Should I Rethink Firewood Bundles? 

I agree that wrapping is the way to go Pete. I think they look better and the buyer can see what they are getting

Thanks so much Henny! I'm glad to meet you and hope you enjoy your time here!

Welcome aboard Raven! It's great to have you!

I am very consistent at being inconsistent Frank. !!

Thanks Cinder

Thanks so much Big R! I wouldn't be where I am now without you sir. If I ever make to Ireland I will buy the first round!

​@@ohiowoodburner - that will be a Guiness and a Jamison on the side - Cheers. On a serious note - if you ever make it to Ireland I would be honoured to host you for a couple of days at my vacation place on Cruit Island, Donegal where we could debate and resolve many of the great firewood issues of the day. In fact, I'm off there tomorrow for a week with a cord of logs to keep the Atlantic storms at bay. You should Google the location some wet evening when you can't be at the woodyard.

That is the way I see it Mike. The one that keeps coming up is a VERY big one and I would prefer to stay away.

The bundles I make with labels are smaller than these. These are an indeterminate size.

I don't think I am there just yet but I will know for sure entering the fall of this year. Even if can increase my production etc it may be at a level that I don't feel like maintaining. Stay tuned...and so will I LOL

@@ohiowoodburner I well you are one of my favorite creators and always rooting you on

haha that has crossed my mind Billy!

yup that’s way i would do it but send a little more and get twenty ft side opening shipping container you could then spilt with the axis into one end wrapper in middle and stack on to pellets at other and fork out at delivery time

haha. This is a bad couple years for snow. Would hate to own a ski resort!

@@ohiowoodburner they were skiing at Peak n Peak yesterday. "Snow" looked pretty thin. They should be able to stock-pule some this coming week. We need some temp swings to get sap running again too.

thanks Whitey. The Go Fast is a dynamite machine

Interesting.that it could be a versatile machine

I don't like bags bc they are too expensive and you can't see the wood. But, to each their own!

Big advantage of bags is you can keep a stockpile of readily made and grab as the orders come in. With wrap I’d be concerned it loosening up when you store the bundles.

@EuroYardService : Both have their advantages and disadvantages. So, depending on how you do things, I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Thanks RB!

thanks Lance

Awesome! Thank you for subbing Steve!

I think bundles sell so good there is no reason to add firestarters. Seems they sell without them LOL. I had considered handles but I just never started doing them and noone has ever asked for them.

Great to have you on board Glenda!

Thanks Tanner. On my retail bundles I will try to put the smaller stuff in too and fill in the voids

i think you are right on point Dr. That would be my approach too

I see where shorter wood makes sense but I don't feel like changing my process now with length. It would cause me too much disruption

excellent advice Elaine!

I have tried it both ways. It didn't seem to make any difference

Hope you are on the mend Ron. Let me know how you are doing

Hi Annie. The 405 is amazing. In over 130 cords produced I have not had a single jam.

You bet buddy

I have. I didn't notice a difference. I cant wait until I am thru with this type of wrap LOL

Thanks for watching Johan!

Thanks Tommy!

Great to hear Jason. where are you from?

@@ohiowoodburner from Minnesota..

You can do it buddy. there is money to be made

Glad you got the Go Fast. Great machine. I don't sell bundles from my yard.

I live by a very big state park and they get their firewood from a central production place near Canton. All the state parks are serviced in house

Hello Roger!

When I do my bundles or bags I put 8 to 10 pieces of kindling in on top they seem to like that

Thanks Jim!

Oh, good question. 😉👍

I spoke w one campground about that an what they were paying for their wood made me want to find their supplier so I could have him deliver to me as well LOL. The selling point for me bundling is I do all the work and they can cross that job off their list.

Nothing wrong with the machine Zeke. It works fine. My concern is if I am going to ramp up in bundle production I don't want all of that riding on a machine with questionable support from the manufacturer. I cured that problem with Go Fast!

thanks for the comment Gamla

That's the way I see it too Bill

With the exception of oak I think the species in bundles are irrelevant.

I have not but there may come a day

seems all the pieces can be dif shapes and you can still find the right one.

@@ohiowoodburner My best idea for a wheel is the steering wheel from a lawn mower.

Thanks for coming on board Geos. I hope you enjoy our efforts!

Interesting idea Harold. Hmm

haha I hear you buddy

They aren't for me. I leave my wood sit too long and would worry about mold. Also I don't see how this would help me load my truck and make it easier. I don't think my customers would want a big bag like that delivered to their house

I was wearing shorts yesterday Bob!

I don't recall ever prioritizing my time with my business. I prioritize my firewood and try not to sell it for less than its worth. I am rarely in a hurry and don't believe in the "time is money" mantra. Bundles can range anywhere from $3.50--$5 wholesale.

