Good info on the numbers...surprised that Oak was at 21%, that's dang near ready. I've split Red Oak that was standing dead for 3 years and it was still 42% on the inside...lol. OH and you forgot a few other expenses.....soda, ice, & rum! Hahahahaha 😆🍹👍
You were right, I went back and pushed on the meter as hard as I could. Got 40.3 percent moisture on the highest piece. Others were in the high 30s. I can't believe you have to push so hard, i actually bent the prongs on the meter.
Believe it or not I've had a lot of viewers correct me and say that it's going for 140ish for a FULL cord in parts of Ohio. The rest of the country seems to be 90-110 a face cord (1/3 of a cord). I'd never do firewood for 120 or so for a cord. Way too much work IMO. Your prices are in line with my area
@@TKCL really 140 a full cord.. my average cost for log truck was 55 a facecord.. right there at 140/ full is a loss of 25.. plus cost of everything else
My family has been in the firewood business for 30+ years in north ga. Best thing we ever did was get into smoking/cooking wood. Hickory, Pecan, Cherry, etc sell for 50-100% more than regular heating wood.
@@TKCL restaurants and individuals both. We cut it however they want it lengthwise. We have done some odd size stuff, like one fella that wanted white oak no bigger than 2"x2" for a pizza oven (charged a premium for that of course). It takes a lot of those size to make a 1/2 cord!! When we sold firewood in the 90s we just sold all hardwood for heating wood. Then had some requests for smoking wood and started separating. 10 years ago we were probably 80% heating wood, 15% smoking wood and 5% pine for bonfires. Now we're probably closer to 50% smoking wood 50% heating wood and rarely sell any bonfire wood anymore. We also started bagging and selling cutoff short pieces for home smokers 3-6 inch chunk stuff. We bag it in the onion bag type bags.
This is the best video on the subject of splitting and selling firewood presented by a very intelligent person who 'thinks' about all of the costs involved. And make no mistakes about it this is very 'hard work' and also very dangerous. A single mistake can result in tens of thousands in medical bills and disability. And if you don't have a bad back now you will if you do hard physical work like this.
People call me crazy but I cut and split for recreation. I love the exercise and it’s mind clearing. I’m trying to keep it around 20 cords per season which pays for all my equipment and satisfies my anxiety. Plus, I’ve developed a saw fetish. I took the Forrest Gump approach…..this much wood pays for a saw, this much for the splitter and so on. To me it’s better than fishing. Thanks for the great info.
You need to get a light weight steel table or maybe a wood table, same height as log splitter, set it directly to the left of your splitter and load it up with log blocks.
My grandpa started me out with firewood when I was around 8 or so and we would work together for hours. I love cutting with my saw and the sound wood makes when splitting. I would love to sell it on the side but I don’t have the land and space to get it done . 😞
I absolutely understand your passion for it. I grew up around my grandfather and dad splitting it. I find it relaxing and rewarding. I love sitting around a warm fire remembering all that it took to make the firewood.
Nice overview of getting into firewood! Good job! Also, I really like your rack setup. You've got me thinking about getting one setup at my place. Happy splittin!
I'll have signs and multiple cameras. It's sad the world we live in, I know theft is going to happen. I still think I live in a area full of good honest people. Time will tell
Great points. I sold wood for fun at one time. You've really got to up the quantity to make it worth while. But too much is a lot of wear and tear on the body.
I want to say thank you for the great videos and and the info on the wood spliter just picked the same one up today and put around 3 Maybe 4 hrs on it a great spliter and because of your videos and information it made my choice easy thank you keep up the great videos.
Here in NC we call it a brick (about a full size 6 ft bed truck load) and it averages $100 to $125 and that’s good cured hardwood . Great info very appreciated .. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
I'm fortunate here or blind! I don't see anyone selling firewood. Even on Craigslist the closest seller I see is about 30 miles away. I know there is demand, because I keep turning people down.
I usually sell a load of two face cords and get $200. Sometimes I charge more for delivery outside of my county. Thanks for sharing all of the data and information my friend!
I fell into firewood because I like using my pit. It’s just relaxing. And I enjoy the sawing and splitting of the wood. I like to use an axe. But I live in a city. If I could turn this hobby into profit I would. But my neighbors would kill me. Maybe in some future. Until then I’ll enjoy seeing your story unfold
Not knocking the city, but that's what I love about the country. Freedom to do what you want and not really disturb anyone. I totally agree with you, it's hard work but relaxing.
Really enjoy the mental processing you're doing for us. I don't sell firewood, but I make my own.... I just enjoy the entrepreneurship spirit you're driving. Keep it up sir.
Thank you very much for the kind feedback! I was hesitant on making this video for fear of people being offended by me comparing areas or digging so deep into the subject. Glad to see so much positive response. This is just how my mind works, I tend to analyze everything lol.
I used to get whole logs delivered to my house. It was a smaller log truck and the logs equaled on average 5 cords of wood. I paid $500 for the logs. Because of health reasons I now purchase cut and split firewood. I have a 16 foot dump trailer that can hold 2 cords of wood. It is a mixture of oak, cherry, hickory, black walnut, and maple for $350 if I load it myself, and $375 if I have them load it. I live in PA near the panhandle of WV and Ohio. If you travel to the city of Pittsburgh, the price increases quickly. Enjoyed the video, keep them coming.
I see a lot of people getting logs delivered, no doubt that cuts down on time and wear and tear. I don't see anything but big log trucks in my area, no tri axle trucks with a boom to unload. I can probably get a cord of wood on my trailer if I load it heavy, and that's free wood other than time and gas. Being this is a side business for now, I'll just keep picking wood up while it's available.
@@TKCL There has been a lot of gas pipelines going in around us. Land owners don't want the wood, so the guy I get wood from just goes and picks it up, then cuts and splits it. There are also numerous tree service companies that will deliver fresh cut rounds (loaded in a 21 ft goose neck dump trailer) for $150.00 a load. Only thing is, if he calls you about a load you have to take it then. He has a rotational list of people that he calls. I still take down trees for people at no charge other than the wood. I use about 3 1/2 to 4 cords a winter to heat my house. My wood shed holds 11 1/2 cords.
Very, very common sense video, which is refreshing. Some of the other firewood channels spend so much money, on often redundant equipment, and then dont fully utilize it. Im sure if they are making money, its on their channel, not the actual firewood bussiness. Just subscribed
It's truly about the enjoyment and CZcams interaction, the income comes later. With that said, I still have to justify my expenses. It looks like it's going to work out both ways for me. Take care
Nice video sir. Glad you made the point that it depends on where you are. Too many people forget that part when doing any type of side business. I would suggest you make, or get made, a 4-way slip on wedge for your splitter for when you are splitting clean wood with no knots. It will greatly improve your production, and you can remove it when you are dealing with the stubborn pieces. Also, a lightweight, yet stable tray/pan to hold more raw and more split wood, so you move less between splitting and stacking wood. If you invest about 1 cord's worth of money into these improvements, you personally will make your life tremendously better off in this side business.
I bought the same splitter this year and have come up with almost the exact same numbers as you. It seems to me the only way to look at it would be for firewood to compliment an existing business or side hustle. Like the farmer said shoveling manure from the barn “do I charge my time to cleaning out the barn or fertilizing the fields?” Just my thoughts. Have a great day! Nice job on the video!
What's great to do is going to a subdivision and get a lot of deliveries. The use of an old fire truck works the best because it has to roll up doors and you can do a quart of wood in each one of the roll-ups.
