Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[GrizG]

True, depending on what specie it is, I was in that business for many years.

Elm does not make good gunstock wood.

SR

That comment was made in reference to the curly maple shown in previous posts... Gunstock wood is an interesting niche of the wood market. I think I may have posted about this previously some years ago: A friend and former co-worker had two tractor trailer van trailers full of stock blanks. Most were from storm felled trees in Williamsburg, VA. What was interesting is that many of the trees were English Walnut that had been grafted onto Black Walnut root stock. He rented time on a bandsaw mill and cut the logs so as to maximize the figure. He showed me a piece at the graft... black on one side of the graft and English on the other. He had so much crotch walnut that he had his home kitchen done in it.. He also ended up with pallets of Turkish walnut stock blanks that he got cheap as unclaimed freight. He had a nice cash flow going off that wood... and his wife had a nice kitchen. Note too the hand forged hardware...

 

[svk]

SVK, over the years I have witnessed many times how women with men who abuse them (or treat them like crap) cling to them like they are the best things on the planet, and women with men who treat them well will often leave them! I've seen it play out many times, and I have no explanation!

Yeah it is truly baffling.

Some friends of friends who I know have a very toxic relationship got engaged on Chrtistmas. Not exaggerating they've probably broken up 15 times over the past year and he's been caught cheating multiple times. Like why..... Or in the words of my ex mother in law who was the queen of underhanded comments "Well that's nice for you" or "I guess if that's what makes you happy"

 

[GrizG]

I was shocked to learn that Louisville Slugger bats were manufactured in Hancock NY! Likely trees from my property (formerly owned by Mallery Lumber) were used for bat production and used my many of the greats (Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, etc.).

I currently have access to Black Walnut (down here), and Black Cherry and Ash (upstate), (not sure if Ash is good for stocks, but I know the other two are). If you are interested in some blanks, let me know and give me the dimensions you want. Otherwise, it will likely be used for other stuff in the Spring. I'm thinking of doing some projects with Ash butcher blocked with either of the other two. Would be nice contrast.

I also have 2 HUGE Sugar Maple logs that I have not milled yet! (see picture)

I'd heard about the bats 40+ years ago when I spent a lot of time in the western Catskills... Then and now I haven't figured out the geographic naming thing! Cool that you may have a forest connection to them! There was a bat factory in Lake Katrine, NY in the past. It was right next to Route 209 and had a big cyclone dust collector outside. I Googled baseball bats and by coincidence a 2011 Wall St Journal article popped up from Lake Katrine. The article was about a scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture who was going to save the baseball bat industry from the EAB... History has proven that to be wishful thinking. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903461304576524772960045158

I know some guns were stocked in ash and cherry but I don't think they are particularly popular or make good stock wood. The ash splits too easily and the cherry is generally too brittle for stock work (hard and it chips easily). Some of the contemporary black powder custom gun makers use those woods and there are sample originals around. They get away with the ash because it mostly serves as something to which to secure other parts. The barrel holds the forearm together, the long trigger guards, heavy butt plates and toe plates protect the butt and wrist areas pretty well. Maple (hard and soft) were common and I occasionally see contemporary guns with such stocks. As I recall Ruger had curly maple stocks available on various of their guns--might have been a distributer special order?? I've got a soft curly maple long rifle blank that I got from the storage attic for the gunsmith shop at Colonial Williamsburg in '87 that I still haven't used. It cost me the princely sum of $25... employees were allowed to purchase materials for their cost. That stock was in inventory for a long time (along with others) before I got it... It's likely 50+ years old now as I understand it was purchased by CW in the early 70s. I need a squirrel rifle... my .54 flintlock would be excessive for such use.

RE wood... If I need anything it would be poplar boards for my home renovation project. I've got the tooling to turn them into casing, base, crown, cabinets, etc. A tree service guy had a pile of poplar logs for me but he left them in a place where they were inaccessible for a long time. When he finally moved them with an excavator he left them in a pile elsewhere on the property instead of trucking them to the log yard as he kept promising he would. Eventually the insects ruined the logs and they all got run through a big chipper to get rid of them. A terrible waste of good logs. I haven't found any "hazard tree" poplar on the rail trails or land trust properties yet. I'll be able to find enough oak for the floors as they keep falling down... a combination of loosing protection from the ash and hemlock along with saturated soil and wind. I gave up on accumulating ash for the floors as I found it was consistently too far gone for boards. Still good for burning though.

