How to cut, split, stack and dry firewood // Homesteading

[@johnconklin9039]

My summer has mainly been processing a 3' dia. x 85' tall red oak that fell due to over saturated ground. 4 cords and still splittin'.

[@fritzsoland4780]

Wood splitting tip: use an old tire. Find a tire that can fit on your splitting surface, then fill the inside with several pieces of wood to split. Start with the outside pieces and split them while moving around the circle. The tire keeps the split pieces together and standing so you don't have to keep bending over and picking up the smaller pieces.

[@ianbondsmith5683]

Bungee cord works well too!

[@ozzyrokz331]

There is absolutely nothing you cant do. How in the world do you have time in the day for all that you do? Thanks for thinking of us and poting all of the great things you do. Amazingly energetic, talented young lady. You should be proud.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Get up early, work hard all day, have fun in between! That's always been my motto.

[@jackiegammon2065]

Fellow woodburning home here as well. Although here in Maine, although I would LOVE to think that I only burned 4 cords HA! Thanks for sharing the info about storing wood, one never knows when you might need more.

[@rjspear]

I lived in Nova Scotia for over 25 years and I used 8 to 10 cords each long winter.

[@jackiegammon2065]

@@rjspear That's a lot of wood! When I first back to Maine, I was using that same amount as well..but have buttoned up the house a bit since then .... thankfully!

[@MikeTheMaker1]

One always needs more wood lol.

[@jackiegammon2065]

@@MikeTheMaker1 You're right about that Mike! Just finished stacking a cord a few minutes ago. I would like think that I am finished for the year, but definitely more to go HA!

[@MikeTheMaker1]

Jackie Gammon I actually enjoy the manual labor of splitting but I hate stacking. I want to build one of those lever splitters and see if it’s any good

[@rdhudon7469]

This old country boy was told years ago that when stacking split wood to have the bark facing up when possible .

[@AnneofAllTrades]

That’s a great piece of advice, and totally makes sense!

[@danielbregar5423]

Love the simplicity of it and very effective. Great job!

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Thanks!

[@dddriller1]

love the smell of wood smoke in the winter time

[@BJHermsen]

When you stack keep it bark side up... The the water will roll off each piece too helping it stay rot free an happier. Happy wood burns better you know!

[@AnneofAllTrades]

That’s a great tip. I hadn’t heard that before. I’ll put a layer of bark up on top of them all.

[@Rhewtani]

@@AnneofAllTrades - You will now hear about how leaving it bark side up makes it dry slower. This argument is even featured in Frozen.

[@ZulkSOD]

Someone did some testing on this and it actually doesn't make much of a difference. If you're worried about it cover it with metal sheet roofing

[@AnneofAllTrades]

I have a maul but I don't really like using it. For some reason the axe is just so much more satisfying.

[@offwhitemke]

Great tip! I wonder if I also take some strips bark and lay it over the top if that would be good too.

[@codyf3249]

Great video as usual! We used to use an old pallet or two as our firewood stand. 😂

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Thanks so much! Yeah I like the cinder blocks better because the cats can get under them and then we don't have so many problems with rats and mice in the wood piles.

[@codyf3249]

@@AnneofAllTrades ooh, I never thought of that! We always had trouble with pests in our stacks.

[@bristleconepinus2378]

i do the same rack. only w/ scraps...works great. no rats.

[@Dutchshedwoodshop]

Thanks anne! I like the simplicity vs functionality 👍👍

[@snorman1911]

Thanks so much for the firewood rack idea! I just put one together and it's so easy. I love it!

[@AnneofAllTrades]

So Glad it was helpful!

[@P-Bizzy]

2x4s for the base also works well. Nothing wrong with the 4x4s. Just cheaper option

[@lindalu8565]

We did this on a smaller scale earlier this summer. Super easy. Great instruction.. could you make a video on how you would build a tin covered area for it please? Thanks.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

A much easier solution would just be to tarp them ;)

[@owenjohnson5030]

I see a lot of Doug Fir. You must be in the PNW. All I had to do is keep watching for you to confirm you are in the Seattle area. Oregon here.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Heyyo! Gotta love that doug fir. Smells like christmas.

