# Intheswamp's wood "getting"....it's getting too hot to get wood!!!



## Intheswamp (Dec 21, 2010)

I got a face cord of some oak from a local fellow today.  His two sons delivered it.  Before they started unloading I asked them what kind of oak it was.  The older boy said "white oak".     So, anybody want to take a shot at id'ing this wood?


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## Kenster (Dec 21, 2010)

I'm pretty sure that's Water oak.   I love that wood.  Thin bark looks like faded white paint.  Straight grain.  Easily split.   I use my water oak for large quarter round splits, then I further split it up to also give me a bunch of fast lighting two inch thick splits.   If you can find it standing dead it will probably be ready to burn after one year.   A buddy gave me a huge trunk last February that he had taken down a month earlier.  Standing dead for a few years.  Not a bit of punkiness.   This winter that wood is showing about 18% MC on my $30 Lowes meter, which someone on this board said shows 5% high.  Great wood.  Call em back and Get all you can.   
I have a standing dead back in my woods that I just discovered last week.  It's starting to drop some of its larger limbs.   The trunk goes straight up about 45 feet and is about 20 inches diameter.  Going to be easy to buck and split it.  First chore for me right after the holidays and I hope to be burning it next winter.


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## Nic36 (Dec 21, 2010)

Ditto on the Water Oak......one of the few trees I can recognize.

I don't see as much of it up here in north Alabama, but I'm originally from the central Alabama. It is very common down there.

I actually have several Willow Oaks in my yard. For the longest time, I thought they were Water Oaks. The bark is about the same, but the leaf is very narrow and not lobed.


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## Wood Duck (Dec 21, 2010)

I agree the leaves look like water oak. Most woodburners are in the north, and Water Oaks are in the south, so I don't think you'll get a whole lot of responses to your question.


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## Intheswamp (Dec 21, 2010)

Thanks for the confirmation, ya'll.

Yelp, it's very common in my area (got several within seeing distance from the house).  I see that it's stated BTU content is in the average oak range...basically running in the middle of the pack.  That sounds good.  Mostly what I've heard of that wood is good, no really bad comments.

The load was $75, c/s/s, from a local guy that I think is a pretty good person.  I was expecting a long wheel base pick-up being as the guy said a regular p/u truck load.  We've always used LWB pickups at work so that's "regular" to me.  Anyhow, they got there with the load on a standard, step-side pickup truck.  I'm figuring that the load is about 10-15% short.  Anyhow, I didn't complain to the boys but they watched me measuring the stack and I commented on it being a short face cord and went on to talk about the different ways folks measure out wood...cords, face cords, dimensions, etc.,.  I paid'em and they left.  Well, I paid them and they left.  I was happy to get some wood stacked out back but wasn't overly thrilled at the deal I got.  A few hours later the phone rang at work and it was the wood guy checking to see if I was ok with the wood.  I told him how the wood measured out and he quickly told me he would get me some more to make up for the shortage.  His boys had mentioned that they had some "old" wood sitting around....he said he'd get me some of that (I'll be glad to get that "old", dingy wood out of there way!).  Anyhow, the guy is all about doing me right (which felt like he would do from the beginning).  He also said that he thought he told me $65 so I'll either be getting $10 back or extra wood....I might just give it to the boys (11 and 16 year olds) that delivered for Christmas.

Now I've got to figure out if I want to process some wood myself.  I've got a saw and a Fiskars SS, and in delirious states have toyed with the idea of guying a splitter.  But, right now I'm having some health issues that are kinda keeping me from being very active.  

Another thing is that I don't know have any idea of how much wood I need to be putting back.  Living in south Alabama we don't have the extreme cold like in other parts of the country.  Plus, we're not depending entirely on wood for our heat and the wood will be going through the F3CB which I don't think will gobble up tons of wood anyhow.  I would like to plan ahead and be several years ahead with my wood storage/drying.  I'm thinking that maybe a cord per year would be sufficient for me but until I start burning I won't really be able to tell and will have to guesstimate.  

I'm facing pretty much the same thing that most new wood burners face...lack of seasoned wood.  My saving grace might be that I've got some standing dead pine (beetle kill) that I can process.  These are plantation pines that are probably 12+" DBH and have been dead for a little over a year with most of the bark falling off.  It will be a while before I get the stove install done so I have a little time to check the pines out, I may go cut up one or two to see how the wood is.

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Dec 21, 2010)

Wood Duck said:
			
		

> I agree the leaves look like water oak. Most woodburners are in the north, and Water Oaks are in the south, so I don't think you'll get a whole lot of responses to your question.


I definitely agree about the most woodburners being in the north, same goes for stove shops....I had to drive (northeast) 250 miles one way to pick up my little Jotul!

Ed


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## bigtall (Dec 22, 2010)

Another oak specimen that I have a lot of on my property. Makes great firewood and is very easy to split when wet. The super splitter will make quick work of it.


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## Intheswamp (Dec 24, 2010)

Well, I got the wood up off the ground.  Measuring it out it looks like a little over 1/4 cord.  The guy said he would bring me some more, but haven't seen him yet.  Hopefully I can start scrounging some and get more sweat equity involved.

There's some knarly stuff in there that I'll have to bust up if I'm going to use it in the F3, but we'll see...

Anyhow, I got the wood up off of the ground....it's a start! 

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Jan 7, 2011)

Ok, got a little more water oak from a different guy today.  He mentioned that he had some dry wood so he brought me half green and half "dry".  He was going to stack it, but I want to get it up off the ground and wasn't ready for that, plus I kinda wanted to do it myself.  Anyhow, he was on a lwb dualie with a toolbox in the back and the wood heaped up in the middle about a foot above the sides.

We threw the piles in two stacks..."dry" wood in one, green in the other.  He also brought a big piece of lighter'd with the load.  There was a definite difference between the sound of the green splits hitting each other and the "dry" splits hitting each other.  He said the "dry" wood was cut (not split) in October 2009.  

