Who is cutting wood?

i find, gather, cut, haul, and split all of our wood to heat our house in maine. we have kerosene backup for the other half of the house, but have only used about a 100 gallons total in the past 2 winters combined.

couldn't even imagine having to pay another man for his wood to heat my home. just doesn't seem right.

it's a good workout and i enjoy it. no splitter for me. just a 6lb splitting maul. simple:)

rog

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Originally Posted by DBdude

I am down to my last few sticks and need to scavenge in the woods for dry standing wood to cut and split for this winter

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find some ash. you can burn that shit green. not much moisture in it. i keep a bunch of it around as back up.

once this fucking snow melts i can get after what the power company left behind up and down rte 1 when they cleared all the lines back this fall.

rog

Down to my last stove full of wood, dam it was cold this winter and still another round of snow and cold coming again. Burnt 4 cords starting back in early Nov. Gonna get by the rest with propane.

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Originally Posted by scottyb

Down to my last stove full of wood, dam it was cold this winter and still another round of snow and cold coming again. Burnt 4 cords starting back in early Nov. Gonna get by the rest with propane.

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shit nov 1st to jan 1st this year was colder than all last winter. want me to send some down?:)

rog

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Originally Posted by icelanticskier

shit nov 1st to jan 1st this year was colder than all last winter. want me to send some down?:)

rog

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Appreciate it but I can manage, brought up my vent free propane heater from basement storage and it heats the main living area nicely. I keep it on low setting and run it only when I'm home. Not a bad little backup, runs quite a while on a 20lbs tank.

Up in Davis there has been many days of below 0 temps with some crazy winds. Got down to -60F at one point. Fack!

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Originally Posted by scottyb

Appreciate it but I can manage, brought up my vent free propane heater from basement storage and it heats the main living area nicely. I keep it on low setting and run it only when I'm home. Not a bad little backup, runs quite a while on a 20lbs tank.

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we have electric baseboard in all rooms of the house, but only use it in our bedroom at night on low. our electric bills are about 50 a month in the summer and 80-100 in the cold winter months, so not too bad. we have electric hot water as well.

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Up in Davis there has been many days of below 0 temps with some crazy winds. Got down to -60F at one point. Fack!

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i live one mile on a dirt road from the ocean and we've had way too many nights at or below zero with some days in the singles. way too cold to be this close to the beach. tonight's gonna be down to 4 degrees and windy, about the same tomorrow night:eek:

you live in gods country, scottyb. love it down there for everything outside. the skiing is goddam enchanting and about as exotic as skiing can get. the mtb, oh the mtb. that ride from the top of spruce knob, your states highest peak down the huckleberry to the creek and out is just the coolest ride.

i got an old gf that lives in davis. hot skier. you prolly know her. initials=LS

be well

rog

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Originally Posted by scottyb

Down to my last stove full of wood, dam it was cold this winter and still another round of snow and cold coming again. Burnt 4 cords starting back in early Nov. Gonna get by the rest with propane.

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Just bought propane, effing $4.88/gallon here (VT). Usually take a full tank, but only bought 1/2 hoping it will go down.

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Originally Posted by milton

Just bought propane, effing $4.88/gallon here (VT). Usually take a full tank, but only bought 1/2 hoping it will go down.

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just paid 3.19 - and I burn about 700 gallons a year

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Originally Posted by icelanticskier

find some ash. you can burn that shit green. not much moisture in it. i keep a bunch of it around as back up.

rog

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yeah I know, I hate burning wet ash

Any tips for a city dweller who's been asked to go help a buddy?

He had a tree come down in a recent storm; he had this sliced into rounds and left where it fell (nothing further to save money).

There are some good sized diameter rounds that are too awkward to lift. What's the best strategy for splitting these large diameter rounds down to more liftable and axe-splittable sizes? I believe it is a white oak

I only own a conventional axe, but since I recently moved to a more suburban house next to a forested area, I could be convinced to buy a chainsaw, if that werea helpful tool for this first more immediate task.

Thanks up front!

use a maul for splitting

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Originally Posted by icelanticskier

i got an old gf that lives in davis. hot skier. you prolly know her. initials=LS

be well

rog

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I know a Leslie Soups, she is a neighbor.

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Originally Posted by acinpdx

Any tips for a city dweller who's been asked to go help a buddy?

He had a tree come down in a recent storm; he had this sliced into rounds and left where it fell (nothing further to save money).

