Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[LondonNeil]

Wood chip, get that spruce!

Actually, if you get a chance, try Yew. It's like nuclear fuel! Mix that in with a load of hard wood and it'll help.

 

[U&A]

I even like to scrounge a bit of old cedar fence now n then, too. here is some I decided to cut up today. laying around and I need some more cedar kindling. so I will get a camp axe, one of 4 or 5 or so I have... and hand split this into square kindling stix. dried and on top of the pine needles... the camp fire always starts with an extra oomph! of gusto when fresh dried old cedar made into kindling is on scene.

scrounged cedar kindling to be split... in productionView attachment 712858

Nice!

I’ve got an endless supply of good starter wood. Our steel supplier at work has new 60x120 & 48x96 pallets 90% of the time and they never want them back. It’s usually all made out of rough-cut kiln dried pine or some variety of hardwood.

Always reads around 5% moisture sometimes it doesn’t even read[emoji23]


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[rarefish383]

For those that have not had had much experience with black locust if you’re not sure by looking at the color of the wood Best dead giveaway is the the bark is super thick and the groves in the bark are very deep

Here are some good pictures. I got over 9 truck loads (8’ bed) if this stuff last fall.

Unless somebody is giving you wood that has already been cut up if you see the tree standing the branches have awful thorns all over them. The branches are very brittle along with the entire tree itself.

Fyi: don’t judge me on how straight the cuts are and how much the length of the logs very. I didn’t cut any of these all i had to do was back up load my truck and drive off[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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As much as I talk about my unlimited supply of standing dead Oak, I will knock other people over for a load of Black Locust.

 

[U&A]

As much as I talk about my unlimited supply of standing dead Oak, I will knock other people over for a load of Black Locust.

I felt like I had robbed a bank or something.

getting over 9 pick up loads full to the brim of already cut black locust has been a HUGE help in getting ahead on my wood. Thanks to that my wood for next winter is already split and stacked and I’m working on winter of 2020 right now.

And i still have more black locust ready to split[emoji23] as well as about a cord and a half of green oak[emoji23][emoji23]

I feel like a con man that just made his big score

Iv split and stacked over 10 cord with my fiskars in the past 11 months. I know it’s no record by any means but that’s a lot for me.




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[woodchip rookie]

Wood chip, get that spruce!

Actually, if you get a chance, try Yew. It's like nuclear fuel! Mix that in with a load of hard wood and it'll help.

I will. Any breed of evergreen or silver maple.

 

[chipper1]

Good to know.

ALL the black locust were im from has thorns. They are not that bad though.

Good to know about the plantain. I assume it works with stings as well?


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Some has more than others for sure.
Yes chew a piece of plantain and put it on stings, bug bites, splinters, wire pokes, and the like, and the ichy burning feeling goes right away, go God.

nice pile of locust. we usually only have the thorns on the smaller limb wood but not on the trunks. i split some big rounds of honey locust one time and it had big thorns inside the trunks. apparently the tree grew around them

Your right Steve, it grows right around the thorns, the honey locust is a whole different animal .

I felt like I had robbed a bank or something.

getting over 9 pick up loads full to the brim of already cut black locust has been a HUGE help in getting ahead on my wood. Thanks to that my wood for next winter is already split and stacked and I’m working on winter of 2020 right now.

And i still have more black locust ready to split

as well as about a cord and a half of green oak

I feel like a con man that just made his big score

Iv split and stacked over 10 cord with my fiskars in the past 11 months. I know it’s no record by any means but that’s a lot for me.




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That is a very nice score.
Biggest issue with locust is knowing how to manage the coals. I like dragging them forward, opening the draft, then close the door and watch the blue flames .
Down side is it will pop alot and can send hot coals sailing so it's not the best for a fireplace, besides it doesn't smell the best either. When I have a lot of new coals I will open the draft and let the goals get a good blast of fresh air so it doesn't pop as much when I open the door.

As much as I talk about my unlimited supply of standing dead Oak, I will knock other people over for a load of Black Locust.

Glad you don't live around here .
I've noticed it grows in smaller stands, and is usually mixed in with cherry which is the perfect wood to mix with it. Once I find a nice stand of it I grab as much as I can. There is a 10 acre lot about 2 miles from the house I want on so bad, there's got to be 50 nice sized ones leaning on it. I delivered a bunch of wood to the guy across the street and he says they won't allow anyone to cut . The good thing is unlike Ash it will be good for another 50 yrs, I'm patient .

 

[U&A]

Some has more than others for sure.
Yes chew a piece of plantain and put it on stings, bug bites, splinters, wire pokes, and the like, and the ichy burning feeling goes right away, go God.

Your right Steve, it grows right around the thorns, the honey locust is a whole different animal .

That is a very nice score.
Biggest issue with locust is knowing how to manage the coals. I like dragging them forward, opening the draft, then close the door and watch the blue flames .
Down side is it will pop alot and can send hot coals sailing so it's not the best for a fireplace, besides it doesn't smell the best either. When I have a lot of new coals I will open the draft and let the goals get a good blast of fresh air so it doesn't pop as much when I open the door.

Glad you don't live around here .
I've noticed it grows in smaller stands, and is usually mixed in with cherry which is the perfect wood to mix with it. Once I find a nice stand of it I grab as much as I can. There is a 10 acre lot about 2 miles from the house I want on so bad, there's got to be 50 nice sized ones leaning on it. I delivered a bunch of wood to the guy across the street and he says they won't allow anyone to cut . The good thing is unlike Ash it will be good for another 50 yrs, I'm patient .

Iv heard this.

