. My goodness the wood got dizzy being picked up and tossed around so much.

Now I am on the cusp of 100% mechanized firewood and it really blows my mind. We had to load that 4 foot wood with the big sticks on top so that people THOUGHT we had a log loader. It was stupid, blowing out our backs just for appearances!! Today my little log loader does the same job but is powered by a 6 HP lawnmower engine. My grandfather would die if he saw how effortlessly I move wood.

I have NEVER forgot where I started, it is what makes a person really appreciative for what they have.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I used to think I was getting royally screwed by selling wood by weight to the paper mills. One day I cut a load of 8 foot hemlock pulp for Jay and had stacked it up using the forks on my tractors. So I measured it. It came out to 13.5 cords on measurement.

After hauling the wood to the mill I checked thee weigh slip: I was credited 13.3 cords of wood. After that, I no longer considered myself being screwed by weight. Sure there are some variables. I can cut a 100% load of beech which weighs up more than the "average" cord of mixed hardwood, and this time of year when the wood is muddy, what normally are 10 cord loads ends up netting m 11.5 cord loads, but averaged out with some pure loads of lighter wood like Ash, the paper mill and I end up pretty square on the measurement I think.

 

[Jstpssng]

If by wood he means logs then this has been my life long experience but I don't know how to prove it with mathamatics or theories.

gg

Yes, I did mean logs. I knew that I would be kicking a hornet's nest when I made my first comment on cords; but it should lead to some good discussion. I took a wood scaler's course years ago, they said that firewood is the lowest value product and has the highest number of complaints.

I hear ya!

Growing up we used to fell the trees, buck them into 4 foot length, then load them onto a woods trailer, haul them out then pile them up. Then we would cut them as you did on a buzz saw. Then we would split the wood and let it dry. Then we would pick it up, put it into the trailer and haul it to the woodshed. My goodness the wood got dizzy being picked up and tossed around so much.

Now I am on the cusp of 100% mechanized firewood and it really blows my mind. We had to load that 4 foot wood with the big sticks on top so that people THOUGHT we had a log loader. It was stupid, blowing out our backs just for appearances!! Today my little log loader does the same job but is powered by a 6 HP lawnmower engine. My grandfather would die if he saw how effortlessly I move wood.

I have NEVER forgot where I started, it is what makes a person really appreciative for what they have.

You mentioned your coal/wood stove. Would that efficiently burn dry chips?

 

[Jstpssng]

I used to think I was getting royally screwed by selling wood by weight to the paper mills. One day I cut a load of 8 foot hemlock pulp for Jay and had stacked it up using the forks on my tractors. So I measured it. It came out to 13.5 cords on measurement.

After hauling the wood to the mill I checked thee weigh slip: I was credited 13.3 cords of wood. After that, I no longer considered myself being screwed by weight. Sure there are some variables. I can cut a 100% load of beech which weighs up more than the "average" cord of mixed hardwood, and this time of year when the wood is muddy, what normally are 10 cord loads ends up netting m 11.5 cord loads, but averaged out with some pure loads of lighter wood like Ash, the paper mill and I end up pretty square on the measurement I think.

That's one reason why most wood is sold by weight now. I'm losing money as I write this, because the load of spruce I cut this winter is losing weight, as I can't get a truck here until the road dries. It's frozen and he could get it right now, but he has all of his more steady customers to service first.

 

[motownbrowne]

I might have to test that theory. I’m pretty sure more split piece will fit in the truck. You’re right when applied to one piece, but a bunch of circles don’t fit together very well.

I really used to think the same thing, that you could stack more wood in a truck in splits than in rounds. Then I saw a couple of good threads on AS that showed otherwise with photographic evidence. I'll see if I can find them and post a link.