Green Firewood

[hydestone]

I live in MA and am looking to purchase a 3-4 chords of wood for next season. All I find around here is split wood. I heard you can order a truck full of 8' pieces from Canada and have them delivered. I prefer to process it all myself so I can cut them to fit my stove and split various thicknesses. Does anyone know where I can get a good deal on some green hardwood for next year?

 

[bruce]

loggers and the guys clearing lots for new houses, do it now for the best prices, here in the pocono's a stacked log truck is about 450$,, and should get abot 7 cord

 

[Sandor]

My friend is an escavator and drops off a dump truck load of oak for me (for free). Saves him the expense of dumping it.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Contact any local logging contractor and explain what you want. Odds are they will be able to send a load of logs your way. You may have to wait a month or two and maybe call them back a few times, but they're the guys with the wood. These days in Massachusetts, the price and volume bruce mentioned should be about right. You shouldn't pay more than $500 for a "triaxle" load of good firewood, which should contain about 7 cords. Be sure to request a majority of dense hardwoods such as beech, hard maple, hickory, oak or yellow birch. Tell them you aren't interested in cherry, red (soft) maple or basswood, hemlock or any other softwood.

 

[got wood?]

I've heard that contacting tree cutting services in your the area can work out. Some of the stuff they take down is too big for their chippers and they need to take it somewhere where it can cost them to dispose of (either direct costs, or the cost of gas to transport out of that area). Offer to take any hardwood they can't feed to their chippers if you're on their way to their disposal site.

it might take more than just a call to these guys...perhaps if you can throw some business their way, they'd be more inclined to do so...

 

[Eric Johnson]

One problem with tree-service trees is that they usually contain metal which will ruin your chain. Another problem I've found with yard trees is that because they didn't grow in a forest (but out alone all by themselves) they are a lot tougher to split. A tree that stands alone has to compensate for the fact that it doesn't have any other trees around to shield it from the wind. As a result, it grows much tougher, stringier wood to buttress it against the elements. Add that to the fact that yard trees seem to be bigger on average, and you're in for a tough load of wood.

Wood from land clearing operations is a different situation. That's usually forestland that is being cleared for the next Walmart or housing development. It should be basially the same as wood from a timber harvesting operation.

Bottom line: I'd try a logger or land clearing contractor first. If that doesn't work out, try to avoid paying a tree service company the same as you'd pay for forest-grown logs because it will be a lot more work to get the wood into a burnable state. Plus, the tree service has already been paid for removing the trees. And trust me, no sawmill is going to buy yard trees because of the metal problem I mentioned earlier.

 

[hydestone]

Thanks for the good advice Eric. I will look up some loggers or sitework contractors in the area and try to set something up.

 

[got wood?]

Never thought of that Eric...definately good advice (tree in forest vs alone). Funny you mention the metal in tree bit...I've only taken down a few trees on my property (old dead) and one tree actually had a brick in it (tossed in a hollow crotch) that trashed my buddies chain...of course we didn't realize it until the damage was done.

 

[Eric Johnson]

It's absolutely amazing what is embedded in old trees. I've talked to many sawmillers over the years and they've got horror stories like you wouldn't believe. Everything from a bicycle frame (!) to hammer heads, porcelin powerline insulators, even a maple sap spile in an oak log (!!). Don't forget horseshoes--ouch! I've had people walk into my office and say they have a nice black cherry or walnut tree in their front yard, what's it worth? When I say, "little to nothing because it contains metal," they tend to get offended.

"There's no metal in my tree," they say.

To which I reply, "Well, how old is the tree, you figure?"

"Oh, maybe 100, 150 years old. It's this big around!" (all excited again)

"And how long have you owned the tree."

"20 years."

"Little to nothing," I repeat.

I cut up a dying hard maple in our front yard that we had a tree service take down over the summer. In the process of cutting it into firewood, I found a long, threaded rod through the crotch (presumably holding the tree together), a big lag bolt and a number of nails. That's just what I found. Everything else will wind up in my ash pan next winter.