What I've done the past couple of days- Free wood! Pics!

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Kenster

Minister of Fire
Jan 10, 2010
1,705
Texas- West of Houston
As mentioned in an earlier thread, my friend manages a ranch and told me take all the wood I want from downed trees. He takes a big tractor and pushes all the storm downed oaks into a dry creek bed. I got out there earlier this week and worked for a while with my MS390 cutting up limbs that ranged from four inches up to eight or nine inch diameter. I have the privilege of cherry picking what I want so I take only solid, straight wood, No bends, no Ys, etc. just good, easy splitting wood. There is more there than I can possibly process and burn in a lifetime so I don't feel badly about taking just the good stuff. I posted pics earlier of the cache of Water Oak. Filling roughly 300 or more yards of creek bed. Good stuff, too. Most of it has only been down just a few months. I'll keep working on good size limbs then start on the trunks.

This is what I started with- I pretty much wiped out this pile:

Greys8.jpg


I cut til I emptied the saw's tank three times and decided I need to quit and start loading it up. Here are some shots of the load in my F-150.

truck1.jpg


truck2.jpg


And here is what I have after it is split and stacked: Kind of a hazy day. Just the two rows in the front are the recent haul.

stack1-1.jpg


stack2-1.jpg


If it's not too rainy I'll get another load this week. I'm sharing my good fortune with my neighbor who keeps me supplied with fresh tomatoes when they're in season. Sounds like a fair trade to me.
 
north of 60 said:
This work looks like it was done in the summer. Those colors are hurting my eyes. :lol:

It was 75 degrees here today and muggy (72 % humidity). But summer will be weeks on end of high 90s to 100 with humidity in the 90%, and that is NOT a good time to be splitting and stacking wood. Suppose to be down in the 30s and 40s next week. That's when I want to get some more wood put away. I'd like to get a few more cords processed before mid March when I go back to work.
 
Have you ever needed to burn any of that nice firewood?
75° in January :bug:
You just like to cut firewood. You need to move North LOL :)
Nice pics of wood & nice job.
 
bogydave said:
Have you ever needed to burn any of that nice firewood?
75° in January :bug:
You just like to cut firewood. You need to move North LOL :)
Nice pics of wood & nice job.


I usually light up if it's going to be 40 or under for the overnight low. We get many nights like that each year, several into the 20s and occasionally mid teens. This coming Tuesday and Wednesday nights are going to be mid 20s with high around 40.

None of this wood is burnable right now. My moisture meter beeped OL on all of it. I was hoping some of the smaller branches might be dry enough to burn this winter but that's not going to happen. I split a lot if pretty small. In our hot Texas Summers, with good winds, I am hoping that some it will be ready to burn next winter.

I've got enough good dry wood split and stacked to give me, maybe ten more nights, depending on how cold and if I need a really hot overnight burn. February is usually our coldest month so I'm not sure I'm going to make it. I haven't had the heat pumps (2) on in three year. I may have to go bottom feeding for down and nasty out in my woods. There's a lot out there. But, with this huge stash of water oak, it will be the last bottom feeding I do for many years.... if ever.
 
Was in San Antonio one winter, the place shut down, little snow, small water holes froze.
It can get cold there for sure.

How long to season it there, humidity is usually pretty high.
Will it be "good to go" next winter? Some say oak 2 - 3 years.
When I was there, I remember sitting under a shade tree, drinking a cold beer & sweating.
Summertime though in Houston.
 
[quote author="Kenster" date="1296358458"]As mentioned in an earlier thread, my friend manages a ranch and told me take all the wood I want from downed trees. He takes a big tractor and pushes all the storm downed oaks into a dry creek bed. I got out there earlier this week and worked for a while with my MS390 cutting up limbs that ranged from four inches up to eight or nine inch diameter. I have the privilege of cherry picking what I want so I take only solid, straight wood, No bends, no Ys, etc. just good, easy splitting wood. There is more there than I can possibly process and burn in a lifetime so I don't feel badly about taking just the good stuff. I posted pics earlier of the cache of Water Oak. Filling roughly 300 or more yards of creek bed. Good stuff, too. Most of it has only been down just a few months. I'll keep working on good size limbs then start on the trunks.

This is what I started with- I pretty much wiped out this pile:

Kenster nice work, how much wood do you burn in a normal heating season?


