Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[chipper1]

Re the Fuzzy stuff - - ya it's dried moss on that maple. Fall, Winter and Spring in our temperate rain forest makes the stuff grow like crazy over any log and tree. We always cover the wood on palettes as any rain and the moss comes right back to life. August dries it right out completely. Doesn't affect the wood. Actually also makes a nice fire starter.

I burn about 6 cords a year and try to cut another 8+ for neighbours, but this year I only manged to get the time to cut 6 cords. Will have to get serious about scrounging more this next season.

That's a nice pile you've got there

I can imagine it is pretty wet over there seeing all that moss.
6 cord is not to many for being that far north, long heating season up there, I only burn 3.5-4 and I heat about 98% with wood and the other 2 \% with wood pellets when it's very cold or in the shoulder season.

Thanks. That's some random rounds, I have a big pile of rounds and another big pile of splits as well as a smaller pile of splits.
I'm looking forward to splitting some locust this fall and putting it right in the wood shed .
The big split pile is in the background,

hauled another load of rounds today too.

 

[chipper1]

I want wanna them....

I want a ported 395 too .

 

[MountainHigh]

I can imagine it is pretty wet over there seeing all that moss.6 cord is not to many for being that far north, long heating season up there, I only burn 3.5-4 and I heat about 98% with wood and the other 2 \% with wood pellets when it's very cold or in the shoulder season.

Thanks. That's some random rounds, I have a big pile of rounds and another big pile of splits as well as a smaller pile of splits.I'm looking forward to splitting some locust this fall and putting it right in the wood shed . The big split pile is in the background,
View attachment 670475
hauled another load of rounds today too.
View attachment 670479

If I leave a nice big pile like you have on the ground during spring rains, even if tarped, the wood on the bottom sucks up moisture and starts to get punky in a couple of months.

Some showers are expected end of this week. Been VERY dry here for 2 months so we're doing rain dances looking forward to dousing the 600 fires across the province.

Locust we don't have here. Hardest wood we get is Maple that might also be why I burn a little more wood in winter.

My 2500 sq.ft home is pretty tight and well insulated - 6 cords a year is during a bad winter. I've also got by with 4 cords during mild winters if I have lots of maple around. Birch, fir and alder are the other woods we get. Pretty soft compared to what you have in eastern North America.

Looks like a nice piece of property you have there!

 

[James Miller]

Nice load James.
Removing the chain catch does help a lot on the 7910's.
Are you laying the saw flat across the round, if so it helps to tip it slightly so the noodles are a little shorter, the key is to take your time so it doesn't get jammed up. Many of the old front tensioner saws cleared chips/noodles much better than the new ones.

I guess I'm just used to the 590 clearing noodles like it doesnt care. I'll try the angle thing next time.

 

[MustangMike]

Installed this work bench at my Step Son's today. It is the first project I've done with my milled wood, and it is Black Oak. That is some tough stuff!

Came out well, everyone was happy. I just love the live edge and "rough cut". Just touched it lightly with a belt sander to ensure there were no splinters.

We spaced the brackets so he can store 3 garbage cans underneath. Never enough room down in Westchester!

 

[dancan]

Well let me know when that day comes.
That was the vibe I got from the post.

That's the ones I like for some reason .
So last night when I was scrounging the polesaw up the guy gave me this when I was scrounging around his garage, can you believe that right after we were talking about it, just never know when your gonna get the hookup. Praise God .
View attachment 670440

So ,,, looks like you watch the fireplace channel in the summer ?

 

[Deleted member 149229]

Installed this work bench at my Step Son's today. It is the first project I've done with my milled wood, and it is Black Oak. That is some tough stuff!

Came out well, everyone was happy. I just love the live edge and "rough cut". Just touched it lightly with a belt sander to ensure there were no splinters.

We spaced the brackets so he can store 3 garbage cans underneath. Never enough room down in Westchester!

WORKBENCH! That thing should be in the formal dining room.

 

[MountainHigh]

WORKBENCH! That thing should be in the formal dining room.

Exactly! With a little more sanding and finishing, that wood is ideal for a beautiful dining room table. Nice work Mike. If I was closer to your area I'd be hounding you for some of those slabs

 

[svk]

I’m going to be doing a new office soon. Thinking it’s time to slab out those big pines that blew down behind my cabin. Really want a couple live edge tables.

