# Hickory firewood. Pain in the Butt!!



## Landmark (Nov 20, 2014)

I burn a good bit of Hickory each year and I tell you its rough. Hickory heats great and lasts along time but man is this stuff heavy and hard to split. I burned wood for several years and then I built a new house. several hickory trees were removed and I sawed them up for firewood. didn't own a wood splitter at the time and used a wedge and hammer. After fighting with that wood so long it prompted me to go and purchase a wood splitter. Also it cinders up something aweful. it will completely fill my stove with cinders if I keep piling it in. I will burn it but man it makes you earn the right to heat with it.


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## mga (Nov 20, 2014)

i'm burning some myself. true that...it is tuff and stringy wood when splitting....and i use a log splitter. i can imagine splitting it by hand would be a challenge.

as for ashes....since i mix it with ash most of the time, cleaning things out is just the dues we have to pay.


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## Landmark (Nov 20, 2014)

mga said:


> i'm burning some myself. true that...it is tuff and stringy wood when splitting....and i use a log splitter. i can imagine splitting it by hand would be a challenge.
> 
> as for ashes....since i mix it with ash most of the time, cleaning things out is just the dues we have to pay.


when I was splitting with wedges I would drive one in top, one in bottom, and one in the side. flip over and beat apart with a go-devil. Takes someone who has worked it to appreciate it. pioneers were tough


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## Chris-PA (Nov 20, 2014)

Just split up some hickory that had been standing dead for well over a year, probably two. It sure was hard wood, but just took a little more work. Most of it was split with an axe, some of it with my old Chopper1 axe. I didn't use any wedges at all. I noticed the hardness more with the saws - some of them felt like the chains were on backwards.

Looking forward to burning it this winter, but thanks for the heads up on coaling. I may need to mix some ash in with it. Sounds like a test burn is in my near future!


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## farmer steve (Nov 20, 2014)

hickory. tough on man and machine but worth every btu. this one was about the toughest as it was a limb split off from a big hickory tree. the burl in it was awesome.


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## redoakneck (Nov 20, 2014)

Smells great too, I cut it shorter to help with the splitting, but stringy and tough for sure!!!


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## mga (Nov 20, 2014)

not too many around here. i've dropped maybe 3 or 4. most of the wood around here is ash. however, last couple of days i've been dropping some nice pin oaks. there's about 25 more that have to come down so i'm doing a few every week, but no damn hickory


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## Ironworker (Nov 20, 2014)

I love hickory,


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## SCBBQ (Nov 20, 2014)

Mix some red oak and hickory in the burn barrel Get the pit full of coals and throw a few butts or a pig on the rack. There is not much that smells better. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

It makes pretty good firewood too.


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## zogger (Nov 20, 2014)

Fairly plentiful around here. Good wood, few days ago with the dang "omega block" arctic blast I burned some hickory knots in the evening and for overnight. 

I find it dulls chains fast because of all the dirt under the bark (shagbark) and is medium hard to split but not that bad. About the only real negative I have with it is bugs love it!


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## Zeus103363 (Nov 20, 2014)

hickory is very plentiful around these parts. I usually cut mockernut hickory. given the chance, I will cut right past the oak to get at some hickory. Love it in the stove or the smoker! 


Thanks


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## msvold (Nov 20, 2014)

zogger said:


> ...
> I find it dulls chains fast because of all the dirt under the bark (shagbark) and is medium hard to split but not that bad. About the only real negative I have with it is bugs love it!


Yeah what Zogger said. Bugs love it. I find lots of dust on my wood pile.


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## unclemoustache (Nov 20, 2014)

Got a lot of hickory this year. Don't like having to empty the stove so much, but it is what it is.


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## Herd8497 (Nov 20, 2014)

I have 5 to cut in a pasture. All shags. They will sit a few years before they see flame, but for my money there isn't a better wood to watch through the stove window. Hickory has personality!


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## firebrick43 (Nov 21, 2014)

landmark said:


> when I was splitting with wedges I would drive one in top, one in bottom, and one in the side. flip over and beat apart with a go-devil. Takes someone who has worked it to appreciate it. pioneers were tough


 

Pioneers would not have cut and split hickory, at least in large logs. Much of the forest was simply ringed and then burned in place. The only steel they had was there axe and gun. 

