Work Done in 2021

[Solarguy3500]

Over the last few weeks, I've made some progress bucking the first pile of logs I got from the tree company earlier this summer.


Got it almost all cut into rounds except for the bottom row of logs, many of which are quite large diameter.


I'm seriously considering getting a chainsaw mill and milling the biggest logs. I've got one sugar maple log that's about 29" in diameter that I bet I could get some really nice slabs out of.

My splitter is on its way, so when it arrives I'll get started on splitting the pile of rounds.

 

[Solarguy3500]

Ok, time for a little fun.

A few weeks ago, I split some oak rounds I had gotten earlier this summer. As I was splitting, I just haphazardly stacked the splits temporarily next to where I was working, knowing I'll need to move the wood to it's permanent location stacked in one of my pallet woodsheds. When I stepped back and looked at the crooked, leaning pile, I thought this is a good opportunity for some fun. I know the stack is going to fall over, but the question is when? Here it is right after I stacked it:


Here it is today. I swear it has shifted already, but could be just a different angle of the picture:


So, now the fun part. Anybody want to venture a guess as to when it will fall? One of my kids says Wednesday, my other kid says Thursday, I'm guessing Sunday, and my wife says two weeks from now in a bold prediction. Any other guesses?

Also, an update on the splitter I ordered. It got lost in transit last week and I've talked to the shipping company a couple times, with today being the most recent conversation. Turns out it showed up finally at the terminal near me, but it's completely destroyed. They said there wasn't even a crate left, just a pile of broken pieces. So, it'll be a little longer while a new one gets shipped from Missouri.

 

[Sawset]

If and when the moisture content goes down and the wood shrinks, since you've jinxed the process right off, the piles will straighten themselves and stay upright forever.

 

[stoveliker]

if you provide a zipcode and the orientation of the stack (eg E/W), I'll look at the weatherforecast and tell you when it's going to collapse

 

[Solarguy3500]

If and when the moisture content goes down and the wood shrinks, since you've jinxed the process right off, the piles will straighten themselves and stay upright forever.

Hmmm, good point. I hadn't thought of that possibility.

 

[Solarguy3500]

if you provide a zipcode and the orientation of the stack (eg E/W), I'll look at the weatherforecast and tell you when it's going to collapse

01253. E-W running stack.

Can't wait to hear the answer!

 

[stoveliker]

01253. E-W running stack.

Can't wait to hear the answer!

hm, prevailing westerly winds there... And no thunderstorms I can see coming.

Normal gamble then: by Wed. the 29th (b/c some showers before that...).

lol. Good I don't make my money forecasting anything

 

[Sawset]

I'm seriously considering getting a chainsaw mill and milling the biggest logs.

Thank goodness for power tools.

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[Sawset]

Cut three white oak trees down this week. Oak wilt. The oldest was 195 years old, but only 25" dia. 85ft tall, spent the first 100 years under 12dia. Once the canopy opened it took off, but funny how long they can linger in the shade. One of the others rotted from the inside with white mold - what a shame - big old tree, dead with bark still on it, soft and light. Seems like the oak wilt can kill a tree for a long time even if it still has a few leaves on it.

 

[thewoodlands]

I think my last post we had 56 face cord up, I've been getting more damaged Ironwood so we have 57 face cord stacked and tomorrow I'll bring home another load of damaged Ironwood that should give us 58.

 

[SpaceBus]

I juiced three gallons of apples yesterday. Hoping to come out with 1.5-2 gallons of finished cider in a few months. I'm going to try to get half of my finished cider to carbonate in the bottle and let the other half age normally. I'm estimating maybe 50-55 lbs of apples total, all of them wild apples from around our house. I pasteurized the juice in my pressure cooker, which also helped the taste, to be sure there wouldn't be any contamination from mold, bacteria, etc. Before pasteurizing the juice was incredibly tart, pretty much undrinkable, but now I'm thinking there won't be any need for additional sugar. This week my hygrometer should be here to test specific gravity to estimate sugar content. I kept half a pint off to the side for testing since I wasn't able to test before letting fermentation begin. Depending on how the cider tastes in a few weeks we might add some spices. Right now it's just amazing apple juice.

