Eastonmade Wood Spliters, get off the internet and go help to make your spliters, I was thinking about buy a Ultra, but the waiting list is ridiculously long, greetings from Connecticut.
The only reason I’ve ever heard of Eastonmade splitters is because of Hometown Acres! I’ve since seen them on other TH-cam channels, and now they are at the top of my list if I ever get into a different splitter.
Started with a splitting maul… 3 years later have a 30 ton splitter selling 500 face cords/year @ $150/delivered & stacked. 🎉🎉🎉 -Set aside at least 10% for taxes -Start out as a side biz and reinvest every penny into ordering log loads from tree companies for a couple years. -offer delivery + stacking!!!
Stacking is a lot of manual labor, I like the model where you just deliver the wood stacked in some sort of modular container that your customers can return, presumably. But based on this comment, maybe that means I should invent some sort of system for transportation I’ve stacked wood that can basically hold the wood stacked, and then drop the wood off stacked, but that might be a little more complicated than I am imagining
Hi Adam. Good advice on firewood. I don’t advertise, word of mouth for me. I started out firewood for myself, 5-7 cords for me to burn. I looked at it as exercise and not work. I buy the wood in log length at first and now by tractor trailer load of 12 cords. I’m not out to make money, just as exercise and liking the outdoors. I’m 72 and in somewhat good shape. Keeps me going. Good advice again Adam.
Firewood kiln... Procure a shipping container. Typically 2-3 grand. Grand worth of roofing tar.. Coat it and park it in full sun. You can get White oak to the same moisture level as a proper three year seasoning for oak in six months. Minimal cost and it works great. Up the ante a little bit and buy a used reefer or refrigerated semi trailer. The insulation factor works out well.
Yep. Your parting thoughts are spot on. I own a successful small business and all I want to do on the weekends is get out on our land and manage it. Part of that is processing firewood that we heat with. And that alone is just so cathartic. I do not go to church on a regular basis but, I always say that working our land is my way of communing with God.
Got into it over the summer of 2020, since then I’ve bought 2 STHIL chainsaws and a 35 ton log splitter. I’m in SoCal and I’ve learned you can never have enough wood. Have wood a year ahead of time. It’s a rewarding side biz
Please help with a tad bit of information. I have a farm in miami literally get my first load today to cut. I have tons of land and a virtually unlimited free supply from landscaping companies. I simply have no clue how much I could make. But I plan on chopping all year. For ex, ef I sell 100 cords, how much should I sell them for?
@@Devoneakapimp it really just depends on what wood ur selling and the going price is where you live. It can fluctuate just usually stays around the same price. Offer up is a good place to look to see what it’s going for. Some people will want as little as a wheel barrow or a small truck to a long bed truck load. Mixed wood will go for cheaper than eucalyptus where I live. It burns longer so people want it more. Good luck! I hope that helped a bit.
@@justwannaname yes you did. Thanks. Where I live there’s virtually no major competition. Just a few people selling some trees they cut. I noticed that here, wood is sold my pallets, wheel barrows and truckloads (pickups). The only serious seller I saw sells pallets of split “firewood “ for $200. I’m not sure how many customers I’d get, but I certainly have an almost unlimited supply of quality hardwood from tree cutting services. We’ll see what happens.
If you need some help running your firewood, business and you’re near Los Angeles hit me up buddy, I’m very interested in this business and I’m good with machines chainsaws and I have a masters degree in engineering so maybe I can help you improve the efficiency of the operation😊
"Firewood is relaxing." So true. Firewood is also good exercise, heats my home, and is a beneficial way to get rid of all the downed trees on my 10 acres of woods. What's not to love? The one thing about selling firewood that is sketchy is the customers.
11:00 that's why I even thought about this. Longest time I've been trying to find myself and recently i started thinking back to my younger days and realized splitting wood really puts me at ease and i thought why not make a business out of this. I'm trying not to let fear stop me and really pursue something that i could enjoy and hopefully not be so stressed out
Hi Adam - it's Big Rodders in Ireland. Another option for somebody to learn the trade is to split for another person. I'm retired and not interested in the hassle of running my own business but enjoy doing firewood. I split part-time for two Tree Surgeon companies using my equipment as and when required. I'm paid on producton levels so that makes me hone my operation to optimise efficiency. This pathway could be ideal for folk not prepared or able to take the full leap into managing the entire process.
Is selling green firewood to a middleman more efficient rather than dry so they do not need to check the moisture content and can then have more control over drying it by doing such themselves?
Hi Joseph - it's Big Rodders in Ireland. There are so any variables that I couldn't give you a definitive answer. Each operator has to work out the optimum system for their own operation. I prefer to only buck and split with no responsibility for seasoning or selling. However, I'm not dependent on this work for an income, which is a very relevant issue. Most TH-cam firewood folk are part time so maximising income is generally not their primary driving force.
My father sold it for $275 a cord if delivered and $225 if they picked it up themselves. Always charge a fee to deliver it.- we sold between 10-15 cord a year as a side gig.
There is a lot of good advice here. I have had a firewood business since 1980. I started with a chainsaw, splitting maul and pick-up. Now I have a feller buncher, skidder, log truck, two dump trucks and a Multitek firewood processor. I have always said that firewood either involves a lot of labor or a lot of expensive equipment.
@@Painfulwhale360 Yes. It does depend on where you are, what your market is and what your supply of wood is. I would suggest you start part time and don't get in too deep on equipment at first. Offer a good product, full measure and on time delivery. It will take a while to get your name out there but once you do word of mouth advertising is the best.
Firewooding is a beautiful thing. I love any hustle that you can stockpile raw resources on your own time. And to add its out in nature. Very good for your soul
It takes much longer than 4 years to learn how to file to near perfection. You are excellent for 4 years. The difference that takes so long to perfect is from wanting it to just be sharp to needing it to cut smooth and sharp. Which means every tooth needs to be almost identical. So with that said you just keep learning and get a little better with each passing year. You are awesome, hard worker, great example.
