Turned down oak for maple

[lumbering on]

On my way to a craigslist score of oak, I passed a guy cutting down a maple.

Filled the trunk and backseat twice and didn't have time to go for the oak.

Did I lose BTUs but gain time for faster seasoning?

I'm up to my mauls in red oak and am all set for 3 and 4 years from now with nothing but oak (such problems), but got very little for next year and the year after.

Did I do right?

 

[stephiedoll]

Gotta love maple. You did good.

 

[Shadow&Flame]

Sounds like a plan to me...love maple. Just keep getting what you can...

 

[Woody Stover]

On my way to a craigslist score of oak, I passed a guy cutting down a maple.

Filled the trunk and backseat twice and didn't have time to go for the oak.

Did I lose BTUs but gain time for faster seasoning?

Soft Maple, good for next year but you take a BTU hit.
Sugar Maple, two years, same BTU as Red Oak.

Didn't have time to go back for the Oak?? What kinda talk is that?!

 

[USMC80]

I say you did fine,

On my way to a craigslist score of oak, I passed a guy cutting down a maple.

Filled the trunk and backseat twice and didn't have time to go for the oak.

Did I lose BTUs but gain time for faster seasoning?

I'm up to my mauls in red oak and am all set for 3 and 4 years from now with nothing but oak (such problems), but got very little for next year and the year after.

Did I do right?

You did great. I'm in the same situation as you. Years ahead in oak. Dying to find some more ash, maple and sass

 

[Woody Stover]

Dying to find some more ash, maple and sass

I guess I shouldn't overlook the Sass....there's plenty of dead ones here that I could cut and burn the same day. It's just that the way that stuff pops in the stove, I always feel like it's stirring up a lot of ash which will get sucked into the combustor. Probably not as big a deal as I've convinced myself it is, though.

 

[Paulywalnut]

Yeah, I think you made out well. You'll have wood to burn while that red oak seasons.
Maple is great BTU's. Good decision!

 

[oldspark]

Man can not live on Oak alone.

 

[Woody Stover]

Man can not live on Oak alone.

Yeah, but he can stay mighty warm.

"Ever eat a Pine tree?"

 

[WellSeasoned]

You did good. Now I'LL go get that oak!

 

[PapaDave]

Is the Oak no longer available?
I'd say you made a good choice considering your situation.
More firewood is never bad.

 

[TreePointer]

Maple runs the gamut form box elder to sugar. Sugar is one of my favorites for BTU's and general burning properties. Makes a nice cooking wood, too.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

You have 3-4 years worth of oak, you did very well in getting the maple. It would be to your benefit to know if it were hard or soft maple. In addition, who gave the ID of the tree? We've seen examples on this forum of folks thinking they got maple but it wasn't.

I also fondly remember one time one of our distant relatives (a know-it-all) stopped for a visit. As we sat talking he complimented us on getting that really good looking maple that we had just split and stacked. I thanked him. Problem was, it was all white ash with nary a stick of maple in the bunch. He never knew the difference.

 

[StihlHead]

'round these parts the maple (mostly bigleaf) has way less heat than the oak (mostly OR white oak). So the oak would be a better deal. I dunno about NY though. Many species of maple and oak there.

But if you are swimming in red oak for many years to come, what does it really matter? You loosing sleep over it? I have had that dilemma myself. Cannot be in two places at the same time responding to CL ads for firewood, or chainsaws, or whatever. While getting one item I miss the opportunity for another. But, I am a bird in the hand type, and if I saw someone cutting maple here on my way to get some oak, I would likely at least stop to negotiate over the maple. I would also get the oak though. I once made the mistake of not going back to get more oak because I was too pooped. NEVER AGAIN. I do not care if I am sleep deprived and hungry, it is raining, it is hot, I am tired or pissed off. I now have a mandate to get high quality firewood if it is out there, regardless. Its a matter of priority. As a result I have about 3 times the firewood this year as I had last. And this summer has been very anemic for firewood on CL, so I am glad I cut wood when it was freezing in January and raining in March.

Free wood has become noticeably harder to get around here in the last few years. The economy here is still in the tank (regardless of what the politicians say). Of course free is not really free, as it takes time, gas and wear and tear on the truck, myself and the chainsaws to get firewood. There is also the issue of dealing with jerks on CL and the problem of beating out the hordes of other firewood hoarders around here. There have also been few wood cutting by permit areas for the west side of the Cascades in the last 3 years. If the local 'free wood' trend continues, I will likely flip to buying dumptruck loads of Doug fir mill end logs delivered here for $300, and process it at my leisure. I should be able to heat this place with one load a year, and keep 6 cords dry or drying at all times (buy in April, process through the end of the rainy season in June, and burn wood seasoned for at least 2 summers).

 

[lumbering on]

So it gets worse.

On the way back to get the oak today, I saw a pile of PINE and filled up the car with that instead, and turned down the oak.

You've got to appreciate what its like to scrounge wood in a compact sedan, with the drive home from work my only opportunity. I get in one maybe two loads a night if it's close to home.

So I think the pine will be good for next year. The maple for 2 years from now. I've got to focus on the next two years as I've already split and stacked 4 cords of oak for 3 years from now, and have maybe 4 cords of oak waiting to be split and stacked for 4 years from now.

How did I know it was maple? The entire trees worth of maple leaves sitting in the yard next to the rounds! Oak, maple and pine and white birch is about as good as I get in tree IDs.

 

[lumbering on]

I will likely flip to buying dumptruck loads of Doug fir mill end logs delivered here for $300, and process it at my leisure.

That's what I envision will happen when I get my 3 years ahead, (4 cords per year).

No more racing around to the next score, eyes glued to craigslist, car backseat covered in wood debris.

 

[clemsonfor]

Man u need to get a trailer hitch and get the small harbor freight trailer.

 

[Beer Belly]

Passed up Oak for Pine .....I dunno ???

 

[Gark]

You did right two times. Variety is the spice of life. For a couple years, I had focused so much on scrounging deep winter wood that we had little or no shoulder season stuff or in between wood to mix with the oak. Having a mix available is a good thing.

 

[oldspark]

Dont fret about the Oak so much and just keep an eye on it with a MM (might surprise you), the Pine and Maple is a good appetizer before the main meal of Oak.
But yes once you are 3 years ahead life will be much easier.

 

[clemsonfor]

You need to get a trailer hitch and the cheap Harbor freight trailer. Keep the wood outta your car. You can make sides for it like some have done and carry a good bit on it, when comparing it to your interrior!!

 

[StihlHead]

So it gets worse.

On the way back to get the oak today, I saw a pile of PINE and filled up the car with that instead, and turned down the oak.

That is a bad equation. Though the pine will dry fast and be ready to burn in one season, it goes up in smoke really fast. Unless it is pinion pine or one of the denser species. Pine also has a lot of pitch, which I would never put in a car interior.

You need to learn your local wood species. Here, oak, black locust, apple and madrone are my high priority species. Do not pass Go, go directly to fetch wood. We have mostly lighter woods here, so they are at a premium. After those, come larch/Doug fir, walnut, maple, hemlock, cherry, alder and other types of fir. Then farther down the list come spruce, red cedar, pine, and birch which I am likely to pass on unless they are seasoned, close by, or bundled with other wood. I pass on Tree of Heaven, cottonwood, poplar, willow, and sycamore.

 

[lumbering on]

You'll be happy to know I went back and got the oak today.

I'd love to get to a point where I have enough wood and I can be more particular.

 

[StihlHead]

Ah, good then. I thought I was going to have to drive 3,000 miles to get that oak myself!