Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[eyi]

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.

What is this Wallenstein model that you have?

Thanks

 

[KennyG]

I know it intuitively feels like spit wood takes up less space than rounds, but it's a false impression. It's fairly easy to test this. Cut out two round pieces of paper. The draw a square on another piece of paper. Cut the two circles into 4 quarters. Try to fit more than 4 pieces into the square. Then cut the quarters in half again and try to fit more than eight into the square. After you play with that a while, think about how much time you spend stacking to try to get a tight stack.

 

[rd_macgregor]

So, would a truck load of sandstone boulders weigh more, or less than the same truck, loaded to the same level with sand? Or, you could fill a bin with large ball bearings, then pour in water until the bin was full. Do the same with smaller ball bearings. Whichever took more water had more air space in it. The difference with wood is that, with varying size pieces, you CAN fill in some of the air spaces with smaller splits...if you want to take the effort.
Buying/selling wood by weight is a good strategy as long as you also specify (and verify) the moisture content; heavier loads, with the same moisture content, will almost certainly have more BTUs.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I think you have to look at the real world not paper circles. Try this: make a pile of fire wood logs. Stack them tight as you can. Now run a saw down thru the pile in a whole bunch of places. I think you will find that the pile settles, compacts, it does not expand.

gg

 

[bcp]

Interesting machine.

Bruce




"Self-propelled wood handling. We call it the wood Elephant"

 

[Peter 315]

Ever see one of these Introducing the QUADRACTOR - YouTube

 

[motownbrowne]

I think you have to look at the real world not paper circles. Try this: make a pile of fire wood logs. Stack them tight as you can. Now run a saw down thru the pile in a whole bunch of places. I think you will find that the pile settles, compacts, it does not expand.

gg

In my posts I was talking about rounds versus splits. I do agree with you about logs shrinking. A 12 cord truckload of logs doesn't stack out to 12 cords of splits. Logs have curves and knots that create a lot of airspace.

 

[BrokenTrack]

Interesting machine.

Bruce




"Self-propelled wood handling. We call it the wood Elephant"

Hey thanks for posting that, I love small innovative machines that make bigger jobs easier. I love RG Letourneau and his machines, but I like seeing what big jobs can be done with smaller machines. Anyone can big ginormous equipment that is priced beyond people's reach, but smaller equipment...I love that.

I see some deficiencies in the design (they got stuck while moving a log on a lawn for instance and had to push it), but I can see how a BSC tractor could easily be modified to do the same work but would be much more robust in doing so.

...

I was hoping to do a forestry event this year with the State Regional Forester putting together a micro-forestry equipment show at my farm this summer. The guy knows a ton of people in Maine who have small forestry equipment.

 

[BrokenTrack]

What is this Wallenstein model that you have?

Thanks

Timber Talon 130

 

[Jstpssng]

So, would a truck load of sandstone boulders weigh more, or less than the same truck, loaded to the same level with sand? Or, you could fill a bin with large ball bearings, then pour in water until the bin was full. Do the same with smaller ball bearings. Whichever took more water had more air space in it. The difference with wood is that, with varying size pieces, you CAN fill in some of the air spaces with smaller splits...if you want to take the effort.
Buying/selling wood by weight is a good strategy as long as you also specify (and verify) the moisture content; heavier loads, with the same moisture content, will almost certainly have more BTUs.

To be honest I would be more concerned with quality and tree species than moisture content. I can let it dry, but there's a lot more heat in a cord of oak, rock maple, or beech than of white birch. Most places that are buying by weight are mills of some sort, not firewood retailers.

I got an email from a cousin a couple of years ago; he had bought a truck load of 8' hardwood which all turned out to be 7'6". I'm not sure how he handled it but I suggested that he talk to the supplier, and consider another source the following year.