Good advice I’ve been at it 30 years now To make a living you need a lot of equipment And it never lets you down 😂😂😂😂😂😂 Spend most of my time welding things back together Great video 👌
Great video, I’m going to dabble in this . I have given up snow removal as part of my lawn business after 20 years. Bought a portable sawmill. So between that and firewood I’m extremely excited for winter. Healthy work that will hopefully make some supplemental income . I love the eastonmade splitters . Then found out they are in Ontario. Perfect as I am too. Thanks for sharing .
Adam lots of good info there great video. Nothing like these hobbies to keep us hopping. Wild how the market is so different you’re wrapping up October ish and I’m just getting into full swing. Take care brother.
I liked your video. I am lucky because I have a tree service and charge people to haul the wood away from the job. We have 2 commercial spliters 2 cord per hour each 4 cat loaders and excavators to make it easy and fun.
Great video and lots of very useful information. We started with just two splitting miles and us very inexpensive small chainsaw and rapidly grew to where we bought a hydraulic splitter and a couple more chainsaws. The one exception to your rules is drawing time is absolutely dependent on your location. Not sure where you are but we’re in the Salt Lake area where we get a lot of sunshine, very low humidity and consistent breezes. We can dry Spruce in 4 to 6 weeks. Hardwoods take 2 to 3 months and it’s dry. People say we have the best firewood they’ve ever used because we were very careful about making sure that it’s good and dried. Part time we made over 10 grand and we sell out every week. It is a part-time business which means we put in about 30 hours a week. We only sell bundles of firewood or 1/3 of a cord. We have it set up so our customers usually 98%, pre-pay by Venmo and then can pick up their wood at their convenience because it is separated with their name tag on it. Again thanks for all the great information really like your videos!
Some really good advise for people starting out. I’ve got a part time firewood business as well and I would say don’t get in over your head financially is huge, don’t buy a lot of expensive equipment right away and to prepare for the unexpected. I have a contract with a local logging company and have to go out to the forest to get the wood so for me weather shutdowns are a big concern, snow and heat shutdowns plus what happens if you get injured(currently down because I fractured my arm). Always keep some wood stored just in case because there are always bills coming in when you’re running a business!
Great points Hometown...#8 is my favorite - there is never enough!! lol Also like the bonus one...that gets overlooked I think since a lot of people don't realize there is actually 'work' involved...hahaha. Have a good weekend. 😃👍🍻
i work for a tree company so i can bring home as much wood as i want and i just bought a countyline splitter this is definitely going to be a fun hobby for me
Super thumbs up sir! I've saved that video to watch again later. I have exactly the same goal as you. A nice hobby to wind down from my day job. I just moved to a new property where the zoning allows for firewood production on a larger basis. Thanks again Adam!
In any industry that is full time - Joe from the video you did a collaboration with has it right : it's unacceptable to go full time and run out of inventory. That's poor planning in my eyes. How would you like your gas station to run out of gas? Not good! I love all of your points here, and it's clear that if you were to go full time for this firewood business - you'd know how to adapt your inventory, process, and business methods. What a wonderful thing you have here!
As someone who is starting a side hustle for firewood I can say number 10, the flow/process is probably the most important. You can really waste or save a lot of time by planning out how your going to handle and move your material. My issue starting out was just that, I started out just cleaning up some down trees, to then thinking about selling it to now having a tractor with a grapple. I moved the same split pile of wood twice before stacking it, moved the rounds twice ect which is a lot of wasted time and $$$.
I streamlined it even more, back when I sold wood, by teaching my customers to buy green wood. That way I could cut, split, and right into the truck and delivered. I sold it slightly cheaper, and it costs nothing to dry it either way. Also makes a far better cash flow!
You are 100% correct on all your points. I would like to share another option for procuring wood. I’m in s.w. Wisconsin, we have a few lumber mills local ( some Amish), lumber mills don’t cut 100% of every log they get. Some get slabbed out and there some rot, cracks or punkiness to the cant. They reject them and sell as “fire cants” , which are debarked. They also carry “fire logs” which are too crooked, cracked, or may have hardware in them. I find this option works great for me, I have a skid steer and 14k goose neck trailer, thatI use for our farm. For a round $100 I can’t have my trailer loaded, take the logs home, and unloaded in less than an hour. * also, the lumber yard I work most with has a “ free firewood” pile, which is hardware, cut crotches, and part that won’t fit in the chipper, which if you really don’t mind the extra work, is a great place to start.
My grandpa built log homes his whole life just finished up recently. two of my uncles currently build log homes and sell firewood and ancestors before that & recently I’ve started selling firewood and I can assure you it is in my blood. I have a new found love
Some great tips. I had to put my roadside stand on pause after the first weekend after having more bundles stolen then bought. I brought the rest it the bundles back to my camp and am in the process of putting together a remote surveillance system with 5G wifi and cameras. Had to figure a way to secure everything. I will make a video when I am done of it.
Hi Adam, I love your channel. I bought a home in New Brunswick, 🇨🇦 for my retirement years, the house has a wood/electric force air furnace about 15 years old. The NB government had an energy program to up grade your home. After the inspection they are are going to remove that old furnace and install an air source heat pump connected to my duct work. My problem is I just had 2 cords of wood dropped off for next winter. What I'm thinking about is setting up a wood stand and selling it, I have a neighbour kid that has helped me out on other projects and see how this works out and give him some knowledge of how to make money part time. We also have a number of parks in our area. Sorry for the long post.
Just started this. Same scenario... Im an accountant, started with an axe, bought a 2 chainsaws, and some general stuff. Have 25 chords right now (personal use). Just bought 2 leases (pieces of forest I can call my own untill december 23 next year) last week to get started again. ... and yeah ... I love splitting wood, I see it as a sport.
I have to agree with everything you said. I’m a registered nurse, but have always had a keen sense for business. I sometimes regret not going into finance. It’s definitely more prosperous to sell in smaller amounts as you do. Always great to hear advice and pick up some inspiration and extra info. God bless!!
