The Firewood Process
Remember a few weeks ago I showed you the pile of hardwood we bartered skidsteer hours for. Well we spent the weekend working on it. First thing Saturday morning we loaded up the truck and headed out to the location about 10 minutes from home.
We brought along the processor Jim had made hoping it would help us get the job done quicker. Once we got there and got set up, the gravity of the work ahead settled in.
What we didn’t factor in is the length of the wood, most of them are just shy of 20 feet long. And even though they aren’t really huge, that makes them heavy and awkward for me since I was the one bringing them to the processor. We ended up having to cut the lengths into four foot sections.
Back to the processor for a minute. It is a jig really, with the chainsaw attached to a board that hinges up to cut the wood. There is a board on the end as a stop for cutting the logs at 16 inches. Once cut they just roll onto the ground.
And from the other direction.
From there we just tossed the firewood into the back of the truck. And after 1/2 hour here was our progress.
I even gave it a go with the chainsaw thinking it might be easier than lugging logs and then throwing into the truck.
Nope, I wanted my old job back.
Oh yeah…Jim earned a few brownie points while we were there. He showed me how to do something a different way, I forget what now, so I wouldn’t hurt myself. See, sweet, extra brownie points. Then in the next sentence he got them taken away again. He said he didn’t want me to get hurt because he didn’t want to have to do all the work himself. A lesson to quit while you are ahead.
As a side note… our cell service is iffy at best at home but up here in the middle of nowhere…awesome cell service.
The first load, using the processor, took 2 1/2 hours to fill the truck bed. For the second load we decided to try a different way. We didn’t use the processor at all. Jim just cut right off the pile and I threw them into the truck bed.
We managed to do the same amount of firewood in just 2 hours. Of course it is harder on the person doing the cutting since you are always bent over. Also harder on my arms constantly throwing into the truck. I was more of a catcher than pitcher playing baseball.
Once we had the truck full, we headed home to DUMP it in the yard. Gotta say that is the funnest part of this whole job. Very satisfying.
We still have to make another 7 or 8 trips we figure to get it all home. And that is when the real work starts. About 1/3 of them need to be split and then all of it will need to be stacked. We decided to try and do one load every day it isn’t raining so maybe in a weeks time or a little longer it should all be in our yard.
Anyone know a good rain dance!!!! I need a rest.
Later
