# Cutting Firewood for Colder Regions



## Beaners (Feb 23, 2005)

How many people have a plan in place for getting their firewood without a chainsaw? Do you have the tools you need and the knowledge to use them safely? At what point do you consider a chainsaw too expensive to run, or do you think that the time and energy it saves you is too valuable to go without?

People mention spending a lot of time now splitting and stacking their wood. If you had to saw those trees down by hand first, how much more time would it take you? Would you even have enough time? And will you have enough extra wood set aside to give yourself some leeway before it is life or death?

And how many people do it all by hand now? What do you know about the process that others have yet to learn?

Kayleigh


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## diane (May 4, 2002)

You can cut a lot of firewood with a gallon of gas.


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## RoseGarden (Jun 5, 2005)

Well, we are not in a colder climate anymore, but we are Conserv. Mennonite and DH does use a chainsaw. Even many OO Mennos and Amish use them for the sheer amount of wood a single man can saw up in relatively quick order. In colder climates, the number of cords of wood/winter used is much higher than here, and I would not think twice about not using a chainsaw. The alternatives are much, MUCH harder---buck saw or 2 man saw, axes, and a LOT of time that could be more productively spent doing other work..... like the other person said, a gallon of gas will cut a lot of wood!


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## ericjeeper (Feb 25, 2006)

RoseGarden said:


> Well, we are not in a colder climate anymore, but we are Conserv. Mennonite and DH does use a chainsaw. Even many OO Mennos and Amish use them for the sheer amount of wood a single man can saw up in relatively quick order. In colder climates, the number of cords of wood/winter used is much higher than here, and I would not think twice about not using a chainsaw. The alternatives are much, MUCH harder---buck saw or 2 man saw, axes, and a LOT of time that could be more productively spent doing other work..... like the other person said, a gallon of gas will cut a lot of wood!


If a chainsaw will cut up that much more wood than a manually powered saw, Why do not they use tractors and automobiles.. We know how much further one would be over a horse and buggy?
I do realize Mennonites drive around here..But the Amish just mooch a ride.Or hire a driver.


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## RoseGarden (Jun 5, 2005)

ETA As you seem to be an authority on the subject, thank you for enlightening me. 

Go educate yourself.


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## mpillow (Jan 24, 2003)

We get a big group of people together....1) to cut down the trees on property, limb and skid out....within the group we each have some expertise that is traded to say the skidder owner....and so on down the line. My husband cleans furnaces, works on them etc...for those within the group for free labor but not parts. Sometimes its a group purchase of tree length wood say 120 cord that reduces cost. Other public cutting lots require the use of draft horses....which the local state trooper owns and uses.

2)A few woodsplitters, tractors and strong backs in March gets a lot of wood cut/split.

3) We try to be 2yrs ahead in wood....we do possess hand saws and splitting mauls and for the oddball dead tree we might use them...splitting wood by hand is Fantastic! exercise for any aggravations you may need to work thru.

4) If we had to do it all by hand....we'd all be closing off half of our homes and using less wood....and not minding 50 degrees inside temps...

I will gather deed stuff around the property...I call it beggar wood...and cut halfway thru w/ handsaw then pick up the log or branch and wack it on the ground(cut side toward ground) to finish the "cut"....I don't like the smell or sound of a chainsaw but I'm sure grateful that they exist!

Wood warms you twice....


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## Jerngen (May 22, 2006)

We are renting our current place and it does not have a fireplace or woodstove. It's on 17 acres of woods so I have no shortage of wood to cut. I do not yet own a chainsaw and have been cutting everything by hand (why do people pay for gym memberships??) stockpiling the wood for campfires (we cook over them) and a SHTF scenario. I have around a dozen or so saws and ax's, all bought from local auctions and I've probably spent a total of $20 for all of them. 
I do intend to get a chainsaw, just haven't got that far yet  Have read the chainsaw sticky in the Homesteading Questions forum at least three times now trying to educate myself on what to get (I'm not mechanicaly inclined, I like the simple tools).


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## RichieC (Aug 29, 2007)

Has anyone ever actually used a misery whip? I have.

And let me tell you this: It will never, ever, ever be too expensive to operate a chain saw. If I have to pick berries by the roadside, personally squish the juice out of them with my fingers, ferment the mess in my kitchen and distill it in an illegal still in order to produce alcohol to run the chainsaw, I will. Gladly.


