Look what I found on the way home from work - free oak!

[PA Fire Bug]

On my way home from work Thursday, I saw a tree service busy cutting up a large pin oak tree in a yard not far from house. After reading of several success stories from fellow Hearth.com members, I turned the car around and asked the first guy that I saw if any of the wood was available. Fortunately for me, he was the home owner and said that I could have some of the wood. He said that his nephew from over the mountain wanted some of the wood. When I asked how much I should leave, he said that he didn't wanted sitting in his front yard all year and he would let me know how much was enough. This morning, I borrowed a dump truck from our friends on the farm next to us (it is good to have farmers as neighbors). When I arrived at the home, no one answered the door but two guys were working on dropping a maple tree in the back yard. I started loading the dump truck and quickly realized that the oak was much heavier than I had expected. After loading over a dozen of the largest pieces that I could lift (I rolled them onto a large round and then onto the end gate) the wife arrived. It turned out that we knew each other. I asked her how much wood to leave and she said her nephew wanted the larger pieces and he would take care of the two trees in the back yard. I finished filling the truck with limbs and left the rest of large stuff behind. The limbs will take a while to cut up but it will be worth it. I'll see how far I get on the rounds. A few have many knots and may require another neighbor's log splitter. I left a Sheetz gift card and a thank you note for the home owner and a note with a Subway gift card for the neighbor who loaned me his dump truck.
(The rounds in the last picture are the same ones from the earlier pictures.)

 

[shawneyboy]

Nice catch. Never be shy, worse thing that happens is you get a no. That there is some nice BTUs !!

 

[tuco1963]

hi all
aroth is pin oak good wood? ive never heard of it , is it a heavy wood green like regular oak and is it easy to split?

 

[firefighterjake]

Nice score . . . and nice move with the gift cards and notes.

 

[ohio woodburner]

good deal! sweet score on the pin oak, great wood in my book. very nice of you to give the gift cards too... hopefully the nephew doesnt show up and they look ya up

 

[Joey]

+1

 

[bogydave]

Nice score.
by the way::; You are hooked. Bet you can spot a freshly downed tree from several block away.

 

[iskiatomic]

Nice score . . . and nice move with the gift cards and notes.

+2


KC Kenbo

 

[PapaDave]

Nice move with the notes and cards.
Nicer for you........FIREWOOD!!

 

[red oak]

Nice move with the notes and cards.
Nicer for you........FIREWOOD!!

Exactly! Congrats on that haul!

 

[weatherguy]

Nice score.
by the way::; You are hooked. Bet you can spot a freshly downed tree from several block away.

Depending on the wind, he'll now be able to smell freshly cut wood from a mile away :lol:

Nice score and classy move

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good for you aroth and a nice touch with the gift card. Did you also help out the farmer for use of his truck? As for splitting, even with knots they are not too bad to split. Sometimes a sledge and wedge are needed but if you are able to get hydraulics, that saves a bunch of work for sure.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

hi all
aroth is pin oak good wood? ive never heard of it , is it a heavy wood green like regular oak and is it easy to split?

tuco, pin oak is in the red oak family and will burn just like red oak. Fairly easy to split; long drying time; great firewood. And yes, it is heavy stuff!

 

[Blue2ndaries]

Nice move with the notes and cards.
Nicer for you........FIREWOOD!!

Exactly! Congrats on that haul!

+2 Great score and great gesture.

 

[woodchip]

Nice score.
by the way::; You are hooked. Bet you can spot a freshly downed tree from several block away.

Quite a few of us can home in on the fresh smell of sap before we even see the tree........ ;-)

No looking back once you have your first score, well done, nice wood there!

 

[thinkxingu]

Aroth,
If you can borrow your neighbor and his splitter, you could have those limbs cut up in no time--one of you holds the saw, the other grabs the limbs and pinches them sideways with the splitter.

S

 

[Gark]

Great catch there with the oak and I sure applaud the notes and gift cards. Once when we got two cords of ash from a yard, we left a thank you box of Sky vodka ( a fifth) with a card and a Coke. Pretty sure the next time he gets trees done, he'll call.

