Work Done 2025

[Turbo89]

I picked up another truck load of free wood today. Half was split / seasoned, the rest were seasoned rounds. Market place came through again.., unbelievable.

 

[NickW]

I picked up another truck load of free wood today. Half was split / seasoned, the rest were seasoned rounds. Market place came through again.., unbelievable.

Rounds probably won't be truly"seasoned", but if they were in a good spot you should have a decent head start. Any way you look at it, it's still a good score...

 

[Turbo89]

Rounds probably won't be truly"seasoned", but if they were in a good spot you should have a decent head start. Any way you look at it, it's still a good score...

Yea, good point! This stuff looks like it’s been sitting for years, but I don’t think I’ll need them this year anyways.

I’m gonna split / stack them over the next few weeks. I still have a couple truck loads of green beechwood I need to finish splitting too…. Waiting for a few warmish days to get it done.

 

[NickW]

Yea, good point! This stuff looks like it’s been sitting for years, but I don’t think I’ll need them this year anyways.

I’m gonna split / stack them over the next few weeks. I still have a couple truck loads of green beechwood I need to finish splitting too…. Waiting for a few warmish days to get it done.

I'll keep rounds up to about 7" without splitting them, but always give an extra year over recommended seasoning time for the species. They still aren't always quite ready. Rounds really give a long burn. Bigger old rounds like it sounds like you got might be 13% at the end, 18% 4" from the end, and 28% in the middle of a 16" long round (depending on species).

It's why logs really can't season. Moisture just can't migrate that far very well. They'll lose some moisture, but general won't be under 20%.

 

[Turbo89]

I'll keep rounds up to about 7" without splitting them, but always give an extra year over recommended seasoning time for the species. They still aren't always quite ready. Rounds really give a long burn. Bigger old rounds like it sounds like you got might be 13% at the end, 18% 4" from the end, and 28% in the middle of a 16" long round (depending on species).

It's why logs really can't season. Moisture just can't migrate that far very well. They'll lose some moisture, but general won't be under 20%.

Most of these are pretty big, but maybe a few could fit in my stove whole. That’s a good idea, I’ll keep some of the ones that will fit in the stove.

Some of them were heavy mother f’rs! I actually brought my splitting maul and split some of the bigger ones. It looks like a mix of maple, oak, ash and I think i spotted some iron wood.

 

[NickW]

6" ironwood rounds coal forever! A mix like that I personally try to segregate stacks. The ash should be ready for next winter. Maple & ironwood maybe depending on the maple variety and what it's at now. If it's silver maple it'll be ready. Oak probably not unless it's already under 25%...

 

[Turbo89]

6" ironwood rounds coal forever! A mix like that I personally try to segregate stacks. The ash should be ready for next winter. Maple & ironwood maybe depending on the maple variety and what it's at now. If it's silver maple it'll be ready. Oak probably not unless it's already under 25%...

The split stuff is dry, he is a landscaper who got out of the wood business a few years ago, sounds like he sold the lot and needs it gone. Super nice guy / wife! It looks like this was at the bottom of his stack, some was punky, but the pieces I got last week from him have been burning good (sub 15% moisture).

I didn’t notice any iron wood logs (just some splits)… but I’m looking forward to burning them, lol.

 

[Gearhead660]

Another good day in the woods. Load of elm and oak. All split and stacked in the shed.

 

[MRD1985]

Went and grabbed the wood that I looked at last week. Ended up being all ash, black cherry and cherry with very little if any oak. But for 200$ I’m not complaining . Split some of it also but now I’m cooked. Took 2 full truck and trailer loads (first tarp photo is only 1 load, the second was still in the truck.). Most of the wood is pretty good, some of the ash might be a little bit punky but for the stuff I split so far not much. Definitely could be burnable now, but it’s frozen, it would have to thaw to see the MC, but definitely splits like and feels like it’s. Same thing with the black cherry. I guess this has been cut and piled for 6-9 months.

Note. Frozen ash is fun to split.

 

[mpaul]

Definitely could be burnable now, but it’s frozen

I’d still wait at least one season after splitting before burning.

 

[MRD1985]

I’d still wait at least one season after splitting before burning.