The only problem is that he apparently cut the wood short...I told him 16" and there's a lot of 13" and 14" in there.   I figure the short wood should season quicker and will be ready next winter, but if I order more (which I probably will) I'll explain that my stove can handle 18" but that cutting 16" gives me some elbow room....I think he probably thought my stove could only handle 16" and smaller and was trying to be sure he didn't cut too long.  I'll try to get him to tighten up his measuring a bit next time. 

Total for the load was $70.  Here's some pics of the wood with a couple of remarks...

This is the two piles.  Green wood on the left, "Dry" wood on the right.  Combined length of both piles is a good 15', width at widest point is 5' and the peak height is a good 2'....the pile narrows in the middle where the piles meet each other.  I have no idea how much I'll end up with when I get it stacked, though I feel like I'll be pushing a 1/2 cord.   





Close up shot of the "dry" wood.  Looks pretty dry considering we had heavy rain yesterday.





And for what it's worth here's a shot from the other side (green on right this time) showing the chunk of lightered.





Ed


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## jlove1974 (Jan 7, 2011)

just an observation, but with all that wood surrounding the field, why are you buying??


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## Intheswamp (Jan 7, 2011)

jlove1974 said:
			
		

> just an observation, but with all that wood surrounding the field, why are you buying??


Right now time is in short supply and I'm trying to get ahead a year or two to begin with...which I'm roughly figuring on a little over a cord per year for me.  

I'm going to be cutting my own wood soon...to begin with probably some beetle killed pine at another piece of property.  Down the backside of the pasture there is a thick stand of volunteer pines, probably an acre, that I'm thinking of starting to thin some.  

I really want to get a stock of oak in, though, as the F3CB has a small firebox and the oak will give me the longest burn times....I'm thinking that filling up the F3CB with pine might get it running maybe too hot???...but for "shoulder season" and quick morning fires some smaller loads of pine should work well.   As for any oaks around the pasture...I'd rather leave them for the turkeys and deer to enjoy...there's oak and pecan elsewhere. ;-)

You mentioned in another thread that you burn some sweetgum.  I saw where you suggested splitting slabs off the round rather than trying to quarter it...got any other tips for it?  Thanks.

Ed


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## jlove1974 (Jan 7, 2011)

Ed,

I understand where you are coming from. I only cut in winter and usually try to split in spring, and I have considered buying quite a few times.
But with having friends with property that I can cut on (and hunt on) I really try not to chase bad money w/ good. Everybody and their brother-in-law
sells green wood around here, and the prices have went up dramatically. There is only one guy I would buy wood again from, and he is HIGH priced...

Yes I have burned sweetgum for quite a few years, since the scumbag developer who moved in on our neighborhood decided to plow down 50% of the standing timber.
Most of it was Gum, with some ash, sycamore, and oak thrown in. This is the source of about half of my wood in the past two seasons. 

Gum is so heavy when green, I cut it into rounds and let it sit for a while if I can. It really helps to have a splitter, because by hand, when green, is almost impossible.

But if you work around a round, hitting to either side of the heartwood, there is some straighter grain there. but in the heart wood, forget it. Splitting solid concrete is easier.


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## Intheswamp (Jan 9, 2011)

jlove1974 said:
			
		

> Ed,
> 
> I understand where you are coming from. I only cut in winter and usually try to split in spring, and I have considered buying quite a few times.
> But with having friends with property that I can cut on (and hunt on) I really try not to chase bad money w/ good. Everybody and their brother-in-law
> ...


I figured if I wanted a chance at getting a bit ahead anytime soon I'd have to bite the bullet and buy.   It's bitter sweet.  I've got a friend who cleared some timber north of me and I can have all the wood I want.  I actually went up there a few months ago and started to saw some rounds when I suddenly had some kind of "medical event"...ended up with a stress test, etc., but didn't find out anything but ended up with #2 bp pill.<groan>  I haven't been back up there since but after today I think I would be ok...we'll see.   ...and I've got my own land if I wanted to cut some off of it, mostly pine, though.  

I've got plenty of sweetgum, though.  A few years ago I put in a road down to the swamp...dodged what oaks and big pines were down there but I'd nail the sweetgums!  I wasn't burning then but I did buck up the logs for burning in a fireplace in a little cabin that we've been working on...they burned fairly good...never tried splitting them, though a friend did...he seemed very tired at times.<grin>  As for not splitting the heart, is it just that the grain is so twisted up in the center or is it a denser wood there?  I don't have a splitter so I might hold off on it for a while.

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Jan 9, 2011)

WARNING!  -  There is a picture displaying my firewood stacking ability at the bottom of the post...remember to not have coffee, coca-cola, tea, whiskey or any other liquid in your mouth when you view it.  Also, it's advised not to be using any sharp instruments when you first view my stack.  One last thing, someone in your house or your neighbor's house might be sleeping so try to keep your laughter to somewhat of a restrained level.  Now, back to the post...

Well, except for a lot of short log lengths...13"-14" stuff, I'm very pleased with the last load of wood that I bought.  I got out there today and decided to reduce the side of the splits a bit and to bust up some most of the rounds for the small firebox of the F3CB.  I figured it'd help the green oak dry faster to (maybe be ready for the 11/12 season).  The dry stuff I just busted up as most of it was in rounds.

Now I'm no Paul Bunyan or quads, but I enjoyed reducing the size of those splits and rounds.  I've never split wood to amount to anything and this was thoroughly enjoyable...and a lot of exercise.  Having a bad back (surgery back in '93) I was ok as long as I kept going...if I ever stopped for a break I could tell I needed to get back to work...sitting here typing this I'm trying to decide between Tylenol and Ibuprophen...probably will opt for the last.  Anyhow, most of the larger rounds were dry ones and only 7"-8" at the largest.  There were only a few green rounds that size and most were smaller than that so I busted most of the ones 3" and larger.  Are bigger green rounds of the equivalent wood harder or easier to split than the 5-6 inch ones that I split?

