Ideas for finding free or cheap firewood?

[Coldfront]

I think what a lot of people don't understand is in Illinois there is not much forest and mainly private property, there are a lot of trees but mostly on private property. Try to make friends with some farmers if possible. And as far as a plate book your county court house usually has them and they are mostly put out by the 4H club, they show all the public and private land and the land owners name.

 

[bayshorecs]

I think what a lot of people don't understand is in Illinois there is not much forest and mainly private property, there are a lot of trees but mostly on private property. Try to make friends with some farmers if possible. And as far as a plate book your county court house usually has them and they are mostly put out by the 4H club, they show all the public and private land and the land owners name.

Correct. We don't have "forests", we have "woods". And the "woods" is mostly just a low drainage area of a field or along a stream. It is ALL owned by someone. Any decent tracts of timber are usually owned by the farmer who has a field next to it.

You really don't have too many options.

1. Buy it
2. Wind blown neighborhood damage (CL postings)
3. Friends/family with timber ground
4. Find it along the road from lineman
5. Local town compost dumps
6. Make good friends with tree removers to drop off a load

Getting a state permit is a waste of time and money. There just isn't much state owned ground around here especially with any timber on it.

Having the right connections is where it is at.

 

[smokinj]

Correct. We don't have "forests", we have "woods". And the "woods" is mostly just a low drainage area of a field or along a stream. It is ALL owned by someone. Any decent tracts of timber are usually owned by the farmer who has a field next to it.

You really don't have too many options.

1. Buy it
2. Wind blown neighborhood damage (CL postings)
3. Friends/family with timber ground
4. Find it along the road from lineman
5. Local town compost dumps
6. Make good friends with tree removers to drop off a load

Getting a state permit is a waste of time and money. There just isn't much state owned ground around here especially with any timber on it.

Having the right connections is where it is at.

by keeping all that in mind you will have more wood than you can burn in 10 years!!!!!! Well said thats what i do. now I have more wood than i can cut for atleast the next 3-4 mos. and 20 cords splitt and piled!

 

[aandabooks]

I think what a lot of people don't understand is in Illinois there is not much forest and mainly private property, there are a lot of trees but mostly on private property. Try to make friends with some farmers if possible. And as far as a plate book your county court house usually has them and they are mostly put out by the 4H club, they show all the public and private land and the land owners name.

If I remember the statistic correctly, between 93-95% of land in Illinois is in either private hands or municipalities. The only sizable tract of national forest ground is Shawnee at the southern end of the state.

 

[herrick]

5. Local town compost dumps

That's a good one I haven't thought of... I actually work with the mayor too... I'll have to go have a chat with him. The city has a once a month collection for tree limbs, and they usually just burn it at the water plant every so often. If I can get acess, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to not have to mess with it.

 

[bayshorecs]

That's a good one I haven't thought of... I actually work with the mayor too... I'll have to go have a chat with him. The city has a once a month collection for tree limbs, and they usually just burn it at the water plant every so often. If I can get acess, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to not have to mess with it.

Sounds like you found your "friend"! In my town, the "dump" is open during daytime hours for people in town to use. I used to go there for campfire wood but haven't been there for awhile now.

I remember one time going there and seeing a ton (10 cord) of trees piled up. I was planning to go back the next evening and get all I could (see where this is going....). On the way home the next day, I saw a huge smoke cloud coming into town. Guess what, they burned it off! :jawdrop:

When you scrounge for wood, take it when you see it! It will be gone by the time you make plans to go back and get it!

 

[avalancher]

I have found the best way to score major wood piles is to find a good logging crew working, a deed far easier than you would expect.
I hang out at our local sawmill anytime I am running low on wood. Watch for the trucks coming in and talk to the drivers. I even shoveled sawdust under the mill just for the excuse to hang out. But on the plus side, I have never gone home empty handed.
I talk to the drivers, and if they got something for me, I follow them back to the site where they are logging. The driver has already supplied me with the name of the crew's boss man, so its a simple matter of walking up and asking permission.
Last summer the boss man was plumb glad to see me, he had a stack of culls that he wanted gone, they were in the way. i would drive up with my 16ft trailer and stand in line with the logging trucks. When my turn came up to pull up under the knuckleboom, he swung the loader around and pulled from the cull stack and loaded me right up.Never broke a sweat.
If they arent any culls around, you will always find cut offs by the loader, and many times they will load you up to get you out of there and out of their way.
As far as cutting tops, I have found that many are willing to let you cut, but they want you to do your cutting after they are finished for the day or on the weekends when they arent working.
A case of cold ones go a long way in persuading them to let you load up.
Just my two cents worth.