I crunched the numbers for firewood recently...it doesn't make much sense if you approach it from how much money you making per hour. I think most people view it like this: + They have logs from trees on their property, from storm damage, or from tree service company + They have the equipment to turn into firewood + They have some free time to turn into extra money (instead of watch TV) Free logs turn to money. No ones cares about trees/ logs on the small scale...they just want to make them disappear. The only real downside is the cost of the equipment, however most think they'll can always resell it to make money back. All you really need is a $500 chainsaw and a $1000 log splitter really. You need a truck, but you already got one you drive for other reasons. On a fancier scale, you can have a $1200 chainsaw, a $5000-10000 splitter, and a 5-15k dump trailer. This just makes live easier, but not necessarily are more money (probably less since you gotta pay of that gear). This equipment is cheap when looking at the bigger picture of other businesses. The only way it makes sense from a logical 'how much money I make per hour' is if you got a huge expensive firewood processor, conveyer, stockpile, customer base, and the logs keep coming in. If you're not doing that, you gotta be honest with yourself and call it a side hustle or money making hobby...don't expect to get rich doing it. Sawmilling and selling the wood is the same situation or actually worse than firewood. With a sawmill, you can run a service to earn $100 per hour though (using a 50k machine). The reality of this topic makes me thankful I got a decent paying job.
Great video thanks! One mistake you are making, that many in business for themselves make is you are not counting for depreciation of your equipment. It's more than gas. You are only going to get so many miles on your truck, tires, trailer etc. That has to be factored in. Equipment depreciation is a very real cost that has to be accounted for in business. Trucks, trailers, tires on both are expensive.
Yeah what was I thinking, could have just asked you instead of going through all this trouble lol. But seriously I can't believe how wildy prices vary across the country. Seems like your area and mine are comparable on prices, so there is definitely money to be made. Take care!
Great video. Got to know your market and your numbers. You Definitely got the basics figured out for your numbers and like you said there is a lot your not figuring in and It all adds up.
I was hoping you’d make a numbers video!! Nice work. Sounds like it’s worth continuing on selling wood. I have a video coming out today, just about to edit it. Weather has been awesome here lately so today I’m going to the wood pile and splitting up some green Douglas fir to start the drying process. I live in BC Canada and I think I will make a video of my costs as well and what a cord of wood goes for around here. Keep up the good videos!!
I'm a self employed carpenter. I make $60/hr on an average day. I'd rather work my job and pay somebody else to cut and split wood for me. I do cut some wood and split it when I can get it for free close to my house but if I'm busy with my regular job I won't even bother doing that. I just recently got some free fire wood from a customer that has tons of wooded property just from fallen trees. The wood was already cut and split, alls I had to do was go get it. He even helped me load it on my truck. I enjoy watching you guys splitting wood on CZcams and I've often contemplated doing it with some good equipment but no matter how you slice it and how much equipment you have, it's a lot of work. It ain't a free lunch ...at all!
If another job takes away from a better paying job, that's a bad decision. If you like splitting in general or it's a hobby, that's a completely different situation. I love to split, it's relaxing to me. The bonus is side income. I'm also in a unique situation where I make content that earns me income as well.
Man a good video. You had me thinking about my numbers. New year and new reviews I have to figure out. Like you said you got to figure out the cost for maintenance. I got to worry about blown tires ,( which is what I have to worry about in the summertime ) oil changes , diesel fuel which I have two huge fuel tanks , if I'm pulling a refrigerated trailer and refrigerator fuel , brakes on the truck and the trailer, lights , man there is so much on the list. And like you said if you get injured like me. I was involved in the real real bad truck accident back in February 2020. Truck and the 53 ft trailer got flipped over and I was asleep at the time and barely came out alive. Who can you trust to run those numbers while you injured in the hospital. Good video man thanks for the reminder. Oh I know you can do it you going to come out on top man.
Appreciate the vote of confidence Mack! Even though this is a side hobby, I still wanted to make sure it was financially feasible. Since quitting my job and persuing CZcams, I've got to be a little more careful.
We have the same gloves, Tillman. Tough gloves, perfect for this type of work. Finishing up tomorrow my biggest tree to date. Five Silver Maples growing out from a 55" across stump!
Most of the wood that you can find for $150 per cord here in Ohio is usually never dry and usually a little short of a cord. There may be sticks in it. Lengths are usually pretty short to pretty long. Some pieces may be really thick and need to be resplit. I sold my first cord, a little over a year ago, for $180. That was too cheap and I was just going to be broke sooner then later. Now I'm up to $400 per cord delivered. That's mixed hardwoods that dry relatively evenly. Oak, Hickory, Locust, Cherry are all stacked on their own. They will get a more premium price, but they're not seasoned yet so I have time to figure out the price.
I like that you look at real numbers to verify your cost. Guess the only number you forgot is Tiffany’s list of what she gets to buy to keep up with you. Just saying Nephew. God Bless be safe and Keep on rollin. Uncle Tim in Texas
Hey its uncle Tim! Thanks for the reminder that I'm totally going to get it once the house starts 😔. Tiffany constantly reminds me, I don't need you rubbing it in lol. Take care, God bless!
I’d cut bottom row of wood in wood shed and make braces front to back on 45 angle for tip over. Then I’d switch to pallet based firewood and do 1/3 wrapped firewood and can just pickup 1/3 or half chords on pallet… touch it once… machine to fireplace w 2 touches.
375-400 a cord here in northern California. But the colder it get the higher the price goes. I have sold oak and almond for as much as 575 a cord cut and split at 16 inches long and seasoned for 2 years. And that was them loading up. I always try to charge at least 6% for wear and tear on my equipment.
A cord is 3.6m3 which is 4.5 ster of 50cm split and stacked wood in very rural sw France. To buy 2m long oak wood costs 48 Euro per m3 delivered locally, ie the quantity costs about 173 Euro and once cut and split to 50cm you can sell it for 360 Euro delivered locally (hardly ever dried for 2 years).
I really enjoy your channel. Good content about different topics, especially firewood. Really like seeing the flow from wood rounds to your stacks. Each person travels different distances if any for their wood, they work at different paces and their splitters run at different spreads. So each persons outcome to your topic will be different. But aim glad you understand where you stand as far as your current business goes. Got a question for ya though. I’ve often wondered why you cut your splits so small? The length is standard but your wood looks like firewood bundle wood that’s split pretty thin. Quality wood no doubt. But wondered why you split so small???
I've actually always split my wood large and don't really enjoy it. I find larger wood takes longer to dry and is harder to start. The reason I'm splitting extra small this year is because I plan on the bulk of my wood to go in bundles for camp fire wood. Seems like everyone splits smaller for bundles, makes since to me. Also smaller wood is usually easier to lite, and makes a coal bed quicker. I figured since this is Florida and 99 percent of who will by my wood is for recreational burning, quick lighting wood should be desired. Maybe I'm a little off in my thinking, I always welcome constructive criticism.
@@TKCL I totally forgot you live in Florida. That makes total sense. You won’t have many 10-15 degree nights there. Haha I throughly enjoy your channel. So keep the great Vids pumping!!
Thanks for the info. If I was you, I wouldn't do a bag stand. Do a loose stacked stand where you divide up 1/3 of a cord into four sections. At $20 a section it will bring you back to around $400 a cord. Look at Hometown Acres site. He goes over this. I currently just run and open stacked area from my front yard and I sell more wood to the backyard burners then people heating their homes. Just something to think about Thank You
Nice video great job breaking down the numbers. This was the first video of yours that I have watched. I was in my analytics under top videos suggesting your content and this one came up so I headed over. New subscriber also.