I think I probably made a lot of "stove wood" size splits out of this load and some kindlin' sized pieces that I scattered through the stack.  I did leave some pretty good size splits in the mix, though.  I attacked some knotty stuff and had success there...though there was a few pieces that I didn't even try.   I was using the Fiskars SS which I am well pleased with.  Anyhow, here are a couple of pics...

Here is the "before" picture.  As you can see, the dry stuff was mostly rounds...some of them were a little punky but most were good wood that sounded like a bat if you knocked'em together...





Here is the "after" picture.  The 2x4's supporting the stack are 12' long...there is a 4' level propped up against the side of the stack.  I stacked the green wood on the left and the dry stuff on the left.  The green wood side measures 5' tall while the dry side measures around 4.5' tall.  There is a small stack of crotches, knotty stuff, etc., at the far end of dry wood side that I stacked on some bricks and short 2x4s.  I'm happy.  Looking back at the first load that I bought elsewhere for $75 (picture earlier in the thread) I'm tickled pink with the last supplier.  This last load was a $70 load...called the guy tonight and though he said he was about out of the dry stuff I went ahead ordered four more loads.    Now, I need to figure out how big is the biggest wood I'd want to burn in the F3CB.   Gee, getting excited about splitting wood and still don't have the stove set up....got the mason coming this week, though, and I located some micore!!


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## rdust (Jan 9, 2011)

Stacks are looking good!


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## Intheswamp (Jan 10, 2011)

rdust said:
			
		

> Stacks are looking good!



Thaks rdust!  I got some pointers from a good guy on stacking it this way.  ;-) 
Thanks!

I guess I couldn't leave well enough alone...got some more stackin' and a little more splittin' to do.  The pile right beside the stack has a lot of small rounds in it, I'm figuring on splitting those at least in half and maybe reducing some of the splits.  

The pile nearest to the camera has some large squared-off splits in it and looks like it doesn't have any rounds in it.  I'm thinking of getting the pie-shaped pieces (quarters) and knocking the points off to square them up a bit and lace the small pieces in the stack for kindlin'.  I'm thinking these larger splits will be some good overnight/back logs.

Before ordering these last loads I thought about the short pieces that I got on my first load from this guy.  I got to thinking that when I told him to cut it 16" he might have thought that was as long as my stove could handle.  I mentioned it and sure enough, he was cutting to try to give me wiggle room.  These last two loads are very nice lengths. 

I've got two more loads to go...I've got an option of getting a load of pecan... is pecan better or worse than oak (for heating, not cooking)?

Anyhow here's a pic of the last two loads delivered as the "winter storm" was nearing yesterday...


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## jlove1974 (Jan 12, 2011)

RE: sweetgum grain :

It's so twisted up that many times the center just mushes into kindling, or your splitter binds (or BENDS the beam on a speeco...read my Northern Tool review in gear section...) or dies.
I tell people it's like a twisted dishrag that petrifies, that's the best way to describe it.

And if you google sweetgum, you'll see that some people use that wood for flooring and cabinets LOL. I think I'll stick to Ash, Maple, Hickory, Oak or Walnut for all my cabinetry needs.

Anyhow, sweetgum, like pecan, is one of those woods you hate so bad that you want to see it burn just for vengeance


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## Intheswamp (Jan 12, 2011)

jlove1974 said:
			
		

> RE: sweetgum grain :
> 
> It's so twisted up that many times the center just mushes into kindling, or your splitter binds (or BENDS the beam on a speeco...read my Northern Tool review in gear section...) or dies.
> I tell people it's like a twisted dishrag that petrifies, that's the best way to describe it.
> ...


Ok, I'll remember this in case I decide to try some sweetgum...don't want to go into trying to split it with misconceptions!

You mentioned pecan as being similar in it's splitting...but, what about it's burn characteristics?  In comparison to water oak (or your average oak in general) how does pecan measure up?

Thanks,
Ed


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## jlove1974 (Jan 12, 2011)

Intheswamp said:
			
		

> jlove1974 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Pecan and I have a love-hate relationship. The pecan is like the southern US favorite nut, pecan pie etc. I love that aspect. The tree itself is a major litterbug besides the nuts, always dropping limbs (NEVER top out a pecan tree) and then the pollen pods are long tassles that stain concrete. And massive amounts of hard to rake leaves in the fall.

So the wood is heavy, burns very similar to it's cousin shagbark hickory which means outstanding BTUs. Also hard to split wet or dry, but twisted crotches and some trunk grain are nigh-impossible task.

Sweetgum is medium-heat, kinda like maple but burns fast like pine when seasoned fully. Note it is full of water when green. Twisted grain throughout means TOUGH manual splitting.


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## Intheswamp (Jan 12, 2011)

jlove1974 said:
			
		

> Intheswamp said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I hear you on pecan dropping junk everywhere...but those pecan pies sure are good..just roasted pecans by themselves are pretty hard to stop eatin'!  So, for btu's would you rank pecan over water oak?  I've got an option of getting some pecan rather than water oak in some wood that I'm buying.  Just trying to figure out whether to get some pecan or not...  ??

Ed


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## jlove1974 (Jan 12, 2011)

Any type of Hickory/Pecan outranks Oak in every firewood performance category except maybe White Oak, esp in the area of seasoning time.
So yes I would take the option of getting Pecan vs Water Oak (which is a red oak and a PITA to season fully) anytime


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## Intheswamp (Jan 14, 2011)

I'm getting conflicting info on oak vs pecan.

Seems that the pecan is definitely good wood, but I've seen mention of wood borers getting into it after a year or two and recommendations to burn it within that time span.  A couple of places have also made a differentiation made between the natural pecans and domesticated(?) pecans...basically implying that the trees normally planted for pecan production aren't quiet up to snuff with the "natural" pecans.  ??