 

[EbS-P]

I juiced three gallons of apples yesterday. Hoping to come out with 1.5-2 gallons of finished cider in a few months. I'm going to try to get half of my finished cider to carbonate in the bottle and let the other half age normally. I'm estimating maybe 50-55 lbs of apples total, all of them wild apples from around our house. I pasteurized the juice in my pressure cooker, which also helped the taste, to be sure there wouldn't be any contamination from mold, bacteria, etc. Before pasteurizing the juice was incredibly tart, pretty much undrinkable, but now I'm thinking there won't be any need for additional sugar. This week my hygrometer should be here to test specific gravity to estimate sugar content. I kept half a pint off to the side for testing since I wasn't able to test before letting fermentation begin. Depending on how the cider tastes in a few weeks we might add some spices. Right now it's just amazing apple juice.

We did 10 gallons of hard cider one year. Friend did 5. I used a white wine yeast. It was dry cider. Friend kept his in a car it with a hand full or two of raisins until February. Mine was drinkable after 4 weeks. we forced carbonated in a keg. It ate all the chrome plating off my draft hardware.

My recommendation is to let it all ferment then bottle with priming sugar. You don’t want bottles popping off in the middle of the night. Never had an issue carbonating this way. If you add dextrose you can make an apple wine then. We tasted a good one on MDI once.
I’m a bit jealous. September and the first week or two of October were favorites months in Maine.

 

[thewoodlands]

I felled another Ironwood today that had lost the other side a few years ago so the base was getting rotten.

I had a dead small Beech that I felled but when it hit the ground, it broke up because it was rotten inside so I left it up there. The small rounds (Ash ?) came from a tree that was across the trail so I bucked it up and brought it home.

Picture 2214 is all the Ironwood that I've been getting lately, hopefully we have another face cord.

 

[SpaceBus]

We did 10 gallons of hard cider one year. Friend did 5. I used a white wine yeast. It was dry cider. Friend kept his in a car it with a hand full or two of raisins until February. Mine was drinkable after 4 weeks. we forced carbonated in a keg. It ate all the chrome plating off my draft hardware.

My recommendation is to let it all ferment then bottle with priming sugar. You don’t want bottles popping off in the middle of the night. Never had an issue carbonating this way. If you add dextrose you can make an apple wine then. We tasted a good one on MDI once.
I’m a bit jealous. September and the first week or two of October were favorites months in Maine.

I'm going to bottle prime with dextrose. My plan is to ferment for two or three weeks, rack in another clean carboy for a few weeks and then bottle. I wanted to wait until my hygrometer got here, but the apples were starting to look rough so I went ahead and made juice. If this goes well I'm going to get another pair of three gallon carboys and try for six gallons. There are six 32 oz bottles on the way and if I fill all of those up the excess will go in mason jars and not primed.

Last summer I tried to make a quart of apple cider vinegar, but I added too much sugar and it still has yet to turn into vinegar.

 

[clancey]

It eat all the chrome plating off the hardware---glad that trip is over with...I sure hope your peoples skill levels have improved..You all actually drink that cider?? Glad your keeping busy..clancey

 

[EbS-P]

I'm going to bottle prime with dextrose. My plan is to ferment for two or three weeks, rack in another clean carboy for a few weeks and then bottle. I wanted to wait until my hygrometer got here, but the apples were starting to look rough so I went ahead and made juice. If this goes well I'm going to get another pair of three gallon carboys and try for six gallons. There are six 32 oz bottles on the way and if I fill all of those up the excess will go in mason jars and not primed.

Last summer I tried to make a quart of apple cider vinegar, but I added too much sugar and it still has yet to turn into vinegar.

I want to try some Hefeweizen yeast sometime. I think the fruitier notes would go good with cider notes. I like my cider dry but not like champagne.

 

[SpaceBus]

I want to try some Hefeweizen yeast sometime. I think the fruitier notes would go good with cider notes. I like my cider dry but not like champagne.

I've really only had a few ciders, just woodchuck and angry orchard. I love dryer wines and champagnes, but I'm going to try different amounts of priming sugar per pair of bottles and see what we like best. When I was in the Army I got to travel to Germany (my first time as an adult) for some training that had plenty of downtime and weekends. Got to go snowboarding and have the very best Hefeweizens Bavaria had to offer, sometimes even at the summit of the mountain. My favorites were the Dunkleweizen our hotel had on tap and the Franziskaner Hefeweizen available in bottles or on tap pretty much everywhere. Even the gas station beer was amazing, but Germany has "purity laws" for alcohol.

