How long is your wood??

[Ryan Browne]

I've found that I can eyeball 16" pretty good. Good enough that I could sell it and it'll all fit, anyway. Once I start trying to make longer wood for my evaporator, though I'm all over the place. Good thing it's not picky; the firebox is 48"x48" and maybe 18" from top to bottom. Stacks are gonna look funny, though.

 

[Locust Cutter]

I would do 16" but at this point I'm doing more "boutique" style cutting - aka, cut to order to make for happy customers. I'm not the highest price around, but in the upper 2/3 and they all tip extra for my efforts so I don't mind doing a bit extra for them when it's only 8-15 cords/yr + my consumption. The "sales" essentially pay for all of my wood with a bit to show for it at the end. I'd be in the red if I tried to factor labor into is thus not a business, yet... If/when I standardize, I may do 16" but unlike the more heavily wooded areas the longest straight run you're likely to get on a saw buck is 4-5' as the trees are 30-50' with very large billowing canopies and relatively short, but large trunks.

Most bucking is either done via a Mingo marker (PITA), a measuring stick, going off of the bar length or just plain eyeballing it (least reliable for true uniformity). I'd love to have a processor for absolute uniformity + to expand into a business, but with the aforementioned non-straight trees, a processor isn't at all practical.

 

[SOS Ridgerider]

I cut everything at 18", give or take an inch or so. I mark the logs with a tape measure and crayons, then go to town with the saws. After the cutting is all done, the crayons are up for grabs as snacks. Comes in handy sometimes.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I cut 16" to 18" for most customers and save anything longer for myself. My big stove goes all the way to 25". Occasionally I have a customer who wants everything 22" to 24 for a fireplace, and then one guy wants everything less than 14" for an old train caboose stove, so I have a separate pile of shorts for him.

If they get any pickier, I may have to have racks based on length. I do notice that when it gets really cold, they buy about any length that burns.

 

[Al Smith]

16" is standard but way back when I sold the stuff I'd get orders anything from 12 to 24"

 

[Crzybowhntr]

24" to 26" for my furnace. For marking I just eyeball it.

 

[fearofpavement]

16" is standard, people burning it themselves cut it to whatever works for them. I cut 16" nominal which means it could be a couple inches longer or shorter but essentially 16". I sometimes cut smoker wood shorter because not everyone can fit 16" wood in their smoker.

 

[hseII]

22" if the cutter can cut straight: 20" if not.

We only burn what we cut, and everyone has the same insert.


2 Rings & A Flattop, LLC Test Dummy

 

[USMC615]

15"-16" lengths work great for my living room fireplace and wood stove in the shop. I can get up to 24"-26" lengths in the living room fireplace left to right, but front to back and with the heavy steel Minuteman grate, anything over 15"-16" hangs over in the front...me no likey that. Just the opposite for the wood stove in the shop...can get 22"-24" in the wood stove in the shop front to rear, but no more than about 15"-16" wide...so everything gets cut to 15"-16".

 

[RandyMac]

 

[Wolverine]

Gotta be 16-18 for my stove. 20" will fit but only one small piece at a time, crooked.

 

[Gizzard]

I think RandyMac may win the "How long is your wood?" I may have to get my 250 mac off the shelf and cut some long wood...

 

[hseII]

I think RandyMac may win the "How long is your wood?" I may have to get my 250 mac off the shelf and cut some long wood...

He normally does.

I think he should write a memoir & somehow incorporate his amazing photograph collection.

He is from a bygone era, & still here to be able to share the heyday of Logging with us youngsters.


2 Rings & A Flattop, LLC Test Dummy

 

[Wood Doctor]

There is (or was) a place I visited back in 1977 called the Kellogg center at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. It was a large serving area, kind of like a formal cafeteria that could serve a hundred of patrons a good meal and the ceiling must have been 40' high. They had built the largest fireplace to heat the pavilion that I had ever seen. The logs for the fireplace were at least 4' long (cord wood) and it took two men to load them in.

I sat about 30' from the hearth while eating a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. Six were at the table. The radiant heat was so intense I thought I was getting a sunburn. Needless to say, I enjoyed that dinner -- 40 years ago. Everyone there was impressed. I have to wonder if it's still there today. Please advise if you have info on this place. I'd love to go back and see it again.

 

[Cigmaker]

I'll have to ask my dad if he still has any pictures of the largest fireplace he built. This was a personal home and while I wasn't full grown I could stand inside and not touch either side arms outstretched. I'd say it was all of 5 foot either way.

 

[RandyMac]

I have a bunch of unconnected ramblings written over the last decade or so, including a forward (with after thoughts) written by my brother (RIP).
The only part mostly finished is about Adventures of Sport Falling, it needs put in proper order and edited.
My problem is wandering off into tangents and not being able to complete a single thing. This does help me keep certain things in mind though.

 

[bigbadbob]

My stove will take 20s so I like to cut 18+ the reason (and actually measure when cutting,) being as if I cut any shorter my pesky aunt comes over and wants free firewood,, (she needs 16-)its for her rental cabin,,,,,,,she will pay someone else but not me,,,,,,not gonna happen the free stuff!!
BBB

 

[Wood Doctor]

Today I purposely cut a half truckload of dry limbs that were a minimum of 24" long, because my stove can accept a 25" log. A few were exactly that. I have discovered that my stove, a Federal Airtight 288, kicks out more heat when (1) the logs are wall-to-wall and (2) when it's cold outside.

It also seems that dry round logs kick out just as much heat as dry split logs and may even burn longer. Is that just my imagination? Please comment.

 

[hseII]

I have a bunch of unconnected ramblings written over the last decade or so, including a forward (with after thoughts) written by my brother (RIP).
The only part mostly finished is about Adventures of Sport Falling, it needs put in proper order and edited.
My problem is wandering off into tangents and not being able to complete a single thing. This does help me keep certain things in mind though.

Everything I've ever seen you share is absolutely worth passing on.


2 Rings & A Flattop, LLC Test Dummy

 

[RandyMac]

Thank you for the kind words.
I do hope to give a proper view of that time in my history and yes, the statute of limitations has passed.