Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[nomad_archer]

Then there is nothing fun about it lol

From my experience when trying to get lots of wood quickly not having to run the saw is great. Having a post tree service hook up like Casey has here is the ticket. Running saws is lots of fun but in his case I would rather load it and go. That is one heck of a score.

 

[Cowboy254]

Coboy254 , I wear chainsaw pants , I do have 2 pair , 1 has more stretchy, breathable fabric making them cooler in the summer , the other pair I have are heavier , more Cordura type nylon so better in the winter . Yes , the light ones are still hot in the summer but my mom always said "Schitt don't melt in the rain , suck it up" lol
I take the btu charts with a grain of salt , there is a big difference in spruce for example , red spruce with big fat growth rings might be a little better than pine while white spruce grown in fields which are full of large branches so all the wood is full of knots is as good as red maple and then the black spruce that took 100 years to grow to 6" in diameter will burn like sugar maple for heat , make less ash but won't last as long .
Hmmm , big saws ??? , I've used my 2100 so little I'm thinking of selling .

Right on, Dan. The BTU/density charts are handy if you're unfamiliar with the species but there can be the odd clanger in there. But after a few years of burning it you get a pretty good idea if you're paying attention. FWIW, from my observation I think the one I posted for SE Aust species is fairly close to the mark.


Casey, that is sensational, four of those in one day! And it sounds like you've barely scratched the surface.

 

[Cowboy254]

Nibbling away at the blue gum. Didn't have the 4WD this time so tossed a few bits from a previous session in the back of the suby. Probably about the same amount as one of Casey's trailer loads .



This little guy was on the scrounge as well.



Got the worst of the limbs off and I'll do them in bits and pieces in between taking loads. It's getting hot enough now that I'm pouring sweat after a few minutes stomping around in the full sun.



It's slow going getting a load out but we'll enjoy burning this in 2019.

 

[CaseyForrest]

From my experience when trying to get lots of wood quickly not having to run the saw is great. Having a post tree service hook up like Casey has here is the ticket. Running saws is lots of fun but in his case I would rather load it and go. That is one heck of a score.

Pretty much spot on for this scenario. The folks want the wood out of their yards and they have already had to listen to the clearing crews cut everything up.

I would prefer to be able or have everything cut at 20" since thats what I cut to in order to maximize my fireboxes and get overnight burns. But most of this is cut to a size that I can reorient the loading procedure and still utilize most of the firebox.

And its free. I used to be picky as hell... Not anymore. If it burns, Ill take it.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Nice trailer to have for that kind of scrounge!

Philbert

Far cry from what I used to use...

 

[CaseyForrest]

This little guy was on the scrounge as well.

View attachment 538128

Oh HELL no. Burn it right there.

 

[LonestarStihl]

Oh HELL no. Burn it right there.

My thoughts exactly

 

[Cowboy254]

Oh HELL no. Burn it right there.

Hahaha. They look the part but they're not very venomous and not very aggressive. But two days ago I was half way through a cut before I realised one had crawled up over all my clothing to my shoulder and boy do they look big in your peripheral vision. FAAAAARRK . They give you a shock sometimes. At least with the limbs off the tree I don't have to worry about drop bears landing on my shoulder.

 

[farmer steve]

since ya'll were talking big saws i had to go and buy one. can't wait to see if it will fire up. 18.5 lbs of 80 cc power.

 

[computeruser]

Load 4 and last one for the day. All oak.

We only touched 3 of the houses on our list. And the list is still growing.

sent from a field

This is all stuff that came out of my neighborhood after the power company went through and butchered stuff. We had had an ice storm a few years back and were without power at Christmas for 10 days. The neighbors raised hell about the delay in restoring power, fought the (egregious) trimming plan in and out of court for two years, and now they're coming in to exact their revenge. Bad for neighborhood aesthetics, but good for people who like free firewood!

Lots of oak, sugar maple, ash (standing dead, generally), silver maple, norway maple, and a few other types. Very little pine. All of it is cut to manageable pieces, either for hand-loading or with the help of the Kubota.

I put a note out to my neighborhood website/discussion board and got about a dozen houses offering up within a day and more offering up as I type this. The power company isn't even halfway done with their work in our neighborhood. And when they're done here, there are two more neighborhoods of similar age and with similar tree cover (and thus removal requirements) that they will be working in over the coming months. Looks like someone is going to be set with firewood for a while!!

 

[Marshy]

Lit my first fire in the King

 

[Logger nate]

Very nice marshy!

 

[JustJeff]

Lit my first fire in the King
View attachment 538200
View attachment 538201

Mmmm mmm. I can just smell the paint curing.

 

[Logger nate]

Was able to get a little scrounge in today, normally don't cut wood this time of year, usually hunting and too much snow up high, not much snow yet thankfully my son was here to help out. Had some visitors show up looking for a hand out And got to run the 562 again..ended up with some nice lodge pole pine one of the trees had a insulator hanging in it from the old phone line that went from the ranger station to a lookout

 

[Plowboy83]

Got a big one on the ground today me my buddy had our work cut out for us. I'm 6 4 and it's about the same at the base where it forks at is over 8. Figured I post to show @Cowboy254 some red gum over here in California. Sure was fun to get to cut again I even got to try out the 046 hydrid I got from deets and it is a beast

 

[Plowboy83]

Here's a pics of my big buddy @woodcut70 cleaning up the brush before we dropped her he's a big boy 6'4 and 350

 

[stihly dan]

they're not very venomous

Anyone else find this statement a little to manly, or just wrong. What the hell does not VERY VENOMOUS even mean? sheesh.

 

[Jeffkrib]

Anyone else find this statement a little to manly, or just wrong. What the hell does not VERY VENOMOUS even mean? sheesh.

Haha it means it won't kill you, we do have species of spiders which can kill you.

 

[Cowboy254]

Anyone else find this statement a little to manly, or just wrong. What the hell does not VERY VENOMOUS even mean? sheesh.

Well, it's all relative. Today's scrounging revealed this little guy, or rather, girl. I saw it after I had carried the piece of peppermint it was sitting on 20 metres to the trailer, during which time it didn't bite me...that's a little win right there. No-one has died from a redback bite for years since the antivenom was developed. That said, I was 100km from the nearest major hospital. Those bites do hurt like f@&k though and liquefy tissue, I'd rather get bitten by that big b@stard from yesterday than the redback. If you're scrounging coming into summer, you just have to accept that bitey things are going to be around and get on with the job. When are you blokes going to come scrounging with me anyway?

 

[Cowboy254]

View attachment 538234 View attachment 538232 View attachment 538233 View attachment 538232
Here's a pics of my big buddy @woodcut70 cleaning up the brush before we dropped her he's a big boy 6'4 and 350

Mate, that's a beauty, that'll keep you warm for a while. It looks like the top had been taken off it fairly recently. Red gums coppice pretty well from a low cut stump and a tree that big will have a great root system that will produce another good load of wood in no time if you cut it off 2-4 inches above the ground. I love red gum. I've never had the opportunity to cut one but I've burned a bit from time to time and it's great firewood. I hope you've got a hydro splitter BTW!