In my experience letting pine sit in rounds for a bit does help with splitting. if you cut it green a good sitting will allow the sap to dry up considerably. I cut dead lodge pole pines in the national forest. when I cut them down (already dead mind you) they laugh at a splitting axe or maul. Take them down the mountain and let them set til the next weekend and they split with the same axe or maul, just fine.
It was alive last year and still green in the tree but all the limbs died. I figured by the wood pecker holes it would have terrible ants but not so much. The only thing I noticed is that I cut a ton of tree and it didn't move. If it were an ash tree it would have been on the ground way before I finished cutting this one. I still put it right where I wanted it but when I drove a wedge in it was like driving a screw into a wet 2x4. I cut 90 percent of it and was wondering y it hadn't moved. I can watch an ash tree or most hard wood trees move while I back cut. They are pretty cool to limb though. No leaves and simple cutting limb after limb.
I have about 100 ash trees stacked and waiting, so the waiting part will be easy lol. I split about half a cord and the bigger tree split easier. I hand split the last bit I brought back and the couple pieces I noodled and split from the smaller tree split like crap. The stuff from the bigger tree split pretty well with the x27 and an occasional sledge and wedge. I have almost a full cord of rounds sitting stacked out of the way. They are all 20 inches or more. I'll let them sit until I get bored and they look ready.
It hurts me to scrap it. I may have an abundance of wood at the moment but a couple years ago I was cutting for the next year no matter what kind of tree as long as it was dead. I'd see free wood on the side of the road and pick it up. This pine is extra wood I have to burn thats not in the wood shed and I like that because I can't predict the winter. I fill the wood shed every year with "enough" wood for the winter. This year I stacked a bit more in there. Wood I can burn thats not in the shed is a bonus. The ash also seems to coal a lot in the stove so some pine helps out with that.
Hopefully you get to all your ash before it rots, it doesn't seem to last long once it hits the ground. I had 3 I picked up from my snap on man's place. Cut into 20 foot sections and hauled home. Left one of them sit till the next season, it was half rotten. Never seen anything like that. I was quite surprised how punky it got, I often let logs sit for a year before cutting and splitting them. Just odd.
I haven't had any issues with rotting ash as long as it's up off the ground. I hope it keeps because I have at least 5 years worth hanging around in log form.
I have enough oak for the next 2-3 years. I just gave away a 60’ and 90’ gum tree too. I won’t fool with it.
I would have kept it for shoulder season, it's a bugger of a time for heating for me on hardwoods. Gets too hot and the fire lasts too long. Then we open windows to cool the place down, fire burns out and need to close the windows again. Short hot fire gets the house up to temp burns out and no windows need opened. Just seems to work out decent for me not having another heat source in the house.
You’re talking about keeping the gum? I don’t have anywhere left to put it and I don’t like burning it. My stove is top load and the fluffy ash goes airborne. I won’t use my stove in the shoulder season, Heat pump is easier.
I have enough hardwood to choose from I can be a wood snob lol. I’m not putting any time into softwood, even if it’s mine. I’ll let the chipper eat the leylands.