That's great to hear, I often dig through my analytics to see how my content is being suggested as well. Thanks for stopping by and supporting the channel
I live in South Carolina and I am thinking about getting into selling firewood bundles. This was extremely helpful in calculating my time, effort and wear and tear on my appointment. Keep up the good work and I would love to find out if it is profitable to you or not. What part of the country do you live in??
I think wood sources will be the Main factor as to whether starting a firewood business will be successful and profitable. That being followed by equipment overhead.if someone has the ability to get “free” wood and an unlimited supply it’s a win win. Otherwise if you don’t just love doing it and are physically able to work long days I all kinds of weather, you best just stick to enjoying a great hobby that can make some spending money on the side and not control your day and life. IMHO Great video.....telling it like it is......🪵🪓🔥👍👏
Luckily my wood is free, or this absolutely wouldn't work. Sadly delivery is not available and that's where my biggest cost lies, travel time and fuel. Luckily this is a hobby, exercise and appears to give enough return on investment to justify. Plus I love making CZcams videos and this helps make content. It's a win win, I'm glad I crunched the numbers. If I get what I think I can sell it for, then I can increase my bottom line through other means, like improving production. Time will tell
hi there i scale a lot of wood just for fun . just finished a red oak batch started 600 finished at 345 1/10 cord took around 18 months hasn't lost a pound in a year , just put a hickory batch on the scale 1/10 cord 686 as i recall . most the wood dryer 75% in the first 3 months . got a video coming up in a day or 2 you are doing a real nice job john
I think most of us homesteaders like burning wood because its fun or we enjoy the heat better than gas or electric. We also like that self sustaining feel! I cut wood on state land in Michigan and its a lot of work so i love the exercise. . Some Hunters like to cut wood for their cabins while scouting for deer. its also great for the forest management and helping trees grow.
Great video. The only thing that should be factored in would be. You can write off your maliage and equipment. But you should allways use a CPA and even a tax attorney.
Good job ! that's a pretty nice splitter it pounds through them blocks pretty quick, I make a lot of firewood but don't sell as much as I use to, but the bundling is where I made my money for sure, I'm setting up a little mill so I'll probably start bundling again,
I'd grab a marker and put a line on your taller racks where the 1/4 cord mark should be. If your experience is anything like mine, when you start selling, you'll want to stretch your inventory as much as you can.
That's a thought. You'll see in a coming episode that I'm going to sell wood out of ibc totes. The racks are for my own personal use. But occasionally I will sell out of the racks. The most common way people buy firewood in my area is by the truck load. We loosely toss until mounded over, or until the rack is empty.
I know you have mentioned before starting to make smokers at some point. Consider at least partially specializing in wood for smoking. If you have access to any orchards, apple, plum, orange etc you can really charge a premium. Hickory and Oak are of course standards.
I live in Ohio and get $240 a cord all day long and could probably get more if I wanted you did bring up some good points about your time and cost I have a job and do it as a side business to pay for toys like a dump trailer and a new wolf ridge splitter mainly I do it because I love running my STIHL chainsaws
I absolutely love cutting firewood for myself. But to increase wear and tear on my body/equipment, there better be something in it for me. Don't get me wrong, I want this to work and it seems to add up. I'd rather bust my butt making firewood than to earn the same money behind a desk. I'm meant to be outdoors and love it. By the way, excellent choice in saw 😉
on average we gat $475 a cord delivered and dumped, $520 delivered and stacked right by the truck and last is $620 delivered and stacked around back of a house . People in Maryland love spending money
Classify your fire wooding as your exercise program instead of paying for a health club membership. You wouldn't expense a treadmill or a set of barbells! or the chainsaws and splitter! Gas expense to go to the gym and back! No! When have you ever expensed a vacation (how much will you earn while in Cancun?) You are staying active and healthy unlike most others! Keep it up!
Here in central tx the average is: Live oak/pecan - $300 cord, $150-175 half cord. $75 quarter cord. i even sit out about dozen stacks on the side of the cords--> 36piece for $30 because some people want enough for a few good fires, but not a 1/4 cord. I end up selling more that way surprisingly so it makes me more in the long run and worth my time making the little stacks.
Yes bundles are the way to go especially when you have a firewood bundler at your disposal. A cord of 1 cu ft bundle will fetch upwards of $600/cord in a perfect scenario. I've sold well over 1000 since the beginning of the year. I can make about 50-60 bundles an hour with the bundler I have. Smaller the amount the more money it comes out to and my facecords are $165 sell out ever year no problem, premium wood=premium prices
Great video. I have just started doing firewood and have my first five IBC totes filled up. I think next year I’m gonna try to do quite a bit of selling firewood but clearly not trying to make a living from it
People buying bundled wood probably have a good job and just want an occasional fire, like not having all the bark and bugs, less mess. I need a splitter with a log lift, so I know it will just be an investment in being independent because I probably won't be trying to pay off my machine as a side business when I am looking at $5-7,000.
You need to be making more due to depreciation. Calculate Replacing Truck, trailer, saws, splitter boots gloves, PPE, and files then you're less than minimum wage. Still a decent side hustle. Also factor in the savings of power by heating with wood versus 100% Electric or Gas ect.
I once figured out if I could make money if I bought triaxles of logs for $800 and sold it by the half cord at $175 each. I figured in cost of a saw, splitter rental, gas/oil for saw, gas for splitter and delivery, chain sharpening. I figured labor based on 60 hours/year incl delivery if I did a triaxle/yr, 14 1/2 cords, delivering within a 20 mile radius at 20 mpg. Came out to $25/hour after taxes if I filed on schedule C and deducted all the costs. It might be a little more profitable to spend $1000 on a splitter up front versus renting it every year, but I don’t have a $1000 up front, just enough for a saw, so it’s not really an option for me. Might be more worth it to buy the splitter if doing two triaxles/yr but selling 28 1/2 cords/year sounds like a lot, plus a lot of wood to store. Also might be worth doing if I needed a new pickup and could buy one and be able to deduct the payment and insurance on the schedule c, could effectively lower the monthly payment and insurance by my tax rate, but I don’t need a new truck right now.
Phoenix Arizona I was paying $500-$550 from the top dealer out here. If I got it from just some unreliable guy and a truck, sure it would be less, but from a real business it’s EXPENSIVE
First off I myself do not use a pin Moisture Meter, but I also do not sell Fire wood, Pin reader are only good for as far as you can push them in, live oak is so hard that you can at best push 1/4'' in, About 3 years ago I went and rented a Splitter for $65 a day, me and my friends had a Splitting Party in about 8 hours we split about 4 Cords of Live Oak, it takes about 1 1/2 to 2 years to dry to around 18%, and i still have 2 cords of that wood to use, I do know of people who sell Totes full of wood to a locate guy who sell firewood, and you are right they are not making any money, but these people just need some money, most i have every paid for a cord of wood here is $130, I got a cord delivered and stacked for $125 a few years back, again they needed the money, the wood was great for the fireplace 16" to 20" long and 3 to 4" wide, Mostly Live Oak with some Water Oak mixed in. I also see the road side stands up along the river camp roads that sell for $5 to $20 a bundle. There are so many people selling firewood around here, i have seen the tree service guys just burn it up I asked why and the answer was cost too much to pay someone to cut it up, I go look at there logs all the time for the saw logs. It is all about where you live, how cold it is, the cost of Electric, or gas to heat your home, and how long its cold. Need to know your Market for area you live in is the key to making money.