I think what I'm going to do is let pecan be a scrounge wood for me...lots of pecan trees in the area and they do tend to shed big limbs occasionally...if we get a big storm, there's always some blow downs or limbs on the ground.  

I'm hoping to get a cord of the water oak stacked and off the ground tomorrow.  The first stack is already looking "different"...getting a darker, graying color on the ends but no checking going on...it's only been cut and split a little under 2 weeks.  The other two piles were split a week later than the wood in the first stack.  1/4 cord of the first stack is dry wood...the guy said that it was cut October 2009...so it is 14-15 months old and as far as I can tell is good and dry...I think a lot of the dry stuff was limbs.  I'll put a moisture meter to a couple of fresh splits this weekend and see what the meter shows.  The green stuff will just peg the meter out.

Sounds like a good experiment to do....running water oak up against some pecan. 

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Jan 16, 2011)

I've got all the wood delivered now and just needing to get it stacked and re-split if needed.  I got a 1/2 cord stacked this afternoon.  I took a picture of the block and 2x4 foundation for the stack but didn't take anymore of stacking progresses...it got dark on me before I got through so tomorrow I might get a picture of it.

I started this stack basically a block's depth further north than the first stack.  Most of my prevailing wind comes from the southwest and I figured this might give the stacks to the east a little extra area to catch/direct some wind in between the stacks...probably won't make any difference but...

I started the second stack 68" from the first stack.  Why 68"?...because that will give my lawn mower 5" of clearance on either side of it when I mow between the stacks.  Plus, if a stack falls it shouldn't fall into it's neighboring stack.  

It will also be interesting to see how the sun hits each side of the stacks...I finished stacking by moonlight and I noticed that the shadow cast by the first (east)stack was a little over a foot away from the second (west)stack so I'm guessing the moon had begun to completely shine on the westward stack when it was about in the 9-10 o'clock position in the sky.  I'll see what it looks like in the morning.  

Each stack is 12' long which figures 1/2 cord each @ 4' high.  I'm going to add another 12' stack on the north end of the existing stacks.  I'm thinking of leaving the same 68" spacing between the ends of the existing stacks and the added stacks...first for ventilation/wind and the 68" width to get the lawn mower through.  The gap between the stack ends will be angled so I may have to leave more than 68".  Do you think leaving this gap will increase ventilation enough to benefit the wood?  I'm mostly working with water oak.

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Jan 18, 2011)

Well, I'm slowly getting the oak up off of the ground.  Here you can see the spacing between the stacks....68".  I also left around six feet between the ends of the stacks.  I figure this should give good air movement around and through the stacks and give me room to mow the grass.  Each stack is 12' long and will be four feet tall for 1/2 cord per stack.  The closest stack to the camera is a measured 1/2 cord...4' tall x 12' long.  The first stack has a bit more than 1/2 cord in it.

Anyhow, I'm getting there...


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## Nic36 (Jan 18, 2011)

Hey Ed, 

I see it's coming along quite well. I will say just one thing though. A good strong wind might cause you some problems down the road.


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## Intheswamp (Jan 18, 2011)

Howdy Nic.  Yelp, a little progress along the way.  I wonder sometimes, though, if I have a clue as to what I'm doing.

I wasn't so concerned with wind but rather my stacking skills and the settling/drying of the wood.  I'm strongly thinking about placing one end of a 2x4 at the bottom of each block either side of the center ones and then lean the other end of the 2x4 up against it's neighboring stack.  Looking down between  each pair of stacks there would be two "X's".  They should be easily moved when I decide to mow between the stacks or whatever....unless the stack is leaning against them, of course!  Now that you've mentioned it, though, some of our thunderstorms and the occasional hurricane could definitely cause some problems.  Yeah, I think I'll be going with the cross bracing for sure.  Thanks for the encouragement!

Best wishes,
Ed


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## Intheswamp (Feb 5, 2011)

I got to thinking about my wood stacks and the "specs" of the stack structure, location, etc.,.  The structure design definitely isn't my design or idea and rdust and his stacks was definitely a deciding factor on me doing it this way...of course his is a little more intensive than mine. 

I'm using 8x8x16 blocks and pt 2"x4"x12' (check the cull racks at the lumber yard).  I go to a little trouble to get the 2by/block foundations fairly level from end to end...I think the more important leveling is from side to side (16" narrow dimension).  

I begin by starting a crib (maybe 1.5'-2.0' tall) on each end for end support and then start stacking in the center of the stack so that the stack "falls in" against itself thus taking some of the pressure off of the end cribs.  You can see by the picture that the stack gets fairly high before it touched the cribs at the end of the stacks.  This idea of stacking in the center came from somewhere here on hearth.com or elsewhere, it was definitely not an original idea by me, but it certainly appears to work in helping stack stability!  .

Anyhow, the stacks are 12' long and designed for a 4' height.  The first stack (left rear stack with the mix of green and seasoned wood in it) is a bit over this, more like 5' tall but it will be lowered a bit for stability reasons.  At 12' long and 4' tall each stack will hold a half of cord of green wood.  

The wood I'm stacking is water oak and I'm figuring a green weight of 4886 pounds.  This figures to be close to 490# loaded on each block.  I was a bit concerned about the blocks being able to hold this much weight laying on their sides as they are but they appear to be handling it well...and as evidenced by other folks use they seem to work ok in this orientation.  As time goes by the wood's weight will decrease as it dries...using a weight of 3550# for red oak dried down to 20% MC this would reduce the loads on each block to around 355 pounds.  Here is an interesting wood weight / moisture content webpage that you might want to check out... Wood Species - Weight at various Moisture Contents

Stacks are oriented north/south with the prevailing wind coming from the southwest.  Each stack is "set back" north by about a foot from it's eastern neighboring stack...I figured this might give each easterly stack just a little extra "sail" to catch any wind passing by.  Stacks are roughly 68" apart (room for the mower) and the ends of the stacks that are inline with each other are about that far apart, also.  There is at least 6" of ventilation under the stacks (some blocks were dug into the ground to level things up).  During the summer these stacks will be exposed to sun basically from ~7am till ~6pm...wintertime from about 9am till 4pm.