I am not aware of one but I do agree with you that we should be trying to find a more eco friendly packaging solution...either the wrap companies try different materials or we make some type of string knotting machine etc.

haha. Thanks for watching Cy

I agree when using 16" sticks. Close enough lol

Not sure what you mean Larry. The force needed for the wrap to fail? What I have learned is the lighter gauge seems to stretch more and squeeze the contents better

Joe, I worked for a Fortune 50 beer company for 35 years. I was a manager in the Distribution and Logistics group. We made beer by the pallet to ship to our second tier wholesalers. I am going to try to keep this short so bear with me. We had 12 breweries in the US 3 in Canada and 3 in Mexico. The product lost in shipping and in warehousing drove us to look at options to reduce the product loss, which was in the millions on a yearly basis. Our group then began to look at "in line stretch wrapping machines" which would wrap a pallet of beer on the palletizer discharge after it was stacked. After a lot of work and testing, financial analysis and research we added stretch wrap machines to all of the domestic plants. Prior to that we had to convince the board to approve a capital project for the wrap machines and a yearly budget for stretch wrap. We estimated that the initial cost would be in the millions but the reduction in process loss and in transit damage clearly justified the cost and budget. We began to track process loss in the warehouses and in transit damage and saw huge savings in both areas more than enough to prove that the project would pay for its self. However, we found that our yearly cost for wrap was eating into our savings. We did testing and research and found that we could reduce our stretch wrap usage by increasing the "force to load" of the wrap. Stretch wrap is designed to be stretched to the max and as the wrap was applied it would then shrink tight against the load, in our case the pallet of beer. To achieve that stretch we began to measure the force to load of the wrap. We used a fish scale we bought at Bass Pro to make the measurement, and we found a significant reduction in wrap costs as a result of our test and procedures to adjust the wrap machines to maximize our wrap. It worked and we reduced our wrap costs substantially. As you increase your bundle production you will be buying more wrap, which is made with petroleum. You put the fish scale and create a device to place under the wrap after the bundle is wrapped, pull the fish scale back by two or three inches and that will give you your force to load. If the wrap is not applied tight enough you need to increase the tension placed on the wrap. If the wrap breaks during wrapping you might have the wrapper pulling too much then you can back it off. In a nutshell that is what I meant by "force to load" comment this morning.

No, that road has served its purpose. Forward!

That isn't what I was thinking but interesting you concluded that. My style of firewood is ideal for bundles. Where I am now my bulk price is higher than what I can get for bundled firewood. It is a matter of me if I want to make the sale with a bundle with the extra effort.

No, I only use labels when the retailer wants them.

hello

Glad you enjoyed

These are 1cf. With the shims they will be .75 I don't think the measurements are scientific but close enough

they are Showa Atlas. I get them off Amazon. Make sure you buy the from the Showa store bc there are a lot of counterfeits out there. Awesome glove. Unless you have enormous hands the XLs was WAY too big. I use the Large

Thank you very much.

I still have it. I bought the Go Fast bc i wanted a second one.

@@ohiowoodburner ok gotcha. I was going to see if you wanted to sell it.

that is my thought in making these LOL. I have a nice crew of stackers who would love to run the Go Fast

I think there is some market research needed here. The bigger suppliers have gotten even smaller, .66cf not sure if this is to keep weights and measures off their tails or it's because smaller bundles sell better. From my experience smaller is more profitable as there are approx 170 in a cord vs 128 at 1cf.

Thanks for watching John

haha. I'm one of them

haha. I have a case I am trying to use up. It is from when I first got started in bundles and I didn't know about the different types yet.

And here I thought you were Billy

@@ohiowoodburner Surely you jest

I tried it before and the karate chop is more efficient.

thanks Freddy

People don't buy a "rick" of bundles. They buy one--two, hence the higher price. Your analysis only demonstrates you are hostile to capitalism. Why don't you send this same comment to Dr Pepper who sell 20 oz bottles for more $$ than a two liter bottle? Or send your comment to Home Depot who sells a 50 lb bag of sand for $5 when you can buy a ton for $30? I'm not sure what country you come from but this is called "Capitalism" and consumer choice. These realities include firewood. It is backwards thinking from people like you who damage our industry.

@@ohiowoodburner i live in the same country you do and my family and ancestors were here long before yours were if you are not native American. i dont have a problem with capitalism . im a capitalist myself but i have morals and standards when it comes to business, what i charge for my time and my product . my question is how is it i can buy timber from a land owner , pay them good money for it , cut it , split it and sell it for a lot less than you and i still make a profit ? and you cant bring up big companies and their prices because they have expense's you dont. not to mention the amount of labor expenses . i know about this because i own two companies , a lumber mill and a logging business . the next time you complain about the cost of food or any thing else you think is to high just remember you are helping row the same boat as they are.

Totally agree! Smaller the better!