Surprisingly we don't live far away, but I just don't see anyone selling firewood here. When checking Craigslist, the closest I see people selling is in Tallahassee. With that said, the prices are very high, I'm now seeing people selling wood for 125 a truck load. In my experience that's about a 1/4 cord. My father has been selling wood (not much) since I was a kid and has never had a problem selling anything he cuts. Something about this area I guess. If I was willing to deliver to Tallahassee, I could make a killing it seems. That's just a little farther than I want to drive. The fact that I've turned down so many people this year let's me know there is a market here.
In Iowa for me I sell a little bit of extra wood I have. Sold half a 6.5’ truck load for $75. Did deliver but it was about 2 miles away from where I work
I've looked at the 4 way and was a bit disappointed by how small the extra wedges were. Also a bunch of reviews online said they break easily. Is yours the tractor supply brand, or another brand?
I'm pretty sure it's tractor supply brand, that's where I got it. The extra wedges are a little small but for most stuff it's fine. It takes a little getting used to at first. I usually split the bigger pieces In 4 then each piece in half again. I also fixed a wire hanger to the splitter so I can pull the wedge off and put it back quickly when I get a knotty piece
@@TKCL I've never had it get stuck, sometimes on stringy pieces it won't split all the way but mostly it splits just fine. Even with the few it doesn't it still nearly cuts time in half
I'm with Back 40, that Oak should have been way higher in moisture. I dont know how far you were pushing your pins into the wood, but when i got mine i was told to push them as far into the wood as you can. I couldn't tell, maybe you were. Anyways a great video.
Yes now I'm curious too! It felt wet to the touch, so something isn't right. Unless that was a limb of the tree and because it's winter, less moisture?? I'm going to try another piece today and see.
Went back and checked it again, was 40.3 percent moisture on the highest piece. I had to push so hard on the meter that it actually bent the prongs. Crazy how much difference it makes with a light push vs pushing hard.
Good information and reminder about the differences in price across the country. Sounds like something you'll make money at. It's not work when you love doing something and get paid for it! What are you thinking of using to hold your small bundles? Enjoyed it, thanks for sharing. Doug
I'm thinking about two different design bundler machines I seen on other CZcams channels. One is simply 2x4s cut to hold a preset amount of wood, the other one is more complicated and made out of metal. Hometown acres has the metal design I'm thinking of building. Other than that I'm just going to wrap the bundles with plastic wrap, that seems to be the most economical way.
I’m just in high school and I have a good bit of wood I’ve just been cutting dead trees down as of now I hope to begin selling it in the summer time to campers in the area. I’m thinking of just bundling the wood because I don’t think I will have enough to sell by the cord. I’m generally thinking of purchasing a small chainsaw as of right now I just use an axe and a handsaw.
Good luck with your firewood business. I think bundles will be the smart way for you to stretch your inventory and get top dollar. The last thing you want to do is start advertising bulk wood and sell out quickly. Turning down customers just makes them find someone else, and they will most likely stick with that person.
Many in the firewood business don't have a clue. Well, that is part of the problem - most don't see it as a business and only as a hobby/beer money. People end up selling wood for less than you'd make on minimum wage. There is no such thing as "free" firewood. The "free" firewood is likely (much) more expensive than having it delivered to your house by the truck load.
I absolutely agree with you! I love cutting firewood and it's a fun hobby for MYSELF! If I'm going to turn it into a side business the rules change. I'm not wearing my body or expensive equipment out for minimum wage either. There are a lot easier ways to make money.
Couple questions… if you had a tree service bring you the wood is their a fee from the tree service? Next how do you plan to bundle it? Is there additional cost to bundle it such as a shrink wrap machine?
Some tree services will bring it for free as they need a place to dump. You'll have to develop a relationship with a company to make that happen. Shrink wrap is an additional cost.
Good info on the numbers...surprised that Oak was at 21%, that's dang near ready. I've split Red Oak that was standing dead for 3 years and it was still 42% on the inside...lol. OH and you forgot a few other expenses.....soda, ice, & rum! Hahahahaha 😆🍹👍
You were right, I went back and pushed on the meter as hard as I could. Got 40.3 percent moisture on the highest piece. Others were in the high 30s. I can't believe you have to push so hard, i actually bent the prongs on the meter.
Red Oak is little wetter, Shifty, but not a lot, Live Oak is hard to split and burns great at 16 to 18%, very high BTU out put
The 120 a cord you see is probably a face cord... up here in northern Ontario Canada I sell a cord for 120. Which is a face..
Believe it or not I've had a lot of viewers correct me and say that it's going for 140ish for a FULL cord in parts of Ohio. The rest of the country seems to be 90-110 a face cord (1/3 of a cord). I'd never do firewood for 120 or so for a cord. Way too much work IMO. Your prices are in line with my area
@@TKCL really 140 a full cord.. my average cost for log truck was 55 a facecord.. right there at 140/ full is a loss of 25.. plus cost of everything else
My family has been in the firewood business for 30+ years in north ga. Best thing we ever did was get into smoking/cooking wood. Hickory, Pecan, Cherry, etc sell for 50-100% more than regular heating wood.
I can absolutely see that. Do you sell to restaurants or individuals? Cut to a odd size?
@@TKCL restaurants and individuals both. We cut it however they want it lengthwise. We have done some odd size stuff, like one fella that wanted white oak no bigger than 2"x2" for a pizza oven (charged a premium for that of course). It takes a lot of those size to make a 1/2 cord!! When we sold firewood in the 90s we just sold all hardwood for heating wood. Then had some requests for smoking wood and started separating. 10 years ago we were probably 80% heating wood, 15% smoking wood and 5% pine for bonfires. Now we're probably closer to 50% smoking wood 50% heating wood and rarely sell any bonfire wood anymore.
We also started bagging and selling cutoff short pieces for home smokers 3-6 inch chunk stuff. We bag it in the onion bag type bags.
This is the best video on the subject of splitting and selling firewood presented by a very intelligent person who 'thinks' about all of the costs involved.
And make no mistakes about it this is very 'hard work' and also very dangerous. A single mistake can result in tens of thousands in medical bills and disability. And if you don't have a bad back now you will if you do hard physical work like this.
Thank you for watching
People call me crazy but I cut and split for recreation. I love the exercise and it’s mind clearing. I’m trying to keep it around 20 cords per season which pays for all my equipment and satisfies my anxiety. Plus, I’ve developed a saw fetish. I took the Forrest Gump approach…..this much wood pays for a saw, this much for the splitter and so on. To me it’s better than fishing. Thanks for the great info.
I totally get it!
That’s why I do it too!
You need to get a light weight steel table or maybe a wood table, same height as log splitter, set it directly to the left of your splitter and load it up with log blocks.
Keeping track of how many times you have to handle the wood is very important.
My grandpa started me out with firewood when I was around 8 or so and we would work together for hours. I love cutting with my saw and the sound wood makes when splitting. I would love to sell it on the side but I don’t have the land and space to get it done . 😞
I absolutely understand your passion for it. I grew up around my grandfather and dad splitting it. I find it relaxing and rewarding. I love sitting around a warm fire remembering all that it took to make the firewood.
Nice overview of getting into firewood! Good job! Also, I really like your rack setup. You've got me thinking about getting one setup at my place. Happy splittin!