We had some 40mph winds the other day and the stacks held fine.  I'm not sure how they'll do as they dry...or when the next hurricane comes through. :bug:  I'm considering some cross-bracing where one end of a pole or 2by is placed against a block of one stack with the other end against the neighboring stack...probably four poles bracing each stack (2 to the side).  That might be aggravating in regards to mowing the grass but restacking a half cord of wood might be rather aggravating, too!    We'll see how it goes.

I've also got some old tin I'm considering putting on top of the stacks.  I figure I can set a few splits on top of the stacks to elevate the tin above the stacks a few inches.  That will probably be a summer project.

Anyhow, for whatever reason...there's some details on my wood stacks.
Ed


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## Kenster (Feb 5, 2011)

You're using 16 inch blocks and your 2 x 4 runners, as well as your splits appear flush with the blocks so I'm assuming you buck to 16 inches.   All looks very good to me.  This would still work with longer splits - They'd just overhang the 2x4 runners a wee bit.  No problem with that.
Seems like you could space them a little closer together and still get good air circulation unless you're wanting to pull a five or six foot wide shredder or finish mower between them.   

How far is this from the house?


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## midwestcoast (Feb 5, 2011)

I think your stacks are looking good. Primo exposure for seasoning. Rather than messing with cross-bracing I'd just keep stack height a little lower since you have plenty of room to play with. It looks like you're already doing that after the first stack or 2.
Don't overthink it!
Oh, and it sounds like you've found a couple good suppliers getting you good wood, cutting to spec'd length, looking to make sure you're happy... Well done.


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## Intheswamp (Feb 5, 2011)

Kenster said:
			
		

> You're using 16 inch blocks and your 2 x 4 runners, as well as your splits appear flush with the blocks so I'm assuming you buck to 16 inches.   All looks very good to me.  This would still work with longer splits - They'd just overhang the 2x4 runners a wee bit.  No problem with that.
> Seems like you could space them a little closer together and still get good air circulation unless you're wanting to pull a five or six foot wide shredder or finish mower between them.
> 
> How far is this from the house?


Yelp, 16" wood.  It shouldn't be a problem using this for longer splits, I'm sure there are folks doing just that.  Being as you'd have longer splits the center of gravity would be lower for a 1/2 cord volume which would make the stacks even more stable.

I got'em spaced for my 54" JD mower with a couple of inches for wiggle room...about the same distance between the ends of the stacks that are end-to-end.  I figure I want the air movement under the stacks, too, so I'm figuring on keeping the grass mowed (maybe not as regularly as the yard, but...). 

Now if I could just find a honeyhole of oak like you have. ;-)

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Feb 5, 2011)

midwestcoast said:
			
		

> I think your stacks are looking good. Primo exposure for seasoning. Rather than messing with cross-bracing I'd just keep stack height a little lower since you have plenty of room to play with. It looks like you're already doing that after the first stack or 2.
> Don't overthink it!
> Oh, and it sounds like you've found a couple good suppliers getting you good wood, cutting to spec'd length, looking to make sure you're happy... Well done.


Thanks for the comments.

That tall stack was the first load that I got the second seller...I tried to get it all on one stack.  When I get my last load stacked up I'm going to move some of the first stack onto the last one...this should give me a good idea of how much wood I actually got from this seller...it's looking pretty close to 1/2 cord per load at $70 a load.  I'm shooting for 4' high on all the stacks.  The first load from this seller was a little short in length.  I had told him I needed 16" wood and that I had a new stove.  He intentionally cut it a grunt short thinking I had told him what the max size was for the stove...I explained that it was rated at 18" but that most folks recommended 16"...he caught on quick and the subsequent loads were cut pretty doggone close. 

The first seller was not good...basically about 1/4 cord for $75.  Bad thing is he's cutting off of our local sheriff's property (sheriff's a good friend) and I called myself helping the guy out (been in jail, drugs, etc., but appears to be getting his life (and family) back together.   I mentioned the short amount of wood, etc., to the guy and he was going to bring me some more wood to make up the shortage...been month or so and haven't seen him.  I don't mind helping somebody out but... I haven't bought anymore of his wood.

Yeah, I'm probably putting to much thought into it all, but I'm hoping to have this water oak ready by next season (11/12).  We'll see how that goes.  I'm hoping that I can start cutting my own wood, these purchases were to get ahead some so I won't feel so pressured.  I'm hoping that what I have on hand at the moment is a 2 year supply for me figuring a little over a cord per year.

One more stack to go and then I'll start "hunting".  Weather and time hasn't cooperated the last week or so....but weather-wise nothing like ya'll have had up your way!

Take care,
Ed


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## Intheswamp (Feb 6, 2011)

Kenster said:
			
		

> You're using 16 inch blocks and your 2 x 4 runners, as well as your splits appear flush with the blocks so I'm assuming you buck to 16 inches.   All looks very good to me.  This would still work with longer splits - They'd just overhang the 2x4 runners a wee bit.  No problem with that.
> Seems like you could space them a little closer together and still get good air circulation unless you're wanting to pull a five or six foot wide shredder or finish mower between them.
> 
> How far is this from the house?


