Who is burning saw mill slabs?

[joeleisner]

I just switched over from split red oak to mixed hardwood flitches and slabs from my sawmill. Anyone else doing this. It is a mix of oak and poplar. Burns hot and fairly fast but now that we are nearing our "shoulder" season here in NC it is what we need.

Pros:
little to no splitting
need to get rid of them
better use than going in the burn pile
can be stacked to create larger portions
starts easy

Cons:
fast burning


Joel

Woodstock Keystone
Lumbermate 2000 sawmill

 

[geoxman]

I have burned oak slab for many years. I can pick it up for $20 per truck load at a mill near me.

 

[billb3]

I used to when I got them dropped off in my yard for free.

Cutting and stacking them green (I got 15-20 foot lengths) was a pain so most got heaped in a huge 6 or 7 foot high pile. The middle of the pile doesn't season well that way.
I had better luck when I (sloppily) stacked and stickered the long lengths and then cut them when I needed them. (I figured I was cutting less when the bark fell off)

 

[firefighterjake]

I burn slabs . . . around here they're mostly softwood slabs though . . . and I burn them mainly since I can get them for free. I like them for starting a fire, making kindling and for the shoulder season fires . . . quick, hot fires.

 

[joeleisner]

Since I am dealing with slabs right off my sawmill year round I am working towards a rack that they go in to hold them for bucking up. Ill place old tin over the top so they can dry out. Once cut to length my 8 and 10 yo sons stack them in cubes (pallet w/ 4' open walls). The cubes are stored up a the barn and then when the wood is needed I can fork the whole cube to the side of the house with the tractor. The 8 and 10 yo boys stack from there.

Joel

 

[sauer]

I burn alot of cuttoffs from a pallet manufacturer. mixed hard and soft.burns fast. The hardest Part Ive found out is how t stack it. Some of my stuff can get real small. Most wood is 1.5 inches thinck by 1ft on average. If Im lucky I get the 3.5 inch thickness in various lengths. What do you expect for free.

 

[BandSawyer]

I burn softwood slabs off my sawmill. I split them and use them to transition from small kindling to larger stuff. They burn nice and hot.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I have pine delivered for $50 a bundle, or hardwood for $100- some is thin, some is chunky. This all gets cut to ~40" and burned in the kiln, 2-2.5 cord at a time.

 

[PAJerry]

About 90% of what we burn is slab wood from local Amish mills. It is much less expensive than cord wood, burns cleaner and hotter, and leaves a very fine ash. We save cord wood for use during the bitter part of winter for a better hold overnight. With a small stove, it is the easiest way to go.

 

[cjsplitter]

I use slab wood. I buy it by the semi load from a amish saw mill in beaverton. I pay 450.00 a truck load. They deliver it right to my yard( no more truck and trailering wood off the state land). I get two years of wood for that price and you can sell some to campers for their fire. I built a crib that will hold about 30 slabs in it and after makeing 5 cuts I have 180 16in. slabs. It comes in 1in to 6in thickness. I use the saw dust for nesting material in the chiken house and after it is dirtied, I put it in the garden. No waste here. The wood is maple, red oak, white oak, and ash. I use to get a permit from the state to cut dead trees. But in the spring you get stuck in the mud and get hung up on stumps and the ware and tare on your vehicle and trailer. I love slab wood!!

 

[cmcramer]

I buy this wood from a local sawmill that makes bins and crates for the apple farmers around here in Upstate NY. It looks like it was destined to become 2x4s and 4x4s....but was trimmed off the log. All hardwood - mostly maple the last few years, in lengths range from 12" to 14". I buy it by the truckload, with the cost....coverted to a 'full cord' of 128 cubic feet....right around $140. Requires a little more handling that 16" pieces....and has lots of bark fall off.....but the guy is a reliable and honest supplier.

This pile was stacked outside with no cover in July 2008.

 

[sullystull]

The local sawmill here switched to nothing but split rail fences. They sell their scraps for $10/truckload. I can throw on a load of locust (from the posts) ends in about 10 minutes. These "chunks make a great filler for the interior of the Holz Hausen.

 

[SteveKG]

They used to be reasonably popular around here, though now there aren't any working mills, or none of which I know. I never used them as the mills wanted $$ for them, which is perfectly reasonable except I was not making much money and did my own tree cutting for firewood. However, those who used them had no issues, liked them and the price was far less than "regular" firewood. The smaller [thinner and/or narrower] slabs don't burn long, of course, but you always seem to get some thicker ones which do just fine.

Often this is green wood, but it "seasons" rather rapidly due to the surface-to-air ratio.

 

[SlyFerret]

When I first put my stove into service (February of 2008), I didn't have a supply of seasoned cord wood to burn. I got my hands on some mill ends from a friend of mine in order to have something to burn that wasn't green. Most of it was cherry, with a little bit of walnut mixed in.

Like you've found, it burned pretty quickly, but it also burned hot, which was nice. I wouldn't mind having some again for the shoulder season. I might have to look into that.

Last year, I had cord wood that was OK, but not great (seasoned 6 months or so), this year it's pretty good (seasoned one year), next years on out will be great (seasoned at least 2 years from now on).

-SF