Did some interesting cutting today...

Spent the day bucking to length the trees I felled on my last two trips out. One 48" ash, one 30" ash, one 20" oak, a whole bunch of elm, some other random stuff I can't remember, and one sassafras. I don't know much about how sassafras burns, but it smells wonderful when you put the saw into it!

It's always tough to tell how much you have before you get it stacked, but it looks like this load is going to be roughly 6 cords. Unfortunately, I only photo'd about half of the load:



For scale, the tractor on the right edge of the photo is a Ford 3000. There's so much stuff down on this lot from Sandy, that I really should just focus on the big trunks, but its hard to get out of the habit of dragging every branch off the tree out of the woods.

Nice work!

awesome site!!

Whoa! What part of Philadelphia? I would gladly help out for a day in exchange for some wood.

Dammit I'm jealous! I cant wait to get back out and cut! Looks like a good pile and variety, Joful!
That sassafras does smell great when cutting it. We used to make tea out of the roots until I leaned that saffrole (the.oils in sassafras) isnt good to ingest.

Holy schmokes! That's alotta wood.

Wow I used to chew the leaves when I was a kid. Maybe thats whats wrong with me!

Wow, a 48" ash, that had to be a grand old tree. Dead from the disease?

Thanks, guys! Actually no where near Philadelphia, from a local perspective... but our friends across the country have never heard of the rural township in which I live. This wood is located in Tylersport... hardly worth hauling to south Jersey! I figure I'll need more than one full day hauling with a dual axle trailer, to move this load the 9 miles back to my house.

I read that there is an old Native American belief that Sassafras will bring bad luck to those who burn it. Some of the early european settlers shared this superstition.

I've taken down two big ash recently. One 42" in October, and a much larger one last month, which I probably under-estimated at 48". The 42" was still standing tall, but had bloomed less each of the last 5 years. There was evidence it had been struck by lightening. The larger one was made of two 36" - 40" trunks, which joined just above the ground, and had been partially blown down by hurrican Sandy. It was hung up in two other trees, and let me just say, was a very exciting take-down!

nice clean work site

Joful, that is an extremely nice haul. I too love cutting sassafras just for the smell. Not great wood for burning but does well in spring or fall. Believe it or not, they can also make decent fence posts even without treating. They won't last like the locust but it is easy to get 10-15 years use from them that way....if you can find straight ones.

Cool! This one is straight as a pin, but the diameter is a little large (12 inch-ish) for fence posts.

Hopefully burning it does not bring any bad luck upon me or my family. I have enough of that on my own!

I am envious of the wood you guys in the east have access to. Nice work.

And we are envious of the scenery you have in your state.

Another fine member of the "You Suck Club".

lol.... I'm actually considering working a different area for a bit.... I've got too much locust ;D

Wow, looks like you need to put in another stove. Personally I'm tired of cutting Ash but it burns so well I can't say no. The Sassafras isn't so great for burning but yes, it smells great cutting it. A few years ago I built a couple chaise lounges for my wife and daughters out of Sassafras. In this part of the country it's a lot cheaper than Western Cedar and a straighter grain. Makes for nice outdoor furniture because it is resistent to rot.

Heh... already floated the idea past my wife of putting in an Esse in the kitchen, as a second cook stove, third wood stove. At first, she liked the idea, but I think she's tiring of this whole wood heat thing, already. Might not be the time to push a third big stove, just yet.

Andy, how could you get tired of cutting ash? I love cutting it and will really miss it when all is gone.

Hey Dennis, just so much of it almost no room for the other woods. Ash doesn't last all night in my firebox, or at least long enough. With Oak or something that heavy the coals will last long enough to be able to sleep longer between loads. For some reason as I get older I want to sleep more. I'm now up to almost 5 hours a night, 6-7 on the weekends.

Andy, you are crazy! But then, bakers tend to be that way. On the ash, if that is all I use for the night fires, I like to have a round or at least one large square or rectangular piece for the bottom rear. Actually, I tend to stay away from the triangle pieces when packing for the night if it is going to be a cold one. I think we probably went 5 winters using nothing but ash but like you, we prefer having a few pieces of oak to help hold the fire longer. And I too tend to like sleeping longer. Not only that, but I have not yet lost my hate of alarm clocks...

It is certainly not good luck when you open the stove door, the Sass pops, you've got live embers all over your living room, and your house burns down.

That's some big-ash Ash you've been getting into...