What lengths are forestry contractors cutting trees for firewood ?

[cessna]

As above.  I only ask as I was wondering if some tree harvesting contractors, are now cutting trees/branches 3mtr long to save on time? Or is most of the firewood you have delivered by artic timber  truck  still between 2.3 and 2.5 mtrs long. I only ask as 3mtr lengths are not so easy to handle especially  if over 12"/300mm diameter or larger.   Also the ex bulker truck  sheets I use for covering wood stack are less than 3mtrs wide😟  

Edited November 5, 2023 by cessna

[gdh]

2.4 used to be the standard but a lot are going 3 or 3.6m to save on the handling. I don't mind the 3m but the 3.6 are a bit long on long decks and I can only get one bay on the trailer so it's worth asking before delivery.

[IronMike]

We cut 2.5m or 3m usually. Stacks well on the wagons, and 3m is perfect for my little forwarder.

[MattyF]

The longer the better imo , once it’s on the log deck a 3.6 keeps you busier and you fill crates quicker. 

[doobin]

We only tend to cut for ourselves. In the woods I prefer 3m for ease of handling and speeding things up. The guy on the processor prefers 2.4m for the same reasons… 

 

As Mike says, 3m it’s perfect size for a log bullet. It’s also the perfect size when saving timber from jobs- small loads of straight timber such as young ash being run back to base in the back of a tipper. On a timber trailer or with not so straight species 2 bays of 2.4 is much more efficient. Or if small skinny timber that you may as well handball, I prefer 2.4s. 
 

Why not both? 2.4s in the pickup, 3m on the trailer! 

[slack ma girdle]

You can get 4 bunks of 3m on a lorry, but it has to accurately cut otherwise it won't fit.

2.5m is good for bendy wood, but you won't get more than 20 tonne on a load.

3m seems to be the most popular here in west Wales.

[Stubby]

3 mtrs here . 

[AHPP]

The mechanised arb/crossover perspective is 3m and be done with it. Asking arbs to roll out to 2.4, 4.8, 7.2, 9.6 etc is a recipe for disappointment. Can't speak for proper foresters. Not masochistic enough to be involved.

[John Shutler]

if it’s timber going back to the yard we cut 2.5m lengths. we can get two bays of 3m on our timber trailer but loading can be awkward. 

some hauliers that buy our softwood want it in 3m lengths so we oblige if asked 

[Johnpl315]

Depends on your forwarding setup and on your customers requirements? I normally cut three meters as I can only fit one bay, if you can fit two bays of 2.5 then cut that! If you can fit two bays of 3m even better! 

If you are thinning and hand cutting it can be useful to cut shorter lengths so you can cut up a hung up tree without holding the saw up to high.