Having multiple bodies to move stuff around makes an enormous difference. And yours is the only operation I've ever seen that had a nice bucking table, which I've always thought would be a great idea.
No. Cut into slabs 4-6" thick; stack in van during summer and it will be ready for winter (split slab if necessary) As wood drys lengthwise faster than radially. All that effort and machinery is wasted energy. Likewise, plant punt-pole bamboo. The stems are twice as thick. Once dry cut between nodes (to remove air pocket) Makes excellent firewood.
With the right attitude in the men you move through each station and use different muscles, and get a good day without wearing out one guy with the worst job, or having some boredom or carelessness creep in. I really appreciate this operation. Looks safe, cooperative, and highly productive.
Love the bucking table, love the feed table to the splitter. Getting everything up off the ground will save the lower back for sure. Love your whole operation
It was just the perfect day...and yes we actually had a little fire going burning up some scraps...can't get much better than that. Well, although it was like 70 something degrees so maybe a little cooler....lol 👍😀🍻
I totally agree with your comment Tim, they need to do "Try " it with one person alone and No front end loader like that just 2- wheel dolley and 2- helping 2x4s and log splitter. Then after splitting all wood now start stacking it alone.
Thanks for the watch. For U-tubers selling firewood there are a lot of things in this video they should pay attention to. Like the rake back bar at splitter. Galvanized conveyor. A real back saver operation. Thanks for posting this video.
Thanks...appreciate the comment. I actually have a few ideas after watching this video back a few times...always good to keep the mind turning on ways to improve, even if just small details. 👍😀🍻
Great setup at their wood yard! 500i was going good, i could tell it was getting dull, then you sharpened it! That kid was hustling! Nice productive day!
Yeah i hear ya there, but that 2n1 does great. How far was this place from you? Great that you got to go to another operation, help out and record a video!
@@brucebannerman6848 I'm just saying there is a reason why you can buy log trucks full of 'firewood' logs, it is because they are not of any value to a mill. When timber is harvested what is good goes to the mill, what isn't is made into firewood. Not every log is 'furniture' grade. Also very few mills will take a couple logs if you had 1 or 2 laying around.
Sweet, now you need one final step, a circular jig on a pallett at the end of the belt, where you stack the incoming logs, pull a metal band around it and store under a roof for seasoning. Great operation.
Sweet setup for sure. I like it. Maybe drill a few holes in the wooden dividers front to back to stick a short piece of pipe or something in to keep the log from rolling towards you. Then pull the stub of pipe out to load up more.
Perfect example at 1:08 on why you should have the butt to the wedge. You can see the wedge opening up the grain of the round. The grain runs bigger which slows the splitter into the 2nd stage of the pump. This forces the wedge to slice the round instead of splitting it. If the round was the opposite way around the grain would run down and it would stay in fast single stage. This would also reduce the amount of splitter trash/ slash being made. I have a processor with 4 and 6 way wedges as we as a 36" stroke splitter with a 4 way adjustable wedge. The drop in speed is very obvious on 32" long rounds that has the small end to the wedge. Butt to the wedge will speed up your splitting by quite a bit over the course of a day. Nice bucking table.
Yep that's exactly right...once you are trying to split across or through the grain it really slows it down...lol...it ends up almost compressing the wood together more and really ends up forcing it through the wedge. Definitely something that easily is overlooked but then can really have an impact. 👍
That's the way to do it! Four men working together in complete unspoken harmony, every man knows his job and gets on with it, no stress and minimum human effort letting the IC powered machines do the hard work. Mesmerising to watch. Do you move the operation under cover in bad weather? or just put your feet up over winter?
Nice set up, I think maybe adding stops to the edge of the cutting table could help. Looked like the splitter was the bottleneck in the operation the 500i was pumping out rounds too fast! I keep a stiff floor scrubbing brush handy to help clean dirt of the logs before cutting, maybe a power broom would have been needed for some of those logs. Great video, definitely gave me a few more things to think about when setting up my yard.
Yeah definitely could've used a scrub brush on a few of them logs....or a pressure washer...lol...lost the edge on the chain pretty quick with a few of them. 👍😀🍻
Those conveyors are all around farming country just collecting dust because most guys don't crib corn ears anymore have turned to using augers for putting grain in bins. A little modifying would need done unless you had an extra tractor for the PTO.
