Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[svk]

Ha! Mine is close to 80° also. I was out picking up my daughter and my wife texted her that the house was 80°! Got home and the furnace fan was running continuously. I figured it was the limit switch that has tripped before. But to my surprise it wasn't. OWB was operating perfectly. Something on the furnace circuit board or wiring was causing it because the fan stopped when I moved the board. We'll see - if I wake up sweating then I'll know it happened again. But right now it seems to be working

Better to be staying on than not running!

 

[svk]

I just checked our long-term forecast. We are actually getting our first thaw of 22’ next week when it’s going to be 32° on Tuesday.

We normally get a January thaw and got nothing this year. I don’t think it’s been above freezing since around 15th of December.

 

[mountainguyed67]

It’s close to 80 right now lol.

That’s too hot...

 

[old CB]

So damn tired of winter . Really can’t do much outside so I made a mallet . Ash head with black walnut all from the firewood stacked in the basement I planed a piece of hickory for the handle but decided on the Walnut View attachment 961680View attachment 961682View attachment 961683View attachment 961684View attachment 961685View attachment 961681

Very cool mallet. Great workmanship.

Do you have ironwood where you are (hop hornbeam)? Very hard stuff. I read long ago that a good mallet or maul used to be made one-piece by forming the head at the convergence of root and stem, and handle from the base of the trunk. Very colorful heartwood too, with red features.

 

[svk]

That’s too hot...

I can’t disagree but I wasn’t about to open the windows!!

 

[johnmcpeek1210]

Snow finally melted enough to start bringing in what I had spent past couple of days splitting. Most of this is oak with some ash and locust. The Ohio Department of Transportation is clearing all the sides of the roads in my area. All of this is from what they have cut down! Its free and easy to get to.

 

[mountainguyed67]

Snow finally melted enough to start bringing in what I had spent past couple of days splitting.

Why does snow need to melt to bring wood in?

 

[GrizG]

I've been in the shop too... making window stools for my sportsmen's club. Most are natural edge walnut slabs about 2 1/4" thick... a couple short ones have a straight edge as they are going in the kitchen. On the floor there are a couple more big slabs that I'll turn into counter tops for the kitchen service window. Five other stools aren't shown. There will also be walnut counter tops for the bathrooms.

The stools currently have their first of many coats of dewaxed shellac sanding sealer to help identify surfacing defects and start filling the pores. That will be sanded off and more coats added and sanded until the pores are filled. We haven't decided on the final finish (poly, epoxy or lacquer--the counter tops will likely get epoxy). They have a long ways to go to get to the final surface and finish... When done the walnut will have a lot of depth to it... the grain and figure is actually quite stunning on some of the pieces and one stool has an interesting bark inclusion.

 

[old CB]

Most of this is oak with some ash and locust. The Ohio Department of Transportation is clearing all the sides of the roads in my area. All of this is from what they have cut down! Its free and easy to get to.

Some of my best firewood scrounging has been from highway widening or construction sites. Great opportunities! Very nice looking haul there.

 

[rarefish383]

Very cool mallet. Great workmanship.

Do you have ironwood where you are (hop hornbeam)? Very hard stuff. I read long ago that a good mallet or maul used to be made one-piece by forming the head at the convergence of root and stem, and handle from the base of the trunk. Very colorful heartwood too, with red features.

I read a lot of mallets for fine hand fitting of guns, engraving, and much heavier duties that wouldn’t mar a steel surface were made of Dogwood.

 

[Brufab]

Very true. Storing anything larger would also be a challenge. This size should make recycling centre runs, wood scrounging runs, and most importantly family trips, easy. Instead of hours trying to pack the car using every last bit of space and planning carefully what to take and what not, I've now got almost twice the space in a trailer. So long as the trailer is easy to get to and hook up and go, then it's a simple throw stuff in and go. Hopefully!

