# its official, im writing a book



## stoveguy2esw (Feb 11, 2014)

ive started "boarding it" as of last night, laying out the framework for a book i'd like to title

"so you want to heat with wood"
       "woodburning 101"

this will be a private venture not associated with the company I work for. its intent is to hopefully provide guidance in the key elements of the lifestyle of wood burning, the principles of chimney dynamics, and the planning which should be involved in locating a stove in the house , addressing the limitations of locations in relations to chimney placement, proper seasoning and storage of wood, fire building, chimney maintenance, and so on.

I have a lot of material I have whimsically generated and stored in my computers both at home and at work which will help as im hoping to compile a lot of this into the framework of the book.

its my hope that I can produce a book which addresses one of the most serious problems with modern wood burning. the lack of education present in the typical person or family that wishes to welcome a woodstove into their home. ive spent the better part of 20 years studying this topic and helping those who call on me in my official capacity  for this type of advice. why not compile as much of the knowledge I have gained over the years and make it readily available to folks who are thinking about getting into the wood burning lifestyle.


wish me luck gang, its probably the biggest project ive ever in my life attempted.


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## Warm_in_NH (Feb 11, 2014)

My manual told me next to nothing. It was all trial and error and some fireplace experience and friends with stoves.

I've got a fly fishing book, hiking, kayaking, etc...never seen on on stoves.

Marketing (and quality material) is the key.


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 11, 2014)

hence the problem, manuals will give the basic "how not to burn your house down"  and you only have it when you have the stove itself.

what im hoping to produce is a tool to give folks the "before you strike a match" education on what will be involved

as for marketing , im going to be looking at that as the project gets further along. getting published isn't the issue , the issue is making sure its in the right places to be read to start with. we sell our product in the "big box" stores , I suspect I can get some help in getting the book out through them though I haven't talked to them about it yet. this thing is still "crapping in a diaper" its so newborn. but I know if I can find a way to get it in print I will have the outlets I want it to be in.

note , I aint looking to get rich off this, if I break even I win.


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## red oak (Feb 11, 2014)

Chapter 1:  Burn dry wood
Chapter 2:  Have a cold beer by the fire


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## Warm_in_NH (Feb 11, 2014)

stoveguy2esw said:


> hence the problem, manuals will give the basic "how not to burn your house down"  and you only have it when you have the stove itself.
> 
> what im hoping to produce is a tool to give folks the "before you strike a match" education on what will be involved
> 
> ...




Buy ad space on hearth.com....  


Edit: you don't know you need a boon until you get a stove. Then you realize a book would be really handy....


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 11, 2014)

red oak said:


> Chapter 1:  Burn dry wood
> Chapter 2:  Have a cold beer by the fire


 

  wish it were that easy. it aint  lots of old myths and "grandfatherly advice" to dispel.

modern units "aint your grandpaps wood stove" they are extremely "high tech" for being so "low tech" by outward appearance.

you cant just "sling it against the wall and plumb it in" like you could an old dragon. there's a bunch of science involved now and folks simply do not know this science so they fall back on older methods which are disastrous in new stoves


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 11, 2014)

Warm_in_NH said:


> Buy ad space on hearth.com....


 

lol, I may just do that if this works out. heck to be brutally honest, I suspect I will have to include the bulk of the membership in here in the bibliography as a huge portion of what I know now I can attribute to this site


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## craigbaill (Feb 11, 2014)