 

[Ductape]

I even shoveled sawdust under the mill just for the excuse to hang out.

You are one dedicated wood scrounge!

 

[avalancher]

You are one dedicated wood scrounge!

Naw, not dedicated.Had to do something. I looked a little out of place just standing around! Made me blend right in!

 

[KMB]

I have found the best way to score major wood piles is to find a good logging crew working, a deed far easier than you would expect.
I hang out at our local sawmill anytime I am running low on wood. Watch for the trucks coming in and talk to the drivers. I even shoveled sawdust under the mill just for the excuse to hang out. But on the plus side, I have never gone home empty handed.
I talk to the drivers, and if they got something for me, I follow them back to the site where they are logging. The driver has already supplied me with the name of the crew's boss man, so its a simple matter of walking up and asking permission.

I work from home and I see many log trucks going by. Sometimes I'm tempted to jump in my truck and follow them. I can sometimes here logging equipment in the woods on a still day. Quite a bit of logging going on around here, but I've been to busy to do some serious investigating. I'll have to fix that soon.

Kevin

 

[boostnut]

Sounds like the mayor is your best shot. You're right, you either get lucky or gotta know somebody around here. I made a connection with one of the area townships and now whenever they're cutting anything that doesnt go thru their chipper they call and I head out. You may want to call some of the small tree services our area, I've had some luck that way in the past. Also, if you know anyone in the excavation business I'd talk with them too. Good luck.

 

[BriGuy89]

Easiest is what you can see close to home. For example, last night at 10 PM, I heard a very large crash from somewhere out back of my property. Turns out with all the ice we had in my area, that the Y-notch about half way up on a 65-foot red oak split and then the base trunk practically exploded less than a foot from ground level. Thankfully for my neighbor, the tree fell straight back over the grass, and the only loss is a child's disc swing that was attached to one of the higher branches. The tree could've just as easily fallen the other way and completely demolished the house. Now the neighbor and I have a new project for the next few weekends -- cutting up the monster and stacking the pieces in my yard. (My neighbor doesn't have a fireplace or stove.)

Another good score/source for me has been following my ears when I hear some bigger saw work going on. When local tree companies have been doing take-down work in my neighborhood, and the wood is worth going after, I simply stop by and ask the crew if the wood is spoken for. Most times it's not, and I then have the crew simply dump it in my yard on their way their home "office" after the job is complete.

 

[powerstroke73L]

I've found that letters work well. My commute to work winds through rural New Jersey and there are plenty of homes on large (3+ acres) wooded lots with downed wood just sitting there. I just look at the number on the mailbox and fire off a letter to "Head of Household" stating the following:

Dear Sir or Madame,

My name is __________ and I pass by your property everyday on my commute to work and I notice that you have some downed trees on your property. I would happy to remove this wood free of charge for my own personal use as I heat my home exclusively with wood. Please contact me via phone or e-mail ____________ and let me know if you would be interested in having the trees removed.

Sincerely,

__________

My latest letter got me a 5 acre lot with poplar, oak, and locust that the owner had cut last year to open up the canopy a bit. I just show up once in a while and buck the logs into lengths or rounds and take 'em away.

 

[046]

don't know if this is already posted.... but a surefire free source is Craigslist. look under free...

if you have a honking (2x 7k axles) trailer and truck to pull.
hook up with local tree companies with cranes.

these folks have large wood constantly that need disposal.
they will have large handling equipment to load on to your trailer.

 

[Hosted]

Check with some local farmers. We farm around 2000 acres here in Indiana and we cut more than enough for 3 of us to burn all year long and give away countless numbers of cords. We have probably 10-15 trees on the ground right now that we are having a hard time giving them away. Don't know what it's like in your parts, but most farmers are always looking to get rid of some trees that have fallen in the fields.

My neighbor cuts wood full time and he follows logging companies around and gets permission to cut up the tops. He has been doing that for at least 10 years that I know of.