How does anyone make money extracting cordwood?

[Frankie Lawrence]

What bit of the above don't you understand Frankie?

 

 

Ok you cant make any monney extracting cord wood there isnt enough monney in the timber as combined tree services says you need to be experienced with a saw and expeirenced in forestry, I dont know how long you have been doing it for but maybe that could be why?

 

Maybe while you get more expeirence felling you can do some of the 'fannying about' to cover your wages and makes some monney. I no im presuming how much experience you have and please prove me wrong about it?

 

I also think a digger is a bit pointless in a coppice site.

[combined tree services]

Ok you cant make any monney extracting cord wood there isnt enough monney in the timber as combined tree services says you need to be experienced with a saw and expeirenced in forestry, I dont know how long you have been doing it for but maybe that could be why?

 

Maybe while you get more expeirence felling you can do some of the 'fannying about' to cover your wages and makes some monney. I no im presuming how much experience you have and please prove me wrong about it?

 

I also think a digger is a bit pointless in a coppice site.

 

i know you have the forwarding BUT a tractor and timber crane will make you life much easyer . maybe you need to re-assess how productive the opperation is at the moment , is a digger that much use or is there a better option ? also maybe see if you can get and see some skilled han cutters in opperation .

 

Please do not think that i am knocking you , i am mearly trying to give you some ideas and pointers as i have done a fair bit of forrestry:001_smile:

[combined tree services]

What bit of the above don't you understand Frankie?

 

Highland Forestry- I thought as much!

 

Combined Tree Services- please answer me this: Could three of you and a digger fell, section, stack timber and burn brash on .9 hectares of 26 year old chestnut coppice in six days?

 

At no point have i said that i could with a digger but im pretty sure it i used a tractor with timber crane to do alot of my stacking and heaping brash then im pretty sure i would have a significant ammount more dont than you would

[doobin]

All you who think a digger is a bit pointless in a coppice site are missing the point. I can't justify a tractor and timber crane, and neither can most of you. The digger is always busy- fencing, laying driveways, cutting hedges with a mancrate. I'd call that a smart investment- there's few jobs I do that it can't help on.

 

So you think it's pointless in a coppice site?

 

Can you lift a ten foot butt that's ten inches in diameter and place it on top of a stack?

Can you grab five trees worth of brash and stick it straight onto the top of a roaring fire?

 

The guy on the digger is always flat out, and if we hit a thin patch he gets off and helps handball it.

 

We fell and section five trees whilst the digger is clearing the last fell. Digger then sits in the middle and can reach and stack all the timbers (15 to twenty ten foot sections) with minimal tracking. Brash from five trees is taken care of in a couple of minutes.

 

Combined Tree Services- Ok, could you do it in six days with a timber crane then?

[combined tree services]

at no point did i say that i could do it in six days !

 

but is seems that you have a good grip on where you going right so i dont think i could possibly compete with such experience

[Brushcutter]

Easiest way to make money on that as firewood is to do it with a harvester head on a digger. Then forward it out.

 

If i were doing it that would be my first thought but since i don't have a harvester i would have to use cutters, or work out wether the cost of hiring it in could be covered. In the past when i've been introducing/reintroducing coppice i've taken stuff out in tree lenghts but they were all about 18". Winch the tree in to the tractor and then stack with it. All rather neat, brash all in the racks timber stacked ride side.

 

If its only 10" stuff i'd short wood to 8' 10' what ever your working to and stack by hand with tongs. Wouldn't worry with the digger. Then the forwarder drivers work is easier. Tractor with roof mount crane is king for this sort of work IMO. 360 rotation with normally 6m reach if not more. put the timber on the trailer and pick up a grab of brash and make a fire with all the stuff within reach.

 

As with any forestry work the money is in the details. Are you hiring in the digger or is it yours? If its a hire in i'm sure you shortwooding too would mean that production is about the same without the cost of a digger

[doobin]

at no point did i say that i could do it in six days !

 

but is seems that you have a good grip on where you going right so i dont think i could possibly compete with such experience

 

Wasn't meaning to be sarky mate. if you refer to the original post, the crux of the matter is whether such an operation could be achieved in six days- by my calculations this is the bare bones of profitability (please check, its all in the original post)

 

If you can't do it in six days, back to the original question: how does anyone make money?

 

Burshcutter- digger is mine. Like I said in the original post, I'm not worried about doing it in six days as my sums stack up for firewood production rather than roadside cordwood. It was a sort of hypothetical question; I don't think that was perhaps clear enough!

 

Change of tack- can we all talk figures for a bit? How about everyone posts their take on a breakdown of costs?

[combined tree services]

financialy it is possible to do it in six days BUT it would be done buy getting a contractor with a harvester in and a forwarder , failing that i would say that you are peeing in the wind trying to do it in six days by hand - i do think that Brushcutter is working along the same lines as i would . if i may ask tho how many days do you want to do it in ?

[doobin]

financialy it is possible to do it in six days BUT it would be done buy getting a contractor with a harvester in and a forwarder , failing that i would say that you are peeing in the wind trying to do it in six days by hand - i do think that Brushcutter is working along the same lines as i would . if i may ask tho how many days do you want to do it in ?

 

 

Excellent, we've got the the bottom of it! Would you mind providing a costing for mechanical harvesting, just out of interest? I can't see there'd be much profit in it, I guess you'd need more acreage.

 

Not worried how many days it takes. I enjoy it, it'll make money as firewood. I still make money from my lads working on other jobs when we're cutting, whilst my two mates are quiet on the work front so this year it's the right thing to do. Next year however we may look back at our costings for harvesting and decide to buy it in. We shall see! Either way firewood is better than money in the bank at the moment.

[renewablejohn]

Bang a harvester and forwarder in there, thats the only real way to make plentyof money at £20 a ton on roadside

 

I would go down a similar route but would use a felling head and stroke delimber instead of the harvester. Much cheaper than a harvester if you already have a tractor and forwarding trailer. I would also chip the brash for biofuel instead of burning.

 

Kesla 40LF demo video - Agricultural Implements - Staalmeester - Wood Chippers

 

http:http://www.kesla.com/pdf2006/englanti/40_LF_englanti.pdf