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## Andy Nonymous (Aug 20, 2005)

As Mpillow pointed out, it isn't just a matter of working harder to provide the wood, but of being smarter and needing less of it by heating less space. I use a chainsaw, but also normally heat only two rooms of the house: kitchen and bath. The rest of the house stays cold. If necessary, I'm sure that in my present physical condition I could provide the wood needed by manual means - it would just take longer.

I personally haven't used a 'misery whip', but my elders who did said "if it didn't pull long shavings like butter, it was time to sharpen it". Seems they realized that a few moments spent with a file, saved a lot of minutes and muscle.


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## stranger (Feb 24, 2008)

I've been on the wrong end of a crosscut saw and a buck saw, i'll scrounge up a gal of gas for the chainsaw somewhere to cut the firewood although i still have the vintage saws.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

RichieC said:


> Has anyone ever actually used a misery whip? I have.
> 
> And let me tell you this: It will never, ever, ever be too expensive to operate a chain saw. If I have to pick berries by the roadside, personally squish the juice out of them with my fingers, ferment the mess in my kitchen and distill it in an illegal still in order to produce alcohol to run the chainsaw, I will. Gladly.


I totally agree. The amount of wood that can be produced is staggering. 

The other thing to remember. In the cold months the house was warm in the room with the stove. So if you just slowed wood use to temps. of years ago. One could easily store wood even if just cut by hand. One could heat one room with half a cord today even if it was very cold outside. After all if no fuel was available you'd likely have lost running water. So the house can go down to 30 at night as in years past.

The other thing to remember. All technology wont be lost. For instance wood stoves are 70-75% efficient today v/s the 40% of years ago. This is by design not materials so the high efficiency would be likely to continue. So just with a simple thing like a modern wood stove your wood requirements would be way less.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

******* said:


> How many people have a plan in place for getting their firewood without a chainsaw? Do you have the tools you need and the knowledge to use them safely? Kayleigh


Just look above my shoulder. 










and there, over that other window











Almost everything we hang on our walls has a dual purpose. Its pretty now but it might come in handy "someday".


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

I've used misery whips, one man and two man. One summer, we toted a six footer around on trail patrol, stopping and cutting down any trees blocking the trail. One log took us six hours to cut a block out of, and that saw was sharpened by a professional.

I've spent days in Alaska, with a one man saw, bucking firewood for remote cabins.

I own half a dozen two man saws and at least 4 serviceable one man saws... along with setting tools, gauges, and files (plus the most important thing... knowledge, several books) for sharpening the saws.

I also own chainsaws... I use the chainsaws...always... BUT... I can only store so much gasoline... no matter how much I store, in a TEO, I'd eventually run out. And the last thing I'd want to do is crank up the saw, while the hordes were still active. A saw would sure attract me, if I was hunting for survivors... An axe makes noise... a crosscut makes none.

If I stored a huge amount of fuel, I could have enough fuel for the chainsaw forever... if the zombie hordes didn't find it... or relatives... or friends... etc. Even if I prep, and have it, I could lose it... and so, I prep a backup plan... misery whips, tools to maintain them, axes (~dozen or so), extra handles, drawknives and knowledge to make more... lots of files and grinding stones...

To not prep for such a situation would be unwise.

I haven't heard of chainsaws running off of alcohol.

I would like to experiment with 'drip gas' or condensate... adding some oil, of course, to run a chainsaw... of course, I'd rather practice on someone else's saw... I have a well that produces condensate as a byproduct...


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

******* said:


> How many people have a plan in place for getting their firewood without a chainsaw? Do you have the tools you need and the knowledge to use them safely? At what point do you consider a chainsaw too expensive to run, or do you think that the time and energy it saves you is too valuable to go without?
> 
> People mention spending a lot of time now splitting and stacking their wood. If you had to saw those trees down by hand first, how much more time would it take you? Would you even have enough time? And will you have enough extra wood set aside to give yourself some leeway before it is life or death?
> 
> ...


I own a couple axes, a couple splitting mauls, and I bought a crosscut saw a year ago.


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## michiganfarmer (Oct 15, 2005)

RichieC said:


> Has anyone ever actually used a misery whip? I have.


Ive done it. Its an immense amount of labor.


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

We have one and two man timber saws, axes, splitting mauls, cant hooks, and all the tools to maintain them, and we use them occassionally, but I will agree with some of the previous postings that I would use gas in my chain saw long after walking, bicyling, or using our electric car became the norm, as the benefit to me of the chain saw is so great. The same goes for the rototiller, even though we don't use it a lot, when we do, it is a great labor saver, and I would willingly pay $20 a gallon for the couple of gallons used in a year for the tiller and chain saw. But I am looking into various quality electric chainsaws, too.