Kenster, I overlooked your question regarding the distance from the house...my apologies.  The wood is about a minute's walk from the house.  My plans are to simply load ~1/4 of a face cord in my trailer and pull it around to the front porch to be stacked there.  This will probably be several days worth of wood for my F3CB.  Of course, these plans are subject to change without notice.   ;-) 

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Feb 27, 2011)

Well, I went up to some a friends property that was clear cut about a year ago but found a locked gate on the part that I really wanted to go to to work on some oak tops that I had spotted out a few months ago.  Looks like I'm gonna have to hit him up for a key.  But...being as I was there and there was some of the clear-cut that wasn't behind the gate I decided to grab a little bit of what I could.  I had some saw trouble but I ended up with probably 1/4 of a cord.  I did find that my limit is 12-16 inch rounds.<groan>

Some wood ID's would be nice if somebody wants to give it a shot.  All of the wood *seems* to be pretty dry.  All of it basically had bark simply surrounding the wood...could knock it off pretty easily....cracking/checking along the grain in several of the smaller pieces.  I'm kind of wondering about splitting this...busted up a little of one big round while I was there, that sucker was tough  I might have to save up my rounds and rent a splitter later, we'll see.

Today's scrounge.  2x4's are 12' long, canthook is 4.5' long....





These are the big rounds (seen on the left side of the group picture)....





Bark of the big rounds....





Grain of a split from one of the big rounds....





Wood chips of the big rounds....





There are the next largest rounds(seen on the right side of the group picture)....





Bark of the next largest rounds....





Wood chips of the next largest rounds....





Anyhow, that killed a few hours today for me...now if I can just get me a key. ;-)

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Feb 27, 2011)

P.S.     I like the cant hook!


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## Intheswamp (Mar 20, 2011)

I went back up to the clear-cut again today (after picking up my new Huskee 22ton splitter  ).  For me, I got a pretty fair load.  I've got a couple of wood ID's I need but I'll have to get some pictures of the rounds tomorrow.  I really want to get my old Cherokee squared away so I can start using it and my 5x10 trailer...it'll make it a LOT easier loading.  

Here's a couple of shots of the area I was working in.

I got both of these logs except for the forks and crotches...red oaks of some kind...very possibly water oak but the bark looks "rougher" than most water oak that I've seen.  16" butts.  I couldn't have gotten them nearly as easy as I did if it hadn't been for the cant hook.





Here's a shot just to the right of those two logs...the log on the right is the one on the left in previous picture.  There are three logs propped up on a snag.  I got probably 8-10' of both of the first two logs.  The third one looked like cedar to me.  Also, the two smaller logs laying on the ground in front of these were cut up.





The red line designates where I got my bar pinched...a felling wedge and a 4 pound short handled sledge sure comes in handy





...and I'm tired.

Ed


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 20, 2011)

I'm tired too Ed. You need to learn to undercut those types, especially when they have another log laying on them. On that one I would do the complete cut by undercutting and never put the saw at the top except for a light cut. The light cut at the top then put the bar under the log and keep cutting until it falls, hopefully not on your foot.


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## Intheswamp (Mar 20, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> I'm tired too Ed. You need to learn to undercut those types, especially when they have another log laying on them. On that one I would do the complete cut by undercutting and never put the saw at the top except for a light cut. The light cut at the top then put the bar under the log and keep cutting until it falls, hopefully not on your foot.



I hear you on the undercut and understand it.  I can't really remember how I did the cut, but seems like I thought at that moment that it wasn't right....probably was cutting straight down.<duh>   Compression and tension...definitely had some of that to deal with.  I'm learning.   What was interesting is that even though those three logs appear to be resting solidly against that snag that they only dropped maybe a foot and ended up being suspended...basically top cut all the way down.   

Cutting in that stuff definitely makes you consider foot, leg, body placement.  Just got back from church, gonna eat dinner then unload the truck.  Some of the smaller stuff I'm not sure about...might've got some sweet gum...  :roll: 

Ed


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 20, 2011)

The next time you go to church Ed, please pray that Spring returns to the north country... Our Fireview is still hot and staying that way for some time.


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## Intheswamp (Mar 20, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> The next time you go to church Ed, please pray that Spring returns to the north country... Our Fireview is still hot and staying that way for some time.



I certainly will, Dennis.  I'll be going back to church this evening.

I hate to say this, but it's currently 84F outside here.  Yesterday when I started cutting (around 3:30pm) I almost started to get too hot.  I could tell as it got later in the afternoon it got cooler and much more pleasant to tote wood.  

Ed


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 20, 2011)

OH Ed. You should be sharing that warm air....


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## Intheswamp (Mar 21, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> OH Ed. You should be sharing that warm air....


 It really seems strange to think other places in the lower 48 are still having cold to frigid temperatures.  A friend of mine was looking at a job in North Dakota...he checked the current weather (Saturday, I think) and it was 9F   He opted not to pursue that one for now.

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Mar 21, 2011)

Ok, here's some of the wood I need ID'ing... Thanks!

Bark #1...white oak maybe?




End grain #1...





Bark #2 (looks about like #1 but something seems different)...maple, maybe?




End grain #2





Bark #3 (very smooth barked, lightweight wood)...I don't have a guess on this one...




End grain #3





I know this one is oak, but the bark seems very rough for water oak compared to other water oaks I've dealt with, is it some other type of oak?...





Thanks for any ID help
Ed


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 21, 2011)

I'm not really sure on these Ed. I don't like to guess so usually only post if I know for sure. You definitely have some different trees down there from what we have around here. Shoot, I can go into different areas of the state here and wonder what I am looking at. I recall not that many years ago finding burr oak. I'd never even heard of it at the time and this was only about 50 miles from us!


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## Intheswamp (Mar 22, 2011)

Yelp, things are different across the creek, Dennis.  I've had occasion over the past few months to ride both up into north Georgia and up to Birmingham, Alabama.  It interesting to watch the change in the tree species or tree species densities change as you go north.  Down here we have little stone, mostly limestone if anything, but once above Montgomery the hard stone and rock starts coming into play and you can note a definite higher density of hardwoods densely growing straight up.  Around here we're more apt to have big oaks but more scattered...or so it seems.  Of course it could be that all of our large hardwood forests have been decimated by the paper companies and replanted in hybrid pines.    Riding in north Georgia made me wish I could buy five acres of that timberland and somehow transport it down here.  Ah well, we all burn what we got, eh? 

