Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Sawdust Man]

Agree with everything you say except the color, I leave them "True Temper" black!

I also like to replace the handles with chainsaw maee Shag Hickory.

There is potential here.....

 

[Square Cutter]

Thought maybe you guy's that scrounge wood, might share some of your scrounging methods with the seemingly growing crowd of newbie wood burners. From what I have been reading, they would be quite appreciative to hear how you score, and where you score. There is a lot of useful and interesting information scattered throughout the firewood forum. I thought it might be nice to share some of your experiences in one thread, for those who are just starting out and maybe those who are struggling a bit. Thanks to anyone who cares to share.

Craigslist and Facebook marketplace are the best currently for me but pallets and construction sites

Thought maybe you guy's that scrounge wood, might share some of your scrounging methods with the seemingly growing crowd of newbie wood burners. From what I have been reading, they would be quite appreciative to hear how you score, and where you score. There is a lot of useful and interesting information scattered throughout the firewood forum. I thought it might be nice to share some of your experiences in one thread, for those who are just starting out and maybe those who are struggling a bit. Thanks to anyone who cares to share.

Craigslist and facebook marketplace have been pretty good lately. Construction sites are good if the framers let you take the scrap. I've also used a skill saw to cut up pallets if I'd run out mid winter. It's worth it if you can find the oak ones. 8 -10 will get you up and running for a bit. Up here in Washington you can get permits to go into the national forest or dnr land. Some of them are free or very cheap. I always offer to cut wood if a friend has a tree that needs gone. After 14 years of burning wood I've gotten picky with firewood. Now I won't pick up cottonwood, cedar or pine unless I'm just using it for bon fires or kindling.

 

[SimonHS]

The label clearly is listed as alcohol and adult sig required.

There is the answer. Makes it very easy to target. The wine probably never left the depot. Either an alcoholic hid it away and kept having a crafty swig or the night shift boys had a wine and cheese party.

 

[djg james]

..... Construction sites are good if the framers let you take the scrap..... After 14 years of burning wood I've gotten picky with firewood. Now I won't pick up cottonwood, cedar or pine unless I'm just using it for bon fires or kindling.

Farmland near me has been converted to housing. Always a dumpster around with scrap lumber. I pick out 2x4s, cut and rip sticks on a table saw and then pack in banana boxes. I can stack the kindling boxes under my deck. I tried splitting the 2x4s with a hatchet, but is was too time consuming. Easier on the saw.
And I'm picky too. Try to get only hardwoods.

 

[LondonNeil]

Well ... since we have exhausted the topic of Oil threads, maybe it is time to start on wheelbarrows ... wood handles or metal??? Steel or Plastic??? One wheel or two???

Hard tire or pump up??? Just some food for thought!

The best ones are scrounged
Use mine and you readily understand why it was put out on the curb, it's cheap and Flexi and the broken weld exacerbates that. I don't think I've ever seen wooden handled ones this side of the pond, they look very robust.

 

[LondonNeil]

Farmland near me has been converted to housing. Always a dumpster around with scrap lumber. I pick out 2x4s, cut and rip sticks on a table saw and then pack in banana boxes. I can stack the kindling boxes under my deck. I tried splitting the 2x4s with a hatchet, but is was too time consuming. Easier on the saw.
And I'm picky too. Try to get only hardwoods.

Really? I find timber (lumber) usually splits with a hatchet very easily, the grain is usually fairly straight.

 

[LondonNeil]

Wet weather has caused a postponement of the oak removal. I have another day now to shift more Conifer off my 'lawn-landing' and make room for it.

 

[Jere39]

I admit I have a home address that is not easy to find - and that was one of the attractive points when I bought this place 35 years ago. Even the LDS Missionaries don't find me, or don't feel like it is worth their time to trudge the long driveway, or maybe they think they might be entering a scene from Deliverance. But, I always felt that a responsible FedEx or UPS driver assigned this area might remember having found my home once or twice to find it again. I find it ironic when the UPS driver gives up, heads back to their distribution center and initiates a post card for the mailman to deliver with this message:

"Address Does Not Exist"

So, what do they think the USPS will do with it?

I once ordered a chainsaw (Dolmar PS-421) that FedEx declared undeliverable for over a week due to bad address. I finally took an old 4x8 sheet of plywood, spray painted: "Hey FedEx - here I am" and hung balloons on it", and staked it at the end of my driveway. I happened to be outside my garage when he finally showed up, he asked me to remove the sign.

 

[Jere39]

A couple pages ago I posted a picture and a video of some sawing at a friends place where a 4 tree domino blocked her hiking trail. She was taking pictures while I and son were working. Here is one of the trees just as I was starting to carve my way into the back side of the trees:





And a picture of me cutting the unstressed ends off some of the pinched and hung:

And finally, a picture of the way I left it for the day. I had run through all the fuel mix I had taken along, and the owner was short enough to walk under this remaining trunk:



I'll let her son rearrange the rounds, maybe even process some of it, then go back and free up the last one.

 

[djg james]

Really? I find timber (lumber) usually splits with a hatchet very easily, the grain is usually fairly straight.

Well, I hit knots and then small pieces would splinter off. Nice straight pieces pack better in my boxes. Not to mention, my arthritic wrist starts hurting from the pounding.