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## crehberg (Mar 16, 2008)

We've got both the electric and gas powered chain saws....and though the cord gets in the way...I don't really mind the electric saw that much. In fact, I probably like it better than the gas powered one.

Now, back to the original topic. Even though we don't live in a "colder" region, firewood is still necessary for cooking and for heating (if the electricity goes out, that is. My mom won't let us run the fireplae otherwise.  ). If push came to shove, we have an ax or two and could cut down enough by hand. But before we get to that point, I think we would have come up with some other method that wouldn't require so much time and labor.


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## Henry (Mar 1, 2006)

We live on a 1/4 sec surrounded by Crown land. No near neighbors. All our wood is free of course but we have kept a stand of trees untouched out back if we ever need to get wood without equipment. I built a skid trail up hill with the tractor so it will be easy to bring the splits by wheelbarrow. We keep 6 wheelbarrows for the future troubles.
We keep about 30 cords cut so will have time to adjust to hand cutting. We need wood for heater, cook stove and greenhouses. Of course we have all the necessary hand tools. I have to admit if tshtf I will probably start cutting like crazy while the gas is available for the chainsaw. 
Yes wood will stay good for years if its under cover and off the ground and I mean roof not tarps. Tarps on top are fine for someone seasoning there wood every year but you want to keep all weather off the splits for long time storage. It just gets better for the first 5 years then maintains its heating qualities at a slight reduced rate for the next 15 years. Reason we know this is we have tried 20 year old wood that we had not used and it heated fine. One advantage is very little creosote from properly dried wood.


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## fireliteca (Jun 7, 2004)

Cabin fever- I want your decorator lol.We are of the same mind ,only a few people realize all this old weird stuff works.They think we have a type of eclectic museum for a home ,the rest think it is useless junk.-firelite


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## Guest (Jun 11, 2008)

I'm with Richie on this one. If gas goes to a hundred bucks a gallon I'd spend my last hundred on a gallon to run my saw before I'd try to cut the same amount of wood it could cut doing it by hand.

Using a chainsaw isn't physically any easier than using an axe and crosscut saw. You just cut ten times the wood!

.....Alan.


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## diane (May 4, 2002)

A.T. Hagan said:


> I'm with Richie on this one. If gas goes to a hundred bucks a gallon I'd spend my last hundred on a gallon to run my saw before I'd try to cut the same amount of wood it could cut doing it by hand.
> 
> Using a chainsaw isn't physically any easier than using an axe and crosscut saw. You just cut ten times the wood!
> 
> .....Alan.


That would be me as well. I would walk to town rather than drive, go without electricity and carry my water but when it comes to my wood, my chainsaw I will use if it is at all possible. Do I have the tools to do it without, yes. BUT it would be my very LAST choice!!!


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## Blu3duk (Jun 2, 2002)

For those folks who say ya cant cut as much with a cross cut saw as you can with a power saw, I knew a feller who in the depression cut 4 cord a day and took it home on a wagon with a cross cut. Me I cut 3 cord a day with a powersaw and am shot. Then too I know many folks who compete in sawing competitions who can flat move a saw through a 24 inch log and cut a slab off under 20 seconds..... no they probably could not keep up that type of pace on the whole log, but close, and when you get into those 36-72 inch trees, it dont take to many blocks to cut a cord either.... mostly around here we tend to cut 30 inch and under on the stump.

I have been running power saws for around 35 of my 45 years, cut my leg professionally when i was 16, and ive got axe marks in my boots but still have all my toes so i cant say crosscuts and axes are safer, it was totally operator error. I swing a 6 ound maul for splitting mostly, I have a 8 for the really hard buggers, but i have also been known to use a 3.5 pound single bit and a 3 pound double michigan head. It is all fun, and maybe if peak oil dont hit for a fe more years i might get a hydraulic splitter, or maybe just hire a kid to split it for me.... one with a strong back and weak mind. What i need is a team of horses to haul the wood out of the woods for me now....

William
Idaho


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## diane (May 4, 2002)

William, last winter I ordered a hand pumped hydraulic splittered. I have it right inside the door by the woodbox. In 15 minutes I can stand there and listen to the news and split my day's worth of wood for the cookstove. I love it.


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## FourDeuce (Jun 27, 2002)

I have several 1-man saws, some 2-man saws, and enough bucksaws and bow saws to keep me busy for years. I used to own a couple of chainsaws, but hated the noise and vibration, so I never used them. Yes, a chainsaw will cut wood much faster, but it's also much more dangerous than a manual saw.:duel:


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