Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[svk]

Understood!!!

I'll probably never retire from some kind of work but once I get these 5 kids out the door ma and I won't need to spend nearly as much!!

 

[rarefish383]

View attachment 629529Still working on this twisted ash. Sprocket is completely stripped. Ordered a new one from Amazon today. Will have to catch up on my splitting.

That kind of looks like mine. I got a cord cut split and stacked and left about 1/3 of it in the woods. May go back and get the rest. That's the first Ash I've kept to burn, and only did it cause you guys said it's good. That bright white pile sure sticks out next to all of my Oak, Joe.

 

[chaded]

Looks like another ash to the left that can come down. I have a lot of dead standing ash, makes good firewood.

 

[turnkey4099]

As Tax Season comes in on me like a Freight Train (the phone is ringing off the hook), I went through my notes from last year's wood processing.

I did over 26 cord last year, and that does not include the family event with Matt and his Dad when the 3 of use cut over 15 cord to length in 2/3 of a day.

I also did a little bit of saw repair, and some flipping, so it kept me busy.

The saws were all started and have been put in storage for the next 2.5 months, all with chains sharpened, etc.

I dried out all the saws and sharpened all chains...except 2 that I overlooked hanging on the nail. Been working Split/Stack on the to-be-split ricks. Just finished cord 7 today, 4.5 left to go. Cleaned up all the bark chips and have a nice burn pile going. Spring is here a whole month early!

 

[rarefish383]

All of the Ash are dying, but I have about 20 Red Oaks in the 30" range dead standing, so the Oak will go first, Joe.

 

[turnkey4099]

I get zero snakes in mine but one of my buddies I cut with gets a crap ton of gardener snakes in his stacked piles but zero in his non stacked piles. It always is kinda freaky to see them suckers out there sunning themselves especially when there are 8-10 of them out there.

I built a retaining wall from broken up concrete footings. Went out one spring to work the garden and found a big ball of the garter snakes...I assume breeding behavior. I don't mind them but eye them close as there are rattlers just down the canyon a bit.

 

[MustangMike]

Joe, the standing Oak will stay good far longer than dead Ash, but Ash dries to burn much faster.

If it is in the shade, Ash will go punky on you fast.

 

[olyman]

Looks like another ash to the left that can come down. I have a lot of dead standing ash, makes good firewood.

ash is excellent firewood!!!!!

 

[JustJeff]

Cause I Voluntarily let them drill me a new well 2 years ago when the water quit ... just shy of $20,000!!! I'm now down 1,330 feet, but we have water ... Voluntarily!!! Pump is a 3 phase, down at 860 Ft.

And I Voluntarily let those teenagers burn down the house I was building 30 years ago, and I Voluntarily went through the divorce 25 years ago, and I Voluntarily paid for the kids college expenses, and I Voluntarily paid for the Dogs Spinal Surgery and ... gosh ... I do a lot of Volunteering!!!

Life ain't always easy, but you just gotta keep plugging!!! Most people my age have no mortgage and are fully retired, but I still got my health, so I won't complain. It is a lot easier now than when I was still working for NYS full time and doing the Taxes on the side!!!

1300ft!!! Does the water taste like rice? Halfway to China!

 

[JustJeff]

Can anybody help identify this tree?

 

[MechanicMatt]

I'm telling you boys, if you think CAD is bad, don't ever get GAD. Hey Uncle Mike what's the twist on your M77 in .220swift? And your .300win while your at it??

My pops..... I wanted to smack him when my well pump went. I was complaining about the bill. He said to me, well your a manager now, you can afford it. I gave him a look like we were about to brush the dust off the boxing gloves. He quickly noted next that "hey, your kids are healthy, your wife's healthy, get over it". He had a point, money will come and go. But ours and our loved ones health is priceless

 

[MechanicMatt]

Dang it, I wish I still had that .300win mag I had my hands on too. That round really gets moving too!

 

[95custmz]

View attachment 629604 Can anybody help identify this tree?

Judging by the leaves on the ground, a Red Maple (with a built in out-house)

 

[Jakers]

I'm telling you boys, if you think CAD is bad, don't ever get GAD.

Got that one bad too... over 20k worth bad

 

[MustangMike]

1300ft!!! Does the water taste like rice? Halfway to China!

It is the deepest well in the area. I was mad about how deep they went at first, they were only supposed to go to 1,200, and I made them reduce the price as they admitted they did not hit anything down there. But something must have happened, because me and the well next door are connected, and they did not drill, and neither of us have run dry since I drilled! I think some seams opened up after the drilling was done. I'm just glad it worked!

To put it differently, it means I'm not just using reserves from the pump being deeper, or the neighbor (who always ran out before me) would be running out still.

 

[MustangMike]

I'm telling you boys, if you think CAD is bad, don't ever get GAD. Hey Uncle Mike what's the twist on your M77 in .220swift? And your .300win while your at it??

My pops..... I wanted to smack him when my well pump went. I was complaining about the bill. He said to me, well your a manager now, you can afford it. I gave him a look like we were about to brush the dust off the boxing gloves. He quickly noted next that "hey, your kids are healthy, your wife's healthy, get over it". He had a point, money will come and go. But ours and our loved ones health is priceless

The Swift has 1 in 14, the 300 1 in 10.

Your manual is conservative. My old Lyman manual shows the 50 gr bullet over 4,000, and the 55 gr over 3,900.

The Nosler manual shows the 55 gr bullet over 4,000!

The Norma Factory loads (48 gr) were 4,110 FPS. They were hot and accurate. Too bad they did not expand on chucks.

 

[James Miller]

Norma was never afraid to push the limit with there loadings. 10mm is a perfect example.

 

[rarefish383]

Joe, the standing Oak will stay good far longer than dead Ash, but Ash dries to burn much faster.

If it is in the shade, Ash will go punky on you fast.

Mike, I'm lucky I have 2 farms that add up to over 300 acres, all with old logging roads. Plus my 30 acres in WV. All the Red Oak down here are dying faster than we can cut them down. If I showed you pics of all the rotting Oak logs that are a little out of the way, off the roads, you would be in tears. I used to skid logs out into the fields and let my BIL load my trailer with the JD. Now there are so many 20 feet from the roads we don't even bother skidding, just drop em, chop em, and load the trailer.

Got that one bad too... over 20k worth bad

Don't worry, wait till you start collecting guns that are worth 20K each. I'm not quite there yet, but the engraved pre WWI Savages start about 10 and go up. I can start drawing my SS this year and I hope to find a couple engraved models in the next year or so, Joe.

 

[foxtrot5]

@rarefish383 Send some of that oak down my way please! I'm jealous.

 

[MustangMike]

I have a similar problem with the storm damaged trees on my 50 acres in the Catskills, but it is a 2.5 hr trip, and 2 mi in on a 4WD road, so it does not pay to take any of it out.

Over the past few decades, the wind storms have been brutal, and have pushed over far more trees than you can use. It almost seems like they are being knocked down faster than they can grow. They use to log it every 10 years. It has not been logged for over 20 years now, and pickins are slim.