Post pictures of your woodpile/splitting area

[Cowboy254]

Cottonwood yesterday. Splits like hell, But was free and will make heat! The rest is a mix of ash, cherry, and honey locust Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

Hmm, cottonwood. Not the most desirable of species from a BTU perspective, they tell me. But as you say, it'll produce heat. We have a number of medium density eucalypts around here, oakish to locustish, and a few of them have very little ash but the densest of them (blue gum) has quite a lot. Of what is available, I'd burn manna gum which has virtually no ash in the heartwood (it's all in the bark, so you want to get rid of that). So, big manna gum is now my favourite for firewood, followed by peppermint. But I'd burn cottonwood as long as it doesn't make a big mess.

For daytime burning, I'd burn anything that doesn't bung up the heater with ash. Night-time, well, you need the BTUs so I put up with the ash.

 

[Philbert]

We have a number of medium density eucalypts around here, oakish to locustish, and a few of them have very little ash but the densest of them (blue gum) has quite a lot.

Which of your trees are the hardest to cut; the hardest on chains?

Thanks.

Philbert

 

[Oz Lumberjack]

Which of your trees are the hardest to cut; the hardest on chains?

Thanks.

Philbert[/QUOTE

Grey or yellow box is very hard. Tough on the chains and saws. Ironbark is also very hard but no as bad as box IMO

 

[Oz Lumberjack]

This is redgum also very hard.

 

[Oz Lumberjack]

My woodpile, ran outa storage racks so built another little shed on weekend. Made outa old pallets. The pile on the ground is all stacked away in the new shed.

 

[svk]

Those look great Oz!

 

[jeffesonm]

Got tired of messing with tarps and toppled stacks so built a shed a few years back. 36'x8' with 18" overhang on all sides. Milled the beams with a from oak and ash and the posts are locust, all done with 036/660 and a Haddon Beammaker. Holds about 10 cords and 1 tractor. Detailed build thread here.

 

[Ronaldo]

Very nice work on the wood shed, looks like it works well.

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[briantutt]

Dropped about a dozen trees, cut them to about 12 to 14 foot lengths. Piled with bobcat grapple my father just got. Dang that made it way easier! Had to cable and snatch block a few to keep off a building.

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[briantutt]

Another view

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[svk]

Hotter than heck today. I’m doing a little work slowly on my outdoor kitchen but otherwise just hanging in the shade.

 

[crowbuster]

Dropped about a dozen trees, cut them to about 12 to 14 foot lengths. Piled with bobcat grapple my father just got. Dang that made it way easier! Had to cable and snatch block a few to keep off a building.

You'll learn to love that grapple. mine is a work and back saver !
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[briantutt]

Yes, exactly, no more loading rounds into the bucket!

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[crowbuster]

To dang hot here to svk. Gotta get my shoulder rebuilt wed. Guess there are worse times of the year to be laid up, but I don't do sitting around very well

 

[svk]

Best of luck with that!

 

[briantutt]

I am just down the road from you I think. By mille lacs lake. Too damn hot but I had to cut those to make a road for some fill to be hauled.

Hotter than heck today. I’m doing a little work slowly on my outdoor kitchen but otherwise just hanging in the shade.

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[johnnyballs]

What's the wood, Mitch?



Love the look of that fir. Could use a bit to burn down some of my big hardwood coals...

i like your style

 

[Cowboy254]

Which of your trees are the hardest to cut; the hardest on chains?

Thanks.

Philbert

They vary a lot. In my immediate vicinity, dry Candlebark has a janka hardness of 5.9kN which is similar to dry white oak at 6.0. Canadian sugar maple at 7.3 compares to our narrow leaved peppermint at 7.1 and broad leaved peppermint at 8.1kN. But the hardest in my vicinity is blue gum at 12kN. River red gum is 10kN and forest red gum is also 12kN. I cut this dry bluegum a couple of years ago.


I was using a carbide chain and this happened.





Since the duro chains couldn't cut it, I changed to semi-chisel chain and it certainly stood up better damage-wise but eventually ended up with most of the teeth sporting a backwards facing burr. Green blue gum at 7.3kN is very cuttable though. It hardens up dramatically when dry. I've cut green grey box at 11kN which was ok and didn't destroy my chains. Maybe 12kN is where things start getting difficult.

I haven't cut any of the really hard stuff in Aus though. @Jeffkrib has. Gidgee acacia is 19kN and some of the casuarinas are about the same. I think you'd only cut that stuff to say that you had because it can't we worth the chain damage if you're cutting it dry. Maybe you'd get away with it if the wood was green. It's a result of the environment it grows in which is pretty harsh in parts here. Some African species are very hard and dense too, for the same reason, I guess. Where I am, though, we get pretty good rainfall so our eucalypts are faster growing and not as hard as a rule.

 

[svk]

That’s pretty incredible.

I’m told dried tamarack is very hard but clearly nothing like those species.

I suppose when they fall you just leave them unless they are in the way of something.

 

[bigbadbob]

My wood shed, holds 4.5 cord, what I burn in a year. I do keep extra in case its needed. It now has tin on the back side.