 

[chipper1]

If I leave a nice big pile like you have on the ground during spring rains, even if tarped, the wood on the bottom sucks up moisture and starts to get punky in a couple of months.

Some showers are expected end of this week. Been VERY dry here for 2 months so we're doing rain dances looking forward to dousing the 600 fires across the province.

Locust we don't have here. Hardest wood we get is Maple that might also be why I burn a little more wood in winter.

My 2500 sq.ft home is pretty tight and well insulated - 6 cords a year is during a bad winter. I've also got by with 4 cords during mild winters if I have lots of maple around. Birch, fir and alder are the other woods we get. Pretty soft compared to what you have in eastern North America.

Looks like a nice piece of property you have there!

Some of the stuff on the bottom of the round pile I've been loading from was a bit punky, but it went in the pile wet and a little rotten as it was. I try to use the more rot resistant wood on the bottom to keep from wicking up the moisture. I also found that if you are using dead standing wood it will stay pretty dry as it was, but when you put green on the ground it just stays wet. Another benefit here is we are on the top 3/4 of a river valley so it's either gravel, sand and then a few small pockets of clay, I have one fly spot on the 2.6 acres here which I dug thru and installed a "French drain" of gravel that keeps it dry.

Hopefully you get rain soon, it's looked pretty bad up there for a while now.

Locust is pretty awesome wood, very hard and rot resistant. Many consider it a weed because it can be quite invasive, but to a firewooder it's a dream come true to have it on your property. I cleared a spot for a pole building(the picture of the big pile looks across it, hope to build soon) and took out a bunch of nice locust, but I usually only take out the dead standing ones and all the other wood I get comes from other properties or tree jobs.

Our place is a doublewide on a full basement, we don't heat the basement, it doesn't have good insulation in the ceiling as it's a cathedral . It's 1850sq ft main level and is a nice open floorpan except the master bedroom which is about 5 degrees f cooler which we like.
I would probably burn 6 cord with those woods, I burn all hardwood, but some of them are pretty low but like the boxelder(great shoulder wood).

Thanks we like it a lot here and are very grateful to have got the place.

 

[svk]

Got down to FL tonight for a short stint. Will be hauling all of my saw related stuff back north as I’m going to be too busy to spend much time down here this winter. I’m sure opening the storage is going to be like Christmas as I don’t remember all of what’s in there.

 

[chipper1]

So ,,, looks like you watch the fireplace channel in the summer ?

Yes we do, only channel we get .
That TV was a gift from a friend, I wouldn't spend that kind of money on one, I could buy a nice saw for that much.
I need to make some mounts for the TV to mount on the bottom of the mantel so I can get into the top of my pellet stove. It looks like about 8-9" clearance between the top of the pellet stove and the TV bottom if I remove the pedestal base from the TV. One day I want to put a pellet storage/gravity bin in the "room" behind the fireplace, I could make one that would hold a couple hundred pounds, then I wouldn't even need to open the top, someday, maybe lol.

 

[MustangMike]

My next project will be a little kitchen table for my Daughter, I'm thinking Black Oak will be good for that as well.

Then maybe a dining table and work bench for the Cabin. What wood to use … Black Oak, Red Oak, Hickory … No easy choice guys!

 

[chipper1]

My next project will be a little kitchen table for my Daughter, I'm thinking Black Oak will be good for that as well.

Then maybe a dining table and work bench for the Cabin. What wood to use … Black Oak, Red Oak, Hickory … No easy choice guys!

That bench looked great.
I think you could do some inlays on the black oak with the red oak, and trim it out with the hickory .

 

[pdqdl]

If he gets a hand saw like this I'd let him stay. It's the 100CC version.

I already have that little saw beat. Easily. No need to go get one.

I have one in my office just about the same as that one, only no helper handle. I also have a bigger 2-man saw by the front door. I never measured, but I think it's about 7' long.

The best part is that these are not relics that I have collected. They have been in my family since they were new, and were used on the farm. They were in the family when my 87 year old mother was a little kid. She has a historical marker in the front yard: We are stop #25 on the Battle of Westport tour (Civil war). Also, Jim Bridger settled down on his farm in Kansas City* just across the creek from my great, great,?,? ...grandfather. We have had those saws in the basement since ...well...nobody knows. The relatives that knew died a long time ago. My mother was going to throw them away, arguing that no one uses that stuff anymore. I wasn't going to let that happen.