Ok, I watched you cut and split firewood! I even gave you a thumbs up for your effort. If you want me to continue to watch you boys split wood, make me believe it is worth the effort!
Well...lol...every situation is different. In this situation my friend Rick owns the tree service company who supplied the logs. So no cost for him there. We all enjoy making firewood so an afternoon spent doing something you like and didn't really cost you anything when compared to other hobbies like golf for example. And in the end the firewood when sold will all just be extra $$$. Is it worth it....my answer is yes, however others may not agree. 👍🍻
What I was MOST impressed with was the magnet measuring stick that he would put on the the bar to mark the cuts. I thought "What a simple device, yet look what it gets you!"
That is called the 'Perfect Stick'...it was available online but not sure if it still is. There are several options out there for magnetic measuring 'sticks' and is also something many have made themselves. If you want all your wood to be consistent in size it's a nice tool to have. 👍
Love the setup. If I was to make a suggestion it would be to have the table for the bucked rounds on an incline to gravity feed the rounds to the log lift. With a little trial and error, build a stop at the end of either the table that the log lift pushes down to stop the rounds when you raise the lift or have ears on the lift so when it’s level it acts as the stop. Otherwise, awesome awesome setup.
We lifted the one end one time but found that most rounds of wood aren't actually truly 'round' and never really rolled down...lol...there was either a branch stub or something with the bark or the shape of the tree that kept it from rolling and always needed a little manual assist.
Good to see a great collective working together and a very impressive set up. I work on my own processing wood, I use a 360 excavator with a cone spitter and a rotating wood grapple. We heat our 2 houses and our large barn on biomass.
Seems like the "log jam" is at the splitting station. It seems to only split smaller stuff in 1 go. Nice setup! Love the magnetic measuring stick attached to the saw! Was trying to think of a way to do this just last week. Is this homemade?
Yep with various size rounds and logs the splitter can seem to get behind, but better to have it always running than waiting for more rounds...lol...the measuring tool is called the Perfect Stick.
I saw Back 40 had a log deck made from round logs. The log he was cutting would go in between two of the logs. I haven't seen it more than once so maybe he did not like it. We can learn from your experience Back 40. They can be made cheaply so I don't know why more people don't have one.
Thanks a lot. Now my back is screaming for me to make one of those tables lol I am curious why you still take the time to mark them instead of just spacing the 4x4's at your desired length?
The logs don't always land lined up with the end of a 4x4, and also we cut out crotch sections or chunks that might not split well through the box wedge.
Impressive setup. I would suggest bolting down a 2x4 3-4" long closest to you on each of your 4x4s to help keep logs from rolling while cutting. It would help on at least half the logs and help insure one never fell off on your foot!
I thought the same exact thing, but after watching the entire video I came to the conclusion that if you do that then the board would get in the way of the saw. Having a few wedges is the better option to keep the saw clear to cut all the way thru.
Awesome set up. I have to ask, do you have a set of blueprints for the bucking table? I would absolutely love to build one. I can’t seem to find the other video you had of it where you showed a full walk around of the table.
There is a machine in Latham Ohio that drives around the woods to a selected tree. It cuts the tree, strips it, cuts firewood to length, splits it, and puts it in a trailer. All without the operator leaving his seat.
Neat bucking table. Dan,I was thinking awhile back that you done a video at someone's place that had a table similar to this one only hydraulic. Either one is a back saver.
Yep, that's the same table....we just didn't need to use the hydraulic lift that day...was able to keep the rounds moving down the line without it. 👍😀🍻
My aunt use to order a pulp would truck load of hard wood, they'd drop it in the side yard, I was around 14, 15 at the time I'd go over on cold winter weekends and uncle John n me would stay out there all day drinking Red White and Blue beer and smok'n KOOL cigarettes I miss those days
Great setup there ! A few questions: 1. After you cut the logs up, and roll the rounds onto the other table; is there a way you could convert that table the rounds are sitting on , to some sort of conveyer system. That way , the rounds could just be rolled up onto the log lifter without having to manually roll them in place. 2. After the rounds are split, is there a way to modify that tubular platform that is just before the firewood elevator; so that you don't have an extra person there tossing the firewood onto the elevator ?