 

[johneh]

Germany has "purity laws" for alcohol

This law is still in effect
That's why German beer is so good
no additives or privatives.

This sober attitude applies particularly to the German beer purity law known as the Reinheitsgebot. Introduced in 1516 by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria, the decree allows for only hops, barley, water and, later, yeast in every Stein

 

[MissMac]

I'm slowly picking away at splitting that free poplar I got from the neighbour. Most of it is in various stages of rot, but it will still work as shoulder season wood hopefully for next year. I am splitting them really small to help in drying and hopefully prevent further rot while they dry out. This week I filled up the Ranger once really good, and then about a half load before I shut er down.




The pile is growing.

Still have lots more to go though, and some big ones to boot.



Saw the surgeon last week too. He said I can go back to work whenever I feel ready. I asked him about working on wood - specifically using my saw or swinging my maul. He said "for me, both of those things are very low on the list of things to do right now" hahahahahhaha.

But I knew that. He did say that by spring, I should be good to give it a whirl, which was always my plan anyways.

 

[kennyp2339]

Had a gusty thunderstorm roll through the area yesterday evening, I would say 40mph wind gusts, it was enough to knock down some semi dead ash tree's on my property, so as soon as we get our first few frosts to kill the ground cover, I will be out there cutting away.

 

[clancey]

Well while you people have been "worthless" and "laid back" I have been "working"...The work I have done is I painted the stove room and the laundry room as well as getting my carpenter to overhang the wood shed roof more and to put the lattice wood on it to protect it better for the winter time. I moved my kiln dried wood outside and fix the wood cages with a overhang room so that I can store even more wood for I have some mixed wood coming just to have extra ..Now I really do need suggestions on the backing of the stove--what kind of rock or brick or tile would you people put on to make it look pretty and that's easy to clean and this will be next year when I have this put on the walls..The room is ready and the installer is ready to light it and check it out and this will be sometime in October and I will take pictures.. My birdies are ready too and my tomato plant has out done itself and still putting out tomatoes....I made spag sauce and put it in the freezer as well so I have been working and everything is well....clancey

 

[stoveliker]

Glad to hear you're back to work!

Regarding the tile behind the stove, I think the most important thing is that you like how it looks. ...

 

[NewGuy132]

2021 was my first year processing any firewood the wood will be for 2022. My wife found a "dumpster" of hardwood on FB marketplace for $200 delivered. Having no idea what I was getting myself in to we bought it. I didn't even own a chainsaw at this point.



It was a decent amount of wood, but I wasn't ready for the size of the logs. The largest were 37-38 inches.


I got 95% of it all processed by hand, but rented a log splitter for a couple hours to get the uglies that I couldn't get with the X27 or the Fiskars Maul split. In the end after measuring and using the cord calculator it comes out to about 2.3 cords. Not horrible for my first year. I expect to burn about 2 cords a year.

 

[MissMac]

2021 was my first year processing any firewood the wood will be for 2022. My wife found a "dumpster" of hardwood on FB marketplace for $200 delivered. Having no idea what I was getting myself in to we bought it. I didn't even own a chainsaw at this point.

View attachment 282492View attachment 282493

It was a decent amount of wood, but I wasn't ready for the size of the logs. The largest were 37-38 inches.
View attachment 282494

I got 95% of it all processed by hand, but rented a log splitter for a couple hours to get the uglies that I couldn't get with the X27 or the Fiskars Maul split. In the end after measuring and using the cord calculator it comes out to about 2.3 cords. Not horrible for my first year. I expect to burn about 2 cords a year.

View attachment 282495

those are some big logs! well done

 

[mrd1995]

I didn't get any photos prior to bucking it up but one of our storms brought down a 18" Black Cherry about 100 yards into our woods. Had some "red rot" but 60% was good and solid. Will take a little bit of cheap labor on my part but tickled pink to have it.
I also will be getting the rest of a free ash score hopefully tomorrow and will grab a few pictures. A nice gentleman in town with an excavation company had cut down, delimbed, and stacked on sleepers almost 2 cord worth if I had to guess. He said they are here waiting for you, easiest score ever. All are less than 14 inches and accessible with truck and trailer. Pictures to follow!