There are some good sized diameter rounds that are too awkward to lift. What's the best strategy for splitting these large diameter rounds down to more liftable and axe-splittable sizes? I believe it is a white oak

I only own a conventional axe, but since I recently moved to a more suburban house next to a forested area, I could be convinced to buy a chainsaw, if that werea helpful tool for this first more immediate task.

Thanks up front!

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You are gona hurt after splitting all that wood if you are not in shape and you probably will even if you are ... I would rent/borrow/buy a tree splitter

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Originally Posted by scottyb

I know a Leslie Soups, she is a neighbor.

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That be her. Tell her dodge sez hello:)

rog

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Originally Posted by Hugh Conway

use a maul for splitting

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And use a big ole tractor trailer tire to put the rounds in. Then take yer maul and shuffle around the tire as you split the rounds. The tire keeps the wood in place. Split wood in below freezing weather and the shit just pops apart. So much easier than in warm temps.

rog

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

You are gona hurt after splitting all that wood if you are not in shape and you probably will even if you are ... I would rent/borrow/buy a tree splitter

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don't you have to lift the rounds into the splitter? not sure this is the right tool? entirely possible i'm not understanding... [not worried about the muscles aches as much as the lifting injuries]

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Originally Posted by Hugh Conway

use a maul for splitting

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i'm going to start here first and make my buddy rent the hydraulics, if necessary


thanks!

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Originally Posted by icelanticskier

And use a big ole tractor trailer tire to put the rounds in. Then take yer maul and shuffle around the tire as you split the rounds. The tire keeps the wood in place. Split wood in below freezing weather and the shit just pops apart. So much easier than in warm temps.

rog

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thanks, sounds like a good jig -- cold temps aren't going to happen for us here :)

If you can get a chainsaw, score across the top of the round 1-2" deep. Then get a couple of wedges and drive them into the gap with the blunt side of a maul.
This is what I had to do with some 4 ft diameter yellow birch this winter. I even tried splitting it when it was -20 with no luck. I had to resort to the chainsaw and pound method.
If you do rent a hydraulic splitter, get one that can be tipped vertically so you don't have to lift the rounds up onto the splitter.

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Originally Posted by From_the_NEK

If you can get a chainsaw, score across the top of the round 1-2" deep. Then get a couple of wedges and drive them into the gap with the blunt side of a maul.
This is what I had to do with some 4 ft diameter yellow birch this winter. I even tried splitting it when it was -20 with no luck. I had to resort to the chainsaw and pound method.
If you do rent a hydraulic splitter, get one that can be tipped vertically so you don't have to lift the rounds up onto the splitter.

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gotcha, thanks!

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Originally Posted by acinpdx

don't you have to lift the rounds into the splitter? not sure this is the right tool? entirely possible i'm not understanding... [not worried about the muscles aches as much as the lifting injuries]



i'm going to start here first and make my buddy rent the hydraulics, if necessary


thanks!

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If the rounds are so big you can't get them onto the splitter solo you are ALSO gona have major problems splitting them with a maul BUT 2 of you could lift the rounds onto a splitter

Folks will wax poetic about going back to their roots splitting by hand personaly I find it to just be drudgery, if you are close to electric power an electric splitter is the way to go IME

eesh man, advertise splitting with a maul to the crossfit assholes and charge them $10 a head for a class of 20 to split your wood.

Splitting wood by hand is fun for a while when it's cold out, the wood is dry and it's reasonable-sized pieces. Mess with that equation at all and it quickly becomes drudgery.

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Originally Posted by bushman

Shit, I burned 20 cord already. Man its been cold.

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You are burning a cord a week?

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

If the rounds are so big you can't get them onto the splitter solo you are ALSO gona have major problems splitting them with a maul BUT 2 of you could lift the rounds onto a splitter

Folks will wax poetic about going back to their roots splitting by hand personaly I find it to just be drudgery, if you are close to electric power an electric splitter is the way to go IME

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My neighbor and I cut and split ten cords by hand every summer. If you do ten rounds in the morning before your daily fun time and ten when you get back it goes quick. It sucks if you have to do it in week pr two though.

I was just out today getting next year's pile together... Got 3 nice beetle kill that I could burn today if I had to. Still have about 1.5 cords and a half cord of oak left. Should be in good shape. Into the last stack though, which is always a little unsettling. Saw ran great today. Did have to fish the end of one tree out of some thigh deep sugar... Have had enough of that for one day.