How to Cut & Transport Firewood From Your Own Property

Choose a tree in your yard or a neighbor's yard that has already been downed by a storm or for another reason, or head to a wooded area in which trees have been downed. If you don't already have a downed tree, contact a professional; the procedure of cutting down a tree, or felling, is dangerous for the inexperienced. A professional will leave it in sections so you can cut it to size for a fireplace or woodstove. If the tree you want to cut is in a neighbor's yard, get permission.

Use the chainsaw to first cut off small branches and material that fits through a wood chipper. Burn this material as a fire starter or take it to a local wildlife area. Some communities allow you to leave extras on the curb for municipal pick-up.

Start with the larger limbs, called rounds. Measure your first cut according to the size of the woodstove or fireplace where the wood will be used and use that first piece as a gauge for the rest of your pieces. Position the chainsaw above the section you are cutting and slice downward through the wood. Cutting the wood into 20 to 25-inch sections is a good rule of thumb. Wedge into the cut the plastic wedge; this keeps the chainsaw from getting stuck in larger pieces of wood when the limb is under tension.

To cut the main trunk, choose either the maul, a heavy-duty axe shaped like a wedge that you would use to hand-split the wood, or a log splitter, a hydraulic cylinder engine that splits the wood. Cut the trunk into your 20 to 25-inch sections with the chainsaw as you did the limbs, using either method. For thicker trunks, cut downward halfway through the log, then turn it over to the uncut side and cut downward again to meet your original cut. Using either the maul or the splitter, cut the section in half, then in half again and again - similar to cutting a pizza - until it is cut into pie sections that are manageable for a fireplace.

Stack the logs on top of each other and end to end onto the back of the pickup or the flatbed that is attached to a vehicle for transportation to your destination.