I love this video. I am a CPA who lives on a fairly large acreage in rural northeast Oklahoma so we some things in common. I have four kids that are growing up fast and I want to instill a good work ethic into them. My two older boys (8 and 10) helped me split and stack firewood the the last couple years. They are young but they seem to enjoy it ok at least for now. I think starting a small firewood business could be very beneficial for them. They are homeschooled and need to spend more time outside. This would provide them with some extra money to save and help them understand business and economics. I look forward to watching more of your videos!
great point of getting the wood out of the woods compared to having it dropped off, i hit a gold mine for firewood probably over a thousand full cord from a tornado that went through but its 13 miles from home which is closer by 15 miles than where i have been cutting so that is a plus. as for enjoying it i never make a job of it so it is a good way to get exercise and be outside.
My father and i started a tree service company 7 years ago. We are doing extremely well and i've been looking to start keeping wood from good trees we remove(it's free for me lol). All i'd have to do is haul it to a location and process it.
Good video. One thing to maybe add is to know your product, at least some basic knowledge. Know the species, and definitely know exactly how much wood a cord is, or whatever measurement is common in your neck of the woods. Im at a point where my hobby firewood business could easily become my full time job and im seriously considering it.
I think having the space for this is the main issue for me. I live in the city and my back yard isn’t that big. I want to get into this mainly just for me to have fire wood. A big issue is I’m in Texas and the humidity is crazy. Also most the year it’s way to hot for anyone to really want to sit by a fire. But now that it’s cold everyone is buying firewood. So I definitely think it’s a ok side hustle I’ll get into. Hopefully it goes well
Adam, just like pricing, you need to take your own advice and apply it to how you make videos. You need about 10% - 20% of people that watch this video to dislike it. Otherwise you've made too good of a video. After I hit the like button the count was 366 likes to 0 dislikes. I think you know what you need to change . . . . . Great honest and straight forward content as usual. I've been inspired to cut and sell firewood from watching this channel. Keep it up Adam!! 👍🏾
Hahaha I made too good of a video. That’s funny. I appreciate it. Hope things are going well with your firewood production and sales. As always thanks for the support!
I watch Daniel Arms Homestead like going to church. And he spoke about watching you. His was right you are go and a enjoy to watch. So I subscribe to your channel also. I enjoy watching you also. In from the south north Carolina. But live in Mass. Yes I was raised on a farm . Now 73 buy love watching y'all video.
hi there will see you next friday . good list of things . i always looked at it in cords per man hour . on time involved in a cord . i always figured 15 hours per cord per man . but i added a lot more behind the seens things like . equipment maintance . saw sharping going to the store for fuel gas diesel bar oil . being an account ill bet you could think of a lot more then me . maybe you could make a list for behind the seen things cause you did a great job with this one and your others i enjoy them john
Your presentation has allowed me to collect my ideas into restarting my firewood collection process. I do not sell firewood, however we use about 5 cords a year to heat our home. We also have propane hot water to heat our home. I Like cutting and splitting my own firewood. I’m a high school English teacher and working outdoors making firewood is a relaxing hobby. Perhaps in 5 years when I retire, I may consider having a firewood business. Thank you for your expertise.
Something I have been looking into is getting a polytunnel to use as a kiln, here in the uk you can get a good quality 10x20 foot one for about 310 quid, put it up and install a extractor fan on a end to let the moisture out to improve the drying process, it is something i have thought about because in my mind it gets hotter in one of them, you can be looking at over 30 maybe even 40 degrees depending on how much sunlight it gets, and even though it isnt as hot as a kiln it should in theory dry out quicker which is always a good thing, and you dont have a massive investment, you could make that money back with the first lot you dry in it, and then some.
Adam, Id say you just about summed it up!! as they say time is money, money is time! you can’t get back time!! In my eyes a processor is the way to go but a commercial splitter is able to get all pieces a processor can’t do so it’s give and take with the cost of the processor and time saved versus the commercial splitter that can split everything but is more hands on labor wise
I want to start a firewood business and use some of my robotics experience to see if I can automate some processes in ways that haven’t been done before, there are automated firewood processing machines and they’re pretty decent, but I’d love to somehow create a system that you can take a longer log and basically drop it off at the starting point and end up with nicely bundled pieces of firewood at the end or maybe firewood just conveyed into IBCs etc.
WOW . !! VERY GOOD thinking thru how 2 do this . u think like me . i just use my chain saw 4 now . and also have mine cut and stacked , for my bbq grill , which we use most often . got a bunch from right here in my little town of dunkirk . they were cutting trees and were hard wood maple . so they just gave most of it limbs to and the limb parts i make into kindeling. all the way to the most smallest pieces and put that in totes. totes range in size with what i had on hand. about 5 gal to 20 gallon size. yes i know about your friend in ohio . have seen {{ in the wood yard }} that one is good to him and his brother have wood yards .
I have a small farm property so i am zoned for firewood business use .The zoning of your property where you are planing to run the business is very important .If it is not zoned for that type of use ,you could be shut down so look into that first .Just food for thought .Thanx for the videos.
Nice video. I have a tree service that dumps at my place. I told my girls (16 and 14) they are welcome to sell it if they split it. So they've been doing it for the last 2 years. They did about 12 cords this summer. It's taught them to work hard but also to plan ahead and have patience. The first year they didn't cut much in the fall and it sold real fast that spring. They realized that they can't just cut and sell. It has to sit and season. So not they are always going out understanding if they don't they won't make money next summer. Good little business for them.
@@HometownAcres they have a hydraulic splitter. The older splits and the younger stacks. We started using the ibc cages this year. That makes things a lot easier. I'll have to show them about bundling and see if they want to do that. Right now they sell to campers and cord wood but everyone comes to them so maybe that's better.
G'day HTA, great advice for a young up and coming firewood merchant it's a by product for me but it sells. I was talking to an old mate that buys blocks from cutters up north and delivers to yards around Melbourne three tipper and dog loads per week 120 tonnes that would equate to 65 cords of your oak at 12% MC per week. He's got 1500 tonnes to deliver by March he said .
Great video! I really enjoy it helped alot I’m looking to start full possibly. I really enjoy it. I got the itich anyone else have it lol. I think it’s great!!
Good points, but there is another thing to consider. The “business “ aspect. The legal and regulatory requirements. You can’t operate on a cash basis for long. Every time you make a trip for business all of your assets are at risk. I owned a business for 30 years. You can be the best firewood processor out there, but if you aren’t a master at paperwork, you will eventually fail.
