Another craigslist score

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

cityevader

New Member
Dec 16, 2008
80
Santa Cruz "Mountains"
I've never tried Locust before, so excited for 2010 when I'll burn it. I already got next years wood from a previous Craigslist score of 3 cords of Oak and 2 of Camphor, as well as this year's dry Madrone and Oak and Bay, 5 cords...and all of it for FREE!!!

The Locust was one of those ads that we all roll our eyes at. You know the ones, "Free firewood, just come chop my trees down."

I half apologize to those who do this for a living, whom I am taking work from, but half not sorry because he already got a quote and refused to pay so much. And I'm desparate to get my hands on as much as I can.

On the phone he said there was nothing in the way, just drop and buck, but a few would have to be climbed. I get there and it's a tangled jungle of mostly small 6 inch trees, 4 or 5 12 inchers, and one 20 incher...all 50+feet tall. There were thorny sapling everywhere, fallen trees wedged into crotches, and my favorite, a larger one hung up in another with the trunk cut off so it was fully suspended from either end starting 6 feet in the air! The first 20' of the 100x40ft lot would hit power lines if simply dropped. The largest ones were alongside his house, and his trailer was underneath all of it! Seriously, I had to laugh! After some considering, I decided to take it on (desparation, remember?)

The first one i gaffed up...never so scared in my life! It was so very skinny there was nothing for the spikes to grab, and I didn't bring up the chainsaw out of safety concern, so was using very sharp handsaw. HO said all trees alive, most leaves fallen off for winter, but as I started sawing, hard as a rock dead. Seemed half hour of sawing a 4 inch trunk, then climbing back down had me compltely exhausted and wanting to call it quits. Next two were done on an extension ladder... and of course by now I should be dead.
Kids, never ever ever try this at home!!!

This cleared a path for many to be roped over in a proper fashion, away from house/trailer/power lines, and many many many in a row fell right between two stumps I'd been aiming for.

Three weeks were spent whittling away at it with only about 40 minutes of daylight left by the time I arrived, and only one "casulty", a hung up tree within a hung up tree. I told him it's gonna hit his little metal shed. He said it'd clear. No it won't. Yes it will. Back and forth, but I was so tired that when he said it didn't matter if it hit I let him have his way. Ten feet of treetop hit the shed and put a good dent in his roof. A close second was when one bigger tree hinge broke (hollow heart), fell towards trailer and the tipmost leaves grazed it. I nearly gave up after that.

All in all, it was a great learning experience, an awful lot of work, with minimal brush hauling, and I got a solid 3.5 to 4 cords of Locust, and about .5 of Bay, and I'm still alive.
 

Attachments

  • locust2.JPG
    locust2.JPG
    186 KB · Views: 644
  • locust4.JPG
    locust4.JPG
    181 KB · Views: 627
Congratulations! You've got a lot of heart. I'm glad you're OK. That Craig's List guy certainly got a heck of a bargain, too. You're going to love that good coaling Locust when you burn it. Good looking stacks. That's a bunch of wood, eh? I think that where you live, a nice score like that is a probably a pretty big deal. Interesting story, good photos- enjoyed seeing them.
 
3 weeks @ 40 min a day give you 4 cords ...that very good cityevader. I salute your resolve on those difficult takes...and good all around story showcasing the value of 40 min a day spent on the wood pile.
 
Let it never be said that wood scroungers are not tenacious, persevering, and hardworking. Excellent work, I'm impressed.
 
savageactor7 said:
3 weeks @ 40 min a day give you 4 cords ...that very good cityevader. I salute your resolve on those difficult takes...and good all around story showcasing the value of 40 min a day spent on the wood pile.

But that wasn't counting splitting/stacking time!
 
Man thats Great ! glad to hear all went well too. Excellent Score it was well worth getting that Locust ! Your gonna love it !
 
Nice wood score, but I s'pect that the "donor" got the better part of the deal, given what he would have had to pay a tree service and the fact that you seem to have done a very concentious job at getting the trees outta there. The tree services get paid AND they often keep the wood (usually for resale).

There's an ad in the local CL (Altadena area) w/ a very similar deal, only at first the ad looked like there should already be cut (bucked) wood available. I drove the 25 or so miles and found - a dangerous mess, with a few guys cutting using a crappy 'lectric chainsaw, rickety ladders, and NO PPE. Since I don't have a chainsaw or PPE I got the ***** outta there purty quick.

Peace,
- Sequoia
 
Oh yeah, forgot to mention...he's a roofer and I have a water leak around my chimney with terrible flashing install....he'll be around this week to redo all that properly.
So it's still totally in his favor, but I got stuff out of it too.
 
I can only imagine the feedback this would have received on ArboristSite.

Good score. I've been striking out down in the valley.
 
myzamboni said:
I can only imagine the feedback this would have received on ArboristSite.

Good score. I've been striking out down in the valley.

Actually, not much feedback there.

I got quite a bit of free wood from your end of the planet a few months ago. "We Care Tree Care" tree service does takedowns and puts ads up on Craigslist, collects money for complete removal and has us scroungers come and take it so he pockets the dough.. Although ads seems to have been fewer and farther between lately. Funny thing is, up here in the woods, there's never any ads for free wood, but over in Silly-con valley, there's always ads.

Every time I see your avatar I try to remember who he is...the band from the early '90's, back when Steve Masters and Roland West were DJ's on "Live 105" 105.3 alternative rock.....My have my musical tastes changed since then!
 
Try the 80's . . .Black Flag (Henry Rollins). But yeah, Live 105 played some of his solo stuff in the early 90's. If you ever get the opportunity to go listen to him on his spoken word tour you will be amazed. He is extremely well read and can argue almost any topic from either side effectively.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.