This won’t be burned for 2 years more than likely

 

[weee123]

Continued cleaning up my old dumping pile to take rotten wood and stumps to the dump after work today. Got to do some wheel stands with the old 8n moving one of the stumps and an oak log.

The oak logs are actually still solid in the middle only outside 1” is rotten even though it’s been sitting for 5+ years. The quaking aspen tree that the wisteria killed before I moved in was completely rotten.

 

[burning VC]

Continued cleaning up my old dumping pile to take rotten wood and stumps to the dump after work today. Got to do some wheel stands with the old 8n moving one of the stumps and an oak log.

Moar pictures of 8n! Moar!
Year?

 

[Turbo89]

Continued cleaning up my old dumping pile to take rotten wood and stumps to the dump after work today. Got to do some wheel stands with the old 8n moving one of the stumps and an oak log.

The oak logs are actually still solid in the middle only outside 1” is rotten even though it’s been sitting for 5+ years. The quaking aspen tree that the wisteria killed before I moved in was completely rotten.

Dump?! That looks like it could be a 1/2 face cord of premium split hardwood!! Worth no less than $300 in some parts of the country!

 

[djlew]

That pricing is part do to there's not a lot of competition in this rural area.
When I start sales, I'll be in the same ball park. No kiln though and some other choices like half cords. I don't care to sell face cords. I might though. That and a road side stand for heating and camp wood. Priced accordingly.

Funny thing is, and this really went to show how the terminology has been skewed (face cords vs cords, seasoned etc), my father in law got a cord and asked me when he went to burn "this doesn't seem seasoned, even though he said about a year seasoned!" and I had to break it to him that I could tell him it could have been called 3 months seasoned, doesn't mean it's seasoned. Got to know what you're getting into! 😂

 

[weee123]

Dump?! That looks like it could be a 1/2 face cord of premium split hardwood!! Worth no less than $300 in some parts of the country!

Oh the good oak is getting split and stacked the rest is going bye bye, don’t you worry

 

[Pinesmoke]

Worked the pile in front of the house. All cut except for the 6' stump end. It's leaning on it right now and I'll have to rig the root ball while I cut it. We got 1/2" of rain yesterday so things are pretty slimy, I left it lay for now.

Cut and moved these from along the driveway, maple and poplar. It's wet and frozen ATM so didn't feel like get wet splitting it. Another day's project

 

[Turbo89]

I took the road less traveled on lunch today, and scored about half a truck load of red oak (cut it to length with my chainsaw on the side of the road, lol). Now I just have to unload it and add it to the split pile.

It’s funny what you find when you start to look for free wood.

 

[NickW]

1/2-3/4 load of ash this morning went better than yesterday. Loaded on good coals and let it char longer. Just got home and firing up the coals for a a quick shoulder season load.

Oops, wrong thread...

More thread appropriate - did a bunch of wiring work at my sister's house today. Diagnosing issues, figuring circuits and labeling unlabeled and mislabeled breaker boxes, started replacing switches and outlets... Back again tomorrow.

 

[all night moe]

Crane day today with 30mph wind gusts. I was a kite as the crane was reaching out 90' away from it's turret and behind the house .....weeeee...... Not fun. Riding the ball up to choke off the pick wasn't bad but, once I was in the tree and it was rocking ....not a pleasant ride. Not scary but enough to be a bit nervy. 3 red pines (they were the ones rocking), and a black oak. Took the pines in 2-3 picks each. They had tops with live branches catching the wind like a sail. When I cut one of them loose, I jokingly said to the crane OP, "It's your problem now." LOL The black oak we did in a single pick. 28''dia at the base and about 60' tall, with a decent sized crown. Luckily leafless and 20' away from the crane. Easy peasy.

I took home a small load of limb wood. Something's better than nothing. All the big wood stayed. It got moved down a trail in the woods. My bet is it stays there till it rots. What a waste.

 

[MRD1985]

Split some more wood today and reloaded both indoor racks. The indoor racks hold a face cord, which has been lasting me about 10 days through the month of January. A lot of oak and maple, some ash, with a touch of hickory but very few in this run.

