so waht ya doin today?
- Thread starter fiver
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Ian
Notorious member
The cool kids know how to use one, too don't they? We have no pine here but juniper gets big enough to make 5" shakes. Made quite a few of those just for the heck of it, reading The Foxfire Book when I was a out ten years old gave me all sorts of ideas and projects and we happened to have most of the tools needed.
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California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
For many years, my firewood splitting was done with an 8-pound a wedge. Finally, I got smart and bought another wedge. About three years ago, I was able to scavenge a lot of rounds from a cypress trunk and bit of oak, and that was the splitting I've done. I enjoy the workout, though its more work than it used to be (the maul seems to have gained at least five-pounds and the wedges must have square ends.) I was about 30 when I split 27 rather large eucalyptus rounds. It took me all of two years, and it's not something I'd do again.
When just a little younger, by about 50 years, I couldn't even guess how many honest cords of wood I split with a mall. When I lived in Oregon one source of income was cutting, splitting & selling firewood. Was mostly pine, no oak, the Madrone I kept for myself. I can tell ya there is a world of difference between splitting a round of pine vs. a round of oak with a splitting mall. If there were ever an exercise in futility that would be it.
Ian
Notorious member
No eucalyptus here, kind of glad about that after reading about it.
Edit to add: Seasoned live oak actually will split with a maul once the rounds hsve been halved or quartered (depending on size) but the rounds better not be more than 16" long. I never understood the 2' long firewood standard from a user standpoint. From a commercial standpoint 2' is less work and a power splitter is a must.
Edit to add: Seasoned live oak actually will split with a maul once the rounds hsve been halved or quartered (depending on size) but the rounds better not be more than 16" long. I never understood the 2' long firewood standard from a user standpoint. From a commercial standpoint 2' is less work and a power splitter is a must.
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Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
It doesn't matter what type of wood you burn, you will get some creosote/tar/ash build up. It's just the nature of wood burning no matter how dry your wood is. It's also just a matter of degree to which the creosote builds up. We keep the chimney brush and the threaded rods for it right by the chimney. Pop off the bottom clean up plug, make a pass up the length of the chimney and then do the important part- a pass or 3 from the cleanout as far into the stove end as possible! That's the horizontal part that scares me a bit. Then I go into the basement and pull the plug on the "tee" I installed a couple years back and clean out what dropped in there from outside. We TRY to clean the chimney every load of wood we bring in, but try never to go more than 2 weeks without cleaning. I don't usually get much stuff, but every now and again I'll hit a gob of creosote that's starting to build up. I've had a couple chimney fires and I strongly endorse that insulated chimney pipe. I've only had to replace 1 "tee" and one straight section just above that in 25 years. Good stuff!
I'm fond of saying I have 342 acres of dead Elm, and I'm not really stretching things much when I do. Elm doesn't split for crap. I've done the sledge and wedge, had mauls literally bounce off and come back hard enough to nearly smack me in the head, etc. I understand it was one of the preferred woods for water wheel hubs as long as it was kept wet. Not the worlds greatest fire wood, but not the worst either. I also kinda like another "trash" wood- popple, or poplar or Eastern Cottonwood, which I think is the correct name. Splits real easy, grows to good size here and makes a good daytime fire when you're around to feed it. Big chunks are the way to go, burns different than when it's split up small. We cut wood all fall, all winter, all spring until the weather warms. No matter how much we have, it's never enough.
It's allegedly 4 above F here, which is a record if correct. Spent yesterday AM getting the family snowblower running for the first time in 3 years. Found out I didn't miss having frozen, numb fingers at all. Did get it more or less running enough to clear the walk ways. Can't plow as there's no frost in the ground yet at all. This stuff should all be melted away by Sunday/Monday whe we get back into the 40's. Fine by me!
