Knotty white pain kicked my butt...

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Warm_in_NH

Warm_in_NH

Minister of Fire
Dec 17, 2013
1,193
central NH or N.E. CT.
A while back a neighbor took down a big white pine and left the wood there for the taking. We hauled away two pick up truck loads of logs. I finally got around to processing it this weekend, bucked it up and split it.
This was the knottiest, most curly, stringy stuff I ever went at with a maul! I was expecting it to be super easy, quite the opposite.
It this the norm for white pine or did I just get some obscure pieces?
20150718_121419.jpg 20150718_121824.jpg
 
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I wore the same shoes you are wearing right now last decimeter, luckily I have hydraulics to get me through the pain. good luck
 
Title seems legit if your hurting
 
Most white pine splits pretty easy but knots around some of the bigger branches can be a real PITA. I usually just chunk those pieces up with the saw.
 
Yep. This was an odd tree. I picked the "clear" limbs and trunk sections from the pile,best I could anyway. But upon splitting,there were knots everywhere that showed no sign from the outside.
It was a free standing tree in the middle of a yard. From what I now gather,they're prone to multiple branches due to the light they get and if pruned,they heal over fast.
Stringy too,as the one pic shows, even some of the "clear" pieces just wouldn't break apart.
Did the math. I've got about 6 man hours into it (2 to retrieve it, one to buck it, 3 to split) for about 2/3 cord of soft wood. Not to mention the sap, gas, and the rock I found with my saw. Not sure exactly what it Cost yet,but not gonna do that again. They drop off hard wood cut n split for under 200 a full cord, easy call from here on out.
 
Warm_in_NH said:
Yep. This was an odd tree. I picked the "clear" limbs and trunk sections from the pile,best I could anyway. But upon splitting,there were knots everywhere that showed no sign from the outside.
It was a free standing tree in the middle of a yard. From what I now gather,they're prone to multiple branches due to the light they get and if pruned,they heal over fast.
Stringy too,as the one pic shows, even some of the "clear" pieces just wouldn't break apart.
Did the math. I've got about 6 man hours into it (2 to retrieve it, one to buck it, 3 to split) for about 2/3 cord of soft wood. Not to mention the sap, gas, and the rock I found with my saw. Not sure exactly what it Cost yet,but not gonna do that again. They drop off hard wood cut n split for under 200 a full cord, easy call from here on out.
Click to expand...


Yeah, stand alone in a yard with no competition will get some huge side branches and the lower ones don't wither like they would growing tall for light.
Can be awful to split, even on a hyd splitter.

Planted with proper spacing or in a field with some density is a whole nuther ball of pitch.

I have a blue spruce yard tree cut up and put aside. I couldn't split the rounds last Fall either. Some time soon I'll try it again.
 
Went through this with a large spruce, the side branches are a PITA. I still have a few quarter/half rounds. Best bet is to let them dry, then use the saw to get them to just fit into the stove and put them on a hot bed of coals- sweet revevenge.
 
We push the white pine out of the roads in the woods. And it lays petrified in the woods forever. I admit Im curious but have never tried cutting it up. If we decided to go after it, wed have a good supply of softwood. Its my predominant tree species here.
It seems that it would not come apart easy by virtue of all the limbs.
Im also curious how the wood holds up bug wise.
 
I got a nice big spruce from a friend last year, I split the rounds right away. I made huge pieces 8-10" splits, they have been drying ever since. It's amazing that you can pick up one of the big splits and it's still lighter than my 3" maple splits. Can't wait to burn it in October.
 
kennyp2339 said:
I got a nice big spruce from a friend last year, I split the rounds right away. I made huge pieces 8-10" splits, they have been drying ever since. It's amazing that you can pick up one of the big splits and it's still lighter than my 3" maple splits. Can't wait to burn it in October.
Click to expand...
Yea, and wilth spruce you don't need a MM, you can feel how dry it is by picking it up.
 
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