[@janetwalker3541]

Girl, I wish I had your energy! Also, I wish I could have a little wood stove in my condo, but they and the insurance company won't allow it! Our gas stove just broke and it costs 5 thousand to replace. Couldn't afford so used our electric baseboards and it's very expense. Maybe we'll have to move!

[@PyroShim]

5000$? What part broke that is so incredibly expensive?

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Dang, that sucks. Fireplace stuff can get really expensive because of fire code and safety issues.

[@MikeTheMaker1]

I would get a second opinion for 5k.

[@janetwalker3541]

@@MikeTheMaker1 I did. New gas fireplaces all cost this and more. Went to 6 different places in our area, even looked on line. In Canada things are very expensive!

[@MikeTheMaker1]

janet walker ouch I’m sorry to hear that.

[@Gforceracing20]

Anne you're so flippin cool! I hope Adam realizes the jackpot he hit. I'm sure he's really great too.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Adam of No Trades is a wonderful guy. We both hit the jackpot.

[@jameschester3986]

Just came across your page 🙂 I like outdoor projects and stuff

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Welcome!

[@robertamaro5616]

We sell the heck out of alder wood here in SAN Antonio TX .People love to build kitchen cabinets with that. especially knotty alder .

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Oh yeah it's popular here too. I like it for carving spoons too.

[@Grunt49]

Playin hippie narcotic rock and roll! Thank you!

[@AnneofAllTrades]

hahaha uhhhh thank you?

[@Grunt49]

That was a quote from the 60's.Lol Rock will never last!

[@annbastin6654]

I like this better than pallets.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

ha! Me too.

[@warren519]

Man, You & April Wilkinson remind me of the battery commercial.Full speed ahead, no charging needed. LOL

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Haha thank you, but be encouraged, both of us need battery charges, but the cameras aren’t on for that part, no one wants to watch that ;)

[@Zogg1281]

I was just wondering if you are planting new trees where the old ones were in your woods? Also, dead wood is great, and needed, for mini beasts so that a woodland works properly, so if you're taking the bulk of the tree out of the woods, it's a good idea to leave as much of the branches behind as possible. They can even be chopped into short lengths and stacked at the base of other trees to keep things tidy. It might also stop some soil erosion, but I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to go around the whole base of the tree. Great idea for firewood storage btw 👍👍👍👍👍

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Absolutely! We are working on regenerating our forest after years of misuse and neglect. Getting rid of invasive species and replanting. If the wood is good to use, I'll use the bottom 1/2-2/3 of the trunk, but will leave all the branches and the top of the tree in the forest to decompose and to provide wildlife habitat.

[@Zogg1281]

@@AnneofAllTrades that's awesome, there are to many people who clear everything in search of a "neat" woodland........ and, sadly, I was one of those people once........ but in my defence I had only just started a countryside management coarse and the tutor said burn the branches........ and I like fire....... 😳 It was also a woodland intensively managed to produce timber......... a I had a fire. I should stress, I didn't burn the whole woodland down, just the branches that needed burning. I'm also only a hobbyist arsonist so I only burn things that I'm aloud to....... like firewood and bonfires, not buildings and other things that aren't mine to burn legally. How did I get here again?!?!? Oh yeah, it's cool that you're regenerating your woodland and also leaving dead wood for the forest.... 😳😊👍👍👍

[@ChristCenteredIronworks]

Keep up the great winter preparations it will be here soon :-)

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Thanks brother!

[@SMee67]

That's whole lotta wood there... 👌 Good going peeps, definitely easy on the eye! 👍

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Thanks Bill!

[@arieldelaguila760]

Anne, thank you. I just got a cabin in the mountains (and no experience) and I was trying to find a way to store fire wood. Your video was very useful to me.