Thanks! Here are a couple of videos of me building it czcams.com/video/gRe5l5lHr50/video.html
czcams.com/video/wYqHmLMqu_U/video.html
When you set up your stand next to the road, probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to set up a trail camera. Unfortunately, people abuse the honor system.
I'll have signs and multiple cameras. It's sad the world we live in, I know theft is going to happen. I still think I live in a area full of good honest people. Time will tell
Great points. I sold wood for fun at one time. You've really got to up the quantity to make it worth while. But too much is a lot of wear and tear on the body.
It is, this will be side income only.
I want to say thank you for the great videos and and the info on the wood spliter just picked the same one up today and put around 3 Maybe 4 hrs on it a great spliter and because of your videos and information it made my choice easy thank you keep up the great videos.
Glad you enjoy the content.
Here in NC we call it a brick (about a full size 6 ft bed truck load) and it averages $100 to $125 and that’s good cured hardwood . Great info very appreciated .. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Loosely tossed or stacked in the bed? Thanks for information.
@@TKCL stacked bed high .
I'm assuming that's at least a face cord, maybe a little more. That price sounds reasonable to me
@@TKCL also remember a lot of people here sale wood . Signs of wood for sale at every corner it seems .. Have a great day and god bless .
I'm fortunate here or blind! I don't see anyone selling firewood. Even on Craigslist the closest seller I see is about 30 miles away. I know there is demand, because I keep turning people down.
I usually sell a load of two face cords and get $200. Sometimes I charge more for delivery outside of my county. Thanks for sharing all of the data and information my friend!
I fell into firewood because I like using my pit. It’s just relaxing. And I enjoy the sawing and splitting of the wood. I like to use an axe. But I live in a city. If I could turn this hobby into profit I would. But my neighbors would kill me. Maybe in some future. Until then I’ll enjoy seeing your story unfold
Not knocking the city, but that's what I love about the country. Freedom to do what you want and not really disturb anyone. I totally agree with you, it's hard work but relaxing.
@@TKCL
Don’t worry. You may not want to knock the city. But I sure as hell do! It sucks
Really enjoy the mental processing you're doing for us. I don't sell firewood, but I make my own.... I just enjoy the entrepreneurship spirit you're driving. Keep it up sir.
Thank you very much for the kind feedback! I was hesitant on making this video for fear of people being offended by me comparing areas or digging so deep into the subject. Glad to see so much positive response. This is just how my mind works, I tend to analyze everything lol.
@@TKCL monetize your passion, willingness and you'll do just fine. But stick to it! You're doing great. Watching another of your great vids now.
Thank you for the support!
Appreciate you making the videos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for watching!
I used to get whole logs delivered to my house. It was a smaller log truck and the logs equaled on average 5 cords of wood. I paid $500 for the logs. Because of health reasons I now purchase cut and split firewood. I have a 16 foot dump trailer that can hold 2 cords of wood. It is a mixture of oak, cherry, hickory, black walnut, and maple for $350 if I load it myself, and $375 if I have them load it. I live in PA near the panhandle of WV and Ohio. If you travel to the city of Pittsburgh, the price increases quickly. Enjoyed the video, keep them coming.
I see a lot of people getting logs delivered, no doubt that cuts down on time and wear and tear. I don't see anything but big log trucks in my area, no tri axle trucks with a boom to unload. I can probably get a cord of wood on my trailer if I load it heavy, and that's free wood other than time and gas. Being this is a side business for now, I'll just keep picking wood up while it's available.
@@TKCL There has been a lot of gas pipelines going in around us. Land owners don't want the wood, so the guy I get wood from just goes and picks it up, then cuts and splits it. There are also numerous tree service companies that will deliver fresh cut rounds (loaded in a 21 ft goose neck dump trailer) for $150.00 a load. Only thing is, if he calls you about a load you have to take it then. He has a rotational list of people that he calls. I still take down trees for people at no charge other than the wood. I use about 3 1/2 to 4 cords a winter to heat my house. My wood shed holds 11 1/2 cords.
Very, very common sense video, which is refreshing. Some of the other firewood channels spend so much money, on often redundant equipment, and then dont fully utilize it. Im sure if they are making money, its on their channel, not the actual firewood bussiness.
Just subscribed
Yeah I've seen videos like that. So much expensive equipment. I wouldn't be able to get away with that here
🌟👍 Good job. I had your channel on “play all” in the shop today! 😊💪🚜
Really appreciate that! Thanks
That live oak sure is some different splitting wood. Sounded like you covered most everything I could think of too. Good job Andrew
Yes it is, luckily I don't cut much of it. It's a dang good burning wood though.
@@TKCL Looked like you were splitting Dutch Elm. Very hard wood with very twisted grain.
No elm here that I am aware of, a lot of different types of oak.
Really enjoying this channel, very informative
Glad to hear that you enjoy it, thanks for watching!
The extra income is great and take in all the hard work but don’t forget what what you enjoy to doing. Great video!
It's truly about the enjoyment and CZcams interaction, the income comes later. With that said, I still have to justify my expenses. It looks like it's going to work out both ways for me. Take care
Nice video sir. Glad you made the point that it depends on where you are. Too many people forget that part when doing any type of side business. I would suggest you make, or get made, a 4-way slip on wedge for your splitter for when you are splitting clean wood with no knots. It will greatly improve your production, and you can remove it when you are dealing with the stubborn pieces. Also, a lightweight, yet stable tray/pan to hold more raw and more split wood, so you move less between splitting and stacking wood. If you invest about 1 cord's worth of money into these improvements, you personally will make your life tremendously better off in this side business.
I've got a new splitter with lift, 4 and 6 way, hydraulic wedge lift ect. My production is way up.
@@TKCLSweet, looking forward to follow up videos. Have a wonderful entry into the new year.
I bought the same splitter this year and have come up with almost the exact same numbers as you. It seems to me the only way to look at it would be for firewood to compliment an existing business or side hustle. Like the farmer said shoveling manure from the barn “do I charge my time to cleaning out the barn or fertilizing the fields?” Just my thoughts. Have a great day! Nice job on the video!
Great video man. It’s a labor of love
Thanks Adam! I absolutely love firewood, always have since I was a kid. Hard work, but very rewarding. Thanks for stopping by!
You checked the inside of a fresh split good man!
That's the best way I can think of, outside doesn't tell the whole story. Thanks for watching!
What's great to do is going to a subdivision and get a lot of deliveries. The use of an old fire truck works the best because it has to roll up doors and you can do a quart of wood in each one of the roll-ups.
Only 1/4 gallon of wood in a compartment? No thanks!
I crunched the numbers for firewood recently...it doesn't make much sense if you approach it from how much money you making per hour. I think most people view it like this:
+ They have logs from trees on their property, from storm damage, or from tree service company
+ They have the equipment to turn into firewood
+ They have some free time to turn into extra money (instead of watch TV)
Free logs turn to money. No ones cares about trees/ logs on the small scale...they just want to make them disappear.
The only real downside is the cost of the equipment, however most think they'll can always resell it to make money back. All you really need is a $500 chainsaw and a $1000 log splitter really. You need a truck, but you already got one you drive for other reasons. On a fancier scale, you can have a $1200 chainsaw, a $5000-10000 splitter, and a 5-15k dump trailer. This just makes live easier, but not necessarily are more money (probably less since you gotta pay of that gear). This equipment is cheap when looking at the bigger picture of other businesses.
