who are we???

[Lugnutz]

38 here, and on my second year of burning wood. Last years propane prices prompted me to get pretty creative. Built a double barrel woodstove and put it in our unused cellar ran 4" line to a free squirrel cage and 13 dollar hi rpm motor then to a 6" flex line to 2 vents in the kitchen/living room with a 4" return line from the bathroom..worked but it was dangerous..learned alot about carbonmonoxide and why you need a detector!! Upgraded to a Lil House for this year...lot better design than mine!!
I was a Machine Operator for a vinyl siding plant for 18 years before I got pushed out the door this past June. Now working for a small family owned sheet extrusion and thermalforming company.
Grew up on wood heat and my grandfather had a sawmill back when I was barely big enuff to walk...guess its partially in my blood.
Love the screaming saw, swinging the maul, and being outside. Lots of times I'm a one man operation so I get a good workout and lots of peace and quiet!!

 

[freemind]

I am 35. I work on a farm. We do 5000 acres of crops. My job is tending steers. We have about 1500 head on hand all the time. We raise them for the butcher market (all holstein).
I have two kids (daughter 15 and son 12) but only my son lives with me. I have been married to my wonderful wife for 7 years now.

I like to hunt (deer, small game) and occationally I like to fish (more into ice fishing).

 

[Rickochet]

Just around the corner from getting the senior discounts, as I'll be 55 in January!!!! I manage a large electrical equipment repair facility for American Electric Power in Fort Wayne, Indiana. I have always wrenched on anything & everything that had wheels or wings. If it breathes fire, I can drive it or fly it!!!!

Me & my lovely bride of 31 years live in a 20 acre woods where I love to put the saws to work-----Plus it gives me a good work out too! I enjoy the complete experience of burning wood! I love listening to my friends & co-workers gripe about their heat bills, while I just think about how warm we are in our cabin!

Although I work for a large utility company, I derive great pleasure in knowing that I did not have my electric heat furnace/heat pump running one time last winter! It is a blessing to sit it in my recliner enjoying the ambiance of the wood stove with my laptop sharing stories with each of you!

It sure is awesome to get to acquainted with you in this fashion!

Have a Merry Christmas & be safe!!!!

 

[Fronty Owner]

well, the good news is I fit the demographic here...

36 mechanical engineer (more control system lately).
Grew up in a wood heated house, now burn wood recreationally on cold weekends to cut some on the heating bill.

 

[SWI Don]

36 Mechanical Engineer. Diesel engine emissions controls supplier.

Bought a big old farm house in 2004 with a wrap around porch and a drafty disposition. It did come with a wood stove that I fired religiously the first winter with almost exclusively walnut. I was lucky as I has cut and split it to sell but ended up needing it to heat. We upgraded to a catalytic wood stove the next year to better heat the house and have been slowly and surely been working through making the house tighter.

So this is my fifth season burning. I love the wood gathering part the best. Getting out in the timber is great. Cut wood on my dad's and neighbor's farms. More wood than I'll ever have time to cut. Usually concentrate on dead trees and fence line trees. Easiest to get at usually takes priority.

In past introduction threads it has shown we have a pretty broad spectrum of members here. White collar, blue collar, business owners, trades, etc. It makes for some good experiences and debates.

Don

 

[htpd43]

I'm 30 have a wife, 2 kids and a dog. i started out as a mechanic in the army guard right out of high school. spent a few years working as a carpenter for a general contractor and then became a cop. i have 10 years on the job and am looking forward to retiring when i hit 44. i am looking at getting an arboricultural degree in the next few years and starting a small tree service on the side then going full time when i retire.

i was raised by italian immigrant parents and learned to work hard. i grew up on a 60 acre family farm and we heated our home with firewood. when i bought my own house i started burning again and have not looked back. the property is still in the family and i have a few sources for free wood. in the last 2 years i bought 6 saws. i just bought an alaskan mill and unfortunately i can't stop buying stuff. but my wife lets me play cuz i work hard.

Merry Christmas to all of you - this is a great site and you all are great people!!!

 

[modn]

I'm 41 have a wife and 2 kids 7 & 6. I'm the General Manager of a Distribution/Manufacturing Company for building materials in Northern New York. I grew up burning and cutting wood until I left home. I put a fireplace in 8 years ago and then a wood boiler last year, best thing I've ever done. I go through about 7 cords a year heating 2300sqft + basement that i gather from the 35 acres that are 95% wooded and enjoy every minute of it.

 

[RVALUE]

I am 53 and am president of a company that recycles concrete and asphalt and does custom crushing work. I own property that has plenty of woods to keep cleaned up, I need the exercise and I hope to ave a buck or two in the process. It also does not hurt that it is basicaly income that the gov cant tax or keep track off

I am a goverment informant.

 

[slowp]

I'm the mean forester that pesters the PNW loggers. I have been working in the woods for 31 or 32 years? Most all of it in timber, except for 4 where I tried to be more of an office/engineer (still got to go out but not as much) but that was not a happy time. I am used to being out where the language can be inefficient at times, and pretty direct. This tendency does not go over well away from the woods.

I have a wood stove mainly because I live in an area between 3 volcanoes where we have floods, landslides, wind storms, and are supposed to have a big earthquake at any time. Our PUD guys are great at keeping the power on but every once in a while it goes off. It is nice to have a backup and also a steady heat. I come home wet and cold quite a bit.

I got frustrated after almost chopping my foot with a dull pulaski, so once again took up the chainsaw at work. I never knew much about them, just ran them and sharpened the chain. I've absorbed some stuff from the Chainsaw forum, and a lot of info from the loggers on that forum. This forum is interesting because most of you are in a far away part of the country and have different ways than here. I have never seen an OWB out here. I learned about cleaning the stove glass with a wet newpaper--it actually worked well.