Stoveguy-

A book on wood stove with the premise of " before you strike a match" is an excellent idea. I came to this forum and I do not have a stove yet. I wanted to know what works and does not so I signed up. I did that with my chainsaw, tractor and for trucks. I gained very valuable information that way, and so it is with this forum. Most, if not all of us are here for knowledge about stoves right? What about the person who says, " joe so and so has a stove, saves tons not buying ______ kind of fuel. Ill get a stove and save money!". Think that doesnt happen?? It sure does and next thing you know, they are buying the wrong size stove , burning green wood and then they have problems. A book like you are planning would be great  for the person who may not be willing to spend lots of time on a forum. Do we have to sift through posts to find accurate meaningful info? Sure. Thats part of the process. I am getting pretty good at reading post after post and understanding my knowledge limitations. It relaxes me at the end of the day. Not everyone is that kind of person so I think your book has merit. By the way, when I moved into my last house with a fireplace I did all the wrong things the first year. What I am reading on here now, coupled with my success through trial and error all those years, shows me who is giving good info. Thats not always easy on forums but the folks here are pretty friendly and knowledgable. 

Best of luck with your book. May it soon be out of the "diaper stage"!


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## begreen (Feb 11, 2014)

Good deal Mike. You can send the royalty checks to the hearth.com moderator's fund at... 

J/K. I'm glad you are doing this and hope it gets sales nationwide.


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 11, 2014)

begreen said:


> Good deal Mike. You can send the royalty checks to the hearth.com moderator's fund at...
> 
> J/K. I'm glad you are doing this and hope it gets sales nationwide.


 

lol , im hoping you wont sue me when I state "BG said do this"  actually if I can pull this off and break even i'd call it a success.

the original motivation comes from here. from the discussions which always point out  the glaring lack of general knowledge of proper wood burning. how much education is the key in this. simply put , I know what I know, but i'll never heat more than one house (my house)  much as I understand, as much as I disseminate, I still am only able to reach a finite amount of people (and at work I only hear from then AFTER it don't work)

manufacturer provided manuals are junk, (even mine) they are written to guide the homeowner or installer in such a manner as to assume they know what they are doing. a lot of installers do know what they are doing as are some homeowners, but not all of them do this thought scares me.

the old "I got a great big chimbley" the "toss a green split on the fire when you go to bed, it burns hot all night" literally keeps me up at night. biggest thing though is the threads which pop up where a family is out in the cold, they watched their house burn down. one was posted tonight by a member who has been in this forum for a long time, just breaks my heart knowing that someone could lose it all, just that fast, and it might have been prevented if the right information had been available.

actually let me rephrase my earlier comment about success. if I save one family from standing next to a big red truck watching their world burn down, its worth every penny


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## NWfuel (Feb 11, 2014)

Mike,
Keep me in the loop as I would be happy to sell these at my retail location, website and possibly help with publishing.

Thomas


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 11, 2014)

NWfuel said:


> Mike,
> Keep me in the loop as I would be happy to sell these at my retail location, website and possibly help with publishing.
> 
> Thomas


 
ill do that and thanks for the support


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## BrotherBart (Feb 11, 2014)

Somebody should have brought this up in DC.


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## Cynnergy (Feb 11, 2014)

Good luck! Now, when's the first deadline so we can nag you?  .  And don't just stick it in the big box stores - maybe you could make it available for purchase through an iTunes download - does Amazon do that too?  Oooooh and an app!  That's next up.  Mike's fire-burning for idiots troubleshooting app .


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## HotCoals (Feb 12, 2014)

Don't forget to put a coupon in the book for super ceders!

But seriously, I'm sure you will do a fine job.


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## BrotherBart (Feb 12, 2014)

Use the opener I was gonna use for my novel that I never wrote.

"It turned cold early in Virginia that year."


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## GENECOP (Feb 12, 2014)

Great Idea, it is a serious commitment of time and energy, if you have passion for the subject matter, (and you probably do) the book content will pour out of you, good luck, enjoy the process....


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## dafattkidd (Feb 12, 2014)

I just searched Amazon for a wood burning guide book that craps in diapers and found zero search matches. I really think you're on to something.


stoveguy2esw said:


> hence the problem, manuals will give the basic "how not to burn your house down"  and you only have it when you have the stove itself.
> 
> what im hoping to produce is a tool to give folks the "before you strike a match" education on what will be involved
> 
> ...