It's sad to think about how common white pine, hemlock, eastern red cedar and ash were in the woods I've frequented for many decades... now they are almost all gone due to insects, disease or being shaded out. I noticed the maple are having trouble in the woods near my parents' home due to wet feet. The "woods" are starting to look like the old farm lands of my youth. Lots of grasses and high stem count brush as the trees are disappearing... I've had to remove about 60 trees from my parents' property already and I recently discovered another white pine has died. The upside of the grasses and high stem count brush is my short range deer rifles will be used again... they had a good rest when the woods matured and longer shots presented themselves.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Late Merry Xmas Gentleman.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Thank you Santa!!!View attachment 1138592

Lucky!!! All I got from Santa was a lump of coal.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Prime rib for dinner tonight View attachment 1138670View attachment 1138671

The promise land dose exist!

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Since the skidsteer is down. Ive been putting in the hours with the War Wagon. Fell, bucked logged and hauled 9 loads Christmas Eve and 7 loads on Christmas day.

This load is for my own personal use.


The rest is for profit.
Maybe I shouldn't use the word profit. Considering how much time I'll have in it all by the time it's processed and delivered.

Came across these stumps while I was out in the woods working the past two days. My neighbor's work. I found them very interesting.

I'm heading into town today to borrow some specialty tools I need to work on the skid.
I have a feeling it's not just a seal, but an axel bering too.

Tomorrow or the next day I have a tangled teepee of five big wind blown snags all limb locked together. That I'm gonna bring down all at once. It will take half a day just preping the work area by brushing out egress routes and facing and crippling all the limb locked snags. Brushing out the egress routes will definitely take the longest and also be the most work. There is crossed up timber and broken tops all over the work areas and many escape routes MUST be established. However, its time to tip the teepee! It needs to come down! I'll get some good photos for sure. It's gonna be a show I'll tell ya!

Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!

 

[mountainguyed67]

I currently have access to Black walnut

Did you know that’s highly valuable?

 

[WoodAbuser]

Did you know that’s highly valuable?

The entire universe knows that black walnut is highly valuable.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Don't you know that?

 

[sean donato]

The entire universe knows that black walnut is highly valuable.

Among other species of wood they "know" is "highly valuable."

 

[farmer steve]

I know that and I stihl cut it into far'wood.

 

[sean donato]

I know that and I stihl cut it into far'wood.

Me too

 

[WoodAbuser]

I know that and I stihl cut it into far'wood.

Me 3.

 

[WoodAbuser]

Me too

Since it is farwood from HVBW it is worth for more per rick/rack/face cord/cord/pickup load and even War Wagon hauled, than any other farwood. I'm certain the entire universe knows that too. Please price it accordingly, arickenly, arackinly etc.

 

[sean donato]

Since it is farwood from HVBW it is worth for more per rick/rack/face cord/cord/pickup load and even War Wagon hauled, than any other farwood. I'm certain the entire universe knows that too. Please price it accordingly, arickenly, arackinly etc.

No, less since I had to explain why it isn't valuable in the first place.
I went through this with my dad a few years ago when he bought the field next to his house. We finally were able to clear out the tree row down the lane. 2 decent size black walnut trees in the row near the house. Took them down, and dad wanted to save them to sell, told him to hurry up and find someone to buy them. Literally no one wanted them.(duh fence row trees.) Then he wanted to get them milled, again no one wanted to touch them. Ended up bucking them into fire wood.

 

[SS396driver]

I was shocked to learn that Louisville Slugger bats were manufactured in Hancock NY! Likely trees from my property (formerly owned by Mallery Lumber) were used for bat production and used my many of the greats (Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, etc.).

I currently have access to Black Walnut (down here), and Black Cherry and Ash (upstate), (not sure if Ash is good for stocks, but I know the other two are). If you are interested in some blanks, let me know and give me the dimensions you want. Otherwise, it will likely be used for other stuff in the Spring. I'm thinking of doing some projects with Ash butcher blocked with either of the other two. Would be nice contrast.

I also have 2 HUGE Sugar Maple logs that I have not milled yet! (see picture)

Yup been to Hancock a few times

 

[Sawdust Man]

Came across these stumps while I was out in the woods working the past two days. My neighbor's work. I found them very interesting. View attachment 1138859View attachment 1138860View attachment 1138861

Sure.... blame your goofed up stumps on the neighbor guy......

 

[chipper1]

Did you call me retarded, no I asked if you were retarded .

 

[chipper1]

Do they call you a character?

Or they say you have character?

There’s a difference.

Yes.
Yes.
Correct lol.