BIG Beech Score!

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bigbarf48

bigbarf48

Minister of Fire
Dec 21, 2012
837
Stone Mountain GA
A few weeks ago I got some sweetgum from a tree crew across the street, I gave the guy my name and # and told him to call if he ever had more wood to get rid of.

Well I get a call this morning from him, saying he had a load of beech and a load of white oak for me! :cool:

He dropped it off and I got to work cutting. Heres the pile, and some shots of it mostly bucked up

IMG_4086.jpg IMG_3512.jpg IMG_1942.jpg

Heres my wall o' beech, all ready to get split

IMG_6317.jpg

And heres the bigger beech pieces I havent gotten to, along with the white oak load. The oak was standing dead, and has a little punk but the inside should be good to go

IMG_7352.jpg


So how long am I looking at for the beech to season? I split a few pieces and it was harder than oak, but definitely not bad
 
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Son of a beech, nice score, I think beech seasons faster than oak but I've never had any so I'm not sure.
 
I haven't either, I love getting new wood I've never worked with before!

The long logs are easier to move around in the pile than oak because the bark is so slick, I liked that
 
The best part is he's coming back tomorrow with a load of red oak :cool:
 
Nice score there bigbarf48 !!!!! I hope you have a splitter or a really strong back.....or both.
 
Wodburner said:
Nice score there bigbarf48 !!!!! I hope you have a splitter or a really strong back.....or both.
Click to expand...

For better or worse, only the latter :p

Most of the rounds are small-ish, and I popped a couple open with the monster maul pretty easily. After that the axe did fine. I'll get it all done eventually ;lol
 
Im thinking all of these big loads may help me justify the purchase of a bigger badder chainsaw ::-)
 
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Very nice! He probably felt sorry for you giving you that sweet gum first.
That's a good guy to know.
 
bigbarf48 said:
Im thinking all of these big loads may help me justify the purchase of a bigger badder chainsaw ::-)
Click to expand...

Ready to step up to the MS180 are ya?!?;)

I've burned beech after 1 year but 2 would be much better.
 
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Your score looks good. Beech is a hard wood. It should take 2-3 years to season depending on conditions.
 
Man Barf you're really going to town lately-great score! Beech is really good stuff, burns with a nice lively flame and throws good heat; always reminds me of elephant skin......burning a few pieces myself lately-it is around here in PA. but I don't have the chance to get it much for fuelwood but when I do I grab it!

Keep up the good work....;)
 
Paulywalnut said:
Very nice! He probably felt sorry for you giving you that sweet gum first.
That's a good guy to know.
Click to expand...

I was hoping the gum would open me up to better stuff from him. It was the "gateway load" ;lol

Clyde S. Dale said:
Ready to step up to the MS180 are ya?!?;)

I've burned beech after 1 year but 2 would be much better.
Click to expand...

Yeah maybe thatd do the trick ;) Ive been looking at the 271, 291, and 311
 
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PA. Woodsman said:
Man Barf you're really going to town lately-great score! Beech is really good stuff, burns with a nice lively flame and throws good heat; always reminds me of elephant skin......burning a few pieces myself lately-it is around here in PA. but I don't have the chance to get it much for fuelwood but when I do I grab it!

Keep up the good work....;)
Click to expand...


Thank you sir
 
Tell him to keep it comin'. Can't have enough firewood supply.
 
I had some beech that cut c/s/s in Nov of 12 and I burned it in Dec of 13. It burned real good but I thought it could have used another 6 months to bring it to perfection. Not complaining because it still burned good and no sizzle.
 
Thanks for the info Richie

Pauly- I agree completely! I'm going on a little day trip to a ski place tomorrow , I'm hoping there'll be a nice pile of red oak when I get back :cool:
 
I've really struggled to split beech by hand. Even with a wedge and maul it tends to "break" and not split. Maybe when it dries a little it will be easier to work with, but my experience with red and white oak cut at the same time was much, much easier than with the beech.

It's too bad, too, because I've got a ton of big beech splits available, but I can only move them if I can split them where they are lying and put them into the car. The big splits weigh a couple hundred pounds, and I can't do much with them until they are busted up.

Good luck to you -- it sounds like you've got a good thing going on!
 
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Im hoping the bigger rounds aren't like that, but the smaller ones really weren't bad. They certainly weren't straight easy splitters like red or white oak, but not terrible. You can tell though by looking at the grain that its a little twisty. It does "tear" a bit
 
Good score... I've had good luck splitting beech and I love the thin bark.
 
Can you post pics of your White Oak, Bigbarf?
I wanna see.
Great tree guy you got. Beech really isnt a yard type species. I think if you hurry up and get it split you can have it for next January. I had beech in the stove a few nights back when the temps dropped to -14° with the wind chills at -24° and it held its own quite nicely.
Is GA Georgia?
 
Hey Bigbarf, Tell that tree guy to have his friend that lives in East Tennessee to start dropping lots of hardwood in my yard.:)

You'll do good with that beech. I've had some over the years. I got a good red oak score today from a friends house. The post powder beatles got to the outside of it pretty good but well worth getting. It splits easy with a Fiskars. I may not even get the gas splitter out this time.

Keep taking that wood. People will see it and think your either crazy or in the wood business like they do me. ;)
 
18 months is plenty of time to season beech.
 
Hey Barf, you might wanna think about beer and pizza for the tree crew when they show up again! Makes for happiness all round!:)
 
Thanks all for the info. I'll keep taking loads as long as he's bringing them ;)

Apple- Yes GA is I Georgia, and ill get some pics up of the white oak for you sometime
 
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