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## BrotherBart (Feb 12, 2014)

I will get to work on the forward for it.

"In 1988 heating ones home with wood changed in a dramatic way. Unfortunately while wood burning technology took a quantum leap, education in how to take advantage of it has not.

With Wood Heating For Dummies Mike Holton brings his twenty years of industry experience to the subject of procuring, provisioning and utilizing a wood heating appliance. 

Lots of people make'em. Lots of people sell'em. Mike tells you how to use'em.'


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## coaly (Feb 12, 2014)

Back in the day, "Woodburning Encyclopedia" and "Wood Heat Safety" by Jay W. Shelton, "Wood Heat" by John Vivian,  "The Complete Book of Heating With Wood" by Larry Gray, and the Sunset "Homeowners Guide to Wood Stoves" were listed in Fisher stove manuals for further reading.
  I was always amazed when the manufacturer recommending these books wasn't featured in them, and sometimes only their competition was pictured. It would be interesting to see if manufacturers today would still be willing to recommend such a publication that doesn't favor their product. Keep that in mind when using illustrations of different products.


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 12, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> Somebody should have brought this up in DC.


 

wasn't a thought back then , its been kinda "grinding away" for some time now , but I decided about a week ago that I might could actually pul it off and dee and I discussed it over the last couple days and literally yesterday I made the decision that I would take a swing at it


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## MishMouse (Feb 12, 2014)

I had a really tough time convincing my wife that the wood has to be stacked and top covered and set to dry at least a year (soft wood) or 2 years for hard wood.  She was used to her dad just throwing it in a big pile, she just refused to believe me that the wood needed to be seasoned before it burned properly. I actually had to talk to her dad, so he could convince her.  Still to this day trying to get her to help me stack the wood is like trying to get a kid to eat lima beans. That's the problem when someone is used to using a barrel stove, they really didn't care if it was seasoned or not, just burn it until it glows and if it is wet it will burn.  Oh, by the way, yes they did have a few chimney fires.


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## Jags (Feb 12, 2014)

Watch for trademarks

BG - Tunnel of love
BB - Pixie dust and BHSS (big honkin' steel stoves)
Jags - heapenhousen


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## Mark Richards (Feb 12, 2014)

stoveguy2esw said:


> ive started "boarding it" as of last night, laying out the framework for a book i'd like to title
> 
> "so you want to heat with wood"
> "woodburning 101"
> ...


 Good luck Mike, I am a beer homebrewer and the the book "The complete Joy of Homebrewing"(Charlie Papazian) is my bible for brewing. It presents beer brewing in a humerous way that motivates the reader to keep reading even if the topic isnt of primary interest to the reader. I think if your able to inject humor into an otherwise mundane activity (no one knows exactly where I live so I think I'm safe saying "mundane" here! hah) I think you'd have a best seller! Good Luck


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 12, 2014)

coaly said:


> Back in the day, "Woodburning Encyclopedia" and "Wood Heat Safety" by Jay W. Shelton, "Wood Heat" by John Vivian,  "The Complete Book of Heating With Wood" by Larry Gray, and the Sunset "Homeowners Guide to Wood Stoves" were listed in Fisher stove manuals for further reading.
> I was always amazed when the manufacturer recommending these books wasn't featured in them, and sometimes only their competition was pictured. It would be interesting to see if manufacturers today would still be willing to recommend such a publication that doesn't favor their product. Keep that in mind when using illustrations of different products.


 


actually im glad you listed those publications , i will take a look at them may give me some ideas on the layout of the book. thanks for posting them


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## BrotherBart (Feb 12, 2014)

Dave Johnson, rest his soul, the father of member and former moderator Eric Johnson wrote and published _The Good Wood Cutter's Guide_. It wasn't in the book but you need to use a quote from his Dad that Eric told us about. 

"You want your creosote to end up on your neighbor's car. Not in your chimney."


