THE firewood thread

[Cold Canadian]

Got my ten cords home .......at least I think it's ten ? might go for one more load ? Hear conflicting reports about the severity of how cold this winter might be . The cutting was good this year , a lot of snap offs ( Black Spruce /Jack Pine ) of dry standing , some just broken off this summer , so I didn't have to carry to far .Decided to cut at five feet long this time instead of nine feet ......although I had a tough time with that ! I own a band saw mill and some of the larger log's would have made for some beautiful timber planks ! But heat first this year , next year I might get a sellers permit and cut all summer as time permit's , extra cash come fall , and I just love being out and in the woods and the smell of fresh cut pine ?? ....wonderful

 

[CanuckBock]

Heel low:

So how's ALL yer firewood stockpiles holding out??

Of the 21 walls of wood of ours, we have used up three and starting up on the fourth one now. Been a pretty warm winter and thinking may be an early spring with all the wild birds coming back a might bit earlier than norm. Should breeze thru with lotsa wood gold left in supply.

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Firewood chores are easy and light when you are distracted by this pair--hunting each other.

Round and round the birch bark pile them two go!

Got me gut laughing and before I can blink...cart is full of birch and we all be heading for the Man Porch for me to fill the woodbox.

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Not had to do any sledding of the firewood...snows have not been terribly deep so still able to do carting.

Doggone & Chicken UP!

Tara Lee Higgins
Higgins Rat Ranch Conservation Farm, Alberta, Canada

 

[BBQJOE]

It shouldn't be this way in AZ, but we bought 3 cords, and have ripped through two. Not sure if I should order 1 more or not.
I hate cleaning out the wood stove.

 

[Beekissed]

We keep the best wood up on the porch for when the snow really hits and we don't want to try and bring a cart full up a ramp. On days when snow or ice is not a problem there, we bring in the ordinary wood for burning and sometimes mix the best wood~the oak~from the porch to get a better, longer burn.

I LOVE cleaning out the stove because it gives me ashes and I really, really need those ashes for the orchard, garden and other areas. The warm winter has yielded us less ashes than normal, so I'm kind of glad to see more ash production right now.

Those dogs are sure cute!!! Love it when dogs play...you can almost see wolves in how they play.

Right now wood supplies are very good due to the mild winter and it looks as if we may even have to remove wood from the porch come spring instead of use it up as per normal. Wood shed still half full, porch 2/3 rd full, the extra hoop house is mostly full of green wood that is curing out for next season.

Pics of wood gathered early in the fall...

 

[Ole and Lena]

Getting a late start on firewood this year due to the late onset of ground frost. We're still directional drilling in MN in late January.

Has been pretty easy on this years wood pile though. Not sure on how many cords, but I'm about 4 weeks behind typical firewood consumption for this time of year. The pallet wood has been great. Works really good for building some quick coals and heat when starting the stove. I've just been mixing it in with the "normal" tree wood. Haven't even tapped into my pile that has the cherry wood in it yet. Still burning box-elder, elm, ash mix in my early winter pile.

Got started Saturday cutting next years wood. Guy from work just built a new house and piled all the trees he cleared at the bottom of the hill. Quality wood... elm, ash, cherry, maple, some box elder and aspen mixed in. Hell on saw chain since he jackstrawed them together with a skid-steer and got some of the trunks dirty, but still easy wood compared to dragging it out of the forest. Should be able to cut a winter's worth right there. It's 5 minutes from our shop so it's easy to snag on the way home from work.

Can't say enough about that Echo 590. Works great in cold or hot weather. Used it on some storm work this summer in 90 and humid, and just recently trapping some beaver at 15 below. Just always starts, comfortable to cut with, and really powers through tough wood. For $400 you cannot find a better firewood saw IMHO.

 

[BBQJOE]

Can't say enough about that Echo 590. Works great in cold or hot weather. Used it on some storm work this summer in 90 and humid, and just recently trapping some beaver at 15 below. Just always starts, comfortable to cut with, and really powers through tough wood. For $400 you cannot find a better firewood saw IMHO.

That's some good info there!

 

[Ole and Lena]

Getting to be that time of year again. Thought I'd resurrect this thread for some who haven't seen it yet or to see how all your woodpiles are coming along this season.

Was a little light on my pile coming into the fall. Surgery in Spring and lots of overtime kept me out of the woods. My main cutting spot also went away. People sold the property and the new owners don't understand that some trees just need to be cut. Keeping unhealthy trees does no good for your forest, they just don't understand, think cutting any living tree is a sin against the gods.

Did score a few truckloads of white oak from some storm damage. Never had that good of wood before, but it won't be ready until next year.

I had to break down and... makes me a bit ashamed to admit... buy some wood. Did get a pretty good deal though. Sawmill slabs, mostly red oak and ash. Got aprox 1.3 cords for $80. Will fill in the holes in my woodpile for the winter. Was able to process most of it on the table saw with a carbide blade. My old, semi-dull blade held for most of the cutting, had to add a new blade to finish the job. Cut some of the thicker slabs with the chainsaw. Wood sat out in the wind and sun most of the summer, so it's relatively dry. Should be good enough to mix in and burn by freezeup. Have it stacked inside the barn with good airflow so it can dry as rapidly as possible. I must say, given my time vs. revenue situation lately, and the ease of processing these slabs, it is a very attractive option for the future instead of dragging roundwood out of the forest.

