Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Cowboy254]

I hear you re. twisted grain ash!
View attachment 615386

I've yet to find an easy bit of Ash. I have fond ow easy Oak can be, that made me feel much better

I've yet to find a difficult piece of ash but of course we're not talking about the same stuff. Alpine ash here is so easy half the time you toss a dry round and it splits itself when it hits the ground.

So, Neil. I guess we're not talking about the cricket at the moment?

I got out and scrounged this morning, pics coming later.

 

[LondonNeil]

No that's Ashes, we are only talking about the one.

 

[muddstopper]

I hear you re. twisted grain ash!
View attachment 615386

I've yet to find an easy bit of Ash. I have fond ow easy Oak can be, that made me feel much better

That wouldnt even slow my splitter down, and I wouldnt break a sweat. Fiskers, Wiskers, fufu

 

[95custmz]

I hear you re. twisted grain ash!
View attachment 615386

I've yet to find an easy bit of Ash. I have fond ow easy Oak can be, that made me feel much better

I've heard that Ash that grows in the open or at a fence row will have twisted grain and can be a bear to split. But if you find some Ash deep in the woods where the wind puts less stress on the tree, it splits like butter.

 

[chipper1]

Is the x27 that much better? that depends how good your maul is for you. You probably know but I'll remind you, it works very very well at splitting, it rarely sticks (unlike a lot of mauls, if yours sticks then the x27 is worth trying), its fairly light so you can go for extended sessions and its handle, despite being ployamide, is comfy and deosn't beat you up. I've never regretted getting mine (just over £40 over here).

get some lights to split by? or a head torch? just be a bit more careful you don't trip on stuff.

I find the x27 sticks often, it's the biggest downfall for me. I still really like it though, especially when splitting black locust as it splits best when you hit the exact same spot every time(usually only twice on black locust), and that's made much easier with the fiscars. Now splitting twisted ash is just no fun at all, it's the only thing that I've had stop a hydro splitter , then getting it off the wedge .
I'm now splitting a few pieces of wood every day, ash is the wood of choice for now, but plenty of other species when that is finished.

It's never too cold or snowy to chop wood. That's when I do most of my splitting, just to get some exercise in the winter.

I like the cold myself, but there are many days in a normal winter I want nothing to do with being outside. Unfortunately it seems like something always comes up and I end up working on something out in the cold .

 

[bigfellascott]

I scrounge some decent wood of the side of the roads around my area as well as having access to a few properties - I’m always looking for wood on the sides of the road when out driving if I spot something worthwhile the chainsaw comes out ASAP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[turnkey4099]

It's never too cold or snowy to chop wood. That's when I do most of my splitting, just to get some exercise in the winter.

Same here. Already started and have split/stacked 1 cord manually. Try to put in a couple hours each day. About 5-6 cords of rounds waiting. Tough splitting stuff (knots/crotches) pile is growing and waiting for a session with the hydraulic splitter.

 

[James Miller]

I may have posted these before but this was my best scrounge ever. Since its been all guns and dead corn eaters thought I'd post something off topic for the month.we got 7 6x12 dump trailer loads out of this pile mostly ash and walnut.I couldn't give these walnut logs away so they got the firewood treatment to.The 590 was getting the spa treatment at the time so I needed some loaner saws. One of Steve's 036s on the left and a good friends rode hard put away wet 359.

 

[JustJeff]

The same can be said of just about any tree. Yard and fence line, bush edge trees tend to branch more and twist as well. Where a forest tree tends to stretch skyward and not branch as much. Unfortunately for Jeff, the free stuff sometimes looks like Neil’s pics!
That’s why right between the rounds pile and the splitter, there are a couple large rounds wedged side by side. Makes a handy spot to set a stubborn round for noodling at waist height.

 

[woodchip rookie]

You don't get sweaty running a saw? I get sweaty running mine all the time. I strip down to a t shirt in 10* when working and then quickly get the shirt and jacket back on when I'm drinking beer admiring my piles...

It's different. For some reason I can pace myself with a saw. When I split go full power full speed then I'm soaked. Brain malfunction or something.

 

[rarefish383]

I would guess my longest shot on a deer was 300yrds, but heck it was dark and I only had a flashlite, any farther and I couldnt have seen it.

You need a "Magnum" flashlite!

 

[muddstopper]

You need a "Magnum" flashlite!

