Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[tnichols]

Looks like nice wood, what sort of burn time would you get out of a piece and what sort of heat does it put out?

Thanks. The oak and red elm burn long and hot. The cherry doesn’t have the BTU’s in it of the other two, but the smell is incredible.

 

[Logger nate]

Nate, happy to hear your Uncle is ok. My Uncle is a bit of a wild boy too, I worry about him sometimes. Nice buggy, looks like it's going to need some loving after that wreck.

Thanks Matt.

 

[Cody]

Thanks. The oak and red elm burn long and hot. The cherry doesn’t have the BTU’s in it of the other two, but the smell is incredible.

Red Elm coals up very nicely, and leaves just the finest powder as far as ash goes, love that stuff.

 

[Conquistador3]

So you mean I should not have Black Walnut trees on both sides of my garden ... it does just fine!

What, you mean nobody has offered a huge wand of cash for coming around, felling them and taking them away yet? Those trees are big money, everybody knows it!

 

[Buckshot00]

Finally got that twisted ash cut back enough to get my tahoe on the path. Just one load today as state was playing carolina.

 

[farmer steve]

thought it might be frozen enough to get to the woods. NOT!!! made it as far as this hickory and didn't want to tear things up to much. it has been down and cut for about a year.

 

[rarefish383]

thought it might be frozen enough to get to the woods. NOT!!! made it as far as this hickory and didn't want to tear things up to much. it has been down and cut for about a year.View attachment 628444 View attachment 628445

I can see on the ends of a couple pieces it was starting to spalt, starts to rot right after that, Joe.

 

[farmer steve]

I can see on the ends of a couple pieces it was starting to spalt, starts to rot right after that, Joe.

naw it's good hard stuff. this tree was damaged by the skidder when they were logging. went through the woods one day a couple of years later and it was laying over all splintered where the skidder hit it. one or two pieces might have a soft spot. now if it had been spruce......................

 

[dancan]

Well ,the honeydo list was long but done by lunch ,so ....

 

[dancan]

Well , if in doubt on the spruce , cut more , quantity over quality for the win !!!

Wisenheimers ....

 

[Ryan A]

I was able to sell my Husky 41 and managed to pick up this 268xp for $200. My first professional saw, no beauty queen but in good working order. Can't wait to do some cutting!

 

[dancan]

Load #1

And load #2

All sugar or rock maple and some birch , no spruce were harmed today
Headed back home , I heard a dark ale calling my name

 

[MustangMike]

My house is surrounded by Black Walnut trees, and Norway Maple! Thank goodness for the Red Squirrels, they are far more aggressive than the Grey Squirrels in eating those tough walnuts! We had a bumper crop last year.

I kinda like them, as the sun sets, they look kinda Caribbean, the leaves are thin and just look way different than Maple, etc.

At least 30 of em between my back lot, next door, and across the street. They are the most common tree in the vicinity.

 

[rarefish383]

naw it's good hard stuff. this tree was damaged by the skidder when they were logging. went through the woods one day a couple of years later and it was laying over all splintered where the skidder hit it. one or two pieces might have a soft spot. now if it had been spruce......................

Sorry Steve, didn't mean it was going bad. Hickory starts to spalt quick some times. I think of firewood in terms of a year. It looks good now, but if you waited till next year, it might not look so good. I might have milled some of that, I like spalted Hickory, Joe.

 

[MustangMike]

I'm looking to mill some Chestnut Oak in the Spring. What scares me is the diameter is pretty good, and the wood is very dead and very hard. I'm thinking a lot of dull chains fast!

Anyone ever do it?

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

Today's haul, and my first official scrounge (most of my fire wood in the past has come from helping friends or family remove unwanted trees). I managed to bring home 2 loads in my Tucson.

I picked this up at the sportsman's club at which I am a member. We did some range renovations 2+ years ago and this is just piled up on one of the ranges that we shut down (for safety reasons). I started the day with a brand new semi-chissle and had to sharpen it 3 times. It's the first time that I sharpened a chain, so maybe I just suck at it. More practice is needed. It didn't help that I hit a couple of well aged bullets while cutting - bullets that were 2"-3" into the wood, so they've been there for a while.

I don't know what kind of wood this is, but it is hard as all hell. Even with the oil turned all the way up, things were smoking. The end grain looks like oak. It does have a slight oak smell, but not the strong assertive [read as James Earl Jones] "I am oak" smell (perhaps because it's spent 2+ years seasoning ?? ). It splits like a dream. 1 or 2 good hits on a single wedge and the thing is in 2 pieces. Once it's cut down to axe size pieces, 1 medium power hit and it explodes apart.


I have 2 questions:
Does anyone know what kind of wood this is by looking at the pictures?
This wood has been sitting here for almost 3 years. How long will it take to be fireplace ready?

 

[rarefish383]

I'm looking to mill some Chestnut Oak in the Spring. What scares me is the diameter is pretty good, and the wood is very dead and very hard. I'm thinking a lot of dull chains fast!

Anyone ever do it?

Yep, I can get 3 maybe 4 slabs off a 24-30 inch Oak, 7 1/2 feet long, and have to put a couple strokes on each tooth. I'm using a 660 with 36" bar. I've got mostly Chestnut Oaks on my place. A 3" slab is HEAVY, Joe.

 

[woodchip rookie]

I don't know what kind of wood this is, but it is hard as all hell.

The only reason that wood gave you any issues is because you're using an ECHO

 

[Bobby Kirbos]

The only reason that wood gave you any issues is because you're using an ECHO

... here we go ...


Any trouble I had was related to the chain. The PH did its job perfectly fine. It's a 50cc saw and had plenty of power. The fresh chain was grabby and the clutch slipped out if I got into it too hard. Once I let the chain do the cutting, it just cranked along. Could I have used more saw, sure. I have a 70cc class saw in my 3 saw plan, but right now my CAD fund is depleted.

Until reading posts on this forum, I never had a well dialed in carb on my saw. Thanks to the knowledge gained here, I let the thing sit and idle for over 5 minutes and it didn't miss a beat.

 

[muddstopper]

I got to get over this tearing saws down and letting them set on the bench for months before putting them back together. I got a 55 thats been setting for almost a year. new bearings, seals, oem p/c, broke the ring putting it back together so just left it setting until I was ready to order some other parts. Meantime, buy a 272xp that needed a new piston and a muffler. Went to order a meteor piston and ring, out of stock, so there it set along side the 55. Finally got around to ordering the parts for both saws and picked them up today. Installed piston in the 272 and start to bolt on the muffler, uh, no bolts. OK, build the 55. Uh, where are the bolts for it. I think I gave them to svk when I gave him a old parted out 51, anyways cant find them. ( thats been a good while back). Looks like a trip to the saw shop Monday to see what kind of junk I can rob bolts out of. I hate to have to do that, I always endup bringing something else home to work on. Got a 346 setting in the corner waiting on some attention, but I think I will wait to tear it down until I have parts in hand to fix it with.