 

[Beer can]

I've been a little lazy, still have about a quarter load of log length I haven't cut up yet from last yr. Log length IMHO doesn't season out anywhere near as good as cut and split. Have a outside wood boiler that will burn green wood just fine, but I disagree with some that say they burn green wood better, it'll heat just fine but works it harder and you have to get less of it's potential, have to dry it out to burn, lost energy.

Lol! @Ole and Lena We have some large tracts of land, thousands of acres around here was planted with spruce and pine back during the depression, you ought to here some people complain when they allow areas to be clear cut, like the worst thing in the world. Nothing lives in those mature forests, except red squirrels, no grass, no seeds, no nuts, no nothing, bare, only pine cones. They've been clear cutting sections for the last thirty yrs or so, everywhere they have has grown up so quick, much of it with hardwoods, beech, oak, excellent turkey and deer hunting. One area recently cut was my families favorite blackberry picking spot, slim pickings now, so thick you can hardly walk through, excellent wildlife habitat.

 

[Beekissed]

I agree! Though the slabs don't hold a fire like logs do, they sure can get a stove hot in a hurry. Easy to stack ,easy to carry, cleaner to use. We used to live near a sawmill that sold large bundles of "seconds" lumber for $25. Took me several trips to get it all home but well worth the work in cutting it up and hauling it. They offered to load it on the truck with a forklift but my truck was a small one, so I had to break open the bundle and cut it up with a chainsaw each time we went for one.

We haven't even started getting wood yet but am feeling the pressure. My uncle called the other day to say we could have a huge dead oak down at his place if we wanted it. He cut it up for us....in 10 in. long logs. Bless his heart! Yes...even the biggest logs are only 10 in. long. Now I'll have to figure out how best to roll a 3 ft. wide x 10 thick log into place on the splitter without breaking my back right in two.

I'm grateful for the wood, though, so didn't say a thing about the 10 in. long wood. It will be difficult to stack among the other wood, so we'll try to find a wall for it in the wood shed all its own.

Got other logs down and trimmed but not cut up and they are green, so will be put in the cure out shelter for next year. Got some dead pines down that we want to cut up...we like how hot the fire gets with the cured out pine.

We have a wood guy who brings us a dump truck load of cured oak we don't mind paying money for...it's hard for two old ladies to get enough wood for the winter on their own, so buying part of it suits our current body status.

He only charges $250 and comes better than 35 mi. to deliver it, so we think it's a mighty fine bargain. That amount puts a few long rows in the wood shed and fills half the front porch ...2-3 cords worth. We try to mix it with the other wood and string it out all winter long. Comes in handy when the snow is too deep to get the cart up the ramp to the house.

 

[lazy gardener]

I agree! Though the slabs don't hold a fire like logs do, they sure can get a stove hot in a hurry. Easy to stack ,easy to carry, cleaner to use. We used to live near a sawmill that sold large bundles of "seconds" lumber for $25. Took me several trips to get it all home but well worth the work in cutting it up and hauling it. They offered to load it on the truck with a forklift but my truck was a small one, so I had to break open the bundle and cut it up with a chainsaw each time we went for one.

We haven't even started getting wood yet but am feeling the pressure. My uncle called the other day to say we could have a huge dead oak down at his place if we wanted it. He cut it up for us....in 10 in. long logs. Bless his heart! Yes...even the biggest logs are only 10 in. long. Now I'll have to figure out how best to roll a 3 ft. wide x 10 thick log into place on the splitter without breaking my back right in two.

I'm grateful for the wood, though, so didn't say a thing about the 10 in. long wood. It will be difficult to stack among the other wood, so we'll try to find a wall for it in the wood shed all its own.

Got other logs down and trimmed but not cut up and they are green, so will be put in the cure out shelter for next year. Got some dead pines down that we want to cut up...we like how hot the fire gets with the cured out pine.

We have a wood guy who brings us a dump truck load of cured oak we don't mind paying money for...it's hard for two old ladies to get enough wood for the winter on their own, so buying part of it suits our current body status.

He only charges $250 and comes better than 35 mi. to deliver it, so we think it's a mighty fine bargain. That amount puts a few long rows in the wood shed and fills half the front porch ...2-3 cords worth. We try to mix it with the other wood and string it out all winter long. Comes in handy when the snow is too deep to get the cart up the ramp to the house.

I know why Ash is called that. We got a cord of Ash slab one winter. Great stuff, clean, dry, easy to work up. But... oh the ash! I think it's cause of the bark to wood ratio. Seemed we had to clean the stove out twice as often! We don't have to order wood this year, after the mild winter we had last year. Still have some dead wood that needs to be cut down. Will either go into HK mound or in the stove. Waiting for cooler weather. We pay about $230/cord: hardwood dry, split, delivered. Have had issues with the guy delivering lots of punky stuff, and the stuff that wasn't punky looked like he'd dug it out of a pond. But, last year, he knew that it was his last chance to retain us as a customer, so he actually brought some decent wood.