I have a 5x8 single axle trailer and it's easy to move around by hand. Add an axle and they are hard to move around without a machine or vehicle

 

[Logger nate]

The boss hired a couple of news guys (gal) not sure how much help they will be, seems all they want to do is playAnd they can’t quite reach the wheel barrow handles…

 

[djg james]

I have a 5x8 single axle trailer and it's easy to move around by hand. Add an axle and they are hard to move around without a machine or vehicle

Same as me. They're just the right size for the same reason. I can move mine half full of firewood up hill with my geared transmission riding lawnmower (when it's working).

 

[rarefish383]

I have a 5x8 single axle trailer and it's easy to move around by hand. Add an axle and they are hard to move around without a machine or vehicle

I have a 4X6 that is easy to move and pulls behind my JD X540. Loaded with seasoned Oak it holds exactly half a cord , about 2000 pounds. It's so balanced on the axle, I seldom use the jack. My 5X8 dump trailer was 1500 ponds, needed a truck.

 

[SS396driver]

Very cool mallet. Great workmanship.

Do you have ironwood where you are (hop hornbeam)? Very hard stuff. I read long ago that a good mallet or maul used to be made one-piece by forming the head at the convergence of root and stem, and handle from the base of the trunk. Very colorful heartwood too, with red features.

I think we have American Hophornbeem haven't seen any myself .

 

[svk]

Ended up being about -40 last night.

My plow truck needed a little work so I had to drive it to town this morning. Or tried. The damn antifreeze was frozen in the radiator!!! When I loosened the cap on the purge tank, the release of vacuum was able to suck a little bit of hot fluid in from the engine and free things up!

First time in all of my years of driving in MN that this happened to a vehicle. I'll flush the system on a nicer day and add new.

 

[SS396driver]

I've been in the shop too... making window stools for my sportsmen's club. Most are natural edge walnut slabs about 2 1/4" thick... a couple short ones have a straight edge as they are going in the kitchen. On the floor there are a couple more big slabs that I'll turn into counter tops for the kitchen service window. Five other stools aren't shown. There will also be walnut counter tops for the bathrooms.

The stools currently have their first of many coats of dewaxed shellac sanding sealer to help identify surfacing defects and start filling the pores. That will be sanded off and more coats added and sanded until the pores are filled. We haven't decided on the final finish (poly, epoxy or lacquer--the counter tops will likely get epoxy). They have a long ways to go to get to the final surface and finish... When done the walnut will have a lot of depth to it... the grain and figure is actually quite stunning on some of the pieces and one stool has an interesting bark inclusion.

View attachment 961767View attachment 961768

Very nice slabs. I used the dewaxed shellac prior to sanding the slab in the bathroom then applied 5 coats of Waterlox didnt want the poured look on it . The surface cracks haven't moved but I still may bowtie them just in case .

 

[GrizG]

Very nice slabs. I used the dewaxed shellac prior to sanding the slab in the bathroom then applied 5 coats of Waterlox didnt want the poured look on it . The surface cracks haven't moved but I still may bowtie them just in case . View attachment 961871

Yeah.... sometimes it's tough to decide whether a "defect" needs to be addressed. I tend to look to the consequences of a failure for guidance. For example, counter tops need to be sound so liquids don't infiltrate and promote the growth of icky stuff. Window stools? The consequences of a failure is trivial and may not even be noticed...

 

[rarefish383]

Very nice slabs. I used the dewaxed shellac prior to sanding the slab in the bathroom then applied 5 coats of Waterlox didnt want the poured look on it . The surface cracks haven't moved but I still may bowtie them just in case . View attachment 961871

Is that a joint of two pieces in the back? I joined two pieces of White Pine in the fold up table i made with just wood glue, no biscuits or dowels. It's subject to heat and cold, damp and dry, nothing has failed in 10 years.

 

[SS396driver]

Is that a joint of two pieces in the back? I joined two pieces of White Pine in the fold up table i made with just wood glue, no biscuits or dowels. It's subject to heat and cold, damp and dry, nothing has failed in 10 years.

I jointed the back as there was some soft wood that I found after I planed it about 6 1/2 inches . I did use biscuits love having a jointer even though it’s a small bench top one