 

[Lee192233]

Well ... since we have exhausted the topic of Oil threads, maybe it is time to start on wheelbarrows ... wood handles or metal??? Steel or Plastic??? One wheel or two???

Hard tire or pump up??? Just some food for thought!

Old school steel is my choice.

 

[MustangMike]

I'm still buried in tax season and my computer went down about 2 weeks ago so we scrambled to get this one up and running ... which means no pics on it yet.

I promise I'll post some pics of my "rescued" True Temper (my favorite) with the Shag Hickory handles and non-inflatable tire when tax season is over.

An inflatable tire my ride better, but they are just not "always ready".

I have non-inflatable tires on both the wheelbarrow up at my cabin and on one of the two I have down here.

My other wheelbarrow down here is a Jackson. It is very heavy duty, but just does not feel as nimble as the True Temper.

 

[Oletrapper]

I admit I have a home address that is not easy to find - and that was one of the attractive points when I bought this place 35 years ago. Even the LDS Missionaries don't find me, or don't feel like it is worth their time to trudge the long driveway, or maybe they think they might be entering a scene from Deliverance. But, I always felt that a responsible FedEx or UPS driver assigned this area might remember having found my home once or twice to find it again. I find it ironic when the UPS driver gives up, heads back to their distribution center and initiates a post card for the mailman to deliver with this message:

"Address Does Not Exist"

So, what do they think the USPS will do with it?

I once ordered a chainsaw (Dolmar PS-421) that FedEx declared undeliverable for over a week due to bad address. I finally took an old 4x8 sheet of plywood, spray painted: "Hey FedEx - here I am" and hung balloons on it", and staked it at the end of my driveway. I happened to be outside my garage when he finally showed up, he asked me to remove the sign.

I doubt that any of the LDS have ever watched Deliverance, but they need to. lol jmho OT
I also have the same problems. Especially with FedEx. I am remote like yourself. Back in a holler where the sun usually comes up bout 11AM. lmao

 

[Oletrapper]

Don't know for sure but he is probably using an old Shoe Last Duplicating Lathe. The youtube shows an old one being used. It shows the duplicator in the first part of the video. The rest of the video is irrelevant.
I had a friend years ago that used one to make wooden duck decoys. He has passed and I have often wondered what happened to the lathe. I'll try and post a pic of one of the decoys the lathe produced. The same could be done with a gun stock.

OT

Here's a couple of pics of the wooden duck decoy I mentioned. The head was done separately and then attached. Note the lathe bit marks on the second pic. The shoe last lathe was a marvel invention.

 

[river of smoak]

Well I took the ms650 and the husky 365 back to the all you can eat oak buffet yesterday and loaded the truck for the 5th time . The 650 was a beast untill I hit something and knocked the sharp out of the 91 teeth , lol . It's raining here today so I'll be in the garage with a new save-edge .

 

[svk]

There is the answer. Makes it very easy to target. The wine probably never left the depot. Either an alcoholic hid it away and kept having a crafty swig or the night shift boys had a wine and cheese party.

Yep. Luckily it wasn’t rare or expensive

 

[Square Cutter]

A couple pages ago I posted a picture and a video of some sawing at a friends place where a 4 tree domino blocked her hiking trail. She was taking pictures while I and son were working. Here is one of the trees just as I was starting to carve my way into the back side of the trees:

View attachment 979295

And a picture of me cutting the unstressed ends off some of the pinched and hung:View attachment 979296

And finally, a picture of the way I left it for the day. I had run through all the fuel mix I had taken along, and the owner was short enough to walk under this remaining trunk:

View attachment 979297

I'll let her son rearrange the rounds, maybe even process some of it, then go back and free up the last one.

Love it! Looks like a fun day with some nice weather.

 

[turnkey4099]

2nd day at the 'old house' scrounge. Still cutting nothing but suckers off the big tree. end of 2.5 hours today after 3 hrs the other day and I have 3/4 of the big tree cleared of bottom growth. Measured the the big one. 14' an a few inches so it is doable with my 441. I do NOT like felling trees that big. This one has huge limbs coming off all sides of it so no sure yet which way it wants to go and I'm not about to try anything fancy and make it go elsewhere. Not bad scrounge and only 10.5 miles from the house. Estimate around 7 cord from the two trees plus more from two other small trees. Lots and lots of scut work cleaning up the area around the trees - lots of dead fall and some kind of low growing shrub with 8'+ branches laying flat on teh ground.

Day 4 or 5 (lost track) on that tree. Last trip I had cut one big branch that was low enough to cut from the ground. About 18" at the butt. Left it lay and went back today with big plans to brush it out and buck up plus put down one of the small trees. My eyes were a lot bigger than than my a$$ could handle. I made 4 hours and didn't quite finish just that one limb. Gas ran out in my limbing saw (MS193) and I was too tired to gas up to finish just a couplemore cuts. That projuct is going to take a LOT of days work.

Only good thing was finding that I can stick it out for 4 hours but I was really dragging the last half hour. I will try to remember to take the camera tomorrow. Wasn'[t planning to go back so soon but I left my jacket and long john top lay out there.

 

[dancan]

Happy New Year Brett !!!



Wooden handles and a single large tire .

 

[H-Ranch]

Keeping with the scrounging firewood/wheelbarrow theme (maybe someone should start a thread):