Where do you get your wood?

[Gboutdoors]

Never bought wood I just walk out back and cut dead standing Red Oak off our 23 acres.

I put the back 21 acres in as recreation land so the tax on it is only $150.00 per year.

 

[pernox]

Tree services, power line clearing, wood of mouth, and Craigslist. Haven't paid for wood since our first year. One or two good contacts are worth their weight in gold - just got two single axle log trucks full of sugar maple dropped off the other day, because I knew the right guy and he knew a guy looking to dump wood "today" with no hassle. I take his pine for him, so he shoots me some good stuff sometimes too - like the sugar maple! Just having your name and needs out there sometimes can reap huge rewards in scrounging.

 

[blacktail]

I cut most of mine on public land with a permit. Every now and then I'll get some from a friend or neighbor.

 

[Smokyjeff1]

I know a guy in the tree business.He is super busy and has more wood than he knows what to do with.I give him a call and he drops off log length loads as much as i need.I have a splitter and saw so I do the processing.We barter so this works out well for both of us!

 

[redktmrider]

I belong to a off-road motorcycle club that owns 300 acres (95% forest). Always a tree down somewhere.

 

[Beer Belly]

Luckily, I hooked up with a Tree Service and just need to make a call and can get a load of Log Length within a couple days.

 

[Hasufel]

I'm pretty lucky, too--Mother Nature provides enough dead wood on my 5 acres to keep me busy. I told her she can stop now because I have more than enough firewood to last until I retire and move away from here but she's not listening. Just the other day I found a lovely straight red oak that had toppled and was in perfect position for bucking, about a foot off the ground and nothing pinching it. Red oak is my favorite so of course I had to pull out the saw and go at it!

 

[blacksmithden]

Here in Alberta Canada, we can cut firewood on public land if we buy a permit. A permit costs $5.25 including tax and is good for 1 month. The permit entitles you to cut standing dead wood, or live birch and poplar for 1 month.....up to 2 cords. Of all the guys I know who cut wood, I'm the first to ever actually buy one. It's not really monitored. There's a place a couple of hours from here where we go target shooting and hunting. Every time we go out, I try to set aside a enough time to fill my pickup with wood. The same permit allows you to dig up and transplant up to 20 trees up to 8 ft tall, and to cut up to 3 Christmas trees. I don't know who needs 3 Christmas trees, but whatever.

 

[ZZ Tom]

I have the KSL Classifieds app on my phone and check it regularly for free wood people need removed from their property. KSL Classifieds is our local version of Craigslist through a local TV/radio news station. Also, my FIL is the maintenance manager for a condo complex and he will save wood for us when they have tree maintenance or removal.I cannot remember the last time I paid for firewood.

 

[Dobish]

I have the KSL Classifieds app on my phone and check it regularly for free wood people need removed from their property. KSL Classifieds is our local version of Craigslist through a local TV/radio news station. Also, my FIL is the maintenance manager for a condo complex and he will save wood for us when they have tree maintenance or removal.I cannot remember the last time I paid for firewood.

I have a search filter, so it sends me a note every time there is free firewood... its probably about time to turn it off

 

[venator260]

For the last two years, my dad and I have cut dead ash off of our property. That's this year's wood. I got next /two years from now by clearing off a spot to put my sand mound. We're currently working at a place about 1/4 mile from my house that had several red oak blowdowns and a few dead trees. We got all of the firewood free if we cut out the sellable logs in whatever we drug out. The firewood amounted to almost enough to feed my dad's stove for a year. I'd estimate 5 cords from that.

We also get lucky every few years and find someone who will allow us to clean up a logyard on their property for no or minimal cost. I think the most my dad paid was 25 bucks per pickup load (that was stacked as high as the trucks cab).

 

[ValleyCottageSplitter]

There is about 2 acres of community land right behind us that's kind of like our woods, then about 25ac total of community land shared between the other houses. There is lots of dead wood back there which you can legally cut up in our county (not so much the living stuff). I got 2/3 cord of ash and a little bit of red maple this year; the hard part is moving it through dense woods. It's a suburban area; no farm equipment available.

Craigslist has been pretty good for me starting wood collecting. I have multiple searches along my commute so I don't have to stray far. I turned it off a lot of the summer and just turned it off a 2nd time after grabbing a cord of hickory. I've had to invent a lot of dry storage space this year and still I've given up a lot of wood at some big sites due to space limitation. I found a tree guy with about 100 ten foot random hardwood logs to give away, but you had to bring a large trailer. If I'm willing to drive 25mi+ there is always something available.