This video has a lot of great information before anyone else is interested getting into the firewood business! I was noticing the IBC totes behind you in the video and I was wondering about how much of wood do you have in them? Do you have a FULL FACE CORD or something close to it? Keep up the great work buddy because you have come a long way to have something to fall back on for emergency cash flow!
I've been doing firewood since I was 11 and I'm 52 now your right it's a nice relaxing thing to do I enjoy it or I wouldn't do it. I been thinking about getting into selling bundles of firewood for some extra money already started making smaller chunks of wood probably just going to sit by the road were alot of people just sell stuff and sell it that away, bundles in my area sell for $6-$8 a bundle and I'll sell mine for $5 a bundle. I make sure it is quality firewood. I will have a different mix in every bundle.
How many bundles do you get out of a cord? I sold wood by the full cord and face cord (1/3 of a full cord) years ago. I looked into bundles but with all the extra handling it actually would have lost me money.
If you are considering a kiln for drying your firewood in a hurry and on a budget, consider a solar kiln. These are generally used to dry lumber, but there is no reason it couldn't also dry firewood. There are lots of youtube videos on how to build them.
I’ve seen a few videos on them. I’m just not sure how fast they would dry the wood. I’ve heard they still take about 3 months to dry firewood below 20%. I’m not sure if that is worth the investment. I’d have to make a big one to get quite a few cords in if I can only turn the kiln every three months
@@HometownAcres Air movement dries wood faster than sun. If you have an area that gets a lot of wind, that will dry wood the best. So... that means your kiln has to have good air movement. The kiln would speed things up enough that you could experiment with rotating the wood through it for a month and then dry outside for the rest of the time. Extra handling though, so I don’t know why you’d bother unless you get behind on dry inventory.
I live in Ohio and am thinking about doing this as a hobby. I run my own business sanding and refinishing hardwood floors, and it slows down in the winter. Appreciate the good vid!
@active rants I live in the PNW and I’ll help hah. I love felling trees and splitting firewood. I’m like the John Henry of splitting, can split all day n night.
Thanks for the video. These are exactly the things I am thinking through right now. We came to a similar conclusion to how you finished--lets sell a few trailer loads and see how it goes. Then we can look at a wood splitter etc. Thanks.
GREAT video advise. I love cutting wood. I think I will sell it. Im one of those people who really enjoys working with wood. Thank You for the video. 👍
Awesome tips ! I enjoyed your video :) I cut for my own use and yes always a little extra, always have a little around you can't sell it if you don'T HAVE IT ; If you see any of my videos you will see I just love being in the bush, like you said it's very good for your mind :))
Sure. :-) I will say though, we didn't set out to do it. We burned wood ourselves and already had loggin equipment. But im lookin to get back into it with a buddy.
Great video! My primary job is in the IT field (data center hardware tech) but I have cut firewood most of my adult life for both personal use and I sell the occasional truck load of firewood. First off I just wanted to say that your video was very informative, gave a different perspective, and came across very honest. you have obviously really thought this whole process out very well. However I would love for you to talk actual numbers, especially as you are an accountant. How much have you invested? what are your profit margins? what are you making per year, per hour, etc? Once again thanks for creating this video.
You make a good point around 10:50. I love doing it man it's very stress relieving. I was wondering...how can one go about getting equipment and starting from scratch? Is there a way you can get grants or something to start up? How can I find potential investors for a small business. I would like to do this full time and I don't have the means to be able to buy equipment of my own. I've just been going out with some guys using their chainsaw and ax's. I went as far as getting my own sledgehammer, wedges, and a good ax, reaching out to the forest service for a permit to be able to sell what I cut, (here in Payson AZ, they want 5$ a chord haha) but what do I do to get an investment in a decent chainsaw and/or other potentially useful equipment?
That's gotta be one of the best videos on business in general I have seen. Thanks for putting this together. It should help a lot of people out.
Eastonmade Wood Spliters, get off the internet and go help to make your spliters, I was thinking about buy a Ultra, but the waiting list is ridiculously long, greetings from Connecticut.
@@sandrocamargo698 maybe the wait time is long because I have invested the time in the internet 🤔🤔🤔🤔😀😀😀😀
The only reason I’ve ever heard of Eastonmade splitters is because of Hometown Acres! I’ve since seen them on other TH-cam channels, and now they are at the top of my list if I ever get into a different splitter.
@@steveb4992 adam does a great job
@@EastonmadeWoodSplitters Agree!
Started with a splitting maul… 3 years later have a 30 ton splitter selling 500 face cords/year @ $150/delivered & stacked.
🎉🎉🎉
-Set aside at least 10% for taxes
-Start out as a side biz and reinvest every penny into ordering log loads from tree companies for a couple years.
-offer delivery + stacking!!!
Stacking is a lot of manual labor, I like the model where you just deliver the wood stacked in some sort of modular container that your customers can return, presumably. But based on this comment, maybe that means I should invent some sort of system for transportation I’ve stacked wood that can basically hold the wood stacked, and then drop the wood off stacked, but that might be a little more complicated than I am imagining
Hi Adam. Good advice on firewood. I don’t advertise, word of mouth for me. I started out firewood for myself, 5-7 cords for me to burn. I looked at it as exercise and not work. I buy the wood in log length at first and now by tractor trailer load of 12 cords. I’m not out to make money, just as exercise and liking the outdoors. I’m 72 and in somewhat good shape. Keeps me going. Good advice again Adam.
I'm in my 30s somewhere and this is exactly what I'm looking at it as.
Firewood kiln...
Procure a shipping container.
Typically 2-3 grand.
Grand worth of roofing tar..
Coat it and park it in full sun.
You can get White oak to the same moisture level as a proper three year seasoning for oak in six months.
Minimal cost and it works great.
Up the ante a little bit and buy a used reefer or refrigerated semi trailer.
The insulation factor works out well.
Yep. Your parting thoughts are spot on. I own a successful small business and all I want to do on the weekends is get out on our land and manage it. Part of that is processing firewood that we heat with. And that alone is just so cathartic. I do not go to church on a regular basis but, I always say that working our land is my way of communing with God.