The only way it makes sense from a logical 'how much money I make per hour' is if you got a huge expensive firewood processor, conveyer, stockpile, customer base, and the logs keep coming in. If you're not doing that, you gotta be honest with yourself and call it a side hustle or money making hobby...don't expect to get rich doing it.
Sawmilling and selling the wood is the same situation or actually worse than firewood. With a sawmill, you can run a service to earn $100 per hour though (using a 50k machine).
The reality of this topic makes me thankful I got a decent paying job.
Great video thanks! One mistake you are making, that many in business for themselves make is you are not counting for depreciation of your equipment. It's more than gas. You are only going to get so many miles on your truck, tires, trailer etc. That has to be factored in. Equipment depreciation is a very real cost that has to be accounted for in business. Trucks, trailers, tires on both are expensive.
I agree with you
He literally spent many a minute talking about the wear and tear on equipment and how that variable factors in😮
The answer is YES!!
Yeah what was I thinking, could have just asked you instead of going through all this trouble lol. But seriously I can't believe how wildy prices vary across the country. Seems like your area and mine are comparable on prices, so there is definitely money to be made. Take care!
Its always about the numbers and its great that you are making the most from your time and effort cool video
Thanks for watching
@@TKCL your welcome
Great video. Got to know your market and your numbers. You Definitely got the basics figured out for your numbers and like you said there is a lot your not figuring in and It all adds up.
I was hoping you’d make a numbers video!! Nice work. Sounds like it’s worth continuing on selling wood. I have a video coming out today, just about to edit it. Weather has been awesome here lately so today I’m going to the wood pile and splitting up some green Douglas fir to start the drying process. I live in BC Canada and I think I will make a video of my costs as well and what a cord of wood goes for around here. Keep up the good videos!!
Glad you enjoyed it, I'll look for your video. It's always interesting to see how things are in other places.
love the way you figure your cost - lot of people can't or won't - been there done that - good luck
Thank you for watching
I'm a self employed carpenter. I make $60/hr on an average day. I'd rather work my job and pay somebody else to cut and split wood for me. I do cut some wood and split it when I can get it for free close to my house but if I'm busy with my regular job I won't even bother doing that. I just recently got some free fire wood from a customer that has tons of wooded property just from fallen trees. The wood was already cut and split, alls I had to do was go get it. He even helped me load it on my truck. I enjoy watching you guys splitting wood on CZcams and I've often contemplated doing it with some good equipment but no matter how you slice it and how much equipment you have, it's a lot of work. It ain't a free lunch ...at all!
If another job takes away from a better paying job, that's a bad decision. If you like splitting in general or it's a hobby, that's a completely different situation. I love to split, it's relaxing to me. The bonus is side income. I'm also in a unique situation where I make content that earns me income as well.
If it’s cut while the sap is up it won’t ever burn right I always get my logs together in the winter while sap is down in the stump
Man a good video. You had me thinking about my numbers. New year and new reviews I have to figure out. Like you said you got to figure out the cost for maintenance. I got to worry about blown tires ,( which is what I have to worry about in the summertime ) oil changes , diesel fuel which I have two huge fuel tanks , if I'm pulling a refrigerated trailer and refrigerator fuel , brakes on the truck and the trailer, lights , man there is so much on the list. And like you said if you get injured like me. I was involved in the real real bad truck accident back in February 2020. Truck and the 53 ft trailer got flipped over and I was asleep at the time and barely came out alive. Who can you trust to run those numbers while you injured in the hospital. Good video man thanks for the reminder. Oh I know you can do it you going to come out on top man.
Appreciate the vote of confidence Mack! Even though this is a side hobby, I still wanted to make sure it was financially feasible. Since quitting my job and persuing CZcams, I've got to be a little more careful.
I like your rack design. Nice video Thanks.
Thank you for watching
I am excited. Now I get to watch you split the wood.
Thank you for watching! I love firewood, plenty of videos on the channel.
We have the same gloves, Tillman. Tough gloves, perfect for this type of work. Finishing up tomorrow my biggest tree to date. Five Silver Maples growing out from a 55" across stump!
Yikes! That's a lot of wood!
Really like the wood storage setup
Most of the wood that you can find for $150 per cord here in Ohio is usually never dry and usually a little short of a cord. There may be sticks in it. Lengths are usually pretty short to pretty long. Some pieces may be really thick and need to be resplit. I sold my first cord, a little over a year ago, for $180. That was too cheap and I was just going to be broke sooner then later. Now I'm up to $400 per cord delivered. That's mixed hardwoods that dry relatively evenly. Oak, Hickory, Locust, Cherry are all stacked on their own. They will get a more premium price, but they're not seasoned yet so I have time to figure out the price.
Glad to hear you found a market to increase price. I'm not about killing myself for no money, no matter how much I love cutting firewood.
150 a truckload delivered, 60 to stack northeast ohio...going to raise prices
I like that you look at real numbers to verify your cost. Guess the only number you forgot is Tiffany’s list of what she gets to buy to keep up with you. Just saying Nephew. God Bless be safe and Keep on rollin. Uncle Tim in Texas
Hey its uncle Tim! Thanks for the reminder that I'm totally going to get it once the house starts 😔. Tiffany constantly reminds me, I don't need you rubbing it in lol. Take care, God bless!
I’d cut bottom row of wood in wood shed and make braces front to back on 45 angle for tip over.
Then I’d switch to pallet based firewood and do 1/3 wrapped firewood and can just pickup 1/3 or half chords on pallet… touch it once… machine to fireplace w 2 touches.
375-400 a cord here in northern California. But the colder it get the higher the price goes. I have sold oak and almond for as much as 575 a cord cut and split at 16 inches long and seasoned for 2 years. And that was them loading up. I always try to charge at least 6% for wear and tear on my equipment.
Thanks for the feedback and figures!
A cord is 3.6m3 which is 4.5 ster of 50cm split and stacked wood in very rural sw France. To buy 2m long oak wood costs 48 Euro per m3 delivered locally, ie the quantity costs about 173 Euro and once cut and split to 50cm you can sell it for 360 Euro delivered locally (hardly ever dried for 2 years).
I watched this last night and thought it was a new video!
Well if you've never seen it before than it was new 😁
Up here in michigan 125 for a cord is face cord not a full cord face cord is typically round 300
Great video!! Subbed
Thank you for watching
I really enjoy your channel. Good content about different topics, especially firewood. Really like seeing the flow from wood rounds to your stacks. Each person travels different distances if any for their wood, they work at different paces and their splitters run at different spreads. So each persons outcome to your topic will be different. But aim glad you understand where you stand as far as your current business goes.
Got a question for ya though. I’ve often wondered why you cut your splits so small? The length is standard but your wood looks like firewood bundle wood that’s split pretty thin. Quality wood no doubt. But wondered why you split so small???
I've actually always split my wood large and don't really enjoy it. I find larger wood takes longer to dry and is harder to start. The reason I'm splitting extra small this year is because I plan on the bulk of my wood to go in bundles for camp fire wood. Seems like everyone splits smaller for bundles, makes since to me. Also smaller wood is usually easier to lite, and makes a coal bed quicker. I figured since this is Florida and 99 percent of who will by my wood is for recreational burning, quick lighting wood should be desired. Maybe I'm a little off in my thinking, I always welcome constructive criticism.
@@TKCL I totally forgot you live in Florida. That makes total sense. You won’t have many 10-15 degree nights there. Haha
I throughly enjoy your channel. So keep the great Vids pumping!!
