v8titan
ArboristSite Operative
Thats your sign......isnt it
I do have a can of that orange florescent paint.
Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)
- Thread starter mainewoods
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I do have a can of that orange florescent paint.
1project2many
ArboristSite Guru
Earlier this year I posted about getting wood from the lady that ran our kids' daycare. Well, she's since closed and we ended up scrambling to find someone else. A family friend offered for a very low fee, which is great, but it seems like she's spending more than she's getting paid by taking the kids out, buying 'em food, etc. None of what she does is required and I certainly don't want her to sour on watching the kids. When I found out they burn Pine for heat I walked around my property and scrounged up a trailer full of standing dead White Pine and a few small Poplar trees to bring out. The trailer is a 16' long car trailer with sides at 30" tall and I filled it to the top. We lost quite a few small pines to a needle fungus this summer so I'm even considering bringing another load out there.
Is it against club rules to scrounge your own property for firewood for someone else?
Is it against club rules to scrounge your own property for firewood for someone else?
That is nice of you, and by the way, my oldest daughter live in your State.
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
Heck no its not against the rules. Scrounging is scrounging.
Good on you for doing that!!!
MountainHigh
Selective Tree whacker
Did a little splitting today. Found my grandpa's old splitting wedge and gave it a go when the Fiskars was not succeeding in some large soggy aspen. Homemade from some piece of heavy equipment steel.
A good whack as the block is opening up and it would stand the wedge right in my stump/splitting block.
A good whack as the block is opening up and it would stand the wedge right in my stump/splitting block.
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
The lower few pieces of this tree were really stringy compared to the usual stuff I split.
No reason, I was experimenting and middle or side of rounds split with the same effort.
I like my wedges. Used to use them more, pre-Fiskars, and before I learned about noodling. But I still like the ring of the sledge occasionally.
They got kind of silly expensive in the past few years, so if you see some reasonably priced at a garage sale, pick them up.
Philbert
They got kind of silly expensive in the past few years, so if you see some reasonably priced at a garage sale, pick them up.
Philbert
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
Gotcha. That makes sense. Experimentation is good.
I have wedged and sledged since I was 5 or 6. My grandfather did everything that way and that was good enough for me. They still are in my arsenal.
I wish he he still around to cut him loose with a Fiskars to see how much his productivity would of went up. Maybe, maybe not. The ting, ting, ting, crack, was more his style though.
I guess I couldn't really see see him going the batsh!t animalistic for some pieces that I see my neighbor just starts backing away from me when I am in negotiations with a big round that gives a hint of being split.
Same here.
My 3 step splitting process:
1) Fiskars
2) Wedges & 16 lb hammer
3) Noodle (sometimes I skip step 2)
Each method has it's place.
Recently had to replace a mushroomed wedge, they were not cheap, and the HD only had 2 in the store (one of each style). Things have changed. Usually, if I'm using a wedge, you need more than one.
Up at my property where the logging ensures the trunks are never over 20" and the firewood is often straight grained trunk (mostly Ash), I never need anything but the Fiskars.
1) Fiskars
2) Wedges & 16 lb hammer
3) Noodle (sometimes I skip step 2)
Each method has it's place.
Recently had to replace a mushroomed wedge, they were not cheap, and the HD only had 2 in the store (one of each style). Things have changed. Usually, if I'm using a wedge, you need more than one.
Up at my property where the logging ensures the trunks are never over 20" and the firewood is often straight grained trunk (mostly Ash), I never need anything but the Fiskars.
I bought a pair of wedges at a garage sale that were in pretty good shape aside from some heavy mushrooming at the top. Found it easier to cut off the mushroomed edges with an abrasive wheel in an angle grinder before dressing them with a bench grinder.
I think that a lot of them just get thrown into the scrap pile because people don't know what they are.
Two wedges are a minimum, because one is likely to get stuck in really gnarly wood. I have stuck up to 3!
Philbert
I have often used 3 and like to have 4 on hand. Noodling makes a mess, but goes faster.
My old saw jams up quickly with noodles. Need to make a noodling side cover.
mainewoods
Addicted to ArboristSite
One advantage to cutting your own woodlot is you can pick the size wood you cut. I haven't had to use a wedge for several years now, and I sure don't miss them. Using an axe and a splitting maul to process 7 cord a year gives me plenty enough exercise. Four footing in the woods has been a way of life to me for many years. Hauling out tree length and logs changed my way of thinking real fast. Scrounging wood ain't for sissy's, you fellers earn every stick.
mainewoods
Addicted to ArboristSite
A mechanical splitter wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit either!
I've got over 5 cords in rounds on the ground right now. I have to split another 4.5 cords by hand to reach my goal of 20 cords hand split for 14' then everything else I cut is getting split by my buddy's hydro that I am borrowing from next week through spring.
It's good exercise and fun with smaller stuff but becomes work when the rounds are bigger and the piles of rounds start to back up.
It's good exercise and fun with smaller stuff but becomes work when the rounds are bigger and the piles of rounds start to back up.
1project2many
ArboristSite Guru
I once made the mistake of using a torch to remove the mushroom then grinding the edges smooth. For about two weeks after that, sharp pieces of steel would break off and wedge themselves into anything nearby, including my leg on one occassion. Ouch! I'm going to use the cutoff wheel on my three wedges for trimming and grind them with a "soft" grinding pad afterward. I carry three wedges now after tangling with green Elm.
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