fall chores

It's a good thing I only have to do this every 3rd year or so as cutting and splitting wood the old fashened way with an axe almost beats picking and stacking bales. It is a good workout however. We are fortunate here in that we can buy a logging truck load delivered for $1000.00. I split the load with a neighbor and we will get around 24 cords.

Both of the truckloads I got were long loads, and held about as much as the full sized logging truck would hold. They probably sometimes haul much heavier green loads, but the firewood loads I got were supposed to have been from standing dead trees and were nice and dry.

Here in Eastern Washington, you might get the best firewood available, which is Red Fir and Tamarack (Larch), or lesser species for less money. The cheapest is white fir and Ponderosa pine. I prefer the medium priced Lodgepole pine, since it splits so easily and seems to burn very well. Ponderosa pine can be very hard to split. Of course Ponderosa is about the only tree that grows on my property! I have used a lot of Ponderosa pine just cleaning up my property, but I sure wouldn't pay much for it... I have not tried spruce.

If you are splitting with an axe, you might try using a splitting maul. I have tried both and much prefer a good maul with a fiberglass handle. My experience has been that a splitting maul seldom sticks in a cob of wood and usually splits a cob every swing. I always had trouble with my axe sticking and not completing a split....Wedge time! Good luck with your wood making.

Well, it was big truck load. I have probably cut between a third and one half of my half and have stacked it into my wood shed. That so far measures roughly 24ft long by 8ft high by 4ft wide. According to my recollection a cord is 4X4X8 ft of tightly stacked wood. That should work out to 6 cords, and I am not yet half done my half. Does that make sense?? Maybe our logging trucks are bigger out here!!!!!