Petrified wood

[paulgp602]

I got some OLD Apricot and peach tree wood from my parents today. It was in an old shed that they had knocked down. My Mom told me that my father cut and split it about 20 years ago! We used to have Apricot trees and Peach trees growing in our yard. The wood is very heavy and burned for so much longer than any wood I have had so far. My stove got alot hotter than usual, I had to shut the air control almost all the way, and the thermometer still said 650. Is it possible for the wood to have petrified? It wasn't rotted at all like you would expect after 20 or so years. I wish I had alot more of it...

 

[roac]

Why do people think wood rots so fast? The house I live in is over 100 years old and it's made of wood!! Keep wood dry and it will last a long time let it get wet all the time and say bye bye. Petrified wood though actually hardens like a rock. I wouldn't think it would burn.

 

[babalu87]

I get petrified wood whenever I see an ugly girl

 

[paulgp602]

I get petrified wood whenever I see an ugly girl

lol@ that...TMI

 

[fbelec]

i have a couple of small chunks of wood that i was going to use as kindling. i was just going to chop it up into small pieces. when i hit with the hatchet i had to hit very hard and it shattered like glass. i thought that was considered petrified.

 

[HarryBack]

VERY Unlikely petrified. The wood needs to be submerged in a solution with a high silica or lime component, depending upon your choice of what type of petrification. The petrified wood we see in the Petrified Forest in actually silicate. The cell walls need to be replaced by silica BEFORE they decay, and in nature, this can really only be done in an anaerobic environment, which discourages rot, such as being buried in mud. Noone really knows how long this takes IN NATURE, because dissolved silica content is usually fairly low in nature.....usually coming from mud/clays with a high volcanic component. Its theoretically possible to create petrified wood in very small peices in the laboratory in a couple days, utilizing supersaturated soltions of silicate.
Wood can become hard and brittle with drying tho, depending upon species, and moisture.

 

[Donna]

Hi All,

Actually I keep a log of petrified wood handy, nearby my wood pile, and have had a couple of good laughs handing it to people to either stack or put onto the fire.
I bought it at a garage sale for $1 and it has been worth its weight, which is not inconsiderable in, errr, fire wood.

Beautiful day out there,
Its a sure sign of spring, I have had 2 people here mooching wood in the past two days. " I only have big pieces left" I tell them that is what an axe is for, but usually crack and give them some smaller pieces, of which I have plenty. I never leave any hardwood under about 1 1/2" sitting by the side of the road, I just bring them home, cut to 12" length and stack them until I need them. Have about 2 face cords in reserve.

Happy Trails,
Donna

 

[fbelec]

hey dylan it doesn't take a rocket scientist to use a hatchet

 

[HarryBack]

Anyone else catch Bruce trying to sever that fish-head on SURVIVOR the other night??

I think he was too short for the cutting table.

Yeah, I didnt get that...How many hacks did he have to take to cut that thing, when those other two guys were hacking them off in one swipe? Eh...I dont like Bruce, hes a pushy, know-it-all teacher.

 

[fbelec]

hey dylan it doesn't take a rocket scientist to use a hatchet

Okay, okay.....I'll just comment that maybe it WAS glass that you were hitting with that hatchet.

thats right it is glass. thats why i get those 20 hour burn times and no ashes. i just scoop up the thing in the middle of the fire box that looks like a rock.