What Is Junk Wood???

[flyboy553]

When reading threads on here, I often come across someone using the term junk wood. What the heck is that?? I cut every day and never get junk wood. Is it stuff you can't split with your wonder axe? Crotchety stuff? Splitter not big enough? I don't know. I just know that if you read the piece of wood, it can be split, and split so it will stack nicely.

Some one please educate me on this "junk wood".

Ted

 

[Somesawguy]

It depends, but up here junk wood is softwood like pine and poplar.

It'll burn, but most people don't bother with it.

 

[Circle B MN]

Junk wood is all that stuff out back by the OWB. End cuts, shorts, Y's, School marms, pine, poplar, knots, etc. Anything that I would not sell is kept for myself. Funny thing is, at times it think all those knots and end cuts burn a bit better than stick wood...

 

[lone wolf]

When reading threads on here, I often come across someone using the term junk wood. What the heck is that?? I cut every day and never get junk wood. Is it stuff you can't split with your wonder axe? Crotchety stuff? Splitter not big enough? I don't know. I just know that if you read the piece of wood, it can be split, and split so it will stack nicely.

Some one please educate me on this "junk wood".

Ted

To me anything that smells bad ,wont split and burns way to fast, and is knotted and twisted.Lets see what come to mind Poplar ,Pitch Pine,Gum,maybe Sassafras.

 

[darkbyrd]

For me, it's a complex equation. Access, species, size, condition of the wood, ease of splitting/stacking, is it coming down anyway, Green weight, dry weight, and how I feel that day all come into play.

 

[Marc]

If I ever use the term it's to describe rotten or punky stuff that has had much of its heating value alreadly liberated via decomposition.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Between Guns and Marc they have it nailed.

Rotted stuff gets left in the woods, unless it's got good wood connected to it. Then I split off the good stuff and have blocks of junk wood. Those get dumped unceremoniously into the brushpile.

If it's too oddball sized to stack, it goes in a pile. That pile keeps the bonfire fed.

Species that other people call "Junk" wood still burn. I burn whatever's dead on my 80 acres, from box elder and poplar to white oak and ironwood. It all has it's place in the woodpile.

 

[Whitespider]

Anything rotten, punky, spongy, squishy, soft, soggy, produces an offensive odor when burned or goes “whoosh” when a flame is applied… which includes box elder, willow, basswood and cottonwood to name a few. I won’t even burn those four in my fire pit.

 

[Steve NW WI]

anything rotten, punky, spongy, squishy, soft, soggy, produces an offensive odor when burned or goes “whoosh” when a flame is applied… which includes box elder, willow, basswood and cottonwood to name a few. I won’t even burn those four in my fire pit.

snob!

 

[3fordasho]

I've used the term "junk wood" to describe wood that I don't think is worthy of my personal stash. Currently that would be box elder, most siberian elm, cotton wood, willow, etc... I am having to cut it to clear the lots I'm working at, but it goes in a seperate stash that I sell to a local marina/restaurant for their fireplace... Such wood that is a twisted ugly mess, too short to stack or otherwise just gets left at the cutting site.


I also should note that my personal stash has limited storage space which is currently pretty much full - if not for that I would burn it.

 

[jags]

Junk wood - and you ain't gonna stack that:

 

[Whitespider]

Now that there is funny jags... looks like an R.E.O. Speedwagon "bad hair day".

 

[jags]

Now that there is funny jags... looks like an R.E.O. Speedwagon "bad hair day".

The whole tree split the same way. Worst elm I have ever come across.

 

[Marc]

Between Guns and Marc they have it nailed.

I don't have to be truthful, but I will be anyway. Because it's Friday and I'm avoiding finishing a stupid report.

My first response was going to be:

Junk-wood is typically that place on a guy that, when struck, will cause him to double over in pain and unleash a long train of expletives. See also: wedding tackle

 

[zogger]

Junk wood is all that stuff out back by the OWB. End cuts, shorts, Y's, School marms, pine, poplar, knots, etc. Anything that I would not sell is kept for myself. Funny thing is, at times it think all those knots and end cuts burn a bit better than stick wood...

For real. Back in the day, sell the perfect pretty wood, keep warm with the "other".

 

[darkbyrd]

Junk wood - and you ain't gonna stack that:

Burn barrel for sure!

 

[joecool85]

Junk wood to me is the wood I won't burn inside. This includes wood that is spongy enough to pull apart with your hands, wood that is full of carpenter ants (sometimes I split that, let the chickens eat the ants then burn the wood anyway, but I won't let it stay in my pile long) and that's about it. I've burned a little over 2 cord so far this year. Almost all of it so far has been pine, fir and willow. I do have a few sticks of apple that I've burned, maybe a stove load or 3 of birch and a stove load or so of oak and that's it. If it's wood and it's seasoned, it goes in the stove.

 

[mallardman]

Cottonwood, willow, sycamore, pines, spruce are junk wood for me. I'll take some to burn outside in the firepit but I have easy access to a lot better wood so there's no reason to exend the energy on the others.

 

[stumpy75]

Is there a splitter hidden in there somewhere??:msp_smile: That's junk wood for sure!

Junk wood - and you ain't gonna stack that:

 

[branchbuzzer]

"Junk Wood" is all I really need to keep the house warm on most days - one load is usually enough so I really don't need coals. If I had to just heat with poplar, basswood and all the other misfits I could easily do it. Most all the pretty boy wood gets sold. If I need dense wood for a super cold day, I use the oddball pieces of the better grades. Having a big stove turns other people's junk into heat.