Did you have any trouble with the felling cut?
We get unpredictable drops when the trees are hollow or punky in the heartwood.
My brother in law drops the large diameter trees for me and I cant bully him into taking any more snags or anything that looks rotten.
The tree looks good, not much punk?
Well, to qualify as a 'scrounge' you would have to get it from someone else, like a neighbor, tree guys working, etc. You 'cut' or 'grabbed' or 'got' wood that was already yours. Main thing is, you got wood! Hard or soft Maple?
Don't split it too big, and it may be ready to go this winter...red maple
Don't split it too big, and it may be ready to go this winter...
I got burned on some dead Ash and some soft Maple last season that I split too big, like 6", but I'm feeding cat stoves. Your tube stove may not be quite as picky and you have a longer drying season. I don't think you have to go real small, maybe 4" max dimension, which I'd call medium. Your stack pics look about the right size. 4" is what I'm holding it to this season, feeding all cat stoves. I'm stacking a bit late on some dead Ash and live Silver Maple, but I have a buffer with the dry, little stuff I got for my SILs, and I've got a windier spot where I'm stacking the Ash and Maple they'll need later in the season...I should be OK.Yea i plan to split it pretty small. I've got
Another cord of maple and 2 of cherry that I'm banking on. Everything is split small.
I got burned on some dead Ash and some soft Maple last season that I split too big, like 6", but I'm feeding cat stoves. Your tube stove may not be quite as picky and you have a longer drying season. I don't think you have to go real small, maybe 4" max dimension, which I'd call medium. Your stack pics look about the right size. 4" is what I'm holding it to this season, feeding all cat stoves. I'm stacking a bit late on some dead Ash and live Silver Maple, but I have a buffer with the dry, little stuff I got for my SILs, and I've got a windier spot where I'm stacking the Ash and Maple they'll need later in the season...I should be OK.
Normally I cover as soon as I can (most of my stacks are in the woods, kinda humid and not much breeze in there) but I've got a sunny, breezy spot to play with this summer so I may not cover that; So far, it seems like any rain dries off the wood quickly on the cord or so I've got over there so far. I'm still trying to figure all the ins and outs of this drying business but it seems like covering would help...sure couldn't hurt.I hope we both are! I'm debating on whether to cover or not while its drying. It's been real wet lately but I know we'll have a long dry hot spell in july and August .What's your opinion on top covering?