Thanks for the info. If I was you, I wouldn't do a bag stand. Do a loose stacked stand where you divide up 1/3 of a cord into four sections. At $20 a section it will bring you back to around $400 a cord. Look at Hometown Acres site. He goes over this. I currently just run and open stacked area from my front yard and I sell more wood to the backyard burners then people heating their homes. Just something to think about Thank You
Thank you for the suggestion
A cord of wood is 4 ft by 4 ft by 8 ft/ a face cord of wood is 16 inches by 4 ft by 8 ft/ if you add 16 + 16 + 16 equals 48 or 4 ft
Nice video great job breaking down the numbers. This was the first video of yours that I have watched. I was in my analytics under top videos suggesting your content and this one came up so I headed over. New subscriber also.
That's great to hear, I often dig through my analytics to see how my content is being suggested as well. Thanks for stopping by and supporting the channel
Thank you Sir!
first time seeing your firewood video, you are Mr Data I love it!
Thank you for watching
I live in South Carolina and I am thinking about getting into selling firewood bundles. This was extremely helpful in calculating my time, effort and wear and tear on my appointment. Keep up the good work and I would love to find out if it is profitable to you or not. What part of the country do you live in??
I live in north Florida. Not many in my area sell firewood so competition is scarce.
Lots of things to consider. Thanks for the info. Another good video as usual
Yes there is, but unless I'm missing something huge, I think it's worth my while. Plus it helps me make CZcams content
@@TKCL well I'm here for the CZcams content lol
I think wood sources will be the Main factor as to whether starting a firewood business will be successful and profitable. That being followed by equipment overhead.if someone has the ability to get “free” wood and an unlimited supply it’s a win win. Otherwise if you don’t just love doing it and are physically able to work long days I all kinds of weather, you best just stick to enjoying a great hobby that can make some spending money on the side and not control your day and life. IMHO
Great video.....telling it like it is......🪵🪓🔥👍👏
Luckily my wood is free, or this absolutely wouldn't work. Sadly delivery is not available and that's where my biggest cost lies, travel time and fuel. Luckily this is a hobby, exercise and appears to give enough return on investment to justify. Plus I love making CZcams videos and this helps make content. It's a win win, I'm glad I crunched the numbers. If I get what I think I can sell it for, then I can increase my bottom line through other means, like improving production. Time will tell
hi there i scale a lot of wood just for fun . just finished a red oak batch started 600 finished at 345 1/10 cord took around 18 months hasn't lost a pound in a year , just put a hickory batch on the scale 1/10 cord 686 as i recall . most the wood dryer 75% in the first 3 months . got a video coming up in a day or 2 you are doing a real nice job john
Great info! Appreciate it, I'm curious about dry times and things I can do to help it.
I think most of us homesteaders like burning wood because its fun or we enjoy the heat better than gas or electric. We also like that self sustaining feel! I cut wood on state land in Michigan and its a lot of work so i love the exercise. . Some Hunters like to cut wood for their cabins while scouting for deer. its also great for the forest management and helping trees grow.
It's a wonderful feeling working in the woods. Nothing warms my soul like a good fire.
So any state land in michigan we can cut trees? Thanks
Great video. The only thing that should be factored in would be. You can write off your maliage and equipment. But you should allways use a CPA and even a tax attorney.
Very true
Good job ! that's a pretty nice splitter it pounds through them blocks pretty quick, I make a lot of firewood but don't sell as much as I use to, but the bundling is where I made my money for sure, I'm setting up a little mill so I'll probably start bundling again,
I want to bundle, but have yet to find the time.
I'd grab a marker and put a line on your taller racks where the 1/4 cord mark should be. If your experience is anything like mine, when you start selling, you'll want to stretch your inventory as much as you can.
That's a thought. You'll see in a coming episode that I'm going to sell wood out of ibc totes. The racks are for my own personal use. But occasionally I will sell out of the racks. The most common way people buy firewood in my area is by the truck load. We loosely toss until mounded over, or until the rack is empty.
I know you have mentioned before starting to make smokers at some point. Consider at least partially specializing in wood for smoking. If you have access to any orchards, apple, plum, orange etc you can really charge a premium. Hickory and Oak are of course standards.
Here in Washington state . A bundle is $5 per bundle and some people sell a cord $300 bucks. I sold a pickup truck load for $276 bucks .
I live in Ohio and get $240 a cord all day long and could probably get more if I wanted you did bring up some good points about your time and cost I have a job and do it as a side business to pay for toys like a dump trailer and a new wolf ridge splitter mainly I do it because I love running my STIHL chainsaws
I absolutely love cutting firewood for myself. But to increase wear and tear on my body/equipment, there better be something in it for me. Don't get me wrong, I want this to work and it seems to add up. I'd rather bust my butt making firewood than to earn the same money behind a desk. I'm meant to be outdoors and love it. By the way, excellent choice in saw 😉
on average we gat $475 a cord delivered and dumped, $520 delivered and stacked right by the truck and last is $620 delivered and stacked around back of a house . People in Maryland love spending money
Classify your fire wooding as your exercise program instead of paying for a health club membership. You wouldn't expense a treadmill or a set of barbells! or the chainsaws and splitter! Gas expense to go to the gym and back! No! When have you ever expensed a vacation (how much will you earn while in Cancun?) You are staying active and healthy unlike most others! Keep it up!
I was going to advertise wood splitter for hire.35.00 per hr to 50.00 .depends on what I have to do.
maybe you can invest in machinery that makes the splitting process faster. A 4 sided splitting attachment perhaps? Or a multi functional machine.
One day I sure hope to have a commercial machine.
Here in central tx the average is: Live oak/pecan - $300 cord, $150-175 half cord. $75 quarter cord. i even sit out about dozen stacks on the side of the cords--> 36piece for $30 because some people want enough for a few good fires, but not a 1/4 cord. I end up selling more that way surprisingly so it makes me more in the long run and worth my time making the little stacks.
Thanks for the feedback and information. I too believe small stacks or bundles will sell better since it's Florida and people burn recreationally.
Yes bundles are the way to go especially when you have a firewood bundler at your disposal. A cord of 1 cu ft bundle will fetch upwards of $600/cord in a perfect scenario. I've sold well over 1000 since the beginning of the year. I can make about 50-60 bundles an hour with the bundler I have. Smaller the amount the more money it comes out to and my facecords are $165 sell out ever year no problem, premium wood=premium prices
That sounds like a great operation you have going.
Well done 👍
Well thought out. San Francisco Bay Area here. I can get almond wood delivered for $300 a cord if I buy two or more.
Seems reasonable
I’ve been trying to split live oak with a Fiskars axe . Having a hell of a time 😂
Good luck! I feel for you
very good video!
Thank you for watching
Great video. I have just started doing firewood and have my first five IBC totes filled up.
I think next year I’m gonna try to do quite a bit of selling firewood but clearly not trying to make a living from it
Same for me, just a side hobby and income.
People buying bundled wood probably have a good job and just want an occasional fire, like not having all the bark and bugs, less mess. I need a splitter with a log lift, so I know it will just be an investment in being independent because I probably won't be trying to pay off my machine as a side business when I am looking at $5-7,000.
You need to be making more due to depreciation. Calculate Replacing Truck, trailer, saws, splitter boots gloves, PPE, and files then you're less than minimum wage. Still a decent side hustle. Also factor in the savings of power by heating with wood versus 100% Electric or Gas ect.