Zap
 
[quote author="zapny" date="1296376466"][quote author="Kenster" date="1296358458"]As mentioned in an earlier thread, my friend manages a ranch and told me take all the wood I want from downed trees. He takes a big tractor and pushes all the storm downed oaks into a dry creek bed. I got out there earlier this week and worked for a while with my MS390 cutting up limbs that ranged from four inches up to eight or nine inch diameter. I have the privilege of cherry picking what I want so I take only solid, straight wood, No bends, no Ys, etc. just good, easy splitting wood. There is more there than I can possibly process and burn in a lifetime so I don't feel badly about taking just the good stuff. I posted pics earlier of the cache of Water Oak. Filling roughly 300 or more yards of creek bed. Good stuff, too. Most of it has only been down just a few months. I'll keep working on good size limbs then start on the trunks.

This is what I started with- I pretty much wiped out this pile:

Kenster nice work, how much wood do you burn in a normal heating season?


Zap
OK Zap getting close to 4000 posts. Your quotes in in postings are killing me. I always have to find out what you have added and differentiate it. Other than that I find you perfect. ;-P
Cheers.
Kenster, I have worked with some great hard working pipefitters from Texas in San Fransisco after the Quake.
They found it quite chilly there.
 
north of 60 said:
zapny said:
Kenster said:
As mentioned in an earlier thread, my friend manages a ranch and told me take all the wood I want from downed trees. He takes a big tractor and pushes all the storm downed oaks into a dry creek bed. I got out there earlier this week and worked for a while with my MS390 cutting up limbs that ranged from four inches up to eight or nine inch diameter. I have the privilege of cherry picking what I want so I take only solid, straight wood, No bends, no Ys, etc. just good, easy splitting wood. There is more there than I can possibly process and burn in a lifetime so I don't feel badly about taking just the good stuff. I posted pics earlier of the cache of Water Oak. Filling roughly 300 or more yards of creek bed. Good stuff, too. Most of it has only been down just a few months. I'll keep working on good size limbs then start on the trunks.

This is what I started with- I pretty much wiped out this pile:

Kenster nice work, how much wood do you burn in a normal heating season?


Zap
OK Zap getting close to 4000 posts. Your quotes in in postings are killing me. I always have to find out what you have added and differentiate it. Other than that I find you perfect. ;-P
Cheers.
Kenster, I have worked with some great hard working pipefitters from Texas in San Fransisco after the Quake.
They found it quite chilly there.

Ya see what I mean ZAP :lol:
 
I hear ya, won't happen again.


Zap
 
Zap has a ways to go to catch me on the posts! I about crapped the other day to see the number and then got some emails telling me about it. Must be a windy guy, huh?!
 
bogydave said:
How long to season it there, humidity is usually pretty high.
Will it be "good to go" next winter? Some say oak 2 - 3 years.
When I was there, I remember sitting under a shade tree, drinking a cold beer & sweating.
Summertime though in Houston.

That Water Oak should dry to 20% or better by Nov/Dec if split & stack in single rows off the ground by March. WO does dry faster than red oak....which really takes 2 years down here also. Major heating degree days each summer will dry wood despite humidity.
 
Kenster said:
As mentioned in an earlier thread, my friend manages a ranch and told me take all the wood I want from downed trees. He takes a big tractor and pushes all the storm downed oaks into a dry creek bed. I got out there earlier this week and worked for a while with my MS390 cutting up limbs that ranged from four inches up to eight or nine inch diameter. I have the privilege of cherry picking what I want so I take only solid, straight wood, No bends, no Ys, etc. just good, easy splitting wood. There is more there than I can possibly process and burn in a lifetime so I don't feel badly about taking just the good stuff. I posted pics earlier of the cache of Water Oak. Filling roughly 300 or more yards of creek bed. Good stuff, too. Most of it has only been down just a few months. I'll keep working on good size limbs then start on the trunks.

This is what I started with- I pretty much wiped out this pile:

Greys8.jpg


I cut til I emptied the saw's tank three times and decided I need to quit and start loading it up. Here are some shots of the load in my F-150.

truck1.jpg


truck2.jpg


And here is what I have after it is split and stacked: Kind of a hazy day. Just the two rows in the front are the recent haul.

stack1-1.jpg


stack2-1.jpg


If it's not too rainy I'll get another load this week. I'm sharing my good fortune with my neighbor who keeps me supplied with fresh tomatoes when they're in season. Sounds like a fair trade to me.
Finally someone with a camera as bad as mine.
 
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