Wedges and mauls were of wood so only the straightest is white oak was split for fences and furniture. 

Cabins, barns, and implements of husbandry here in indiana were tulip poplar because of how easy it worked with axes. Old growth tulip poplar was fairly rot resistant as well. 

Most fire wood was simply small straight trees the could be cut to length with with half a dozen chops of an axe and no splitting. A lot of waste with an axe on 18" + trees


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## chuckwood (Nov 21, 2014)

landmark said:


> I burn a good bit of Hickory each year and I tell you its rough. Hickory heats great and lasts along time but man is this stuff heavy and hard to split.



I'm getting ready to cut down a big hickory. I really hate to do it, I'm unsure of exactly what variety it is, I'll have to do some online research. This tree always provides a good crop of nuts for the squirrels. I've eaten some of the nuts myself, it takes a lot of work to crack them and get the meat out, but they are tasty. This tree is spectacular in fall with brilliant yellow leaves. But it has grown too big and it's shading out the back part of my veggie garden, so it's got to go. I've got a hydraulic wood splitter coming soon, and I'll have some hickory firewood for next winter. If it makes a lot of ashes, that's ok, all the ashes go into the garden, adds minerals to the soil and brings the acidity down a bit. That's good because I use lots of acidic composted leaves in the garden.


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## haveawoody (Nov 21, 2014)

The trick with shagbark is leave it in round format for about 1 month before you split.
Checks start to show pretty good at 1 month and make the natural split lines easy to follow.
Still not the easiest thing to split but much better than fresh green.

Cutting shagbark well not much will help you on that, they always seem to have very dirty bark that eats up sharp chains.
Carry lots of extra chain for shagbark.

And yep people sure had strong will a few generations ago.
Now we have strong cell phone signals and will is not on that line.LOL


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## Chris-PA (Nov 21, 2014)

Be cautious letting it sit - hickory rots pretty easily in rounds.


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## hayboy (Nov 21, 2014)

SCBBQ said:


> Mix some red oak and hickory in the burn barrel Get the pit full of coals and throw a few butts or a pig on the rack. There is not much that smells better. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.
> 
> It makes pretty good firewood too.



Rumor is hanging a shoulder down the chimney makes for some great BBQ, never tried that. On a clean cut job a few years back, there were a LOT of pretty straight hickory left standing. I cut them down into logs to the point where the limbs started and hauled them home. Some had a clear center, some had a red center, one of which split easy enough, can't remember which. I do remember in a few days the green flies tried to rob me of my free wood.


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## sb47 (Nov 21, 2014)

I found a guy that calmed that the timber company don't want hickory and toss it as side.
He has an 18 wheeler with a loader crane mounted on it and he could bring me 12" logs all day long.
I asked for a price. he said 500 dollars for about 7 cords, delivered. 
I pulled a wad of 1000 dollars out in cash and said bring me two loads, and I'll pay on delivery.
That was six months ago, I called him to see what was the hold up, and it's one excuse after another.

My mesquite guy went from 250 a cord to 500 a cord overnight. Guess I wont be selling mesquite any time soon ether. 

Shipping cost is whats killing me.


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## Deleted member 83629 (Nov 22, 2014)

i usually let it season before i split it i got a little pile of it seasoned not very many hickory trees around my part though.


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## Marine5068 (Nov 22, 2014)

I've taken some small Bitternut Hickory trees down for customers around here. I cut it for firewood and mix it in with my Maple, Oak, Elm, Birch and whatever else I'm burning at the time.
Not many Hickories left around me. I do have three nice Bitternut Hickory trees in my front forest that I wont touch.
It's hard, stringy wood but the harder the better BTUs.
The nuts are inedible and don't germinate easily from what I've seen so far in the ten years I've been here.


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## Spawn (Nov 22, 2014)

It should have started flipping end for end to the woodlot as soon as the orange gleam from the sun reflected off the handle of that Farmboss.



hayboy said:


> Rumor is hanging a shoulder down the chimney makes for some great BBQ, never tried that.



Speaking of coals and Hickory, try an ugly steak. When you got 'em all red and all the bark and stuff is burned off just nice clean coals, throw a couple 3/4" or thicker steaks right on the red coals. Keep an eye on it so you can flip it pretty quick you want a little headroom so you can keep it clean. Medium Rare in about five minutes.