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Mar 22, 2011)

Ok, I think I see something wrong in the picture of the #1 wood.  It looks like the round on top of the stack is something different from those underneath it.  I'd say the bottom rounds are white oak but I'm not sure what the top round is.  The bark is different with the bottom rounds having longer, flatter looking bark pieces while the top piece has smaller bark pieces that appear more "round edged".  The end grain looks different, too, but something that really stands out to me now is that that top round (when looking at the end of the round) has more pronounced ridges in the bark.

I beleive that top round in wood #1's pictures should be grouped with the #2 wood.

Ed


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 22, 2011)

Okay, nobody else is chiming in here so here I go. Possibly some ironwood or something similar for the first. Fifth picture looks like some sort of beech and the one below that looks like a soft maple. Can't really see the bark on that one but just looking at the ends it appears to be the soft maple like we have here. If so, it will split very easy and makes excellent kindling. The others we'll hope someone else come in on those.


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## Intheswamp (Mar 23, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Okay, nobody else is chiming in here so here I go. Possibly some ironwood or something similar for the first. Fifth picture looks like some sort of beech and the one below that looks like a soft maple. Can't really see the bark on that one but just looking at the ends it appears to be the soft maple like we have here. If so, it will split very easy and makes excellent kindling. The others we'll hope someone else come in on those.



1st and 2nd photo are same wood.  3rd and 4th...same wood.  5th and 6th...same-o same-o.  7th picture is, well the 7th picture. 

You know something, when a guy (or gal) decide they want to start burning wood at that point they really haven't realized that they will be getting an education in the different trees.  I'm going to be much more observant this summer   ...and also lookout for p*ss elm. 

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Mar 23, 2011)

Here's a better shot of bark #3...these trees seem to grow tall and slender...


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## billbaehr (Mar 27, 2011)

I'd love to have some of that in 5/4 board for my wood shop!


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## Backwoods Savage (Mar 27, 2011)

Geeze, that looks similar to sycamore and very well might be. Try splitting some of it. Sycamore is not known for easy splitting but will burn decently.


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## Intheswamp (Apr 6, 2011)

Here's a shot of the scrounge from the clear-cut that I've been working on.  The big rounds came from a 12' water oak(?) log that was out of reach behind some other logs, limbs, debris, little ridge, etc.,.  I carried my old Cherokee up there and it's still got what it takes   I first cut off 4' of the log and Cherokee didn't even know it was back there...drug it through the trash just fine.  The next pull I hooked to the 8' piece that was left and started pulling...no problem...it even hung on some of the junk logs/limbs in front of it and drug them with it.  Got it up there close to the trailer and bucked up...rolled the rounds up the ramps and SHAZAM...got that sucker   That 12' log is the biggest wood to date that I've bucked up...19-20 inches for a few rounds and cut with my 16" MS260. 

I think the Cherokee will pull a load ok but I'm a little leery of the trailer.  It's a 5x10 *tilt* trailer, with a 3500# axle under it.  What worries me is the tilt function...only three bolts holding the bed to the fork/tongue.  I didn't think I'd get a full load so I started loading the big rounds one run back from the front of the trailer...still seemed to have a lot of weight on the tongue.  I'm studying over a short tandem axle with brakes...figuring on the low amount of wood I'll be dealing with though it doesn't seem worthwhile, though...but I can use it for other things, too!   I've got another trailer I took in on a debt...needs some work, but it's a 12' non-tilting one, has 15" tires, and I'd have to put some expanded metal or plywood on the sides...but it'd be cheaper than going the tandem axle route.  Could even put brakes on it if I think I need them.  Anyhow, here's a shot of the scrounge and then a shot my woodpile...I need a splitter!  Ed







Woodpile, that's a 4' level laying on those rounds at the bottom of the picture.  Bad picture to judge from but anybody want to make a wild guess on how much wood is there in the pile of rounds and in that pile of split wood?  The stacks are 4' tall and 12' long if that will help.  I'm hoping there'll be about a cord there.


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## Intheswamp (May 22, 2011)

Ok, back in post #41 (I think it was) there were some smaller rounds that I didn't know what they were.  I had a chance to split some wood yesterday and figured I'd knock those small rounds out quick and move on to the big oak rounds.  I figured the small rounds were oak or something decent.....BUT...IT WAS A SNEAK ATTACK.....SON OF A @##*?'($ ELM!

Ed


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## Mrs. Krabappel (May 22, 2011)

Intheswamp said:
			
		

> woodburners being in the north, same goes for stove shops....I had to drive (northeast) 250 miles one way to pick up my little Jotul!
> 
> Ed



I have a jotul deal 2 miles from my house and at least 6 more stove shops within 30 miles.


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## weatherguy (May 22, 2011)

> Woodpile, thatâ€™s a 4â€™ level laying on those rounds at the bottom of the picture.  Bad picture to judge from but anybody want to make a wild guess on how much wood is there in the pile of rounds and in that pile of split wood?  The stacks are 4â€™ tall and 12â€™ long if that will help.  Iâ€™m hoping thereâ€™ll be about a cord there.



How long are your splits? They look like 18" but want to make sure before I make a guess as to how much wood you have.


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## Intheswamp (May 22, 2011)

weatherguy said:
			
		

> > Woodpile, thatâ€™s a 4â€™ level laying on those rounds at the bottom of the picture.  Bad picture to judge from but anybody want to make a wild guess on how much wood is there in the pile of rounds and in that pile of split wood?  The stacks are 4â€™ tall and 12â€™ long if that will help.  Iâ€™m hoping thereâ€™ll be about a cord there.
> 
> 
> 
> How long are your splits? They look like 18" but want to make sure before I make a guess as to how much wood you have.