Got into it over the summer of 2020, since then I’ve bought 2 STHIL chainsaws and a 35 ton log splitter. I’m in SoCal and I’ve learned you can never have enough wood. Have wood a year ahead of time. It’s a rewarding side biz
Please help with a tad bit of information. I have a farm in miami literally get my first load today to cut. I have tons of land and a virtually unlimited free supply from landscaping companies.
I simply have no clue how much I could make. But I plan on chopping all year.
For ex, ef I sell 100 cords, how much should I sell them for?
@@Devoneakapimp it really just depends on what wood ur selling and the going price is where you live. It can fluctuate just usually stays around the same price. Offer up is a good place to look to see what it’s going for. Some people will want as little as a wheel barrow or a small truck to a long bed truck load. Mixed wood will go for cheaper than eucalyptus where I live. It burns longer so people want it more. Good luck! I hope that helped a bit.
@@justwannaname yes you did. Thanks.
Where I live there’s virtually no major competition. Just a few people selling some trees they cut.
I noticed that here, wood is sold my pallets, wheel barrows and truckloads (pickups).
The only serious seller I saw sells pallets of split “firewood “ for $200.
I’m not sure how many customers I’d get, but I certainly have an almost unlimited supply of quality hardwood from tree cutting services.
We’ll see what happens.
If you need some help running your firewood, business and you’re near Los Angeles hit me up buddy, I’m very interested in this business and I’m good with machines chainsaws and I have a masters degree in engineering so maybe I can help you improve the efficiency of the operation😊
"Firewood is relaxing." So true. Firewood is also good exercise, heats my home, and is a beneficial way to get rid of all the downed trees on my 10 acres of woods. What's not to love? The one thing about selling firewood that is sketchy is the customers.
11:00 that's why I even thought about this. Longest time I've been trying to find myself and recently i started thinking back to my younger days and realized splitting wood really puts me at ease and i thought why not make a business out of this. I'm trying not to let fear stop me and really pursue something that i could enjoy and hopefully not be so stressed out
men must do physical work, part of our DNA.
A man that never does any physical labor is not a real man.
Hi Adam - it's Big Rodders in Ireland. Another option for somebody to learn the trade is to split for another person. I'm retired and not interested in the hassle of running my own business but enjoy doing firewood. I split part-time for two Tree Surgeon companies using my equipment as and when required. I'm paid on producton levels so that makes me hone my operation to optimise efficiency. This pathway could be ideal for folk not prepared or able to take the full leap into managing the entire process.
Is selling green firewood to a middleman more efficient rather than dry so they do not need to check the moisture content and can then have more control over drying it by doing such themselves?
Hi Joseph - it's Big Rodders in Ireland. There are so any variables that I couldn't give you a definitive answer. Each operator has to work out the optimum system for their own operation. I prefer to only buck and split with no responsibility for seasoning or selling. However, I'm not dependent on this work for an income, which is a very relevant issue. Most TH-cam firewood folk are part time so maximising income is generally not their primary driving force.
My father sold it for $275 a cord if delivered and $225 if they picked it up themselves. Always charge a fee to deliver it.- we sold between 10-15 cord a year as a side gig.
There is a lot of good advice here. I have had a firewood business since 1980. I started with a chainsaw, splitting maul and pick-up. Now I have a feller buncher, skidder, log truck, two dump trucks and a Multitek firewood processor. I have always said that firewood either involves a lot of labor or a lot of expensive equipment.
I’m interested. Would you say it’s realistic to go full time to support a family having a firewood business?
@@Painfulwhale360 Yes. It does depend on where you are, what your market is and what your supply of wood is. I would suggest you start part time and don't get in too deep on equipment at first. Offer a good product, full measure and on time delivery. It will take a while to get your name out there but once you do word of mouth advertising is the best.
Sir, I salute you. You are a man of integrity, intelligence, wisdom, and honesty. Bravo!
Best video on selling firewood, Simple and straight to the point, Thanks
Firewooding is a beautiful thing. I love any hustle that you can stockpile raw resources on your own time. And to add its out in nature. Very good for your soul
It takes much longer than 4 years to learn how to file to near perfection. You are excellent for
4 years. The difference that takes so long to perfect is from wanting it to just be sharp to needing it to cut smooth and sharp. Which means every tooth needs to be almost identical. So with that said you just keep learning and get a little better with each passing year. You are awesome, hard worker, great example.
Yes. I’m not satisfied with my sharpening yet but thought I’d share what I have learned so far
Good advice
I’ve been at it 30 years now
To make a living you need a lot of equipment
And it never lets you down 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Spend most of my time welding things back together
Great video 👌
Great video, I’m going to dabble in this . I have given up snow removal as part of my lawn business after 20 years. Bought a portable sawmill. So between that and firewood I’m extremely excited for winter. Healthy work that will hopefully make some supplemental income . I love the eastonmade splitters . Then found out they are in Ontario. Perfect as I am too. Thanks for sharing .
Love this video. Never thumbed up or commented on one before that I can remember. Great delivery, great advice, great attitude. Feels good.
Thanks Tony. It’s nice to hear from you. Hope to see you in the comments more often!
Outstanding video I'm 72 years old and you made me want to get out there and start cutting
Love the totes! I cut the tubs in half to make lids. No more tarps...
Where do you get the totes?
th-cam.com/video/cfD8ut8tXPw/w-d-xo.html
@@andrewwilliams246 usually on Craigslist
Adam lots of good info there great video. Nothing like these hobbies to keep us hopping. Wild how the market is so different you’re wrapping up October ish and I’m just getting into full swing. Take care brother.
I liked your video. I am lucky because I have a tree service and charge people to haul the wood away from the job. We have 2 commercial spliters 2 cord per hour each 4 cat loaders and excavators to make it easy and fun.
Great video and lots of very useful information. We started with just two splitting miles and us very inexpensive small chainsaw and rapidly grew to where we bought a hydraulic splitter and a couple more chainsaws.
The one exception to your rules is drawing time is absolutely dependent on your location. Not sure where you are but we’re in the Salt Lake area where we get a lot of sunshine, very low humidity and consistent breezes. We can dry Spruce in 4 to 6 weeks. Hardwoods take 2 to 3 months and it’s dry. People say we have the best firewood they’ve ever used because we were very careful about making sure that it’s good and dried.
