I realize that in many areas "beggars cannot be choosers" applies and whatever wood you can scrounge is good, especially high BTU woods like hickory. This thread would be less applicable to those folks.
For folks in areas where good hardwoods are not only plentiful, but also readily/easily scrounged to the point that you can be "choosy" this would be more applicable.
Does anybody else dislike hickory? With the likes of black locust, oak, dead ash, and the occasional hedge tree all readily available for "easy pickins" around me, I've lately found myself really hating on hickory. It's a beautiful wood but it takes a while to season (like Oak) and the powder post beetles just make a mess. The dust gets everywhere, there is a risk of bringing the beetles inside the house and getting an infestation... It just seems to me that all the advantages of hickory can be had in Oak, Black Locust, & Hedge without the downside of the mess that Hickory makes. Am I missing something?
Why mess with hickory? I'm at the point that I'm just going to make the most of all the dead standing ash that I can, let me oak season for several years, and burn the hickory in the campfires (or trade it to a friend that runs a BBQ joint).
Disclaimer: I haven't burned much hickory. I burned a little my first year. It wasn't until a year ago I was able to get my hands on some hickory again. Checked with a moisture meter after a full year of split and single-row stacked in an exposed location and still "OL" on the meter. I'll have to wait for next year to try burning it I guess. The bugs sure love it; my stacks are almost completely "caked" together with sawdust.
For folks in areas where good hardwoods are not only plentiful, but also readily/easily scrounged to the point that you can be "choosy" this would be more applicable.
Does anybody else dislike hickory? With the likes of black locust, oak, dead ash, and the occasional hedge tree all readily available for "easy pickins" around me, I've lately found myself really hating on hickory. It's a beautiful wood but it takes a while to season (like Oak) and the powder post beetles just make a mess. The dust gets everywhere, there is a risk of bringing the beetles inside the house and getting an infestation... It just seems to me that all the advantages of hickory can be had in Oak, Black Locust, & Hedge without the downside of the mess that Hickory makes. Am I missing something?
Why mess with hickory? I'm at the point that I'm just going to make the most of all the dead standing ash that I can, let me oak season for several years, and burn the hickory in the campfires (or trade it to a friend that runs a BBQ joint).
Disclaimer: I haven't burned much hickory. I burned a little my first year. It wasn't until a year ago I was able to get my hands on some hickory again. Checked with a moisture meter after a full year of split and single-row stacked in an exposed location and still "OL" on the meter. I'll have to wait for next year to try burning it I guess. The bugs sure love it; my stacks are almost completely "caked" together with sawdust.
I LOVE black locust. It works especially well on a hot reload because it's so hard to ignite that it actually lasts a good while longer than other woods when placed directly on hot coals...