 

[PA Fire Bug]

Good for you aroth and a nice touch with the gift card. Did you also help out the farmer for use of his truck? As for splitting, even with knots they are not too bad to split. Sometimes a sledge and wedge are needed but if you are able to get hydraulics, that saves a bunch of work for sure.

The Subway gift card was for our friends on the neighboring farm. I have used his dump truck three times. I was reluctant to ask to borrow it the first time and even made a few calls looking for a dump truck to rent before I called him. Like all farmers, he is very busy and I wasn't sure how he felt about loaning out his equipment. When I used his truck for longer hauls, I made sure to put some fuel in the tank in addition to a gift card. Our two girls are friends with their girls and they are always very generous with families at our church and with their employees.

I'm glad to hear that the wood should split and burn well. I plan to work on splitting the rounds over Thanksgiving vacation. My wife just ordered a Fiskars X27 for me but told me that I wouldn't be allowed to use it until my birthday in early December. I'm pretty sure she will give it to me early if I tell her that I can split more wood in less time. We are loving our wood heat.

 

[PA Fire Bug]

good deal! sweet score on the pin oak, great wood in my book. very nice of you to give the gift cards too... hopefully the nephew doesnt show up and they look ya up

I made sure to include my name and phone number in the thank you note. The home owner seemed to want the wood cleaned up right away. His wife (maybe they are just friends - I didn't ask) seemed interested in keeping wood for her nephew. I'm hoping if the wood isn't gone by Christmas, I get a phone call. If it is there longer, I may knock on his door. I can see the wood from our deck. :cheese:

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Good for you aroth and a nice touch with the gift card. Did you also help out the farmer for use of his truck? As for splitting, even with knots they are not too bad to split. Sometimes a sledge and wedge are needed but if you are able to get hydraulics, that saves a bunch of work for sure.

The Subway gift card was for our friends on the neighboring farm. I have used his dump truck three times. I was reluctant to ask to borrow it the first time and even made a few calls looking for a dump truck to rent before I called him. Like all farmers, he is very busy and I wasn't sure how he felt about loaning out his equipment. When I used his truck for longer hauls, I made sure to put some fuel in the tank in addition to a gift card. Our two girls are friends with their girls and they are always very generous with families at our church and with their employees.

I'm glad to hear that the wood should split and burn well. I plan to work on splitting the rounds over Thanksgiving vacation. My wife just ordered a Fiskars X27 for me but told me that I wouldn't be allowed to use it until my birthday in early December. I'm pretty sure she will give it to me early if I tell her that I can split more wood in less time. We are loving our wood heat.

Sound like you have a nice setup and nice neighbors. Reminds me of one of our sons who lives a long ways from us. He too has excellent neighbors who are farmers and they tend to help each other out.

 

[MasterMech]

"... I started loading the dump truck and quickly realized that the oak was much heavier than I had expected." ...

That's Pin Oak for ya. Wet as it gets when green, and heavy like no other. Watch the water squeeze out of it when you run it across a hydraulic splitter.

 

[ecocavalier02]

"... I started loading the dump truck and quickly realized that the oak was much heavier than I had expected." ...

That's Pin Oak for ya. Wet as it gets when green, and heavy like no other. Watch the water squeeze out of it when you run it across a hydraulic splitter.

when i load my trailer up with a load of oak its quite a difference of when its load of a different kind of wood. oak rounds are ridiculous heavy.

 

[Beer Belly]

Great score.....the Gift Card is a great idea

 

[PA Fire Bug]

I was hoping that the nephew would not show up to load the wood that I left behind but I saw a pick up with a trailer at the home on black Friday. It was there most of the day so I expect that he got several good loads of wood. I don't know how much wood the two maple trees made behind the house. I'm thankful for the load of oak that I got and will be very likely to stop the next time that I see a tree service working around town.

 

[ecocavalier02]

Nice score.
by the way::; You are hooked. Bet you can spot a freshly downed tree from several block away.

this is so true. my wife makes fun of me. i swear i see every down tree and pile of wood from a mile away.