[@jameschester3986]

Love the log storage rack awesome 😎

[@banderlog221]

Hey,Thats the Milwaukee saw i just asked Santa for!!!🤣

[@AnneofAllTrades]

It's a good one. I hope he brings it to you.

[@normabare9354]

Very clever! And stylish looking! 👍

[@weldabar]

I do miss having a wood burning stove. Chopping wood is good exercise too.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

I love it.

[@mountainviewturning5319]

Great job Anna 👍

[@LocdnessMomster]

If you lived in a humid climate are there any tips you'd suggest?

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Pretty much all the same, as I’ve now moved to a very humid climate. Incidentally, with the heat change, despite the humidity, seasoning wood actually happens a lot quicker here in TN than it did in WA

[@feng443]

I wonder how stable the structure is against pushing from side as center of weight is pretty high and the structure is narrow.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

2 years later, holding strong ;)

[@virtualfather4117]

recycle some 55 gallon barrels, cut top and bottom off cut from top to bottom then flatten out a little and layer on from both ends like shingles over lap a foot or so

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Great idea!

[@FredMcIntyre]

Awesome work Anne! 😃👍🏻👊🏻

[@donaldtrabeaux1305]

Great job

[@TeamProsperity]

Wow Anne, ur a choppin machine! I’m worn out just watchin ya 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤙🏻 You go girl👍👍

[@drewa3597]

that's a great idea, thanks

[@AnneofAllTrades]

You bet!

[@Rehan-xs2ej]

Do the trees you cut grow again fast ?

[@Grunt49]

Love to watch you tackle projects. Is there a way to donate without Patreon?

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Honestly the best support is to just keep watching the videos! I appreciate you taking the time.

[@jorgevelasquez9955]

Wait! Not clear weather you screwed the round post to 4x4...the beginning of your video showed the guy with a drill screwing ends? But later in the video you said no fasteners are needed?

[@pappy9892]

Anne try a big old tractor tire for splitting logs. Fill the tire with logs and split them in situ. Minimal running around collecting pieces. Faster. All pieces in one place (within the tire) I use FISKARS axes/tools. They are excellent and might sponsor your channel if you contact them. 🙂👍

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Brilliant! I’ve used car tires but a tractor tire seems way more efficient!

[@IEnjoyCreatingVideos]

Great work Anne! Thanks for sharing the video with us.👍👌😎JP

[@wjacobp]

I assume you are adding new trees to the forested area for future firewood

[@AnneofAllTrades]

We are more concerned with replanting native species for forest health than our firewood supply, because being in an urban center it’s usually pretty easy to get urban salvage wood too.

[@1967GALAXIE500]

Outstanding thank you

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@1967GALAXIE500]

We did exactly the same but out wood is used for our outdoor kitchen. And a wall also lol

[@arnejahr3531]

Always stack your wood bark side up

[@joeychancey9192]

Would ya do a video on how ta season fire wood the right way lol some people don't know how ta do that

[@Manof2boyz]

Hi Ann, Great video!! Question...how long are the round side rail post? Thanks for sharing!!!👍👍

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Four feet :)

[@lint2023]

That is very slick, but it worries me. CMU's have little tensile strength and the uprights are tensile loading the blocks. With all your metal skills maybe you could weld up short sections of square tube that would hold the timbers as you show but not have the fracture risk. Then set that on the blocks to keep it off the ground and dry. Cheers.

[@reforzar]

10-40 times! 😂 ACCURATE.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

So sweaty all the time. It's a wonder we even need heat with all the stacking and moving and chopping.

[@qicoocooqi1026]

do we need to put a tarp on top of it?

[@rjspear]

May I ask why you didn't build these before you were splitting the wood? That way you would have handle the wood less.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Poor planning hahahaha

[@rjspear]

@@AnneofAllTrades Maybe that but something tells me that you are so busy that the term "flying by the seat of one's pants" might come to mind. I really do enjoy your videos. They are so varied in topic and nature. THANK YOU for all the hard work.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Ha! Perfect description.

