Good start on next year

[EatenByLimestone]

My aunt just sent me an email telling me to come on over and pick it up! They had a few oaks taken down.

How much do you think is in there?

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u124/EatenByLimestone/Woodpile22.jpg?t=1187346379



Matt

 

[wg_bent]

cord and a half. very nice. looks like Ash. Best wood ever. medium heating value, but you can split that pile in about 2 hours.

 

[scfa99]

i'd estimate a cord based on the photo but its hard to say exactly can't see how deep the pile is. man doesn't get better than that, bucked and ready for splitting. ash is like buttah.

 

[Jags]

I think there is approx 1.27596 cord in that pile.

Looks like a bunch of good fuel to me. Getter' split, grab a lawn chair and a beer, sit next to it and smell the sweet smell of drying money. Good score.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I'm about 2/3 through the pile and I think it's going to keep me plenty warm next winter. I'd like to stack it in an area between my house and my neighbor's garage. It's a small portion of unused land and from my house to a fence is 6ft. There isn't much sun, but it's a wind tunnel.

So, how much is the drying retarded if the wood is in a spot without much sun, but lots of wind vs. where it is now were it has lots of sun but little wind? Have you noticed much of a difference if the wind runs perpendicular to the pile vs. through it? I'd hate to have to build all the platforms only 6ft long.

Matt

 

[begreen]

I always stack so that the prevailing wind can blow through the pile. A steady wind can make a big difference, even on more humid days.

 

[Robbie]

Next time, tell your aunt to have it split by the time you arrive, or you'll get your wood elsewhere ;-)

Just kidding of course..........great pile and it should dry well in a windy area even without full sun I think..........mine does.

Robbie

 

[jpl1nh]

I'm guessing a cord and a half also. Love the smell of red oak fresh split, kind like vinegar from all the tannins in it. I think just good wind blowing right thru a single row stack will dry it very nicely, but it is red oak so it definately is 2009 wood. Great Stuff!

 

[Henz]

interesting..I was gonna say 1.5 cords too! You wil have to let us know once you get it measured up! Also, I dont think it is red oak..If anything it may be a white oak..We dont have too many of them around the NE but there can be found..If it is white oak, that is one of the top BTU producing fuel you can find

 

[jpl1nh]

interesting..I was gonna say 1.5 cords too! You wil have to let us know once you get it measured up! Also, I dont think it is red oak..If anything it may be a white oak..We dont have too many of them around the NE but there can be found..If it is white oak, that is one of the top BTU producing fuel you can find

When you split it, if its red oak it will be noticeably red, if its white oak, it won't. Both red and white are somewhat fibery when you split them. Some on this thread suggested it's ash. I don't think so, but if it is, it will be whitish when you split it and will not be fibery at all. I have both red and white oak on my property though the white seldom obtain much size, they die out first though I'm not sure why. Red is probably the predominate tree in my area. Why, I live on Oaklands road on Oakland hill. But, just by bark, it can be tough to tell them apart sometimes.

 

[Henz]

YES, VERY HARD TO TELL. tHE BEST WAY IS TO LOOK AT THE LEAVES.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I did find a maple in the bunch. The oaks have been red so far.

Matt

 

[Henz]

GOOD STUFF. wont burn this year though

 

[jpl1nh]

Red oak, white oak, maple, all free...makes you believe in a higher being doesn't it? A friend and I cut down 2 apples and a pear this past weekend for some people. I expected old field grown trees, instead they were planted backyard trees, 1 golden delicious and 1 macintosh that kept dropping apples everywhere to the dismay of the relatively new homeowners :-S Trees were good size though not huge. Oh well, 1/4 cord each of great wood. I now have some boutique fire wood - pear! "Yes dahling, throw on another split or two of pear and perhaps a round of peach, would you please?" My bank just took down a dying sugar maple. The cops next door took all the cut up stuff. Two good 24" trunks left lying uncut, a bit of rot inside but lots of nice wood. Branch manager told me to help my self after hours. A tank of gas and good half cord of more sweet wood. You honestly can reach a point where you really almost have too much wood. I've got probably 22 cords now. I use about 4 a year. I've built about 10 cords worth of sheds to store it in. Maybe I really do have enough. Would hate to have so much wood I can't store it all and it starts to rot.