The splitter will just push the wood off into the conveyor without the boy helping. It was in the beginning of the video. And the saw man can easily set up the cut pieces because he's cutting way faster than the splitter can keep up with anyway. My thinking is a different head on the splitter to take the whole piece and split it on one push. That would speed this up!
Soo.... what do you guys burn this in, I live in ireland and our wood stoves and cookers will generally be max 45cm logs but usually bout 30cm . American firewood seems much longer and often thicker.
Having multiple bodies to move stuff around makes an enormous difference. And yours is the only operation I've ever seen that had a nice bucking table, which I've always thought would be a great idea.
No.
Cut into slabs 4-6" thick; stack in van during summer and it will be ready for winter (split slab if necessary)
As wood drys lengthwise faster than radially.
All that effort and machinery is wasted energy.
Likewise, plant punt-pole bamboo.
The stems are twice as thick.
Once dry cut between nodes (to remove air pocket)
Makes excellent firewood.
I liked that bucking table a lot!
@@robertmccabe8632 you sound like someone I would walk away from at the coffee shop
That seems alot of work. Could just buy 1 machine to do everything and needs only 1 men. It looks like you do firewood like we did in Finland 60’s 😅
@ShannonFreng have been using this method for years, for firewood drying.
No talking, just a great workflow, love it! Amazing setup!
Thanks...sometimes the action can just speak for itself. 👍😀🍻
Talking, while wearing hearing protection, is annoying enough to silence many top-thier blabber mouths.
A very simple but super effective set up. Nice work.
Love the bar that pushes the unsplit round back into the splitter.
With the right attitude in the men you move through each station and use different muscles, and get a good day without wearing out one guy with the worst job, or having some boredom or carelessness creep in. I really appreciate this operation. Looks safe, cooperative, and highly productive.
PERFECT. Your son did a great job hustling around to keep everything running smoothly. Everyone is doing a great job!
Thanks, he is a good boy. I'm fortunate to call him my son.
That young man is a hell of a worker. I need a young hand like him
Yes indeed he is...was a huge help having him there clearing the end table of the splitter.
@@Back40Firewood Young hands like him are taught by example, not ordered about! I had two of my own and they are fine men today.
That is the best overall setup I have seen for cutting and splitting wood.
As close to a firewood processor as you can get without the big bucks. My hats off to them.
Love the bucking table, love the feed table to the splitter. Getting everything up off the ground will save the lower back for sure. Love your whole operation
What a bodacious way to spend a crisp, fall afternoon! I can smell the leaves and a fire burning somewhere!
It was just the perfect day...and yes we actually had a little fire going burning up some scraps...can't get much better than that. Well, although it was like 70 something degrees so maybe a little cooler....lol 👍😀🍻
Now that,s what I calls team work. Lots wood been processed. Great stuff.
One of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Well done ! 👏🏼
That saw table is gold!!
superb set up,shows whats possible with some truly great ideas to reduce handling and save a lot of the back strain !!!!👍
It is a great set up...we have a few ideas on a couple other things to try with a few changes this winter. 👍😀🍻
@@Back40Firewood look forward to seeing them
that's definitely what you call production!! I wish I had a set-up and crew like that to bang out a bunch of my firewood! stay safe my friend
I totally agree with your comment Tim, they need to do "Try " it with one person alone and No front end loader like that just 2- wheel dolley and 2- helping 2x4s and log splitter. Then after splitting all wood now start stacking it alone.
@@donald4416 Why? Should we cut it with a dull spoon and split it with a trolling motor? Lol
If you want cut it with dull spoon and trolling motor go for it .
That is an awesome group, making a lot of firewood in a hurry.
Thanks for the watch. For U-tubers selling firewood there are a lot of things in this video they should pay attention to. Like the rake back bar at splitter. Galvanized conveyor. A real back saver operation. Thanks for posting this video.
Thanks...appreciate the comment. I actually have a few ideas after watching this video back a few times...always good to keep the mind turning on ways to improve, even if just small details. 👍😀🍻
I guess back 40 was showing us the basic operating procedure because none of the equipment was explained.