[@TeamProsperity]

Go ride the donkey with ur lil cart lol and your garden shot there looks awesome Anne.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

hahaha Howdy will be pulling trees outta the forest in no time!

[@Rhewtani]

Any suggestions for what to do when your wood storage area is significantly off level?

[@AnneofAllTrades]

I might just set up pallets on concrete piers to level them.

[@ifscottcanyoucan]

I would have waited till April was there so you could put her to work! 🤣 Great work Anne. I may use this idea when we build our house next year. Lots of trees to clear. Wishing you the best!

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Hahaha, I had other plans for her visit ;)

[@cabinlife2347]

Good video, thanks for sharing. We like to stack the ends of the wood piles by criss crossing the layers so the pile is actually self supporting. Over time, those end lumber supports are going to give out at the wrong time unless they are checked and replaced periodically for safety sake. . Just sayin. Good build though. New to your channel and will be watching more, thank you.

[@justinbarbour2866]

What are the dimensions of the posts?

[@assocpress]

Here I am searching through the comments for the same info. I’m guessing about 4-5 ft based on her height. At least my guess.

[@diananazaroff5266]

OMG, I thought my dog Maggie Mae had somehow gotten to your house (in the first minute of the vid). She's a twin!

[@Jason1Pa]

Clever idea

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Thanks!

[@sylvestresanchez4848]

Thank you.

[@tonyburelle6633]

Not a criticism, but isn't that quite far from the house, or do you not have anyplace close, I can't recall, still a great supply of winter wood and as always,a great video, thanks

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Nah it’s about 120 feet from the house, slightly inconvenient but there’s a spot on the porch to stack for immediate use and this keeps the mice and rats away from the house.

[@tonyburelle6633]

Yeah, that's true too

[@hundertd]

Great video Anne, however I have a question. You state in the video that no fasteners are needed, yet I noticed what appears to be lag bolts in the 4x4's at the ends. Probably the clearest shot of one is at the 29 second mark on the video. Did you use lag bolts and if so, what did you anchor them into? Also, Isaac was removing fasteners from the square posts. Were they replaced? I think that this is a really helpful video, seeing as I burn wood as well, and trying to get the wood stacked is always a challenge. ~Blessings! David

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Keen eyes David! We WAY overbuilt the first one. We quickly realized that all the extra fuss and muss wasn’t necessary so what you see Isaac removing is actually because they weren’t needed and didn’t get replaced. Gravity does great work once the first layer of stacked wood goes down!

[@hundertd]

@@AnneofAllTrades Awesome! Thank you. I love the energy and enthusiasm in your videos! They're very encouraging. Keep up the good work! ~Blessings! David

[@shenlun]

what is the weight of a cord of wood ?

[@etheroar6312]

Too many variables. What species of wood, how wet or dry is it, and is it a face cord or a full cord? Face cord is 4' high by 8' long by the length of the pieces deep. Full cord is 4' high by 8' long by 4' deep. Hope this helps.

[@jan-reiniervoute6701]

Full cord is about two cubic meters, so about two tonnes (metric). Diversity of wood and amount of water present see previous remark.

[@dwied10]

A cord of well seasoned hardwood will about 2000 lbs. Give or take depending on species.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Ether, exactly what I would have said.

[@1d1hamby]

@@AnneofAllTrades , weren't you calling a face cord a cord?

[@JaKe-bd2fq]

Heloo Anne, my wife and I are new to your channel. We find your topics are very well explained and your content is enjoyable to watch. I have a question on the wood used in the verticals, what type of wood did you choose and why ? I look forward to making this set up.

[@nocomment3404]

How do you like the m18 chainsaw? Ive been thinking about buying one.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

I absolutely love it. I use a chainsaw at least once a week and I have only had to fire up my gas saw twice in the last four months.

[@HarshmanHills]

Easy project. Been using a similar on for small fire pit wood.

