Firewood: So is everyone set for winter?

[Gark]

Sure would be great to get as much fuelwood as you folks do. From a measly 5 (full) cords a year, about 2 cords are brought to a neighbor who is slowing down with age but still loves to burn. Have 4 cords ready for the stove now, but half of it's siberian elm. Keeping the oak for the coldest winter days. Any ideas where I can find more (free) firewood? Have a pile of mixed mullberry and hickory yet to haul/split, but then no more sources....

 

[Gatsby174]

I have two chord split/stacked in the shed and one more to go. That should heat my house for the whole winter without turning the furnace on at all. I just wish I didn't have to start coaching on Monday, getting that last chord split/stacked just got a whole lot harder! grrrr, should have started earlier.
JC

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Well, if you can manage to come get it, I can fix you up with a few truckloads of mostly oak, a bit of poplar, and some hickory now and then.

Log ends from a log processing place. He takes the raw logs from construction companies (clearing land) and cuts, culls, and grades them. I get all the log ends I can haul. Ends and crotches.

Very frustrating - I could take out several 5 ton truck loads and not make a dent. Free! All I've got is a little Nissan pickup! :bang:

 

[Gark]

Hey Mark
Sounds like you've found a firewood goldmine, enough to keep that Fisher blazing. KY is a bit far to haul wood, but thanks for the offer! The big Fisher stoves are inneficient and obsolete, OK, but we love ours. Sittin' here roasting in its warmth right now. Enjoy!

 

[WoodTick007]

:jawdrop:

I never heard of a splitter with a 4 second cycle time! That's impressive!

Most of the time the splitter does not require a full cycle to split wood..... more often than not, the log splits within 2-4 inches after contact.

 

[WoodTick007]

Problem is, how much wood would you be splitting in the hospital cause your arteries are plugged??? We'd get a full 3 week jump on you bro. I don't think anyone does it just to accomplish more or less. It's something you grow to love. Part of being outdoors. I'd rather split and cut wood probably more than anything else in this world, my wife being the exception there, lol. :biggrinbounce2:

Well Mr. Man......

Although I enjoy cutting/splitting wood it is a "CHORE". At 44 years old and my brother 50....we cut, split, haul and stack almost 45 face cords a year. I am very gratefull to have a splitter and will continue to operate it without any heath concerns...... but thanks for bringing it to my attention. :deadhorse:

 

[woodfarmer]

ok ciscoguy

you at 20 and the old cousin 57 if my math is right, cut split and stacked 20 cord by hand,in one day, thats two log trucks of logs, come on, i kinda doubt it

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Look at it this way...

The original question was "is everyone set for Winter" with firewood for themselves. Yes, I am set and sold some on the side as I've been doing for years now. I look at it this way-I'm THANKFUL to the Big Boss upstairs that at 46 I can do firewood without any big health problems and be able to enjoy all of the positive aspects of it. As long as you've taken care of yourself and maybe a close friend or relative you're "set"; there is ALWAYS going to be someone that has cut more wood than you! Be happy with what you've got!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Hey Mark
Sounds like you've found a firewood goldmine,

Yeah, it's the motherlode! If I had a hydraulic splitter and a bigger truck, I'd sell a bit. Actually, if I had a bigger truck, I'd go ahead and buy the splitter and have it paid for in no time. I can get $250 a cord from the yuppies in the area where I work, so just deliver after work. It's $150 a cord where I live.

But my little Nissan just isn't going to haul enough at one time to make it pay.

KY is a bit far to haul wood, but thanks for the offer!

Yeah, that'd be some expensive firewood!

The big Fisher stoves are inneficient and obsolete, OK, but we love ours. Sittin' here roasting in its warmth right now. Enjoy!

Yeah, it's a beast, but it does the job.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Question for Blue Ridge Mark...

Hi guy-have you tried any of your Black Locust yet, or are you saving it for the colder weather-just curious as to how you liked it!

 

[ciscoguy01]

Nothing meant

Well Mr. Man......

Although I enjoy cutting/splitting wood it is a "CHORE". At 44 years old and my brother 50....we cut, split, haul and stack almost 45 face cords a year. I am very gratefull to have a splitter and will continue to operate it without any heath concerns...... but thanks for bringing it to my attention. :deadhorse:

I was just saying it's good exercise that can benefit your health, that's all. My cousin, at 68yrs old still cuts and splits with a maul around 40-50 cords of wood every year. He says that's why he's so healthy is because he still does it. I didn't mean to offend you, just saying its great exercise guy, and it will benefit you in the long run...