I'll try to remember to send some pics.

Let's not stop there:I have several modern hand saws in my climbing gear, and a Silky Hayute (21' pole saw) in the back room.

*Very cool! According to the story I found, my forebears (Thomas was the surname back then) owned the farm right between Jim Bridger and his partner Louis Vasquez. I never knew that until today.

 

[pdqdl]

I got a new one like that and its never cut a pice of wood. I have had it for 20 years and got it from my dad and dont know how long he had it before me.

It seems that there is quite a collection of guys here that are still hanging onto the old hand saws. And you guys didn't think I fit in.

Admittedly, I am more of a chainsaw user than an enthusiast.

Ev'rbody is explaining how they mix their fuel. I put 50 gallons of premium alcohol free in the barrel, and then add a gallon of oil rated for 50:1. It's a no brainer! Stir by cycling the hand pump for a few minutes. No, it never gets old enough to go stale, either.

Funny thing about 2-cycle oil. It gets a LOT cheaper when you buy it in 5 gallon pails.

 

[Cowboy254]

Installed this work bench at my Step Son's today. It is the first project I've done with my milled wood, and it is Black Oak. That is some tough stuff!

Came out well, everyone was happy. I just love the live edge and "rough cut". Just touched it lightly with a belt sander to ensure there were no splinters.

We spaced the brackets so he can store 3 garbage cans underneath. Never enough room down in Westchester!

That's got character, Mike. Looks solid!

 

[KiwiBro]

Installed this work bench at my Step Son's today. It is the first project I've done with my milled wood, and it is Black Oak. That is some tough stuff!

Came out well, everyone was happy. I just love the live edge and "rough cut". Just touched it lightly with a belt sander to ensure there were no splinters.

We spaced the brackets so he can store 3 garbage cans underneath. Never enough room down in Westchester!

Looking great. Looks almost as heavy as black spruce. How were the connections back at the wall done? Liking the birdsmouth at the bottom of the braces.

 

[pdqdl]

It certainly doesnt clear them well. Was noodling some big maple rounds Monday and it was clog,clear, repeat. Maid me wish I wouldn't have left the 590 at home.

I bought an extra clutch cover without a chain catcher for use on the MS441 when noodling. That cures at least half or more of the clog problems.

Nice load James.
Removing the chain catch does help a lot on the 7910's.
Are you laying the saw flat across the round, if so it helps to tip it slightly so the noodles are a little shorter, the key is to take your time so it doesn't get jammed up. Many of the old front tensioner saws cleared chips/noodles much better than the new ones.

What he said!

When you are clogging on noodles, just move the saw cut a little bit off angle from parallel to the grain of the log. It will still cut very fast, but the slivers of wood won't be quite as long as "noodles", and it quits plugging up.

 

[rarefish383]

I already have that little saw beat. Easily. No need to go get one.

I have one in my office just about the same as that one, only no helper handle. I also have a bigger 2-man saw by the front door. I never measured, but I think it's about 7' long.

The best part is that these are not relics that I have collected. They have been in my family since they were new, and were used on the farm. They were in the family when my 87 year old mother was a little kid. She has a historical marker in the front yard: We are stop #25 on the Battle of Westport tour (Civil war). Also, Jim Bridger settled down on his farm in Kansas City* just across the creek from my great, great,?,? ...grandfather. We have had those saws in the basement since ...well...nobody knows. The relatives that knew died a long time ago. My mother was going to throw them away, arguing that no one uses that stuff anymore. I wasn't going to let that happen.

I'll try to remember to send some pics.

Let's not stop there:I have several modern hand saws in my climbing gear, and a Silky Hayute (21' pole saw) in the back room.

*Very cool! According to the story I found, my forebears (Thomas was the surname back then) owned the farm right between Jim Bridger and his partner Louis Vasquez. I never knew that until today.

Here are a couple that either my Dad or I used climbing. The black plastic handled saw, that looks nothing like a limbing saw, has Asplundh Tree Company cast in the plastic. I like how the big one on the right has a short row of small teeth as starter teeth to get your cut going.