Big-leaf Maple [Pacific Maple] firewood

[Dan Dill]

Well guys, I have been cutting and using some of this wood, but was wondering what the rest of you thought of it? The pieces being used for firewood are not the quality I would consider for lumber.

 

[rbtree]

good wood...about the same heat value as douglas fir.

 

[Dan Dill]

good wood...about the same heat value as douglas fir.

Well I keep away from D-fir most of the time except for kindling, but the maple seems to be slow and mellow to burn. Oldgrowth D-fir is great.

 

[mga]

i just cut down a huge silver maple. most of it has been split and stacked, but i got so damn tired of cutting and splitting the wood i dragged the huge 36" base pieces out to the curb.

 

[njtuna]

there was an article in the paper here last week about people poaching big-leaf maple for only pieces of the wood. it's used in making fancy guitars and fetches top dollar. the rangers can't keep up on the parkland, and not all the maples have the fancy wood with knots and curls. chunks of the tree are taken and the trees killed just to see if it is what they want. they said they are losing hundreds of the trees per year (400-500 that they know of last year). there are people licensed to take them also.

 

[Dan Dill]

most of ours are left for wildlife, but some get cut down because they are i nthe way of our operations in the woods. Most are straight without figure, but some are amazing. Those are not made into firewood....hell they split like crap when quilted or bird's-eye anyway.

 

[Cedarkerf]

Grows all over around here. I like to mix it with fir burns a little cleaner than just fir. Technically in Washington you need a permit from the state to transport it and cedar.

 

[Dan Dill]

Grows all over around here. I like to mix it with fir burns a little cleaner than just fir. Technically in Washington you need a permit from the state to transport it and cedar.

Why is the permit needed for transfer?

 

[Cedarkerf]

Used to be a real problem with cedar pirates and I am guessing a lot of maples have disappeared for musical instruments. most people don't know about it but once in a while a cop will get a burr in his britches and write a ticket can be very costly.

 

[Dan Dill]

Used to be a real problem with cedar pirates and I am guessing a lot of maples have disappeared for musical instruments. most people don't know about it but once in a while a cop will get a burr in his britches and write a ticket can be very costly.

Around here it is burl and curly wood redwood old-growth pirates. We have a problem right now with it that we will have solved shortly.

 

[njtuna]

it's a shame that this stuff happens

 

[Blue Oaks]

Old Thread Re-Activation Alert!!!

I've picked up a couple pickup loads of Big Leaf Maple from up the road in the Santa Cruz Mtns. So far it splits easily. I guess next winter I'll see for myself how it burns. I try to stick to oaks, but sometimes I like to scrounge! I have Blue Oak, Live Oak, Madrone, Cedar, Almond, and now some Maple sitting in my split wood piles.