Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Drove past a home after taking the little one to art class this morning. They have been sitting around for a while.....no answer when I knocked on the door so I left a note.....

hope u get it. nice chunks!!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Beautiful day, out firewood cruising

I do that almost every day, but I like your way better!!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Had a cancellation today, so got to play with the 462 some more, just love it with a 20" bar.
Cut up some of the Black Walnut (pictured), and some Black Cherry (not pictured).
A neighbor with a the Black Cherry actually called to me when I was out there cutting up the Black Walnut.
Said if I cut it up, I could leave it there and get it in the Spring … Done!

good pix, MM... can't miss it right there in the center... a stand out! pun intended!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Boy do I hate cleaning the small limbs up from a tree like that. PITA

lol! I hate clean ups, too... but if you intend to scrounge in the city, and not go more than a few feet... you have to take what comes your way... after all oak is oak. and every bit burns nicely, well... that has been my exp.

today's local scrounge. just a few houses down the street. now here is the rouge. some guys scrounge forests. lol. some fields. some just trees. all are important. my scrounge today is important, too. just on the bit smaller side of the scale. a part of an oak tree, a limb or two... and a very important ingredient to all of my fires... kindling! oak kindling

in the pix is just over 90 pcs of oak. this is not wood split into stix. but still very important. you see, it goes on right after the paper, pine needles, small kindling. then this. usually about 5 or so. teepee shape. this wood helps make the hot oak coals, I add in some a bit bigger, too... the hot oak coals that lite off the firewood stix...

so, since I use 5 or so of this size stuff... and over 90 pcs... and I was about out, too... that means I have the interim bits for another... 18 daily camp fires! and to me, that is both significant and important. if another limb just like it comes down, down the street... I will go get it, too. I keep between 1 and 2 cords around the place... firewood stix size.

an important ingredient for daily campfires... scrounged today, free oak!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I even like to scrounge a bit of old cedar fence now n then, too. here is some I decided to cut up today. laying around and I need some more cedar kindling. so I will get a camp axe, one of 4 or 5 or so I have... and hand split this into square kindling stix. dried and on top of the pine needles... the camp fire always starts with an extra oomph! of gusto when fresh dried old cedar made into kindling is on scene.

scrounged cedar kindling to be split... in production

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

speaking of red hot oak coals... here is some firewood going this evening that I scrounged this summer and recently. it took smaller rounds to get it going... see above!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Do you guys get alot of snow? We normally have wet winters and all the stuff out there is soaked. The stuff on my fence line is sun/wind all day all year. I cant really tell if its just water on the surface or if its wet all the way through.

we don't, but the tv weatherman said today... that the next cold blast... just a couple days out... later this week... just might bring in some snow flurries to Austin, TX... uh-huh!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I always had my wood outside, but I would fill two log hoops inside near the stove, would burn from one to dry the other, then when it was empty, re fill it and start burning from the other hoop. That way it always dries a little before going into the stove.

I have firewood outside, exposed... outside and in wood shed... and inside barn up at farm... what do I like the best? for indoor fireplaces... dry oak. for mr Brutus and outside on a cold day... the firewood sitting outside, exposed. wet, damp... and makes great smoke!!! lots of it, too! lol

later on today...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

My buddy had this in his shed for 2 yrs - has some kinda fungus that bothers his family when they burn it inside - so iI grabbed it and will burn it in the out door burner ! Score ! Its in my 14x7 dump - I figure just a bit over a cord View attachment 701640

I like wood like that to burn outdoors, too...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I always found that Black Cherry seems to produce more heat than the BTU rating would indicate, and coals up nicely. Just be careful in a fire place, it pops!

so will cedar, but it sure is hot. I use it outside as bumps... if n when a stix seems too loose interest... I stuff in some cedar stix... that usually wakes things up and gets the show back on the road...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I had to catch up with Pioneerguy600
I found him

Today we cut some dead standing and dead top stuff close to the road

We even did our part to feed deer and rabbits

We both had a go at being Donk

The pile continues to grow , it was a great afternoon

good pix! thanks for posting. enjoyed seeing it all. especially that in the woods and in the pick up...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Glad you guys brought that up. I'm out of "dry" wood in the shed. The rest of the stuff I have is outside exposed to all the elements and has only been there since spring. Cherry, hackberry, oak and some ash. Supposed to rain here most of the week. Do any of you pull wood strait off the stack outside thats only been out a year and burn it? I put stuff next to the stove to warm up and dry out but I dont think I can dry wood fast enough like that. Should I just give up and turn the furnace on?

what about the hackberry wood?

how does the hackberry burn? I note some use it as a firewood, but some references called it a soft(er) wood. do you like it? burn it inside or outside. I am asking because there is a lot avail across town free if I want to go get some. or resonalble delivery fee if I want what is about 5/6 cords. clean limbs, trunks, uncut and of course... unsplit!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I've got oak on next years rack that's only been split/stacked for a year or a little less I wouldn't hesitate to burn it. We did it for years and never had a problem. I don't have a wood shed my wood sit on racks out in the elements all the time. View attachment 712611

nice JM - looks good!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Real warm today, walked the dogs and had to take my jacket off.

warm here today, too... had a camp fire going, but T shirt weather. could have wore shorts, but I don't cut wood in shorts. winter returns in couple days...

 

[95custmz]

what about the hackberry wood?

how does the hackberry burn? I note some use it as a firewood, but some references called it a soft(er) wood. do you like it? burn it inside or outside. I am asking because there is a lot avail across town free if I want to go get some. or resonalble delivery fee if I want what is about 5/6 cords. clean limbs, trunks, uncut and of course... unsplit!

Hackberry burns okay. Definitely not a softer wood. A little tough to split but usually seasons fairly quick.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Hackberry burns okay. Definitely not a softer wood. A little tough to split but usually seasons fairly quick.

tough to split as in the chunk wont give in? or tough as in the wood splits but wont separate easily? stringers, etc?

 

[95custmz]

tough to split as in the chunk wont give in? or tough as in the wood splits but wont separate easily? stringers, etc?

Three or four whacks to get a split


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[woodchip rookie]

It's really stringy. Especially when wet. I havent burnt any yet so idk how it burns. Seems to dry ok but its all outside and wet now.

 

[Saiso]

Glad you guys brought that up. I'm out of "dry" wood in the shed. The rest of the stuff I have is outside exposed to all the elements and has only been there since spring. Cherry, hackberry, oak and some ash. Supposed to rain here most of the week. Do any of you pull wood strait off the stack outside thats only been out a year and burn it? I put stuff next to the stove to warm up and dry out but I dont think I can dry wood fast enough like that. Should I just give up and turn the furnace on?

We’ve been behind on our firewood for 3 winters. Life happens. We do the same, I bring 5+ days worth inside at a time from the woodshed. After a few days by the wood stove, the stuff is much more dry.

Hopefully next winter is a better winter for us.

 

[Deleted member 150358]

So I have some standing dead Maple that are in the bottom of the slough/gully. Tall few branches nice to work with.

But... They seem to be infested with powder beetles. I cut some last year and it was 1st in last out. Was like handling flour bags and my fear was infesting the wood shed.

Is there a way to kill them? My guess is best leave em to the wood peckers...