Part time we made over 10 grand and we sell out every week. It is a part-time business which means we put in about 30 hours a week. We only sell bundles of firewood or 1/3 of a cord. We have it set up so our customers usually 98%, pre-pay by Venmo and then can pick up their wood at their convenience because it is separated with their name tag on it. Again thanks for all the great information really like your videos!
You have really awesome customers, especially if they’re honest enough not to take other peoples firewood😂
Thank you SO much for creating this video. I learned a LOT. It is a big help.
Some really good advise for people starting out. I’ve got a part time firewood business as well and I would say don’t get in over your head financially is huge, don’t buy a lot of expensive equipment right away and to prepare for the unexpected. I have a contract with a local logging company and have to go out to the forest to get the wood so for me weather shutdowns are a big concern, snow and heat shutdowns plus what happens if you get injured(currently down because I fractured my arm). Always keep some wood stored just in case because there are always bills coming in when you’re running a business!
Only doing this for myself. You are generous to sell your wood!
Great points Hometown...#8 is my favorite - there is never enough!! lol Also like the bonus one...that gets overlooked I think since a lot of people don't realize there is actually 'work' involved...hahaha. Have a good weekend. 😃👍🍻
i work for a tree company so i can bring home as much wood as i want and i just bought a countyline splitter this is definitely going to be a fun hobby for me
Super thumbs up sir! I've saved that video to watch again later. I have exactly the same goal as you. A nice hobby to wind down from my day job. I just moved to a new property where the zoning allows for firewood production on a larger basis. Thanks again Adam!
Love it!
In any industry that is full time - Joe from the video you did a collaboration with has it right : it's unacceptable to go full time and run out of inventory. That's poor planning in my eyes. How would you like your gas station to run out of gas? Not good! I love all of your points here, and it's clear that if you were to go full time for this firewood business - you'd know how to adapt your inventory, process, and business methods. What a wonderful thing you have here!
As someone who is starting a side hustle for firewood I can say number 10, the flow/process is probably the most important. You can really waste or save a lot of time by planning out how your going to handle and move your material. My issue starting out was just that, I started out just cleaning up some down trees, to then thinking about selling it to now having a tractor with a grapple. I moved the same split pile of wood twice before stacking it, moved the rounds twice ect which is a lot of wasted time and $$$.
I streamlined it even more, back when I sold wood, by teaching my customers to buy green wood. That way I could cut, split, and right into the truck and delivered. I sold it slightly cheaper, and it costs nothing to dry it either way. Also makes a far better cash flow!
You are 100% correct on all your points. I would like to share another option for procuring wood. I’m in s.w. Wisconsin, we have a few lumber mills local ( some Amish), lumber mills don’t cut 100% of every log they get. Some get slabbed out and there some rot, cracks or punkiness to the cant. They reject them and sell as “fire cants” , which are debarked. They also carry “fire logs” which are too crooked, cracked, or may have hardware in them. I find this option works great for me, I have a skid steer and 14k goose neck trailer, thatI use for our farm. For a round $100 I can’t have my trailer loaded, take the logs home, and unloaded in less than an hour.
* also, the lumber yard I work most with has a “ free firewood” pile, which is hardware, cut crotches, and part that won’t fit in the chipper, which if you really don’t mind the extra work, is a great place to start.
Couldn't get much clearer than that without "stick figure instructions"
Thanks for laying it out!
Good advice Adam. Like your business approach to a tough business. Keep on going your doing fine.
I love the honesty. I belive wood is either in your blood or it aint
That’s a good way to put it. I think my great great great grandfather was a lumberjack way back before all this cool equipment. It’s definitely in me
@@HometownAcres way kind wood
My grandpa built log homes his whole life just finished up recently. two of my uncles currently build log homes and sell firewood and ancestors before that & recently I’ve started selling firewood and I can assure you it is in my blood. I have a new found love
A lot of good info in this video buddy. Look how far you've come! Can't beat a hobby that puts good money in your pocket. 👍
Some great tips. I had to put my roadside stand on pause after the first weekend after having more bundles stolen then bought. I brought the rest it the bundles back to my camp and am in the process of putting together a remote surveillance system with 5G wifi and cameras. Had to figure a way to secure everything. I will make a video when I am done of it.
Hi Adam, I love your channel. I bought a home in New Brunswick, 🇨🇦 for my retirement years, the house has a wood/electric force air furnace about 15 years old. The NB government had an energy program to up grade your home. After the inspection they are are going to remove that old furnace and install an air source heat pump connected to my duct work. My problem is I just had 2 cords of wood dropped off for next winter. What I'm thinking about is setting up a wood stand and selling it, I have a neighbour kid that has helped me out on other projects and see how this works out and give him some knowledge of how to make money part time. We also have a number of parks in our area. Sorry for the long post.
Thanks so much for sharing your process, and I can see the true accountant coming through when you analyze the steps!!!
Just started this. Same scenario... Im an accountant, started with an axe, bought a 2 chainsaws, and some general stuff. Have 25 chords right now (personal use). Just bought 2 leases (pieces of forest I can call my own untill december 23 next year) last week to get started again. ... and yeah ... I love splitting wood, I see it as a sport.
I have to agree with everything you said. I’m a registered nurse, but have always had a keen sense for business. I sometimes regret not going into finance. It’s definitely more prosperous to sell in smaller amounts as you do. Always great to hear advice and pick up some inspiration and extra info. God bless!!
I love this video. I am a CPA who lives on a fairly large acreage in rural northeast Oklahoma so we some things in common. I have four kids that are growing up fast and I want to instill a good work ethic into them. My two older boys (8 and 10) helped me split and stack firewood the the last couple years. They are young but they seem to enjoy it ok at least for now. I think starting a small firewood business could be very beneficial for them. They are homeschooled and need to spend more time outside. This would provide them with some extra money to save and help them understand business and economics. I look forward to watching more of your videos!