Great Job! Just getting work done, it really shows how much you can get done with a good crew.
Man, that bucking table is great! What a back saver that must be. Great job and operation all around.
Great setup at their wood yard! 500i was going good, i could tell it was getting dull, then you sharpened it! That kid was hustling! Nice productive day!
Yep...had a few dirty logs come through...lol...that'll take the edge off your chain pretty quick. 👍😀🍻
Yeah i hear ya there, but that 2n1 does great. How far was this place from you? Great that you got to go to another operation, help out and record a video!
Great set up and team work. Many hands makes light work.
Dan, love your new setup. 😃
It's actually Rick's woodyard and his setup...can really pump out the firewood with it.
Awesome setup, that splitter is interesting. Thanks for sharing.
now thats how you cut firewood! awesome set up guys
Thanks!
Nice work flow and pile of splits.. the 500i was working great too
Chain lost its edge after a couple dirty logs but still got the job done...yeah that pile is got a couple cords to it...hahahaha
Y gotta be proud of that youg boy working like a man reminds me of when i was young the boys got a bright future ahead of him
Nice consistent pieces and a whole lotta kindling ready to bundle...... amazing what can happen when 4-5 guys work together...
That's quite the cone of firewood you guys produces. Skidder Kev would approve.
Thats the best length marker I've seen yet great setup guys
Seeing nice logs being cut for firewood made me thankful to have a hardwood sawmill nearby, always looking for logs and paying good money
Doubtful you'd get much from a mill for 10" diameter log of Ash.
@Back40Firewood You never heard of furniture stock, 2x 2 and 2x3?
@@brucebannerman6848 I'm just saying there is a reason why you can buy log trucks full of 'firewood' logs, it is because they are not of any value to a mill. When timber is harvested what is good goes to the mill, what isn't is made into firewood. Not every log is 'furniture' grade. Also very few mills will take a couple logs if you had 1 or 2 laying around.
Nice setup! Maybe put the feedtable for the splitter on an angle, moves the bucked wood easier.
Sweet, now you need one final step, a circular jig on a pallett at the end of the belt, where you stack the incoming logs, pull a metal band around it and store under a roof for seasoning. Great operation.
Sweet setup for sure. I like it. Maybe drill a few holes in the wooden dividers front to back to stick a short piece of pipe or something in to keep the log from rolling towards you. Then pull the stub of pipe out to load up more.
that wedge beats pipe in, pipe out, 150 times in a day.
What a cool set up! Also I have never seen anyone sharpen a chain like that. I love your videos!!👍👍
Stihl make the sharpener. There’s lots of TH-cam videos on them. I have one, it’s the best there is for sharpening chains!
@@doug2316 Thanks for letting me know.
Great system and teamwork!
Good job, that young guy impresed me, my 14YO, does only games, didnt manage to get him to work.
My house is warm enough just by watching this video
Perfect example at 1:08 on why you should have the butt to the wedge. You can see the wedge opening up the grain of the round. The grain runs bigger which slows the splitter into the 2nd stage of the pump. This forces the wedge to slice the round instead of splitting it. If the round was the opposite way around the grain would run down and it would stay in fast single stage. This would also reduce the amount of splitter trash/ slash being made. I have a processor with 4 and 6 way wedges as we as a 36" stroke splitter with a 4 way adjustable wedge. The drop in speed is very obvious on 32" long rounds that has the small end to the wedge. Butt to the wedge will speed up your splitting by quite a bit over the course of a day. Nice bucking table.
Yep that's exactly right...once you are trying to split across or through the grain it really slows it down...lol...it ends up almost compressing the wood together more and really ends up forcing it through the wedge. Definitely something that easily is overlooked but then can really have an impact. 👍
wow what an excellent production line ! two thumbs up !
That conveyor is a huge time saver!!
Nice work looks like a good process
That's the way to do it! Four men working together in complete unspoken harmony, every man knows his job and gets on with it, no stress and minimum human effort letting the IC powered machines do the hard work. Mesmerising to watch.
Do you move the operation under cover in bad weather? or just put your feet up over winter?
That has to be the best setup I have ever seen. AWESOME!