This is why I had kids
you should look at selling at camp grounds, in the small packs
I once figured out if I could make money if I bought triaxles of logs for $800 and sold it by the half cord at $175 each. I figured in cost of a saw, splitter rental, gas/oil for saw, gas for splitter and delivery, chain sharpening. I figured labor based on 60 hours/year incl delivery if I did a triaxle/yr, 14 1/2 cords, delivering within a 20 mile radius at 20 mpg. Came out to $25/hour after taxes if I filed on schedule C and deducted all the costs. It might be a little more profitable to spend $1000 on a splitter up front versus renting it every year, but I don’t have a $1000 up front, just enough for a saw, so it’s not really an option for me. Might be more worth it to buy the splitter if doing two triaxles/yr but selling 28 1/2 cords/year sounds like a lot, plus a lot of wood to store. Also might be worth doing if I needed a new pickup and could buy one and be able to deduct the payment and insurance on the schedule c, could effectively lower the monthly payment and insurance by my tax rate, but I don’t need a new truck right now.
It's a lot of work for not much pay, you have to love doing it.
As far as bundles wood when I used to use was a old milk
We pay 250-300 a cord of almond in california
Phoenix Arizona I was paying $500-$550 from the top dealer out here. If I got it from just some unreliable guy and a truck, sure it would be less, but from a real business it’s EXPENSIVE
This is definitely side hustle for a few hours on the weekend.
First off I myself do not use a pin Moisture Meter, but I also do not sell Fire wood, Pin reader are only good for as far as you can push them in, live oak is so hard that you can at best push 1/4'' in,
About 3 years ago I went and rented a Splitter for $65 a day, me and my friends had a Splitting Party in about 8 hours we split about 4 Cords of Live Oak, it takes about 1 1/2 to 2 years to dry to around 18%, and i still have 2 cords of that wood to use, I do know of people who sell Totes full of wood to a locate guy who sell firewood, and you are right they are not making any money, but these people just need some money, most i have every paid for a cord of wood here is $130, I got a cord delivered and stacked for $125 a few years back, again they needed the money, the wood was great for the fireplace 16" to 20" long and 3 to 4" wide, Mostly Live Oak with some Water Oak mixed in. I also see the road side stands up along the river camp roads that sell for $5 to $20 a bundle. There are so many people selling firewood around here, i have seen the tree service guys just burn it up I asked why and the answer was cost too much to pay someone to cut it up, I go look at there logs all the time for the saw logs. It is all about where you live, how cold it is, the cost of Electric, or gas to heat your home, and how long its cold. Need to know your Market for area you live in is the key to making money.
Surprisingly we don't live far away, but I just don't see anyone selling firewood here. When checking Craigslist, the closest I see people selling is in Tallahassee. With that said, the prices are very high, I'm now seeing people selling wood for 125 a truck load. In my experience that's about a 1/4 cord. My father has been selling wood (not much) since I was a kid and has never had a problem selling anything he cuts. Something about this area I guess. If I was willing to deliver to Tallahassee, I could make a killing it seems. That's just a little farther than I want to drive. The fact that I've turned down so many people this year let's me know there is a market here.
@@TKCL A lot of the people here who sell firewood do by word of mouth, they can afford any other way.
In Iowa for me I sell a little bit of extra wood I have. Sold half a 6.5’ truck load for $75. Did deliver but it was about 2 miles away from where I work
We usually get $75 for a truck load not delivered. But I do help the customer load it.
I have a splitter similar to yours. I got a slip on 4 way wedge for it and it really speeds up splitting time especially when making smaller splits.
I've looked at the 4 way and was a bit disappointed by how small the extra wedges were. Also a bunch of reviews online said they break easily. Is yours the tractor supply brand, or another brand?
I'm pretty sure it's tractor supply brand, that's where I got it. The extra wedges are a little small but for most stuff it's fine. It takes a little getting used to at first. I usually split the bigger pieces In 4 then each piece in half again. I also fixed a wire hanger to the splitter so I can pull the wedge off and put it back quickly when I get a knotty piece
I've put it through some really rough pieces and it hasn't bent or broken.
That's good to know, thanks! Does the small wedges ever not split the wood and get stuck in the piece you are splitting?
@@TKCL I've never had it get stuck, sometimes on stringy pieces it won't split all the way but mostly it splits just fine. Even with the few it doesn't it still nearly cuts time in half
I'm with Back 40, that Oak should have been way higher in moisture. I dont know how far you were pushing your pins into the wood, but when i got mine i was told to push them as far into the wood as you can. I couldn't tell, maybe you were. Anyways a great video.
Yes now I'm curious too! It felt wet to the touch, so something isn't right. Unless that was a limb of the tree and because it's winter, less moisture?? I'm going to try another piece today and see.
Went back and checked it again, was 40.3 percent moisture on the highest piece. I had to push so hard on the meter that it actually bent the prongs. Crazy how much difference it makes with a light push vs pushing hard.
@@TKCL Thanks for the update.
Good information and reminder about the differences in price across the country. Sounds like something you'll make money at. It's not work when you love doing something and get paid for it! What are you thinking of using to hold your small bundles?
Enjoyed it, thanks for sharing.
Doug
I'm thinking about two different design bundler machines I seen on other CZcams channels. One is simply 2x4s cut to hold a preset amount of wood, the other one is more complicated and made out of metal. Hometown acres has the metal design I'm thinking of building. Other than that I'm just going to wrap the bundles with plastic wrap, that seems to be the most economical way.
It's hard to put a price on the exercise your getting, beats going nowhere on a treadmill!
Very true
I’m just in high school and I have a good bit of wood I’ve just been cutting dead trees down as of now I hope to begin selling it in the summer time to campers in the area. I’m thinking of just bundling the wood because I don’t think I will have enough to sell by the cord. I’m generally thinking of purchasing a small chainsaw as of right now I just use an axe and a handsaw.
Good luck with your firewood business. I think bundles will be the smart way for you to stretch your inventory and get top dollar. The last thing you want to do is start advertising bulk wood and sell out quickly. Turning down customers just makes them find someone else, and they will most likely stick with that person.
It's 300/cord plus delivery here in SE MI
Same here, thanks!
Good information!
Thanks
Many in the firewood business don't have a clue. Well, that is part of the problem - most don't see it as a business and only as a hobby/beer money. People end up selling wood for less than you'd make on minimum wage. There is no such thing as "free" firewood. The "free" firewood is likely (much) more expensive than having it delivered to your house by the truck load.
I absolutely agree with you! I love cutting firewood and it's a fun hobby for MYSELF! If I'm going to turn it into a side business the rules change. I'm not wearing my body or expensive equipment out for minimum wage either. There are a lot easier ways to make money.
Nice job. I subscribed and will be watching your progress.
Thanks for the support!
I have a friend that makes a killing selling bundled firewood to campgrounds in our area!
I'm hoping to start doing that as a side hobby and income this fall.
Your a sound man Andrew, hope all goes well.
Doing great, thanks for watching!
70 bucks for that stack yea definitely take it but I have my axe and enjoy splitting so even Unsplit I’ll take it
Couple questions… if you had a tree service bring you the wood is their a fee from the tree service? Next how do you plan to bundle it? Is there additional cost to bundle it such as a shrink wrap machine?
Some tree services will bring it for free as they need a place to dump. You'll have to develop a relationship with a company to make that happen. Shrink wrap is an additional cost.