Not so seasoned wood?

[tcassavaugh]

+ 1 on trying to scrounge some. if you have the means to retrieve it, ie pickup and chain saw, i'd look for some standing deadwood or maybe some that is down, has been for awhile and still in good shape. burning green wood is not in of itself inherently dangerous......its been done for centuries. its the formation of the creosote that is the problem. you have clean the stove and chimney more often and its often a PITA to keep the home fire burning because of the high moisture content. another problem is the the newer stoves are geared more to the burning of seasoned wood than green.
good luck.

jmho
cass

 

[mattjm1017]

I just got back from looking at the wood this guy had his land cleared a year ago and theres a lot of trees left lying there he said I can go and help myself to as much as I want. So I guess Im going to have to go buy a chainsaw darn a new toy umm tool. I know what Im doing next weekend. Lots of maple and oak from what little I saw Ill dig deeper into it next week.

 

[tcassavaugh]

good to hear....i'm sure you'll be able to find some that will be useable. you can even begin stocking up for next year. a good saw is hard to beat. you might be able to find one used on CL or Ebay. Depending on how hard you plan to use it and your "commitment" to getting your own wood, there are a number of possibilities. Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, Ace, True Value are all places to pick up new saws. i'm partial to the Stihl Farm Boss as its a nice all around saw but there are plenty of other good saws out there.

cass

 

[JP11]

I just got back from looking at the wood this guy had his land cleared a year ago and theres a lot of trees left lying there he said I can go and help myself to as much as I want. So I guess Im going to have to go buy a chainsaw darn a new toy umm tool. I know what Im doing next weekend. Lots of maple and oak from what little I saw Ill dig deeper into it next week.

Buy a helmet and kevlar chaps.

Start watching chaisaw safety videos now. Cheap wood is no use to you if you're in the hospital.

No joke... about the scariest tool you can own.

JP

 

[mattjm1017]

Buy a helmet and kevlar chaps.

Start watching chaisaw safety videos now. Cheap wood is no use to you if you're in the hospital.

No joke... about the scariest tool you can own.

JP

Thats some good advice that I will definatly take to heart. Im pretty familiar with chainsaws been using them since I was a kid with my dad cutting wood. We never had chaps just jeans and gloves but I am going to get chaps and maybe some of them fancy gloves too. As far as the helmets go wouldnt that be just for cutting standing trees? Ill get one if I do that but for now its all laying on the ground. Will also definatly look up some safety videos on youtube as it has been awhile since I used a saw.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Another species that starts out with low moisture (if you go looking for standing or fallen dead) is ash wood. Not that it's guaranteed to be dry enough right away, but it could be close. Ash (like black locust) does live less moist and dry way faster than oak. This is probably not the case if the wood is laying right on the ground though.

I'm thinking that ash starts out around 35% moisture.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Thanks Backwoodssavage Ill keep that in mind when I start cleaning should be interesting as ive never done it before but theres a first time for everything. Gark and blades thanks for the advice on what to look for in the woods. I am going to someones property today to look at some wood that they want removed she says its all free take as much as I want. It looks like its all a bunch of trees that have been felled and its just laying there they have "acres of it" is there anything that I should be on the look out for as far as stuff to stay away from?

Yes. Stay away from anything that is falling.

 

[JP11]

Helmets have a good face shield and ear protection. Saw will make you deaf, and you never know when you will stumble, or a limb will fly the wrong way. Helmet and chaps are CHEAP! Kinda tough to buy an arm, or a leg, or an eye. Be careful.

JP

 

[nate379]

I wear my helmet for the face shield and ear muffs. I had to cut some this summer with just safety glasses and ear plugs and I was surprised at the amount of sawdust/debris hitting my face. Probably not life threatening, but wasn't comfortable.

 

[red oak]

Yes. Stay away from anything that is falling.

This is good advice in just about every walk of life.

 

[Mass. Wine Guy]

Matt, Stihl has a lot of excellent videos on YouTube about using a saw and maintaining it. I highly suggest this one:

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Invest in some good chaps with at least three layers of protective fiber, as well as a pair of OSHA approved saftey glasses. I only wear my helmet if I'm felling a tree or working where limbs or branches can fall on me. Mainly, though, never operate the saw unless you're wearing safety chaps.