So far, I have been able to cut and split my own firewood. I really need to build a woodshed. Tarps don't work well in this climate. :monkey:

That's all....Merry Christmas.

 

[RVALUE]

Woops, I got cut off.

Our goverment is in big trouble. We are in worse trouble because of the previous reason.

Merry Christmas



ps I still can't figure out slowp's occupation. Timber shop, forester...sounds interesting.

 

[boostnut]

Turned 33 yesterday, got married just over a year ago and have our first child on the way. Its been a busy year, doesn't look like thats gonna change for a while. Anyway, I'm an industrial estimator for a small company that specializes in tube work. We run parts ranging from little brake lines to monster exhaust systems for stationary diesels, rops bars, blah blah blah.

Grew up in a house with 3 useless fireplaces. Dad paid for his wood to be split, stacked and delivered. I, on the other hand, enjoy processing firewood and have built a relationship with a local farmer who appreciates my willingness to try to keep his fencelines looking good.

I do enjoy the idea of saving money with this "hobby" although I don't think I've seen any payback in my first 4 or 5 years. I started with a new insert, used saw, and cheap maul and have added a splitter, 6 more saws, and now an additional stove in the garage (so I can work on my saws in the winter). Money savings, yeah right, next is an alaskan MK3.:greenchainsaw:

 

[mimilkman1]

I'm 31 with two beautiful daughters 6 and 4 that are going to turn my hair gray in their teen years. My full time occupation is second shift coordinator of radiology in a 268 bed hospital in Saginaw MI. My first true passion is dairy and crop farming. I started working on a dairy when I was 17 and worked my way through high school and college. I knew I wouldn't be able to make a good living starting out on my own so I farm part time. I milk mornings on a 60 cow dairy in my hometown and take 3 weeks vacation in the fall to help my cousin harvest sugar beets.

I heat my home for the last 3 years with a CB 5036 and have never had trouble finding enough wood, only time to cut and haul it

Kyle

 

[jerryw66]

This thread is about me, 43, 3 kids, wife that works hard, have burnt wood most of my life, Love life. I'm an electrician, since I was 14, 2 labs, hunt, fish, cut wood, like a beer after work, hope to live forever, make the best of it while I can. Try to see both sides of everything.

 

[sly13]

38,Union Ironworker unemployed (today). Work has been really slow. Got my family, wife and 3 kids. Very lucky person. Merry Christmas to you all. Very good site.

 

[Laird]

50 here, married with 3 kids (2 grown) Been heating with wood one way or another for 30 years. Been a Probation Officer for 19 years with shorter stints in construction, law enforcement, and corrections. Live on the family farm so I don't have to scrounge for wood. Don't think I have CAD but I would like a bigger saw. Maybe I'm in denial........

 

[Ol' Brian]

50 here, married with 3 kids (2 grown) Been heating with wood one way or another for 30 years. Been a Probation Officer for 19 years with shorter stints in construction, law enforcement, and corrections. Live on the family farm so I don't have to scrounge for wood. Don't think I have CAD but I would like a bigger saw. Maybe I'm in denial........

CAD manifests itself after you get that bigger saw. You bring it home, take it out to the woods the first time, and then kick yourself for not doing it a long time ago. You realize that it really wasn't too hard to write that check, and you really don't remember what the amount was for anyway. Then, you get on the internet, start looking at eBay, Craigslist, and the next thing you know, you have a 395xp sitting next to your other 2 saws. You have CAD.

 

[cableguy256]

Be turning 28 Jan. 12th... married with two boys, ages 7 and 3... primary job is a line-man for the countries largest cable provider, and my secondary 'job' which is actually my true passion is spending my nights as a paramedic/ vol. FF. Started heating with wood last winter due to heating costs for oil.. that and the neighbor owns 98 acres of pretty much all trees (mostly locust).. He is slowly turning it into a cattle farm and goes out weekly with his D5 Dozer and pushes over about 75 trees/week. Works for me cause I help him by getting rid of the trees and it helps me cause I get all the free firewood I can cut/haul. :greenchainsaw:

 

[ropensaddle]

46 president owner of a tree service and burn wood in my odwf or freeze. It is a tough life with all the illegal's but I will some how survive.

 

[thenorth]

60 here,, retired (both of us), I repaired heavy equipment underground, then moved on to computer repair and network installs etc...
right now we have 160 acres, we do our own firewood, and also have a norwood sawmill, i am busy busy everyday.............

merry xmas to all......from ontario
john

 

[chucker]

im called woodchuck from my family and friends, chucker for short. 52 years wet behind the ears .... started working in the woods with my dad when i was 10 . we cut pulp and fire wood for sale and for the neighbors here in centeral minnesota. hauled and loaded pulp in an old 1950 ford ? f1 3/4 ton truck. loaded pulp by hand into rail cars for northwest paper co. in brainerd. dad pulled logs and most of the wood with a team of horses, as well as a jd b in later years .i still have dads orignal homelite saw with the gas tank on top of the motor old blue. 28 " beaver tail and around 5 horse power. things sure have changed!
now i use a arctic cat 300 and a home made skidder with a hand winch to pull logs from the woods and a small trailer to keep from damageing the trees on a lot clearing job . when ever pulp is at a fair market value the small unit comes handy for a one man operation and a fair days wage. over the years i have learned a lot from watching the ole man of the northern forest do the best he could to do for a family of 12 kids and mom. any more its do what it takes to stay in the game, without woods in my life and more wood in my veins its a short story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!