[@tanyahanna6523]

How to split stack dry firewood..Karen Carpenter.. prescription..the brothers Grimm .🧙💤🌹

[@mrglock2313]

I didn't realize they made women like this???? 🤔🤔 Likes all the things that I do and actually does them 😂. Here on my farm it's hard work 💪 but fun. Take care 👍👍

[@samsam-kt5vg]

I Like it 👍

[@MrCoffeypaul]

I gotta ask, what about it's centre of gravity?

[@Aidenn23]

MrCoffeypaul she said no science!

[@AnneofAllTrades]

You deserve a gold medal.

[@MrCoffeypaul]

Sorry, couldn't help me self, me Ma was Irish!

[@ianide2480]

Just be careful when you stack - over time smashing firewood into the end supports will snap the webbing of a block. That's the thing with blocks, they don't give when there's a sudden impact, they break instead. I grew up cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood. I will not go back to burning wood unless my life depends on it (perhaps not even then). I hate to sound like nothing but a downer but the majority of my life was spent doing hard physical labor, now I'm used up and with far too many aches n pains. It's a cool project though, you've got a great attitude and I enjoy the content. Best way to keep wood dry and drying, just cover it a little bit, the idea of a roof is perfect and it doesn't have to be overbuilt or fancy. It is desirable to have a bit of moisture in the wood, just no so much that excess creosote builds up in the chimney. Though there are some very good advances in wood stoves/furnaces that burn much hotter and the location of in-let air is better positioned to burn these deposits before they become a problem.

[@cabinlife2347]

Gotta agree with you on all these points ... especially about being careful with those ends supporting the wood pile... the ends should really be criss crossed with alternating layers of wood so the pile is 'self supporting'. wood heat is the by far the most labour intensive heat going, but it's a nice dry heat. Good point about the firewood shelter only needing to be just adequate enough to stop rain and snow laying on the wood.. lol, like our make shift DIY wood shelter we just built a few weeks back. cheers.

[@josineivitor]

Muito boa idéia

[@jefferybarron929]

Too bad, you can't do that in Middle Tennessee... Nothing to cut around there but cedar trees... Lol.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Is that a joke? There is far better firewood in far greater abundance here than where we were in Washington! We are having a blast chopping wood for next year in between all our projects!

[@louisnemick1939]

Anne you are a lovely young lady.

[@noemivela9524]

Louis Nemick Agreed!! 🙌🏼

[@Andrey-wn5fe]

Необычная женщина, первый раз в жизни вижу как женщина рубит дрова)) думал на это способны русские бабы в деревне. .. молодец , хороший пример мужикам

[@anuruddhalogin]

💖

[@thatellipsisguy8984]

4"x4" is so expensive here, we could have bought half the wood for the price of this project...

[@AnneofAllTrades]

Ian Forrester is it really? Our 8ft treated 4x material is something like $10-$12 a board. Firewood is $350-400 a cord.

[@slick-px4pq]

Treated landscape timbers are less money than treated 4x4's

[@ivokolarik8290]

👍

[@sadidiker]

👍👍⚘⚘😘

[@bradkoste1128]

sek say

[@TeamProsperity]

Your supposed to be working on your deck with April 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 not splitting wood

[@AnneofAllTrades]

hehehe well some parts of the deck were a two person job so I had to keep myself busy while she and Erik did some of it ;)

[@ericsalmonsen5537]

Pretty shady spot to stack all that wood. As much sun as possible will make the drying process much faster

[@AnneofAllTrades]

While you’re technically right, the tree canopy also keeps off a majority of the rain. Since the wood was mostly deadfall anyway, doesn’t need much sun.

[@2300Kenzie]

Nice video but not enough animals.

[@smartass6071]

It looks like your stacks are in the shade. Not good for firewood. It takes to long for it to dry after it gets wet from rain. Ever notice how places in full sun dry faster or snow melts faster? You should always stack in full sun if you can, if not it should have a roof over it. I've been cutting and selling firewood for over 20 years. What ever mistakes you are making, been there done that.

[@AnneofAllTrades]

You are right, full sun would be better, but on a small property like ours you don’t get to be choosy. They’ll get covered before the rains start, but this wood is already dry so it’s not really an issue.