My father Joseph Standish produced and sold firewood all his life and delivered it by tractor and trailer. His father William, my grandfather did the same. All of the wood was chopped by axe.
As a child I can recall cutting firewood with my father on a saw bench. In his early days he used a cross cut which was a two handled saw with a man on both ends to saw the timber.
The timber was extracted from the forest with the aid of horses.
My father imported the first chainsaw into Ireland. Firewood production is in the blood. The principals are simple and the key is to be able to produce the firewood at a fast rate reducing cost so that the wood is priced competitively.
The seasoning of the wood is of utmost importance. The production methods have changed since my fathers’ day. We still use chains saws but split the timber with a high powered fast splitter and firewood processor. The wood is either billeted and stacked or stored in crates for drying in drying sheds.