Those rounds are a bit longer than usual...mostly around 17".  I just busted all the big rounds up yesterday along with some of the smaller ones...it's piled waiting to be stacked.

Ed


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## Intheswamp (Jun 9, 2011)

Ok, back up in message #41 (I think that's the right message #) I posted some photos of some rounds of wood.  The first rounds (#1) turned out to be #*)!)$ ELM   The rounds I have left of that will stay in rounds for another year, unless I decide to simply crack/splinter them down the center...I won't be trying to split them into splits, though.

Imagine my excitement(?) when what I thought might maple or something started turning into fuzzballs on me<groan>

Anyhow, hopefully I can do some easy splitting this weekend with some pine I scored last weekend.

Ed


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## Stax (Jun 9, 2011)

Swamp, I'm impressed with your "wood getting" tenacity.  Great job and excellent pics.  Keep doing your thing.  I have some questions regarding your Cherokee and trailer.  I have a 2011 Toyota Highlander (4x4 SUV) w/o the tow prep package that can haul 2,000 lbs.  I'm either looking to add the tow prep package or just install the hitch and hook it up to a utility trailer.  What is the Cherokee rated to haul and how does it haul with your trailer?


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## Intheswamp (Jun 9, 2011)

Rcrozier said:
			
		

> Swamp, I'm impressed with your "wood getting" tenacity.  Great job and excellent pics.  Keep doing your thing.  I have some questions regarding your Cherokee and trailer.  I have a 2011 Toyota Highlander (4x4 SUV) w/o the tow prep package that can haul 2,000 lbs.  I'm either looking to add the tow prep package or just install the hitch and hook it up to a utility trailer.  What is the Cherokee rated to haul and how does it haul with your trailer?



Howdy Rc.  I'm just a newb starting out so I'm hitting my speed bumps in my wood getting...like last Saturday's 100F temperatures.<groan>

Anyhow, the Cherokee does pretty good but it's no heavy weight.  The tow package that came on it is rated at 5000# but there's no way that I would want to pull that much.  My single-axle trailer only has a 3500# axle under it so that is fixed limitation for me and I'm thinking that the trailer ball may be rated 3500# also.  

Pulling the trailer completely loaded with a single layer of oak rounds ranging from 12" to 20" seems to be a good, heavy load to pull.  I'm guessing around 2500#.  I don't get in a hurry and I keep the speed down.  That load of pine wasn't nearly as much of a load as I've pulled when loaded with oak.  With the tow package I don't get as much sway as I think I would get with a bumper mounted ball.  Also, the Cherokee's brakes aren't the greatest (early ABS that was defeated/bypassed by previous owner) so I'm very careful about slowing down well before I need to stop.  One thing that I don't like about my trailer is that it is a "tilt" trailer...I can un-latch a center pin up front and the bed will tilt for loading/unloading lawn-mowers and such...this means that there are 3 pins (case-hardened bolts) that hold the bulk of the trailer to the tongue.  The tilt feature is nice for hauling the mower, but I'm not so sure about hauling max loads.  Most new trailers I see for sale don't have the tilt feature but rather one of those long tailgates to use as a ramp.  I'd feel more secure with a none-tilt.  I have a non-tilting 5x12 that I horse traded for a few years ago...needs tires, solid sideboards installed, etc.,...I may bring it out of moth-balls and get it road worthy.

Something that I have considered doing is putting brakes on my trailer...that would give me a lot more control when towing.  But, having said that, I've also thought about taking the brake money and add a good bit to it and buy a tandem axle trailer with brakes already installed.  For what I think my wood use will be I think the little 5x10 trailer will work ok...but that tandem axled, with electric brakes sure would be nice. 

If you can swing it, I would opt for the tow package as it will give you a more secure feel (and it will be more secure).  That way if you get a 3500# trailer you can let the load capacity of your trailer basically be the governing factor for load limits...not your hitch.  You also won't be as limited on size of trailers you might want to rent from U-Haul or whatever. It would probably help re-sell value, also.

Ed


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## Stax (Jun 9, 2011)

Thanks.  Sounds like the smartest thing to do.  Keep those pics coming.


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## Intheswamp (Jun 13, 2011)

Here's the recent "state of the woodpile".  I'm hoping to start cleaning up the splitter trash and the shaved off punky wood piles but I've got to finish stacking what I've got split first.  I'm figuring I have 5 cord on hand...well over 4.5 cord of it is oak, mostly water oak and red oak.

Here's a pile of pine I scored.  As hot as it was the day I bucked and hauled it home it should've exploded in flames!  Seriously, I hope it will be dried by this winter to go with the 1/4 cord of dried oak.  It's short leaf and cut down about 3 months ago...bark was falling off the bigger rounds....





Here's a shot of a couple of piles of wood.  Log cabin stack and pile beside it is a little white oak I got off the clear-cut.  In the rear middle is the pine.  To the right of the picture is some rounds of @)*$)@#)!! ELM...you can probably see a mangled  fuzzball on top of the stack.  I'm saving the )*#$@!~!! ELM for....better days????  In the foreground is some small sticks/kindling of some white oak and cherry along with some splits of.....@))@#*$!! ELM





Here's an overall shot of the "woodyerd" (as my wife calls it) .  The pile on the ground on the left side of the picture is punky stuff that I culled off the cemetery wood.  The mysterious item under the green tarp is the "Unknown Splitter"...not to be confused with the "Unknown Comic" being as there appears to be nothing funny about this splitter. 





...and, that's all for now!
Ed


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## Backwoods Savage (Jun 13, 2011)

Ed, I see the level. Do you use a square too!


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## Intheswamp (Jun 13, 2011)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Ed, I see the level. Do you use a square too!



Don't be silly, Dennis....I use a transit.


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