Great video i have been doing for 43 year 4 generation logger and firewood business and it in the blood
great point of getting the wood out of the woods compared to having it dropped off, i hit a gold mine for firewood probably over a thousand full cord from a tornado that went through but its 13 miles from home which is closer by 15 miles than where i have been cutting so that is a plus. as for enjoying it i never make a job of it so it is a good way to get exercise and be outside.
My father and i started a tree service company 7 years ago. We are doing extremely well and i've been looking to start keeping wood from good trees we remove(it's free for me lol). All i'd have to do is haul it to a location and process it.
Excellent info and advice. Hope you do more videos on this subject. Thanks!
Good video. One thing to maybe add is to know your product, at least some basic knowledge. Know the species, and definitely know exactly how much wood a cord is, or whatever measurement is common in your neck of the woods.
Im at a point where my hobby firewood business could easily become my full time job and im seriously considering it.
I think having the space for this is the main issue for me. I live in the city and my back yard isn’t that big. I want to get into this mainly just for me to have fire wood. A big issue is I’m in Texas and the humidity is crazy. Also most the year it’s way to hot for anyone to really want to sit by a fire. But now that it’s cold everyone is buying firewood. So I definitely think it’s a ok side hustle I’ll get into. Hopefully it goes well
Good points. Three years into it. Still looking at best ways to make sales easier to access and always finding less touches.
Adam, just like pricing, you need to take your own advice and apply it to how you make videos. You need about 10% - 20% of people that watch this video to dislike it. Otherwise you've made too good of a video. After I hit the like button the count was 366 likes to 0 dislikes. I think you know what you need to change . . . . .
Great honest and straight forward content as usual. I've been inspired to cut and sell firewood from watching this channel. Keep it up Adam!! 👍🏾
Hahaha I made too good of a video. That’s funny. I appreciate it. Hope things are going well with your firewood production and sales. As always thanks for the support!
Great video. It all makes sense.You broke it down completely and succinctly.
I watch Daniel Arms Homestead like going to church. And he spoke about watching you. His was right you are go and a enjoy to watch. So I subscribe to your channel also. I enjoy watching you also. In from the south north Carolina. But live in Mass. Yes I was raised on a farm . Now 73 buy love watching y'all video.
Hi Linda. Thanks for watching. Glad to have you here
hi there will see you next friday . good list of things . i always looked at it in cords per man hour . on time involved in a cord . i always figured 15 hours per cord per man . but i added a lot more behind the seens things like . equipment maintance . saw sharping going to the store for fuel gas diesel bar oil . being an account ill bet you could think of a lot more then me . maybe you could make a list for behind the seen things cause you did a great job with this one and your others i enjoy them john
Oh yeah. There’s definitely a lot of overhead involved with firewood
Your presentation has allowed me to collect my ideas into restarting my firewood collection process. I do not sell firewood, however we use about 5 cords a year to heat our home. We also have propane hot water to heat our home. I
Like cutting and splitting my own firewood. I’m a high school English teacher and working outdoors making firewood is a relaxing hobby. Perhaps in 5 years when I retire, I may consider having a firewood business. Thank you for your expertise.
Something I have been looking into is getting a polytunnel to use as a kiln, here in the uk you can get a good quality 10x20 foot one for about 310 quid, put it up and install a extractor fan on a end to let the moisture out to improve the drying process, it is something i have thought about because in my mind it gets hotter in one of them, you can be looking at over 30 maybe even 40 degrees depending on how much sunlight it gets, and even though it isnt as hot as a kiln it should in theory dry out quicker which is always a good thing, and you dont have a massive investment, you could make that money back with the first lot you dry in it, and then some.
Adam, Id say you just about summed it up!! as they say time is money, money is time! you can’t get back time!! In my eyes a processor is the way to go but a commercial splitter is able to get all pieces a processor can’t do so it’s give and take with the cost of the processor and time saved versus the commercial splitter that can split everything but is more hands on labor wise
I want to start a firewood business and use some of my robotics experience to see if I can automate some processes in ways that haven’t been done before, there are automated firewood processing machines and they’re pretty decent, but I’d love to somehow create a system that you can take a longer log and basically drop it off at the starting point and end up with nicely bundled pieces of firewood at the end or maybe firewood just conveyed into IBCs etc.
It’s great seeing you using those IBC tote frames to contain your wood.
WOW . !! VERY GOOD thinking thru how 2 do this . u think like me . i just use my chain saw 4 now . and also have mine cut and stacked , for my bbq grill , which we use most often . got a bunch from right here in my little town of dunkirk . they were cutting trees and were hard wood maple . so they just gave most of it limbs to and the limb parts i make into kindeling. all the way to the most smallest pieces and put that in totes. totes range in size with what i had on hand. about 5 gal to 20 gallon size. yes i know about your friend in ohio . have seen {{ in the wood yard }} that one is good to him and his brother have wood yards .
I have a small farm property so i am zoned for firewood business use .The zoning of your property where you are planing to run the business is very important .If it is not zoned for that type of use ,you could be shut down so look into that first .Just food for thought .Thanx for the videos.
Yes very important
some really good points Adam. Love your firewood.
I agree with you , firewood is super relaxing. I hand split all my firewood to heat my home. Not looking to start a business, just a hobby for me
Great information! Big fan of your videos!
Man. This video earned you my Subscription! Off to see what else you got now.
This was so useful and eloquently said. Thanks a lot!
Nice video. I have a tree service that dumps at my place. I told my girls (16 and 14) they are welcome to sell it if they split it. So they've been doing it for the last 2 years. They did about 12 cords this summer.
It's taught them to work hard but also to plan ahead and have patience. The first year they didn't cut much in the fall and it sold real fast that spring. They realized that they can't just cut and sell. It has to sit and season. So not they are always going out understanding if they don't they won't make money next summer. Good little business for them.
That’s impressive. 12 cords for two young ladies. I’m extremely impressed. Are they splitting with an axe? Or do they have a splitter?
@@HometownAcres they have a hydraulic splitter. The older splits and the younger stacks. We started using the ibc cages this year. That makes things a lot easier. I'll have to show them about bundling and see if they want to do that. Right now they sell to campers and cord wood but everyone comes to them so maybe that's better.