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 12, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> "You want your creosote to end up on your neighbor's car. Not in your chimney."


 

yeah thats a keeper


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## Lake Girl (Feb 12, 2014)

stoveguy2esw said:


> one was posted tonight by a member who has been in this forum for a long time, just breaks my heart knowing that someone could lose it all, just that fast, and it might have been prevented if the right information had been available.
> 
> actually let me rephrase my earlier comment about success. if I save one family from standing next to a big red truck watching their world burn down, its worth every penny



Hopefully that forum member and their family are all OK.  How bad was it? 

Applaud the concept of the book and good luck with it!  Education is a powerful tool which is why I keep hanging around the forum... always something new to learn


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## woodgeek (Feb 13, 2014)

Do a self-published e-book version sold on Amazon.  No pitch to publishers.


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## ironpony (Feb 13, 2014)

cut the tree down, split it, load it in the stove, why do you want to make it difficult?
better yet, go to store buy pellets dump in hopper.


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## CenterTree (Feb 13, 2014)

ironpony said:


> cut the tree down, split it, *LET IT SEASON / DRY,*  load it in the stove, why do you want to make it difficult?
> better yet, go to store buy pellets dump in hopper.


See, you missed a very important step ....this is why Mike needs to write the book.


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## ironpony (Feb 14, 2014)

CenterTree said:


> See, you missed a very important step ....this is why Mike needs to write the book.


 
 sarcasm........
no, I was stating what people do. sometimes typing does not make the same point as talking.


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## Jags (Feb 14, 2014)

ironpony said:


> sarcasm........
> no, I was stating what people do. sometimes typing does not make the same point as talking.



I caught it but I have a PHD in sarcasm (Piled Higher and Deeper).


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 14, 2014)

lets not get to fussin about it gang. 

but Jags does raise a valid point , there are a lot of folks out there which may not know about proper seasoning of the fuel. as well as many other things, my hope is to help educate


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## Delta-T (Feb 14, 2014)

might i suggest the glossary of incorrect terminology: creasalt, chimbley fluke, dampner...and such. I find it best when everyone is using a common tongue.

Good luck Mike..I look forward to the illustrations


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## Jags (Feb 14, 2014)

Ohhh...there will be pictures????


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## webbie (Feb 14, 2014)

Definitely self-publish! Do the ebook on Amazon and then use Createspace for the paperback...or the other way around. 

I did mine 100% by myself.....and it's selling very well. I sell about 2.5X as many e-copies (2.99) as I do paper copies ($6.99)....

I make about the same on either sale - close to $2 per sale, which is unheard of.....Amazon is very fair to authors.


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## firefighterjake (Feb 14, 2014)

Not to go too far afield here . . . but I have actually written a children's story . . . only issue is that about the only artwork I can do are stick figures and I'm thinking that wouldn't do for a children's book.


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 14, 2014)

most of the illustrations i suspect will be drawings , as they will mostly be diagrams, i suspect some photo's will be included though.

i'l look into the amazon thing web, appreciate the tip. anything i can glean as to the process helps


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## Lake Girl (Feb 16, 2014)

firefighterjake said:


> Not to go too far afield here . . . but I have actually written a children's story . . . only issue is that about the only artwork I can do are stick figures and I'm thinking that wouldn't do for a children's book.



Have you checked local college/university art departments for recommendations for illustrators from the profs/deans? or at least tips on where to start looking?  A lot will depend on subject content and style of illustration your looking for...  good luck!


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## xman23 (Feb 16, 2014)

Good luck Mike. I seams like the chapter list could go from wood processing to wood boilers, pellet stove and then some.


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## hossthehermit (Feb 16, 2014)

You need to get Pook to consult on a chapter on Magic Heat, and Slickplant to do one on bush trimmin'


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## firefighterjake (Feb 16, 2014)

Lake Girl said:


> Have you checked local college/university art departments for recommendations for illustrators from the profs/deans? or at least tips on where to start looking?  A lot will depend on subject content and style of illustration your looking for...  good luck!



