Wood storage seasoning

[potter]

I have been buying and storing wood for a large fireplace the last few years, but now am moving to heating with a stove full time. I buy wood, supposedly seasoned, which I think means the logs have layed around for a year or more before being spit and delivered. In the past I've stacked directly into the barn.... I've been picking up on this site and just looking around that many prefer to stack outside.
I'm also considering going in with a neighbor on a splitter. A load of hardwood logs can be had here for 6-700.00. I have friend who is doing this who gets about 40 face cords from a load- so less than 20.00 a piece. I'd like to also be able to prep wood for my pottery business, are there splitters that can do longer lengths 30-40"?
So if there are threads you can direct me to or have some advice, thanks.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Yeah! Hey look guys- another potter

I have a splitter that I use to split 40" lengths for my wood fired kiln (Bourry box). It's a 2-position splitter- so it splits horizontally or you can rotate the beam to split vertically. I put it in the vertical position, roll the log in sideways, and split from the side. This works well with pine and straight grained woods- they just pop right open. For tough logs- you can drive the splitter wedge through the log sideways and leave it in that position while you give a few whacks with a maul.

There aren't many splitters that will handle over maybe 25" stock that are reasonably priced. There are many custom built or modified ones out there. Steve Harrison in Australia made one for his kiln wood- it's detailed in "Laid Back Woodfiring", and it may be on his page on www.sidestoke.com .

I also get free pallets, which are often 40"x48". I cut them along that 48" length to give several- still nailed together- 40" lengths. This is nice dry, thin split wood (often oak) that burns like crazy. Just fish out the nails with a magnet later.

Welcome aboard!

 

[Jags]

Not another one???

Holy cows, there everywhere......AHhhhhhhhhh.



Welcome aboard ;-P

 

[potter]

I actually fire a wood oil kiln. Go to 04 with wood then drip fuel oil burners to 10+. Gives me the right amount of wood ash for my pots. In the past used edgings, built up heat fast and efficiently, but having trouble getting a consistent supply, everyone shreds them now.
I have recently moved, built a studio, then the kiln, it has not yet been fired, firing next month. It is a copy of a kiln I inherited from another potter that lasted 30 yrs of 6+ a year firings. Can you split slab with one of these? That would give me the size wood I'm used to.
Thanks for the ideas.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

On seasoning- wind, heat, and sun speed up the seasoning process (sun is, of course, heat- but you get solar gain compared to wood in the shade... think about where fungus grows and doesn't grow...). Airflow carries away water from the wood- so not only do most suggest stacking outside, but also in single rows or other specific arrangements that promote airflow around the wood.

Once it's seasoned, or if the barn has good airflow, or if it's going to sit there for 2 years anyway- throw it in the barn.

 

[potter]

Thanks for the comments.
I have metal bar grates (get pulled when switched to oil), so I could use shorter pcs. for the kiln- just looking for a fast way to get something that's 2x2 to 3x3ish in large amounts. At one time, I could get a logging truck of edgings delivered for 50.00.
Barn is actually a little on the damp side, soil floor. Also a little far from house... so may try outside.

I hear Bourry boxes are nice to fire- my wife is thinking of building one at the school she teaches at. They currently have a two chamber Ruggles/Rankin style kiln, but want something smaller that can be fired more often.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

A fast fire/Olsen style kiln can be fired very fast but requires a lot of attention and produces less ash effect. I don't have a step between the firebox and the ware chamber, so I need to really pack the bottom shelf tight to get the heat to the top of the kiln. As a result- the bottom front looks like train kiln results, the bottom half all gets good woodfire effect, and other areas have less effect and are good for glazes. I think I can even it out by loading bricks in the bottom, but I like some varied effect.

I assume that yours is crossdraft, sprung arch?

I think that for like 1" slabs you would have a hard time splitting them sideways with a splitter as the wedge doesn't have enough depth to build up the force needed to pop it open. Could be wrong though. You could buy a used splitter, take off the end plate and weld on an extender- then just use the 25" of stroke that it gives you. Should be enough, and you can pick up slabs pretty easy to load in horizontally. Throw in a spacer to take up the extra room and now you're splitting woodstove lengths.

I thought about doing this mod with my splitter, but since I'm mostly using full logs I didn't need to and can use it in 2 positions now.

Man I am really itchy to fire but have to wait until the second week of sept. I have to get the hippies over to scrape shelves.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Oh- did you build your own oil burner? I have been thinking about building one to dispose of a few gallons at a time- insurance for those weird conditions and wet wood. I've seen some that were just a few pieces of channel iron welded together as ramps (in Olsen book).

 

[potter]

Crossdraft catenary, firebox is inside. Can just stand upm in arch (5'8")
The prior kiln always fired evenly top to bottom, but ranged from cone 12 over firebox to 8 furthest away. I chose to think of this as an advantage and make pots to fit the range.
Make pottery full time or hobby? Or somewhere in between?
Any brand of splitter people unanimously agree on?

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I'm a hobby potter- thinking about selling pots. I have a 40 cu. ft sprung arch kiln (yes- for a hobby). Last firing there were 8 different potters with work in there- which makes for some neat community firings.

No universal splitter preference, but several threads on them in the gear section.

 

[potter]

We use simple welded steel burners- think of a set of open stair steps, theres a small pipe welded to the top step with a hole drilled in the base. Copper line feeds into this pipe and runs down steps to bottom of firebox. We use a strip of cloth across top step to cause oil to spread and make a wider "falls". Standard 19th century technology. Other options include spraying with a modified vaccum cleaner, or a chinese burner that spins the oil and sprays it as a mist. These might be more efficient, I've been thinking of looking into them. But I'm able to get a very clean firing (oxidized) if I want using these. The burners fit in a 3 brick high opening at the base of the firebox. On average I use about 40 gals. of fuel oil #1 to get from 04 to 10. It's still a good deal for the amount of pots from each kiln.
I've been a full time potter for about twenty years. My wife is also a potter.

 

[potter]

"copper line runs into small pipe and -oil- runs down the steps. Need to proofread before posting....

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Ya, that's like the design I saw in the Olsen book. They also talk about adding water which causes a serious splatter when it hits a hot "step"- that sprays the oil around. So they have 2 separate lines in- one oil and one water.

 

[trailblaze]

been cutting some cherry that was felled this spring... i hope it's ready by winter!!