Great job thank you keep up the good work love your videos
With the ergonomics of this cutting table one could use the biggest baddest chainsaw made. But looks like the 500i easily keeps up with the splitter
Nice set up, I think maybe adding stops to the edge of the cutting table could help. Looked like the splitter was the bottleneck in the operation the 500i was pumping out rounds too fast! I keep a stiff floor scrubbing brush handy to help clean dirt of the logs before cutting, maybe a power broom would have been needed for some of those logs. Great video, definitely gave me a few more things to think about when setting up my yard.
Yeah definitely could've used a scrub brush on a few of them logs....or a pressure washer...lol...lost the edge on the chain pretty quick with a few of them. 👍😀🍻
Add a vertical blade on the splitter and you might eliminate the bottleneck..
Oh wow, great processing technique.
Smooth and efficient. Great camaraderie.
I would like to see a video of the conveyer like you did for the bucking table. Nice set up!
Those conveyors are all around farming country just collecting dust because most guys don't crib corn ears anymore have turned to using augers for putting grain in bins.
A little modifying would need done unless you had an extra tractor for the PTO.
Nice splitter, I like the drawer idea on the retrieval .like an extra hand.nice ash.
Hell yea nice setup!!!🔥
Ok, I watched you cut and split firewood! I even gave you a thumbs up for your effort. If you want me to continue to watch you boys split wood, make me believe it is worth the effort!
Well...lol...every situation is different. In this situation my friend Rick owns the tree service company who supplied the logs. So no cost for him there. We all enjoy making firewood so an afternoon spent doing something you like and didn't really cost you anything when compared to other hobbies like golf for example. And in the end the firewood when sold will all just be extra $$$. Is it worth it....my answer is yes, however others may not agree. 👍🍻
@@Back40Firewood I love you guys ya'll are great! Merry Christmas!! May all your wood cutting efforts reap more rewards than your minds can fathom!
That’s how it’s done fellas!!💯😀🇺🇸
What I was MOST impressed with was the magnet measuring stick that he would put on the the bar to mark the cuts. I thought "What a simple device, yet look what it gets you!"
That is called the 'Perfect Stick'...it was available online but not sure if it still is. There are several options out there for magnetic measuring 'sticks' and is also something many have made themselves. If you want all your wood to be consistent in size it's a nice tool to have. 👍
If the loading bed tilted, it could feed the splitter. Nice set up
Love your set up!!
The key here is the manpower , if everybody is on song you gonna get some serious work done in a few hours.
Is that your next wood yard , Dan?
Another great video Dan.
That was a great operation 👍. And a big pile of wood to make a lot of deliveries
Perhaps some of those elements and concepts might end up in my woodyard someday. 👍😀🍻
Good lord! What a set-up.
Love the setup. If I was to make a suggestion it would be to have the table for the bucked rounds on an incline to gravity feed the rounds to the log lift. With a little trial and error, build a stop at the end of either the table that the log lift pushes down to stop the rounds when you raise the lift or have ears on the lift so when it’s level it acts as the stop. Otherwise, awesome awesome setup.
We lifted the one end one time but found that most rounds of wood aren't actually truly 'round' and never really rolled down...lol...there was either a branch stub or something with the bark or the shape of the tree that kept it from rolling and always needed a little manual assist.
Wow nice set up guys!!
Next thing you know you will have half a million viewers....or more.....Congrats...The Cabin probably couldn't hold them all..
What a setup!
Good to see a great collective working together and a very impressive set up. I work on my own processing wood, I use a 360 excavator with a cone spitter and a rotating wood grapple. We heat our 2 houses and our large barn on biomass.
Nice bucking idea. You guys kick ash!
Seems like the "log jam" is at the splitting station. It seems to only split smaller stuff in 1 go. Nice setup! Love the magnetic measuring stick attached to the saw! Was trying to think of a way to do this just last week. Is this homemade?
Yep with various size rounds and logs the splitter can seem to get behind, but better to have it always running than waiting for more rounds...lol...the measuring tool is called the Perfect Stick.
You need a cutting deck like that, pallet deck is a great idea 💡.
I saw Back 40 had a log deck made from round logs. The log he was cutting would go in between two of the logs. I haven't seen it more than once so maybe he did not like it. We can learn from your experience Back 40. They can be made cheaply so I don't know why more people don't have one.