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## Landmark (Nov 22, 2014)

sb47 said:


> I found a guy that calmed that the timber company don't want hickory and toss it as side.
> He has an 18 wheeler with a loader crane mounted on it and he could bring me 12" logs all day long.
> I asked for a price. he said 500 dollars for about 7 cords, delivered.
> I pulled a wad of 1000 dollars out in cash and said bring me two loads, and I'll pay on delivery.
> ...


Why wouldnt the they want hickory. I think that guy is blowing smoke. Good call on his bluff.


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## STLfirewood (Nov 22, 2014)

I'm going to cut and split 2 cords of all Hickory today. It's not that bad with a SS. I'm also going to sawmill some today. Hickory is pretty tough on the band saw blades. Good thing I can get the sharpened for $7. I'll try to get some pics.


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## 066blaster (Nov 22, 2014)

I never had much trouble using a log splitter to split it. It seemed to split good ( shagbark)


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## 066blaster (Nov 22, 2014)

Hickory nuts are the best in chocolate chip cookies. And I mean way better than any other nut. I used to bring a few bushels of nuts to this old couple and they would give me a pound of clean nuts. They would sell some at are farmers market for $20 a pound. They had a whole system for cleaning them. Definitely worth gathering and cleaning when your bored during winter.


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## haveawoody (Nov 22, 2014)

066blaster,

Same for me using a log splitter.
No real trouble with it for me on a hydro, I wouldn't want to hand split green shagbark though


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## Rburg44 (Nov 22, 2014)

Shagbark = PITA
Pignut = EASY

And the buyer of timber around here doesnt give any money for hickory either according to the farmer said i can take and cut all the hickory i want just dont touch and oak that isnt dead


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## cheeves (Nov 22, 2014)

Marine5068 said:


> I've taken some small Bitternut Hickory trees down for customers around here. I cut it for firewood and mix it in with my Maple, Oak, Elm, Birch and whatever else I'm burning at the time.
> Not many Hickories left around me. I do have three nice Bitternut Hickory trees in my front forest that I wont touch.
> It's hard, stringy wood but the harder the better BTUs.
> The nuts are inedible and don't germinate easily from what I've seen so far in the ten years I've been here.


When I lived out in the hills of SE Ohio I would put the acorns in a plastic bag! Brought back some after they sprouted, and planted them here! They're super rare here on the coast having been used for handles and such over the years! Only ones left are over in the Town park named after one of my relatives!


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## STLfirewood (Nov 22, 2014)

Here are a couple pics. I ended up cutting and splitting 2 cords. It will come out of the kiln in 4-5 days.


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## CRThomas (Nov 22, 2014)

kiln drying wood when you need it is the only way to go. I see what you are saying about 4 to 5 day its ready to burn. I only sell Ash people order wood I tell them next you will get delivery chunk split put it in my kiln next day its 14 % ready to deliver don't need to stack wood up for years wait for it to dry.


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## CTYank (Nov 22, 2014)

We have five species of hickory around here. Definitely the best fuelwood is shagbark because of the air-dried density.
They can all be difficult with a blunt bludgeon of a cheapie maul, like I used to use. Using a maul with an edge and an efficient head shape, they're much less torture. Around here most apple and some black cherry are more difficult to hand split.

Couple of days, and I hope to load out more blowdown shellbark. First batch of the wood was no big deal to split. Got some you don't want? PM me for an address to drop it off. Seriously.


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## BillNole (Nov 22, 2014)

I got a good load of shag-bark hickory a few years ago. Turned out it was buggy and I ended up burning half of it in the firepit to keep from infesting my woodpile (and house when they wake up after it's brought inside!) I ended up darn near ruining my firepit, melting the heavy grate and crumbling half the blocks from the crazy heat. Couldn't stay less than 10 feet away any longer than needed to chuck another log on when burning it. Man, that's some HOT burning stuff!

We usually had to crack a window or door in the living room when burning it in the fireplace.

Split it all by hand as I did then, not having a splitter at the time. Wasn't' nearly as hard as splitting the spaghetti-elm we get around here sometimes, but it did take some knowledge of working the grain. I had a neighbor I cut and split with sometimes come over and swing for awhile. He gave up after half an hour. He still has some 5 year old elm stacked that he hasn't split yet too. He's strong and a hard worker, but just doesn't have the patience or desire to take care of it, I guess.

