Sticks and small rounds

When I'm cleaning tops I go down to 1.5-2" around. Anything smaller than that isn't worth the time (in my opinion). Those small rounds dry very nicely and are great to get things hot again. Stay warm!

Hi cbob, and good luck on your camping trip! lol!
I know what you are going through. We lost electricity in a storm last summer, for 6 days. Quite the wakeup call.

I burn pretty much everything, including sticks up to 2 inches thick. It really dépends what your preference is, and whether you have access to a lot of wood. Some people just don`t bother. But in my case, I burn it all.

Laurent

I keep small branches for kindling. Seems I'm always looking for kindling during shoulder seasons.

If my wife is helping, we keep down to about 2". Alone, it is more like 3". No, we do not have a problem with those drying. We also will keep some rounds usually up to 5" or maybe 6" but not too many. We like those for long cold night fires. We will put only one in at a time though and that is in the bottom rear of the stove. The little stuff, just fit it in anywhere or use when you want small and short fires.

I usually limb everything down to 1-1.5" to about 3" and throw the branches on top of the logs or rounds. These I cut with a chop saw to 10" lengths. Since my rounds are cut in 10" lengths and dry fairly quickly, any rounds less than 4.5" I don't split. They just go in the stacks.

The good man rolls his eyes a lot, but I'm all about burning pretty much anything. 1 1/2-2" qualifies as "anything" in my book. It dries pretty quickly and can become kindling or a nice way to stoke a fire that will be fed with slightly less than perfectly dried wood. In our maritime climate perfectly seasoned firewood can take longer than it might for those who live in a drier climate.

when we cut we take everything down to the size of our wrists.they work great for stoking a fire especially mixing in with a big knot piece.

I burn everything. Really small branches I cut to 16 inch length and store in the basement in paper lawn bags, which I reuse from year to year. Keep one in the house unless I am burning 24/7. They get the stove going very quickly, get it hot quickly, are easy to light, and with a few 1 - 2 inch branches provide all the heat I need shoulder season. When I'm walking the dog, I pick up any downed branches and bring them home. If dead and dry they go right in the stove. If broken off live, they go in a pile to "age", if Artan doesn't eat them first....

2 inches and bigger rounds are great, no splitting. All of it burns and fills the stove

I keep the sticks for the fireplace. My fireplace is 36 across 24 high in the front, so there's a lot of cold brick in there that needs to get warmed up. I have no problem loading a bunch of sticks in first and throwing splits on top for fuel, and maybe a round or two in the back. It all burns. This coming week I'm going to pick up a couple paper shopping bags full of fresh wood chips and let them age until next season, it'll probably help get a fire going in the fireplace or stove.

Yup, I burn just about everything and the chop saw is great for the small stuff too. I cut them down to 10' or so, then use the chop saw. So much faster.
The only downside is that you really have to watch the stove. The small stuff burns very hot, very fast.

I'll take anything wrist sized or bigger. The smaller stuff tends to rot in the wood pile before I get around to burning it, and I've got kindling for years with cut-off ends from a hickory hardwood floor I just installed.

I initially cut down to about an inch but it became a pita. now I stop at about 1.5-2" and throw the branches in a pile to be moved onto the brush pile later. the small ones do dry quick, burn quick and are great starters/kindling. I kind of mix most of them into the wood pile but keep some on the side for starters. I even split them once sometimes especially the ones i'll use for kindling.

Last "cord wood" delivery had a solid 20 cubic feet of sticks for to 1" diameter. Clearly the guy cleaned up his splitting yard and threw everything in the truck.
Luckily it stacked up to about 15 cubic feet over a full cord so I didn't get too upset over it.
It all burns and lime others said, good for a small fire or to get the fire stoked up and hot.

I used to just chip the small stuff in a wood chipper. Over the years I have changed a little and now that I have a house with a stove and insert, I have become more of a "stickler". I either burn them in the bonfire for relaxation outside or I chop them down for kindling. I have also cut some to 3'-4' lengths and used them to stake tomatoes in the garden. If it burns I try to use it instead of wasting it.

Warm_in_NH said:

..........Clearly the guy cleaned up his splitting yard and threw everything in the truck..............It all burns and lime others said, good for a small fire or to get the fire stoked up and hot.

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it happened to me too.....once.....I never bought from that person again. have been getting my own the past couple of years.

He's a nice kid, it's at my gfs house, she's been searching for an honest source w a decent product. This kid is alright, she was running out of wood, initially he said he was out, then he called back and said he could gather up a cord if she was in a jamb.
Sooooo....He did bail her out w a wood delivery in January, it was her poor planning, and he went strong on the cord. Well give him another shot but it will be noted.

Also, after seeing how good the Lil stuff lit right up, I'm heading out to the old brush piles today to cut up and stack anything over an inch. Lol.

I've been keeping anything over 2". Next year I'll probably start going down to 3/4"-1", only because I normally have to start a fire every day and I'm getting tired of splitting that much kindling. I'll probably build a box in my shed out of pallets to store the tiny stuff in.

I used to turn my nose up at anything smaller than 4 inches or so . . . and then I started to think doing so was a bit wasteful . . . and so now I keep just about everything from 1 1/2 inches and up. This smaller stuff is perfect when you have just enough room in the firebox for one or two more pieces.

David.Ervin said:

I'll take anything wrist sized or bigger. The smaller stuff tends to rot in the wood pile before I get around to burning it, and I've got kindling for years with cut-off ends from a hickory hardwood floor I just installed.

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Interesting. I've never had small stuff rot in the stacks. Anything over 1 inch I'll often just toss on top of one of the stacks. Sometimes tuff hollow logs and air spaces with small branches too. The young grandkids (supervised) love that job. Artan (the wheaten)gets very involved. A certain percentage of the sticks get fed to him instead of the woodpile...

blazincajun said:

I usually limb everything down to 1-1.5" to about 3" and throw the branches on top of the logs or rounds. These I cut with a chop saw to 10" lengths. Since my rounds are cut in 10" lengths and dry fairly quickly, ....

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DougA said:

Yup, I burn just about everything and the chop saw is great for the small stuff too. I cut them down to 10' or so, then use the chop saw. So much faster.
The only downside is that you really have to watch the stove. The small stuff burns very hot, very fast.

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Do you guys have a WOOD Blade on the chop saw? You're not using a metal blade are you?

Or are you talking about a regular miter saw??

I am looking for a faster way (other than chain saw or hand loppers) to cut my small stuff.

Kindling only for round here. I don't save much because I have lumber scraps from working on the addition for kindling.
And after 24/7 starts, no need for kindling.

CenterTree said:

Do you guys have a WOOD Blade on the chop saw? You're not using a metal blade are you?

Or are you talking about a regular miter saw??

I am looking for a faster way (other than chain saw or hand loppers) to cut my small stuff.

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10" mitre saw with combination wood blade. Larger mitre saw would probably work better. Cuts quick an safe without bouncing all around. Keeping the smalls makes good kindling and saves time later when trying to find kindling.

I cut small scraps and branches on the front steps using a circular saw without a guard. For liability reasons try at your own risk and watch out for the cord! It gets shorter on my saw every year.