Logs or billets?

[nepia]

Question - how should one stack the billets? Pics above show one level of two billets alternating with a full level and so on and then others show full levels at 90 degrees to each other? One clearly gets more airflow but uses more space... What's the official way?!

 

TCD; I think... the early pic of criss cross stacking of oak billets sacrifices space in the name of fast seasoning but re the later pic where criss cross stacking is only at the end of the pile - that's just an end stop to hold the straight stacked stuff in place. You see it all over the Alpine region where they stack loooong piles of softwood billets.

 

Then again I may have got the wrong end of your stick completely!

 

Jon

[davetaz]

We build a stack by constructing the end sections a couple of feet high, then fill the middle with billets all the same way, then build the ends up even more, fill in again etc etc until the stack is 7-8 ft high. They are very stable, easy to climb up and walk across the top for tying tarps on etc. You could probably make the stacks as long as you like!

[Dave177]

Looking good, Although cross stacking looks like it uses up a lot of space, any ideas on difference of seasoning times between stacking styles?

I guess I could just put some pallets/bearers along the floor and some long chestnut posts at either end to sure up the pile and then go as tall as I can reach?

We dont have a forklift/telehandler all the time so cant shift lots of crates around, I think manageable size billets is the way to go for us!

[mattplace]

I split these in June, and they were below 25% by the end of August!

They had the sun most of the day, and the wind rips through there.

 

Personally I think billets are the way forward. I use crates for my Arb waste but they're a pain once empty and trying to store them.

 

Saving for a saw bench and conveyor for next season.

 

Anyone used a circular saw processor with the splitting wedge removed to cut billets? Cycle the ram to push a load onto the conveyor?

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

Right, I tried making some billets today and very rapidly concluded that timber needs to straight grained and knot free - h/wood thinnings, no less. Agreed?

[slack ma girdle]

Right, I tried making some billets today and very rapidly concluded that timber needs to straight grained and knot free - h/wood thinnings, no less. Agreed?

 

With logs with large knots, i always split down through the middle of the knot first. With bent logs have the middle of the bend closest to the back of the splitter so as the wedge comes down it is pulled into the center of the wood.

 

Sent from my Galaxy arse using tupping talk.

Check ALL the simple things first.

[nepia]

Depends on your situation I guess; for yours you're probably right. Being tiny time (one down from small time) I split everything that's too big to leave in the round. But I probably have the luxury of time that you don't.

 

So the short answer to your question is maybe! For commercial scale production probably yes.

[gensetsteve]

Right, I tried making some billets today and very rapidly concluded that timber needs to straight grained and knot free - h/wood thinnings, no less. Agreed?

 

From your posts I gather you do alot of firewood. The only reason I can see for doing billets on a large scale is if you have a lot of large butts. Is their not a large machine on the market that billets then cuts and conveys out in one go. If I was going back into logs I would make some 3 metre crates like my local competition and process into them. When it comes to tipping out big rotator on a telehandler. billets straight into logs has to be the way to go with bigger cord wood comming out the woods all the time. My view was if a human touched the timber profits were draining away. Tools and toys only

[difflock]

I was really minded to buy a processor, however working on my own very part time the economics could not be justified.

I did note that at any demonstrations, of firewood processors, that I have witnessed, that the operators (from the companies selling the machines!) spent quite a bit of time inside the machine sorting out stoppages and blockages.

Wheras at least with billets it is "foolproof" production and can be reasonably slickly mechanised, the billets also facilitating bundling and onward mechinacal handling with strapping or cheap light cordage.

[slack ma girdle]

From your posts I gather you do alot of firewood. The only reason I can see for doing billets on a large scale is if you have a lot of large butts. Is their not a large machine on the market that billets then cuts and conveys out in one go. If I was going back into logs I would make some 3 metre crates like my local competition and process into them. When it comes to tipping out big rotator on a telehandler. billets straight into logs has to be the way to go with bigger cord wood comming out the woods all the time. My view was if a human touched the timber profits were draining away. Tools and toys only

 

But a huge percent of your profit goes to pay off the large and expensive machinery to keep the human touch out of the equation.