If I knew then what I know now, I'd have never burned up over a full cord of hickory in the firepit, but would have tarped it and cooked them little critters dead instead! What I wouldn't give to get another load of shag-bark hickory!


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## sachsmo (Nov 23, 2014)

I've only cut a few Shagbarks out of the woodlot, mine are like telephone poles (25+ feet limbless)

I cut an Pignut? that was too close to the drive and my brother said it was a stringy mess.

Guess 30% of the woods here is Shagbark and 10% White Ash.

We were some of the first to see the effects of that purty little green bug so I'll be burning Ash for a long time.


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## zogger (Nov 25, 2014)

Here is how I process shagbark. First pic is big round on the ground, thin slabs taken off with anvil on a stick. Second shows the heartwood chunk left, restacked off the dirt, this gets left until final work. This is the A+1 primo wood around here, for cook wood or firewood bundles or polar vortex burning. Last shot is the stacked slabs, they can get layered on top of the mixed bag stacks to act like shingles, or resplit one more time to go into a grade B bulk cordwood pile to go out. Once I have all the big rounds slabbed, I come back and finish it with the fiskars and the stump and tire routine. I could do it all with the maul, but no need. Splits loads easier once debarked. The rounds were big enough I had to roll them into place, no carrying. Not huge diameter but this is some dense heavy wood. Smells wonderful. Once you get the slabs off with the bark, very little bugs at all ever go into the heartwood splits.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Nov 26, 2014)

Around here, every Shagbark Hickory I've worked up splits stringy to the point of full cycle splits and harder to stack because of that. I would not put it at the top of the list of favorite firewood even though the BTU's are great.

Bitternut Hickory is totally different.











Stuff splits great and I split 3 ft diameter rounds in half with 3 whacks by hand.






Not a lot of them around here but if I find a dead one or blow down, it is at the TOP of the list to get first.

Ever count the rings on any hickory? Seems like it is about 10 years to the inch.


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## sachsmo (Nov 27, 2014)

Ever count the rings on 'Ironwood' (American Hophornbeam)?


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## Marine5068 (Nov 27, 2014)

cheeves said:


> When I lived out in the hills of SE Ohio I would put the acorns in a plastic bag! Brought back some after they sprouted, and planted them here! They're super rare here on the coast having been used for handles and such over the years! Only ones left are over in the Town park named after one of my relatives!



Rare here too


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## Holtby (Nov 28, 2014)

zogger said:


> Fairly plentiful around here. Good wood, few days ago with the dang "omega block" arctic blast I burned some hickory knots in the evening and for overnight.
> 
> I find it dulls chains fast because of all the dirt under the bark (shagbark) and is medium hard to split but not that bad. About the only real negative I have with it is bugs love it!


I get lost of bug dust from hickory and hackberry is real bad for insect bored dust by the piles!!!!!


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## zogger (Nov 28, 2014)

Holtby said:


> I get lost of bug dust from hickory and hackberry is real bad for insect bored dust by the piles!!!!!



Ya. I have found getting the bark off with the outside slabbing, and getting them split and stacked "loose" like criss cross gets the least amount of bugs. I mean it's sweet juicy good tasting wood! HAHAHAHAHA! We love it for cooking the same way the bugs love it for eating! 

Good practice with your axe/maul or just use a power splitter carefully, slab that bark off, thin wood. Thin. It'll dry faster and also not have as much bugs then. It's not perfect, but it helps a lot.


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## TheLazyBFarm (Nov 28, 2014)

I just burned my first hickory in my new 30-NCH and it was quite different than the pine and poplar that I'm used to so far. Doesn't take off as fast as P/P but boy does it stay a while! Oh and coals the next morning!

I think I found a good combination for me and my climate/temp and stove!


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## farmer steve (Nov 28, 2014)

just split about a 1/2 cord of hickory today. it had been quartered and stacked about a year ago. the stuff split great despite the bug dust. it was bark falling off dry. this will be my cold weather stash.


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## zogger (Nov 28, 2014)

I only did two wheelbarrows of hickory slabs today, but it's stacked. It's nice to be able to get back to splitting and stacking anything with my elbow and back. As in finally I can get more! Looking better for the rest of the fall and winter.


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