Black locust is very rot resistant


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[chipper1]

Iv heard this.

Black locust is very rot resistant


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It is.
If there is a log on the ground it will sink into the forest/woods floor, if you bore cut straight down into it it will shoot sparks off it it's so dang hard, that's after laying there for 25 yrs. There are piles of root balls and some logs at the back of my neighbors property from when they cleared it in 95, it's harder now than when they pushed it back there.
One of the best things is the low water content, it dries very fast when cut and split.

 

[farmer steve]

Since we were talking mulberry I figured I outta split some. Needs out of the way anyhow. 3rd bucket today.

 

[U&A]

It is.
If there is a log on the ground it will sink into the forest/woods floor, if you bore cut straight down into it it will shoot sparks off it it's so dang hard, that's after laying there for 25 yrs. There are piles of root balls and some logs at the back of my neighbors property from when they cleared it in 95, it's harder now than when they pushed it back there.
One of the best things is the low water content, it dries very fast when cut and split.

Very cool info


I’ve noticed that when I split with my axe every once in a while you could see a spark


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[Deleted member 150358]

The heating season may be well passed the half way point... But the snow seasons just arriving here!

Welcome to Minnesota!

Trying to reduce my carbon footprint. Used the Honda to blow out the North driveway and yard. Yesterday was about 4" and so far at least that again. Not gonna stop snowing until midnight or so.

 

[turnkey4099]

For those that have not had had much experience with black locust if you’re not sure by looking at the color of the wood Best dead giveaway is the the bark is super thick and the groves in the bark are very deep

Here are some good pictures. I got over 9 truck loads (8’ bed) if this stuff last fall.

Unless somebody is giving you wood that has already been cut up if you see the tree standing the branches have awful thorns all over them. The branches are very brittle along with the entire tree itself.

Fyi: don’t judge me on how straight the cuts are and how much the length of the logs very. I didn’t cut any of these all i had to do was back up load my truck and drive off[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

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Minor correction. Only young growth on t he limbs have the thorns and they are small. Usually gone by the third year of growth.

 

[turnkey4099]

As much as I talk about my unlimited supply of standing dead Oak, I will knock other people over for a load of Black Locust.

I have only harvested one oak so far and then only the top (got 3 cord just from the limbs) so I don't know about burning. I do know about worakability and I will take BL over oak any day. Both in ease of cutting and splitting.

 

[turnkey4099]

I felt like I had robbed a bank or something.

getting over 9 pick up loads full to the brim of already cut black locust has been a HUGE help in getting ahead on my wood. Thanks to that my wood for next winter is already split and stacked and I’m working on winter of 2020 right now.

And i still have more black locust ready to split[emoji23] as well as about a cord and a half of green oak[emoji23][emoji23]

I feel like a con man that just made his big score

Iv split and stacked over 10 cord with my fiskars in the past 11 months. I know it’s no record by any means but that’s a lot for me.




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Here BL is non-native and only available (in most cases) from farmsteads where the settlers planted it for fence posts and the like. Back in the 90s the Locuts Borer moved in an killed a lot of it. I harvested every dead BL I could get my hands on for a 30 mile radius. Ended with some 80 cords in my wood lit. Still have about 55 left. My "retirement" wood when I get to where I can't sling a chainsaw any more, until then I am burning anything I can find, mostly willow.

 

[turnkey4099]

It is.
If there is a log on the ground it will sink into the forest/woods floor, if you bore cut straight down into it it will shoot sparks off it it's so dang hard, that's after laying there for 25 yrs. There are piles of root balls and some logs at the back of my neighbors property from when they cleared it in 95, it's harder now than when they pushed it back there.
One of the best things is the low water content, it dries very fast when cut and split.

Yes, low water content. One of the few species that is almost as heavy cured as when it was green. As for sparks when cutting. That's for sure. I cut my first one about dusk and was surprised at the show.

 

[woodchip rookie]

The heating season may be well passed the half way point... But the snow seasons just arriving here!

Welcome to Minnesota!

Trying to reduce my carbon footprint. Used the Honda to blow out the North driveway and yard. Yesterday was about 4" and so far at least that again. Not gonna stop snowing until midnight or so.

60F here...

 

[James Miller]

Since we were talking mulberry I figured I outta split some. Needs out of the way anyhow. 3rd bucket today.
View attachment 713546

If it just needs out of the way I have space for it .

I have only harvested one oak so far and then only the top (got 3 cord just from the limbs) so I don't know about burning. I do know about worakability and I will take BL over oak any day. Both in ease of cutting and splitting.

I've noticed that also. The isocore comes out much more often in big oak. The big locust I got with Steve last year was no problem with just the axe.

 

[Deleted member 150358]

I just got off the tractor. Well over 10 inches of white stuff on the other side of the yard. Someone was stuck down the road. I couldn't see them but I could hear cussing about a dog and tires spinning.

School bus had to back up 1/2 a mile to get to the cross road to turn around. I'm guessing the flat bed that came to pull who ever was stuck was blocking the road.

 

[H-Ranch]

Iv heard this.

Black locust is very rot resistant

Some of those tales are far fetched. Locust doesn't last forever... only a day longer than a rock.

 

[KiwiBro]

Time for a cuppa tea and a lie down after a red dragon fought back. Learnings- there were many.



So, does anyone know a good cheap place for 42" bars please? I don't think the scratches on mine will buff out.

*Editing to add* I do not recommend seeing how much you can stress a big saligna before it will barber chair on its way 180° from where you wanted it to go originally. It makes horrifying noises as the stress seam works its way up the trunk.