 

[Sodbuster]

County around here either takes down older trees, that are ready to fall, or hires a tree company to do it. Many times then leave the wood (100 year old old, Oak, Hickory and Maple) one the side of the road because they know people heat with wood around here and it will disappear. My buddy will see the piles, and send me a picture so I can snag it. He calls me a wood whore, not sure if that's a compliment or not.

 

[SuperSpy]

I work at a veneer mill. There's always a supply of stumps and other undesirable off-cuts to be 'harvested'.

 

[DaveInPhilly]

I used to live in Philadelphia and didn't have space to store much more than a cord at a time. So I had to have wood delivered ready to go each year. Now we live out in the burbs and have a little more space. I'm still paying to have wood delivered, but last season I started cutting wood at a local state park. For a $15 permit you can take out as much wood as you want. I may still need to buy cord wood for next year, but after that I should be able to get by with what I cut myself.

Even paying for wood, its cheaper than heating oil.

 

[peakbagger]

I work at a veneer mill. There's always a supply of stumps and other undesirable off-cuts to be 'harvested'.

My uncle used to get the "cores" from a veneer mill years ago. They ranged in diameter and look like they were turned on a lathe. He had a stoker feeder on his wood boiler. He loaded up a line of cores on an angled chute outside the boiler and when the boiler needed more fuel a door would open and a log would advance. I dont think it woudl work that well with cordwood but it sure worked nice with those veneer cores

 

[Wood1Dennis]

I harvest dead & downed trees off of our 100 acres. There is always more wood than I can keep up with. I have visions of getting ahead and selling the excess when I retire and have the time but for now supply my own furnace. I will be working on firewood for the winter of 2019/20 this winter.
Last weekend I hauled out a bunch of ash and yellow birch, maybe 1 or 1 1/2 cord. I cut and split it in the swampy part of the woods when it was frozen last winter, but when spring came early and wet I couldn't get it out. I got it out just before the rains came on Saturday night. That was a relief!

 

[firefighterjake]

Oddly enough I have been getting quite a bit of wood in the last week or so . . . and I wasn't even looking for wood.

To be honest I didn't do much wood processing this past Summer since last Winter was pretty mild and my wood supply looked pretty good. I also didn't want to abuse the generosity of a friend by asking to cut on his property when I clearly had enough wood.

However, last Saturday I saw a Facebook Marketplace ad which mentioned free wood in my small town. I sent a message and they said first come, first serve and while they had several inquiries no one would commit to picking up the wood. I had to work on Sunday morning/early afternoon . . . but afterwards I went there. Folks had a woodstove, but were trying out a pellet stove this year due to an injury. The couple offered the wood on their lawn which was OK -- some was pretty good, some a bit punky . . . but free is free. They then mentioned some additional wood on the side of their lawn -- all bucked up and about half of it was even split and seasoned. I ended up hauling three very full pick up loads of wood from there. Score!

I was pretty happy with this . . . and then a buddy called to ask if I wanted to help him take down some small birch and poplar trees (3-6 inch diameter). I'm not a huge fan of popple, but free is free . . . and my wife likes birch. He then mentioned that if I come after work he'll throw a steak on the grill for me. Needless to say I'm taking the wood.

Finally, I came into work yesterday to find a crew taking down several trees. I didn't have my pick up at work yesterday and was not about to load the WRX up with wood, so I came in bright and early this morning to load up my truck . . . and I later see the crew has come back to cut up another tree. If there is still wood there tomorrow morning I'll take another load.

All unexpected wood bounties . . .

All will be put to good use.

 

[Dobish]

I didn't have my pick up at work yesterday and was not about to load the WRX up with wood, so I came in bright and early this morning to load up my truck . . .

Where is your dedication.... if its the hatchback, you have no excuse

 

[firefighterjake]

Where is your dedication.... if its the hatchback, you have no excuse

Do I get a pass if it's a sedan?

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

All unexpected wood bounties . . .

All will be put to good use.

When it rains, it pours!

 

[Dobish]

Do I get a pass if it's a sedan?

of course, you don't want to have to lift over the trunk, or into those low back seats...

I miss my wrx...

 

[Zack R]

I need a trailer to haul wood....

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I need a trailer to haul wood....

View attachment 201456

Well, it looks like you got about 5 days worth. Only 30 more loads to go!

 

[Tar12]

I have truly been blessed...my best friend logs for a living and turns me on to a never ending supply of wood....lots and lots of Oak...I will never get it all cut but it affords me the opportunity to be very selective about what I cut....I am currently 3-4 years ahead and I am constructing more structures for wood storage....once they are done and filled I am taking some time off from cutting!