Thanks ... I'll look into that.


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## webbie (Feb 16, 2014)

I am the world's worst artist - but used a combo of photos, manufacturers pics (usually OK if you ask) and some very simple line drawings. Ebooks are not held to as high of a standard as print-only.....which may be good or bad, depending on your view. That is, if you want a coffee table book that future generations will be proud of, don't do it my way!

I did download the free trial of a sketch program and did this type of drawing...that's about the upper limit of my "talents".

Mike, if you didn't already get a copy in DC of my quad paperback, I'll be glad to send you one. Just PM your addy......I can also send a PDF of the ecopy.

It's easy to subcontract simple drawings or illustrations - many of the sites like guru.com or contractedwork.com can help there.


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## webbie (Feb 16, 2014)

hossthehermit said:


> You need to get Pook to consult on a chapter on Magic Heat, and Slickplant to do one on bush trimmin'



Well, for that matter, he could write the shortest book ever written.

"get a blaze king".....(or insert whatever stove is capable of levitation, curing disease or other magic these days".....

Actually, that's one word longer than some of the famous shortest books ever written.


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## Lake Girl (Feb 16, 2014)

My BIL did drawings for repair manuals for passenger trains when he was between jobs as a millwright/production line supervisor.  Not sure how he hooked up with that job...  Nephew really developed his talents, Tradigital Art program at St. Clair College in Windsor Ontario, works in the art department for a sports network.


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 18, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> Dave Johnson, rest his soul, the father of member and former moderator Eric Johnson wrote and published _The Good Wood Cutter's Guide_. It wasn't in the book but you need to use a quote from his Dad that Eric told us about.
> 
> "You want your creosote to end up on your neighbor's car. Not in your chimney."


 

I just ordered that book, and a couple others recommended by the members on the topic.

FWIW I have tentatively finished the book layout looking at 7 chapters starting with 
"what you should think about first" im seeing myself starting to flesh this thing out pretty soon, but its going to be months in finishing it.

while I have a sec i'd like to thank those who have already offered input as well as some who have actually penned a few things on the topics I wish to cover. I look forward to reading these offerings and should I choose to include them I will give credit where its due. one thing I can say right up front, though I have worked in this industry for better than 2 decades and I feel I have a pretty good grasp of the topic, I wouldn't have had the stones to even think about attempting this project without the knowledge I have gained from the folks who have spent time on this site passing on experiences and first hand knowledge of the art of woodburning.  for that im truly grateful.


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## BrotherBart (Feb 18, 2014)

"It was a dark and stormy night."


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 18, 2014)

as for illustrations , I have several programs at my disposal (as well as a complete line of stoves and the assembly line they are built on. I will use some photo's I will be taking of our assembly line and processes but I welcome any photos of installations and especially those of flue construction, liner installations, and such. should one have such shots and are ok with allowing me to use them it would be great, of course I have no problem crediting the picture with its origin unless the person who donated the shot wished to be anonymous. in which case I would credit to hearth.com as the origin.


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 18, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> "It was a dark and stormy night."


 

its always a "dark and stormy night" keep teasing, I have your phone number, you could be more famous than me when this hits print


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## Jags (Feb 18, 2014)

Once upon a time???


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## Lake Girl (Feb 18, 2014)

Dark and stormy works better especially when it ends with sitting in front of that stove....


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## Jags (Feb 18, 2014)

Why is Andrew dice clay taking up space in my head right now???


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 18, 2014)

Jags said:


> Once upon a time???