G'day HTA, great advice for a young up and coming firewood merchant it's a by product for me but it sells. I was talking to an old mate that buys blocks from cutters up north and delivers to yards around Melbourne three tipper and dog loads per week 120 tonnes that would equate to 65 cords of your oak at 12% MC per week. He's got 1500 tonnes to deliver by March he said .
Great video! I really enjoy it helped alot I’m looking to start full possibly. I really enjoy it. I got the itich anyone else have it lol. I think it’s great!!
Good points, but there is another thing to consider.
The “business “ aspect. The legal and regulatory requirements. You can’t operate on a cash basis for long. Every time you make a trip for business all of your assets are at risk.
I owned a business for 30 years.
You can be the best firewood processor out there, but if you aren’t a master at paperwork, you will eventually fail.
This video has a lot of great information before anyone else is interested getting into the firewood business! I was noticing the IBC totes behind you in the video and I was wondering about how much of wood do you have in them? Do you have a FULL FACE CORD or something close to it? Keep up the great work buddy because you have come a long way to have something to fall back on for emergency cash flow!
Totally agree!!!! I love your logo!!!
Thanks!
Great information buddy! I sure enjoy watching you progress and the system you use. Take care and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks Davey. Happy thanksgiving to you and your family as well
Dang brother - great video! Very concise logic here, hats of to you and no wonder you do so well both here on TH-cam and with firewood sales!
I've been doing firewood since I was 11 and I'm 52 now your right it's a nice relaxing thing to do I enjoy it or I wouldn't do it. I been thinking about getting into selling bundles of firewood for some extra money already started making smaller chunks of wood probably just going to sit by the road were alot of people just sell stuff and sell it that away, bundles in my area sell for $6-$8 a bundle and I'll sell mine for $5 a bundle. I make sure it is quality firewood. I will have a different mix in every bundle.
How many bundles do you get out of a cord? I sold wood by the full cord and face cord (1/3 of a full cord) years ago. I looked into bundles but with all the extra handling it actually would have lost me money.
If you are considering a kiln for drying your firewood in a hurry and on a budget, consider a solar kiln. These are generally used to dry lumber, but there is no reason it couldn't also dry firewood. There are lots of youtube videos on how to build them.
I’ve seen a few videos on them. I’m just not sure how fast they would dry the wood. I’ve heard they still take about 3 months to dry firewood below 20%. I’m not sure if that is worth the investment. I’d have to make a big one to get quite a few cords in if I can only turn the kiln every three months
@@HometownAcres Air movement dries wood faster than sun. If you have an area that gets a lot of wind, that will dry wood the best. So... that means your kiln has to have good air movement. The kiln would speed things up enough that you could experiment with rotating the wood through it for a month and then dry outside for the rest of the time. Extra handling though, so I don’t know why you’d bother unless you get behind on dry inventory.
Thank you.
Good video. I am just starting. I want to grow into smalltime but fulltime. Thx for your help.
Wood can be a pain in the axe.
I was just about to axe you a question about that
wood you Get off your axe, 🪓 and get to work.😮
Nice video Adam.
My log splitter is supposed to be delivered this week but I’ll just be doing it as a hobby a little here and there.
Great incite Adam, informative and helpful. Thanks
I live in Ohio and am thinking about doing this as a hobby. I run my own business sanding and refinishing hardwood floors, and it slows down in the winter. Appreciate the good vid!
Great ideas I've got 60 acres in the pnw and I'm always toying with the idea.
@active rants I live in the PNW and I’ll help hah. I love felling trees and splitting firewood. I’m like the John Henry of splitting, can split all day n night.
Just found your channel tjis morning..great stuff
Great video! I'm just getting into this, and I'm an office manager. Looking foward to getting this going. Great advice.
Yes You Need Cold Whether here in the South its a Hit-or-miss
Thanks for the video. These are exactly the things I am thinking through right now. We came to a similar conclusion to how you finished--lets sell a few trailer loads and see how it goes. Then we can look at a wood splitter etc. Thanks.
GREAT video advise. I love cutting wood. I think I will sell it. Im one of those people who really enjoys working with wood. Thank You for the video. 👍
Really really helpful and informative, cheers Adam👍🏻
Awesome tips ! I enjoyed your video :) I cut for my own use and yes always a little extra, always have a little around you can't sell it if you don'T HAVE IT ; If you see any of my videos you will see I just love being in the bush, like you said it's very good for your mind :))
Good video. My dad, brother n I sold firewood on the side. Everything you said is true. We did it all. Subbed.
Thanks for joining!
Sure. :-) I will say though, we didn't set out to do it. We burned wood ourselves and already had loggin equipment. But im lookin to get back into it with a buddy.
I have LOTS of tops from logging on my property but need help processing it! I have all the equipment just need help in exchange for firewood!
Great business tips! Thanks man
Thanks for the info. I enjoy doing firewood. I'm working on splitting ash right now I just use a maul to split the wood it's a great stress reliever 😁
Great video Adam, and excellent idea for content. This info will undoubtedly provide a lot of value to a lot of people.
Yeah I like doing firewood it is good it clears my head all the time i like your new video today you did a really good jop buddy
Great video! My primary job is in the IT field (data center hardware tech) but I have cut firewood most of my adult life for both personal use and I sell the occasional truck load of firewood. First off I just wanted to say that your video was very informative, gave a different perspective, and came across very honest. you have obviously really thought this whole process out very well. However I would love for you to talk actual numbers, especially as you are an accountant. How much have you invested? what are your profit margins? what are you making per year, per hour, etc? Once again thanks for creating this video.
Great video. Thanks for making this
You make a good point around 10:50. I love doing it man it's very stress relieving. I was wondering...how can one go about getting equipment and starting from scratch? Is there a way you can get grants or something to start up? How can I find potential investors for a small business. I would like to do this full time and I don't have the means to be able to buy equipment of my own. I've just been going out with some guys using their chainsaw and ax's. I went as far as getting my own sledgehammer, wedges, and a good ax, reaching out to the forest service for a permit to be able to sell what I cut, (here in Payson AZ, they want 5$ a chord haha) but what do I do to get an investment in a decent chainsaw and/or other potentially useful equipment?
Top quality stuff here. Thanks man