Nice set up to do big logs that can't be put thru a processor, make it as easy as possible.
Thanks a lot. Now my back is screaming for me to make one of those tables lol I am curious why you still take the time to mark them instead of just spacing the 4x4's at your desired length?
The logs don't always land lined up with the end of a 4x4, and also we cut out crotch sections or chunks that might not split well through the box wedge.
Nice setup!
Awesome. I may have to build one of those tables. I have a sawmill I could cut all of the timbers on. It's the bending over that kills my back.
Space boards on bucking table to correct length to illuminate measuring rounds to length.
That looks about like nearly enough wood for a winter ☺️
Impressive setup. I would suggest bolting down a 2x4 3-4" long closest to you on each of your 4x4s to help keep logs from rolling while cutting. It would help on at least half the logs and help insure one never fell off on your foot!
I thought the same exact thing, but after watching the entire video I came to the conclusion that if you do that then the board would get in the way of the saw. Having a few wedges is the better option to keep the saw clear to cut all the way thru.
@@whalerlife53 Not the entire length, just a small block 3-4" long on each board.
No getting around it, firewood is labor intensive. Nice set up you have going on there.
Got me some ideas now! My B2601 Kubota and grapple got some work to do!
Quite a system there! I need a couple more people!
thats some nice ash wood there ! That shute is longer than a hard winter
Awesome set up. I have to ask, do you have a set of blueprints for the bucking table? I would absolutely love to build one. I can’t seem to find the other video you had of it where you showed a full walk around of the table.
There is a machine in Latham Ohio that drives around the woods to a selected tree. It cuts the tree, strips it, cuts firewood to length, splits it, and puts it in a trailer.
All without the operator leaving his seat.
That’s a nice setup. What Wolfe Ridge splitter is that?
Looked like a SHO BW, not sure on the tonnage
Thanks....that is the 35 ton SHO 👍😀🍻
This is a very good idea 👏
Is a Power feed table next? What you have here, is basically what I’ll be putting together this spring, but with a much cheaper splitter…. Nice job!
I fought the log and the log one. But you did great!
Neat bucking table. Dan,I was thinking awhile back that you done a video at someone's place that had a table similar to this one only hydraulic. Either one is a back saver.
Yep, that's the same table....we just didn't need to use the hydraulic lift that day...was able to keep the rounds moving down the line without it. 👍😀🍻
Very productive set up without buying a 100k processor
My aunt use to order a pulp would truck load of hard wood, they'd drop it in the side yard, I was around 14, 15 at the time
I'd go over on cold winter weekends and uncle John n me would stay out there all day drinking Red White and Blue beer and smok'n KOOL cigarettes
I miss those days
That is one helluva system for cutting firewood. I would have wanted the wood dropping into a dump trailer, but other than that, very cool!
You can see the slowest part of the operation is the splitting. 2 of those splitters would be killer.
Nice work men 🍺
How do you remove it from the stockpile? Proficiently, I suppose, but how?
Great setup there ! A few questions:
1. After you cut the logs up, and roll the rounds onto the other table; is there a way you could convert that table the rounds are sitting on , to some sort of conveyer system. That way , the rounds could just be rolled up onto the log lifter without having to manually roll them in place.
2. After the rounds are split, is there a way to modify that tubular platform that is just before the firewood elevator; so that you don't have an extra person there tossing the firewood onto the elevator ?
The splitter will just push the wood off into the conveyor without the boy helping. It was in the beginning of the video. And the saw man can easily set up the cut pieces because he's cutting way faster than the splitter can keep up with anyway.
My thinking is a different head on the splitter to take the whole piece and split it on one push. That would speed this up!
Size piles I make now hand tossed equipment makes it look easy,
That sure beats a sledgehammer and spike.
So... that's what it's like to have help! I do 25 face a year by my self, this looks more fun
What is the spacing on those 4x4 crossbeams?
Good job guys it’s team work what do you do with all the splitters of would it really look like a lot ?
Soo.... what do you guys burn this in, I live in ireland and our wood stoves and cookers will generally be max 45cm logs but usually bout 30cm .
American firewood seems much longer and often thicker.
hi there pretty good system and good crew
thanks for the video, I'm trying to do the same as yours.👍