 

[ciscoguy01]

Face cords

you at 20 and the old cousin 57 if my math is right, cut split and stacked 20 cord by hand,in one day, thats two log trucks of logs, come on, i kinda doubt it

2 dumptrucks, 2 8' bed pickup loads/day. Not ranked. The dump holds around 6 or 7 face cord, the pickup holds about 2.5 - 3 with the racks on the side. Thats what we did. Matter of fact, I've got a couple cousins my age that used to go in with him, they couldn't do it so they stopped working for him. That was back in '92 or so. He'da been about 54 - 55 then, me about 19 - 20. He'd do about 90% of the cutting, I'd do about 90% of the splitting and loading. At that time I was a steel worker by night and worked in the woods during the day before i went in. I think back now, at 33, and wonder how in the he11 we did it myself...

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Hi guy-have you tried any of your Black Locust yet, or are you saving it for the colder weather-just curious as to how you liked it!

Tried it yet? I haven't split it yet! I'm waaaaay behind.


It's been stacked uncut, and should be good to go once I split it. I hope. It's looking pretty good. Splitting will be another matter, I hear!

I'm using a poor man's solar oven to shorten drying time. Stack on pallet, wrap with clear plastic, top with clear plastic, leaving room for ventilation out the top. The wood is stacked higher in the middle. A 2x4 on the top of the stack that sticks out both sides about 2 feet. My top sheet of plastic goes over that, and overhangs the sides. Kind of like having eaves on a roof. So air can go in the bottom via the pallet, up through the stack, and out the stack just under the eaves. With sun on the stack, the plastic acts like a greenhouse and heats things up. Air flows, drying happens, and I hope it will be enough!

I'm actually haulling about twice the wood I need, though, because about half the stuff I'm getting is dry, so I just split it and sort it into dry and green. The green stuff will go for next year.

 

[WoodTick007]

I was just saying it's good exercise that can benefit your health, that's all. My cousin, at 68yrs old still cuts and splits with a maul around 40-50 cords of wood every year. He says that's why he's so healthy is because he still does it. I didn't mean to offend you, just saying its great exercise guy, and it will benefit you in the long run...

In the prime form of Ben Walker..... I am gonna call BS on this one....

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Tried it yet? I haven't split it yet! I'm waaaaay behind.

Well, as long as you're set for the Winter you're okay. But I'm telling ya, split some of that Black Locust and dry it out for the coldest weather you get and you'll be pleased with how well it heats!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

In the prime form of Ben Walker..... I am gonna call BS on this one....

I met a guy who's about 70 who splits his own by hand. He fills out a beefy T-shirt like a lot of 25 year old kids wish they did. I wouldn't want to tangle with him - he's rock solid.

 

[Gologit]

Finished with the firewood? Never quite happens. This year's is finished...ten cords (actual cords) of oak and five cords of cedar. My logs for next years's firewood came in this week and I'll start on them when our work slows down for the winter. Between logging and the ranch I have no time for firewood from about Easter 'til Thanksgiving. I do all my cutting and splitting in the winter when we're weathered out of the woods. I stay a year ahead on the firewood. Or try to. About February or March I"ll be able to tell if I'll have enough left over to sell some. Firewood for sale is in short supply then and the price goes up accordingly. Sure is a good feeling though to look out at the wood shed and see it full. Woods in, hays in,Bring on the winter!

 

[ciscoguy01]

ummmm, yea

In the prime form of Ben Walker..... I am gonna call BS on this one....

City boys always make me laugh, lmao...

 

[woodfarmer]

boboak

what do you mean by "weathered out of the woods", snow or rain?

 

[Gologit]

what do you mean by "weathered out of the woods", snow or rain?[/QUOTE

Could be either one. California has some of the most restrictive THPs in the country when it comes to bad weather. Anything that could possibly cause erosion or stream siltation is cause for a shut-down. Also, snow or rain can make transporting the logs out of the woods impossible with the terrain we deal with. We'll go at it as long as we can but eventually the weather gets us and its time for a little vacation.