 

[Henz]

well, you could always palce an ad in the paper come January for Dry wood..U pick up..$250/cord

 

[jpl1nh]

well, you could always palce an ad in the paper come January for Dry wood..U pick up..$250/cord

LOL I thought about that but ya know I didn't really get into wood burning to start selling it. I just kept finding and picking up wood until I began to realize, holy #%*@! I've got a lot of wood! Still... it is an option!

 

[Henz]

sure is..who doesnt need an extra $500-$1000..

 

[Jfk4th]

Red Oak bark will have the typical "ski tracks" look on the bark, white does not, neither does black oak. Look at the leaves, white oak (lobed leaves), red oak has bristle tips, so does black oak. If you cut into black oak just a little with a knife you will get an orangish color, won't happen on white or red oak.
Dendrology 101, S.U.N.Y. ESF

But like some said free wood, who cares what type of oak it is!! Not a lot of things are sweeter than Free Wood! I have a lot of splitting to do (with my Ryobi electric, nice) because I have picked up soooo much free wood this summer/late spring. Should be good for 2 years, sweet

Going to burn tonight for a little bit, getting down to the mid 50's sweet, I can smell the wood burning already, NICE

 

[BurningIsLove]

So is there a concensus on what those rounds were (white oak, ash, other?).

I got a fantastic grapple load delivered a few weeks ago ($200), and it had several trees of that type. Since they came from this area and white oak isn't common, wouldn't that imcrease the likelihood that it's ash? It's definitely not red oak, as that's just plain unmistakable with its color, aroma, and how wet it looks when freshly split (and HEAVY!). The 'check the leaves' process doesnt help in my case, as the grapple load was all limbed by the time I saw it.

I couldn't find any arbor websites that didn't use leaves/fruit as the primary source of identification. Most had bark traits, but such a poor description as to be of little help. Those few that had pictures were not zoomed in enough to see the bark. None really talked about the colors, aroma, and grain which is really most of what I got to go on. Anyone recommend one?

Sure nice to split by hand without that stringy grain. Split over a cord w/ barely any wedge use in 2 days. The bark also split off easily & hand a reasonably good case of worms between the bark & wood, but no rot or worm holes in the wood itself. Moisture meter gave a low moisture reading too, so likely was standing up dead for at least a year. I put them in their own rack in the sun for 'backup' supply for the end of this burning season if I run out of primary racks.

 

[Jfk4th]

I would say from the pic it is ash

 

[carpniels]

TO add to this story:

We had some wicked thunderstorms here last week (central NY). Lots of trees down. I get a call: colleague of mine, his grandma has a few limbs down. If I can borrow him my 4 month old 346XP. Yeah right, take my wife and kids too.

I told him I would come and cut it up and he can pay me. How about a case of fine beer? OK. So I go down, cut these few branches (8 inch max) of sugar maple and load the rounds in the car (Geo Prizm). Another week of wood for 2008/9.

Then I drive home and unload. I see the neighbor. Another sugar maple in her yeard that the top fell out off. Can I have the wood? Sure she says, we are going to cut it up this weekend. Sorry, I will be gone, but have you ever used a chainsaw? Yep, a few years ago once. Oh, oh I think. That is going to cost a leg. So I said;" I will cut it all up tonight so all you need to do is get rid of the brush." Fine she says, take out the other maple if you want that wood too. OK. That took about 45 minutes and I have another face cord of maple for 2008/9.

Life is good.

Carpniels

PS. I noticed that he braches of sugar maple really snap when you try to break it. Really nice hard breaks. Other wood (cherry) much more difficult to break branches off. Anyone else notice this before?

 

[Henz]

your getting there! what you need to do is start a small tree trimming/felling serivce..Thats how we get alot of our wood..You get paid for cutting down the trees and then get paid for selling the firewood!