 

well if it only happens "once" its not going to be very popular.

the title im searching for will be "approximately"

"so you want to heat with a woodstove?" I really want to pose the title as a question in a way because its not a "snap decision" to convert to wood, its a life style change. a rewarding one , but still one that takes folks from the "gadget on the wall' to responsible safe wood burning.

the idea is to capture those who are thinking about wood heat and are in need of knowing what lies ahead. and to educate those who are wanting to "take the plunge" into the wood burning lifestyle.

all of us who made that decision had to start somewhere, my goal is to provide as much education as I can pack into a book to  help those who want to "go there" to "get there"


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 18, 2014)

Lake Girl said:


> Dark and stormy works better especially when it ends with sitting in front of that stove....


 

nothing sexier than a crackling fire and a bottle of wine  but im tooo old and toooo married for such things, I just want folks to be safe and successful in woodburning.

ive said before "the warm heart of a family is the warm hearth" a woodstove in the house provides a focal point just as families in the past generations would gather by the fire for both comfort of the warmth of the fire as well as the warmth of just being a family.  its truly a lifestyle that brings families closer in many ways.


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## Jags (Feb 18, 2014)

Mike I have no reason to believe that you will do anything but true justice to the subject.
Feel free to use my saying : cast is for wood stoves plate steel is for snow plows.
<this is where I duck and run>


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 18, 2014)

Jags said:


> Mike I have no reason to believe that you will do anything but true justice to the subject.
> Feel free to use my saying : cast is for wood stoves plate steel is for snow plows.
> <this is where I duck and run>


 
different strokes for different folks my friend. oh and I missed high and right , but I'll adjust


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## BrotherBart (Feb 18, 2014)

"It was a dark and snowy night."


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 18, 2014)

lmao


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## BrotherBart (Feb 18, 2014)

"As I watched the flames in the stove I thought back on all that Frank had done to me. And for me. And even now he was keeping me warm."


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## Lake Girl (Feb 18, 2014)

stoveguy2esw said:


> nothing sexier than a crackling fire and a bottle of wine  but im tooo old and toooo married for such things, I just want folks to be safe and successful in woodburning.
> 
> ive said before "the warm heart of a family is the warm hearth" a woodstove in the house provides a focal point just as families in the past generations would gather by the fire for both comfort of the warmth of the fire as well as the warmth of just being a family.  its truly a lifestyle that brings families closer in many ways.



I was thinking more along the lines of the last walk of the night with the dog in -40 or snowing like crazy.  Fire feels pretty good then  Need a photo of a pet's best friend?  We have minor battles over who gets the best spot...


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 19, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> "It was a dark and snowy night."


 


too funny,  about 4 this morning we had a monsterous thunderstorm (at 39F outside)  so yeah "it WAS a dark and stormy night"


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## Retired Guy (Feb 21, 2014)

Bind in a Super Cedar so when they finish the book they can get started.


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## begreen (Feb 23, 2014)

"It was 3 am at the Holiday Inn and the secondaries had just kicked in..."


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## Huntindog1 (Feb 28, 2014)

Twas the night before Winter and all thru the house wood was stashed for a long winters bout.
I in my jammies and stove gloves put on, I was starting a fire for all to admire.
But to my water eyes did appear but a puff of smoke and cold can of beer.
Ask I woke from sleep to my wife saying bleep bleep, I realized I was dreaming , and had to go wee wee pee pee.


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 28, 2014)

"in the beginning"

as long as we are thinking about a classic opening line.

In the Beginning man learned fire and said "This was good"

later, man made the stove , and said "this is better"

then, treehugger saw this and said "this is bad!"

upon hearing of this , the governemnt said 'yes that is bad, we need to fix this" and in their wisdom crafted a tool known as "phase 2"

and the treehuggers rejoiced with much dancing and festivities.


ok thats far enough , im just having a bit of fun but dont wish to derail the thread


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## Retired Guy (Feb 28, 2014)

And on the eight day......


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## stoveguy2esw (Feb 28, 2014)

Retired Guy said:


> And on the eight day......


 


Beer was invented and EVERYONE said "dang thats good"  and celebrated with much dancing and rejoicing


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