I have split about 1.25 cords so far and it doesn’t look like I’m even half way through it yet. Stuff piled on the left will have to be ripped with the saw. It’s like hitting concrete even with an 8lb maul. It’s cherry but must be partially seasoned. Will not even begin to split with the maul and an 8lb sledge behind it. I actually cracked the back of the striking end of the maul a bit trying to split it. Side note looking forward to burning this cherry. It smells outstanding. Glad I have some more of this to use in the future I just used up the last of what I had of all it.

Also have some mystery wood in this mix. Smooth bark, very hard and very heavy. Even more so than oak. I’m thinking this may be apple, but not sure. Definitely not cherry and not hickory either. What you guys think?

 

[Dieselhead]

I also loaded up the racks this am before the wind came through. I even got 1.5 cord or so of spruce stacked before calling it a day. Maybe I’ll finish up the pile tomorrow.


Rake for reference;

 

[Dieselhead]

Split some more wood today and reloaded both indoor racks. The indoor racks hold a face cord, which has been lasting me about 10 days through the month of January. A lot of oak and maple, some ash, with a touch of hickory but very few in this run.

I have split about 1.25 cords so far and it doesn’t look like I’m even half way through it yet. Stuff piled on the left will have to be ripped with the saw. It’s like hitting concrete even with an 8lb maul. It’s cherry but must be partially seasoned. Will not even begin to split with the maul and an 8lb sledge behind it. I actually cracked the back of the striking end of the maul a bit trying to split it. Side note looking forward to burning this cherry. It smells outstanding. Glad I have some more of this to use in the future I just used up the last of what I had of all it.

Also have some mystery wood in this mix. Smooth bark, very hard and very heavy. Even more so than oak. I’m thinking this may be apple, but not sure. Definitely not cherry and not hickory either. What you guys think?

Seems like Apple could be a very good possibility based on image searches. I haven’t seen much around my parts.

 

[Dieselhead]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is the saying. I’m sure some scratch their head when they see I’m in hardwood country and am over here stacking spruce, which is not considered a premium firewood for our area. It’s pretty simple actually. I took down close to a dozen of them, many 65’ tall back in 2023 to clear an area of my yard to be used for utility use. They sat in log form until the end of November 2024 when I cut them into rounds. I then split back in the beginning of this month and now it’s stacked and top covered. I usually don’t go out of my way looking for softwood but if I have to either get rid of it or burn it, I’m a gonna burn it. With my stove I can get 8-10 hours out of a load of spruce when the temp is at freezing, even longer in the 40s so it may not be premium, but it burns very well in stoves you can turn way down and still have no plume out of your stack. I probably wouldn’t recommend it in split form for a owb or other free burning stove like a pot belly unless it’s all your region has but for the daytime burns here in the northeast it does a good job with a cat stove. It should be interesting come 25-26 burn season to see what the MC is, but I imagine it’s going to be really close or even ready to go, the moisture meter will tell the tale come this fall.

55”x55”x20’ 3.28 cord

 

[NickW]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is the saying. I’m sure some scratch their head when they see I’m in hardwood country and am over here stacking spruce, which is not considered a premium firewood for our area. It’s pretty simple actually. I took down close to a dozen of them, many 65’ tall back in 2023 to clear an area of my yard to be used for utility use. They sat in log form until the end of November 2024 when I cut them into rounds. I then split back in the beginning of this month and now it’s stacked and top covered. I usually don’t go out of my way looking for softwood but if I have to either get rid of it or burn it, I’m a gonna burn it. With my stove I can get 8-10 hours out of a load of spruce when the temp is at freezing, even longer in the 40s so it may not be premium, but it burns very well in stoves you can turn way down and still have no plume out of your stack. I probably wouldn’t recommend it in split form for a owb or other free burning stove like a pot belly unless it’s all your region has but for the daytime burns here in the northeast it does a good job with a cat stove. It should be interesting come 25-26 burn season to see what the MC is, but I imagine it’s going to be really close or even ready to go, the moisture meter will tell the tale come this fall.

55”x55”x20’ 3.28 cord

View attachment 336057

Spruce should be good and ready by fall I would think. I use quite a bit of low BTU woods in my tube stove during shoulder season and to burn down coals when it's super cold.