Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[mainewoods]

I had a chance to buy slab wood for $40 a cord or roughly a 6x12x2 feet deep trailer load. it was cut to 36" or less lengths. It was a mix of mostly walnut, red oak, and cherry. I wasn't sure how it would burn being mostly bark though, so I passed. It would stack nice, neat, and tight, but I figured then it wouldn't dry. I wish I would have tried a load to see.

Hardwood slabs for $40 a cord - I'd be looking the guy up again.

 

[Cheesecutter]

I was there in September(?)to buy floor planks for my trailer. He said the best time to scrounge was once it warms up and his "regular" scroungers quit burning. (another scrounging tip) In the spring and summer months he has to burn it to make room.

 

[uglydukwling]

It seems to be a little-known secret that scrap lumber will burn. It seems everybody wants decorative wood. Scrap lumber is so hard to get rid of that demolition contractors will not only give it away, they'll deliver it. If you're closer than the dump, it's cheaper to haul it to you, and no tipping fee.

I've also gotten truckloads of big (3'-4' )rounds from a contractor who was doing park work. They were too big for anybody else to bother splitting and he wasn't in the firewood business anyway.

Another delivery was several tractor-trailer loads from a power line clearing project (Wind farms are a big deal around here) The contractor was from over a hundred miles away, so only the best of it was worth hauling home, and he couldn't legally move ash out of the county. He had to dispose of it locally.

The catch to all of these deals is that you have to take the bad to get the good. To get the lumber, I had to take the naily, splintered boards. (But on the plus side, there's usually some usable lumber in the mix) To get the big tree trunks, I had to take the punky wood (after all, that's why these trees were being cut). To get the power line clearings, I had to take the brush. Fortunately, I have plenty of space to let the unusable stuff just sit and decompose (I did chip a lot of the brush), but if you're in the suburbs, this might not work for you. Still, the point is you have to be willing to take what nobody else wants. It's a lot harder if you want to cherry-pick. When somebody calls and offers to deliver something for free, I never refuse. If you say "no" too often, they might not call when they have something good.

 

[zogger]

I had a chance to buy slab wood for $40 a cord or roughly a 6x12x2 feet deep trailer load. it was cut to 36" or less lengths. It was a mix of mostly walnut, red oak, and cherry. I wasn't sure how it would burn being mostly bark though, so I passed. It would stack nice, neat, and tight, but I figured then it wouldn't dry. I wish I would have tried a load to see.

Slabwood stacks great, just criss cross it. Gets plenty of air then and drys swell. You can always stack it up inside a tire and split it some too if you want smaller pieces.

40$ for a load that size is cheap and easy BTUs. Bet you could flip it for three times that in the fall and winter.

 

[Old Goat]

Check to see if your town or city has a green dump, vegetation only dump. I get most of mine from our local town dump and have a nice variety of different hardwoods. If I check often I can just back up to it, cut it up, and load. A lot of it will get buried in other green waste and burned in the late fall or winter. Just last week I hauled home three cords.

 

[hardpan]

I didn't notice it mentioned here but it may be helpful to have a "release of liability" form with you stating you will not hold the landowner responsible if you injure yourself. I'm not saying it would be a bullet proof contract in court but it might make a big difference in some cases, at least showing good intent. I have seen a couple good ones here on AS.

 

[mainewoods]

I would think that if you were invited to scrounge wood on someones property, their homeowners policy would cover you. Anything could happen working with wood, to begin with, so you are taking a real chance scrounging anyway. Never really thought about it, as I have a wood lot.

 

[cheeves]

Slabs are great firewood! Burned them in Ohio. Had a sawmill not 1/2 mile from my house! Guy witht the forklift used to dump a whole load right into my pickup!!
Secret is having the patience to allow them to dry out!! Don't and they will cause a chimney fire in a heart beat! I know from experience!!!

 

[PA Dan]

I have had pretty good luck with Craigslist. In the past year I have scored about 4 cords of Locust and probably 6 of Red Oak. The CL ad I answered was actually a tree service that needed the wood removed. I believe I made somewhere around 12 trips to that sight. Best part is I called that service a couple times and got more wood. One time he had trouble with a saw while bucking a 30" Sugar Maple so I bailed him out. He calls all the time now and let's me know where he will be. I contacted another tree service and the owner said he could keep me in more wood than I could ever use! I havent needed to take him up on that offer yet.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[spike60]

Make friends with any nearby logging operations. If they aren't chipping they may let you clean up the tops and the skidder flattened trees. A lot of times they don't cut on weekends and it's perfect for the 9-5 guy.

Make friends with any nearby logging operations. If they aren't chipping they may let you clean up the tops and the skidder flattened trees. A lot of times they don't cut on weekends and it's perfect for the 9-5 guy.

Yup. Loggers want the logs. Not the tops or the drops. Those items are mostly waste products for them. They don't want to mess with the tops and the short drops that accumulate at the landing really get in the way and are often pushed into a heap with the skidder blade. Tricky part is to sell youself as a non-idiot so they will let you cut there. If you can pull that off, you'll have more wood than you can handle.