That would of done it. As it was, I only had one of those mini maglites and all I could see where two little green eyes. Tuff shot, but I have plenty of experience shooting with a flashlite

 

[nomad_archer]

That would of done it. As it was, I only had one of those mini maglites and all I could see where two little green eyes. Tuff shot, but I have plenty of experience shooting with a flashlite

Does that mini mag qualify as a short mag or a super short mag?

 

[svk]

I've heard that Ash that grows in the open or at a fence row will have twisted grain and can be a bear to split. But if you find some Ash deep in the woods where the wind puts less stress on the tree, it splits like butter.

Yup, normally.

I've had to process a lot of smaller ones that grew along the shore at the cabin and eventually fall into the lake as they grow outward to get sun and the shore side roots eventually fail. They often have twisted grain in their trunks.

 

[flatbroke]

Found this decent sized oak tree whilst deer hunting in the sierras. Hunting sucked so my father in law and I cut her up. (Well I did) but it made him feel good to get out and try and help.

 

[flatbroke]

After I cut that tree up above and hauled it off I notice another huge oak. Mostly straight trunk too. I can hardly straddle the trunk. I am not set up with a whinch and need to figure out away to section and drag this sum itch out. Can't back up to it because there are bushes that have long sharp thorns that will poke a hole in a tire. I don't know what's it called. Never seen it before.

These above are the branches and they are pretty long.


This here is the trunk and I'm straddling the trunk in the photo. Don't think I'd be able to sit on it if it were much wider. It's got to be 30-40 feet long.


Here is that dang gum thorn bush.
This has to be the tallest, straightest and largest oak tree combo I've come across. I usually have to mess with a bunch of limbs and twisted up branches where I live.

 

[LondonNeil]

The same can be said of just about any tree. Yard and fence line, bush edge trees tend to branch more and twist as well. Where a forest tree tends to stretch skyward and not branch as much. Unfortunately for Jeff, the free stuff sometimes looks like Neil’s pics!
That’s why right between the rounds pile and the splitter, there are a couple large rounds wedged side by side. Makes a handy spot to set a stubborn round for noodling at waist height.

Noodling nsty Ash is the way forward. Unfortunately mine was that well know Ash sub species....wire ash. Still got a couple of rounds to deal with.

 

[svk]

Noodling nsty Ash is the way forward. Unfortunately mine was that well know Ash sub species....wire ash. Still got a couple of rounds to deal with.

View attachment 615515

That would make great spun bowls and gun stocks!

 

[Cowboy254]

Couldn't post anything last night. We've been getting thunderstorms almost every night for two weeks which plays havoc with the interwebs at our place. It's been pretty humid which makes scrounging sweaty work as well, was 30*C yesterday when I was cutting and humid as. Erk. It's all coming to a head in the next couple of days with 50+mm rain tomorrow then up to 200mm (8 inches) on Saturday . Better go check the stormwater drains I suppose. Anyway, I did get out yesterday. I did it a little differently, put two horizontal cuts in first then the bucking cut from either side then the vertical noodle and the blocks fell off which all took a lot less time than trying to manhandle half the round.



It's hard to see under the noodles but I hadn't been cutting all the way through previously as I didn't want to risk getting the saw stuck under the big log cutting through, there's the bottom few inches of log extending 8ft or so from where I was working. As I went, I started piling blocks on it to keep it down in case the stump decided to try to stand up with me working on it.



The stump makes Limby look pretty small.



After taking 3 2/3 rounds off, noodled into 8 I took the blocks off the end and had a look - aha, it is starting to lift a fraction and I could cut through without getting stuck or cutting dirt.



So I cut the platform I was standing on and the bottom third of today's rounds off as well.

 

[Cowboy254]

Loaded up



Coupla bits in the back to keep the boys company



Not much left of the tree now, I've taken 6 loads out of it now plus stuff in the Subaru = a bit better than 2 cord all up. Under the noodle pile is the slab I was referring to.



It's pretty rough as it was only there as I wasn't game to cut through the log (bucking cuts were closing up) and didn't have any plans for it but I took it as is. I might be able to tidy part or all of it up to make something from it, or failing that, it'll still burn. Manna gum is not really the timber worker's wood of choice as it honeycombs and checks badly but we'll see how we go.



Back home and unloaded. Once I get all this stuff down to stove size I'll stack it along and on top of the retaining wall in front of the shed.