Slab wood at mills is also a "waste product" that mill owners are more than happy to see go down the road. Doesn't need to be a big mill either. Even small bandsaw mill operations can accumulate a huge slab pile. Friend of mine commented the other day that he's glad guys are running out of wood cause plenty of them will be hitting his slab pile to finish out the season. Bigger mill owners sell 1/2 cord bundles for dirt cheap prices and will even load it into your truck.

Also, don't pass up the "small score" cause it isn't enough wood. It all adds up! A small amount here and there. Some smaller 3" to 4" wood ignored by others. Keep a saw in the truck for roadside scores; and not a ported/muff modded loud animal. Just make what cuts you need to get the wood into the truck and don't hang there making unnecessary noise. (Local rule here is roadside wood is fair game. Town/tree crews leave it there in short lengths with that intention). If there's a house right there, knock on the door and ask POLITELY. If you see some down trees on someone's property going to waste, and it appears they don't burn wood, think about the words you choose when talking to them. It's better to say, "I'd be happy to clean up that mess for you if I can have the firewood", than to simply ask to take the wood. It needs to be beneficial to them as well as you.

Like I said before, you gotta sell yourself. Present yourself as someone who is both non-threatening and competent. Smile, be friendly, but expect that you'll get a few "no"'s.

 

[mainewoods]

Not sure what it's like in other states, but up here there are small logging operations everywhere. Once they are done there is a lot of wood left to rot. Short pieces to whole trees are there for the asking. I am sure the landowner would relish having the roads and skidder trails cleaned up and usable. A man could make a pretty good score just cleaning up the skidder trails alone. Seems to me driving around on a weekend and observing where wood operations were, might be quite profitable for the scrounger. Like others have said, it doesn't hurt to ask. Worst they can say is no. Might just lead to the mother load. They tell their friends, and it snowballs into neighbors wanting their woods roads made accessible too. Just need to be flexible enough to maybe throw some brush and whatever else you can do to accommodate the landowner.

 

[dancan]

No deals on slab here .
I got lucky and can cut leaners , blowdowns and standing deadwood on a developers private road
Today's scrounge , a pine blowdown and a bit of hardwood .

I split the the frozen sapwood off and hauled out the drier centre for burning , I even got a bit of hardwood .
100 yard haul , 1 way and I got 2 loads home today

 

[stihlfanboy]

Winter time being on unemployment I just look for crews trimming line and drive there route and ask the home onwers if I can have the wood that was left by them. Easy cord a day and usually cut to good rounds.

 

[mainewoods]

I wish it was that easy to get around in the woods here. Tough winter to cut this year.

 

[dancan]

Luckily being very close to the coast has paid off this year so I've been able to scrounge almost every weekend , just 20 minutes inland from here it starts to get deeper .

 

[Perk]

Something that has worked real well for me is that I went out and added a really big saw to my stash - Its a Stihl 084 with a 36 inch bar. People that I know and work with cut wood, and most of them don't have anything that big. When they get an opportunity to cut down something big, they will let me in on it on account of the saw.

This is what I spent yesterday with. This thing was about 48"DBH.

 

[stihly dan]

That is the best scrounge. Right on the road, easy loading, big rounds for lots of barkless splits, and lots of no split rounds.

 

[Philbert]

+1 on most of the above.

Decide on what it is that you want. Are you willing to burn any species? Will you burn construction/dimensional lumber? Are you willing to disassemble pallets? How much work you want to do. Etc.

I live in the city and have a small wood stove. I am willing to cut stuff larger than 2" to length to burn - a lot comes from people trimming just around the neighborhood (maple, oak, lilac, box elder, etc.). When tree services are working in the area, I ask for anything 2 to 20 inches, and they are usually happy to let me have it, or drop it in my yard, as long as I stay out of their way. When we have storms, I am there to help neighbors clean up (not just for the wood).

I've picked up hardwood pallets from nearby businesses. I won't burn plywood, particleboard, or painted stuff, but collect scraps from woodworking friends for kindling. Many industrial sites accumulate pallets and timbers from shipping crates - some will deliver for free, if you will take a whole semi-load. Look for pallet manufacturing companies in your region - they often have short, hardwood cut-offs. I have purchased delivered 'bundles' of slab wood from mills in the past - just cut to length. I use an electric saw in the city, which does not annoy my neighbors.

I don't have a splitter, so smaller stuff is easier to split (if needed) with a Fiskars and a stump.

We used to be able to take stuff out of our County's recycling yards, until the emerald ash borer (ESB) restrictions came. But we can scrounge locally.

+1 also on the out of season opportunities. It has to season anyway. Be flexible and creative.

Philbert

 

[spike60]

Something that has worked real well for me is that I went out and added a really big saw to my stash - Its a Stihl 084 with a 36 inch bar. People that I know and work with cut wood, and most of them don't have anything that big.

Haha! You are so right. We were just talking about this today. We cut and ripped some big and ugly drops at my buddy's log site this morning. Mostly hard maple. A friend and I each went home with a truck load of stuff that most guys wouldn't tackle. Did most of it with a Jonsered 820 that is a scruffy saw with a well used bar and chain that is perfect for that work. One piece was particularly stubborn; wish you had come along with that 084 of yours.

 

[dancan]

Well , another weekend goes by and another load of scrounge for today , not a pretty today weather or wood wise but hey , dead standing spruce , nice white core is better than green hardwood