I'm fond of saying I have 342 acres of dead Elm, and I'm not really stretching things much when I do. Elm doesn't split for crap. I've done the sledge and wedge, had mauls literally bounce off and come back hard enough to nearly smack me in the head, etc. I understand it was one of the preferred woods for water wheel hubs as long as it was kept wet. Not the worlds greatest fire wood, but not the worst either. I also kinda like another "trash" wood- popple, or poplar or Eastern Cottonwood, which I think is the correct name. Splits real easy, grows to good size here and makes a good daytime fire when you're around to feed it. Big chunks are the way to go, burns different than when it's split up small. We cut wood all fall, all winter, all spring until the weather warms. No matter how much we have, it's never enough.
It's allegedly 4 above F here, which is a record if correct. Spent yesterday AM getting the family snowblower running for the first time in 3 years. Found out I didn't miss having frozen, numb fingers at all. Did get it more or less running enough to clear the walk ways. Can't plow as there's no frost in the ground yet at all. This stuff should all be melted away by Sunday/Monday whe we get back into the 40's. Fine by me!
Bret4207
At the casting bench in the sky. RIP Bret.
I've got a fairly large fireplace and normally cut the wood at 22-24 inches.
It's always surprised me how few people actually know the size of a cord of firewood. I've seen a half a pickup load show up and the guy swears it's a full cord and ask full price. They get away with that cause so few know the difference.
When I get too old to cut my own wood the fireplace will be retired. People around here selling wood think that bark is actually gold plus your unlikely to get an honest cord.
It's always surprised me how few people actually know the size of a cord of firewood. I've seen a half a pickup load show up and the guy swears it's a full cord and ask full price. They get away with that cause so few know the difference.
When I get too old to cut my own wood the fireplace will be retired. People around here selling wood think that bark is actually gold plus your unlikely to get an honest cord.
Madrone, that tree with the funny looking smooth read bark, is the wood of choice here in SW Oregon.
Oak is my second choice since it makes more ashes.
I split a lot of wood with an 8# maul. No wedges. If it wouldn`t split with the maul I used the chainsaw.
At my age, 77, a splitter is my only choice...dale
Oak is my second choice since it makes more ashes.
I split a lot of wood with an 8# maul. No wedges. If it wouldn`t split with the maul I used the chainsaw.
At my age, 77, a splitter is my only choice...dale
Ian
Notorious member
Madrone is native here but so rare that it is protected under law. Beautiful wood, I couldn't imagine burning it. It makes the finest wood turnings you ever saw. The biggest Madrones I've ever seen were in the Chisos mountains of west Texas, above 6,000 feet and they were maybe 8" diameter a couple of feet off the ground, the ones around here are "huge" if they get more than three inches and that takes about 100-125 years.
2' split oak is pretty much the standard here, two rows instead of three. It's dumb IMO, but I guess enough people still have those hog-roasting fire caverns in their houses rather than a well-built, efficient fireplace or heater. If you need 14-16" maximum for a wood heater, you have to special order it or re-saw what you get. The other thing that's "standard" is an 8' fleetside pickup box piled to the rails and mounded just a little in the middle being called a "cord". Sorry, go fish. After stacking that barely makes a half-cord.
2' split oak is pretty much the standard here, two rows instead of three. It's dumb IMO, but I guess enough people still have those hog-roasting fire caverns in their houses rather than a well-built, efficient fireplace or heater. If you need 14-16" maximum for a wood heater, you have to special order it or re-saw what you get. The other thing that's "standard" is an 8' fleetside pickup box piled to the rails and mounded just a little in the middle being called a "cord". Sorry, go fish. After stacking that barely makes a half-cord.
Hhmmm . . . I wonder if it's the same tree you have there.
Arbutus menziesii, the Pacific madrone or madrona, is a species of tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the western coastal areas of North America, from British Columbia to northern California.
Or
Pacific madrone is native to the coastal ranges of the Pacific Northwest, from northern California to British Columbia, where winters are wet and mild and summers are cool and dry.
Never heard of it anywhere else least of all in the oven of Texas.
Arbutus menziesii, the Pacific madrone or madrona, is a species of tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the western coastal areas of North America, from British Columbia to northern California.
Or
Pacific madrone is native to the coastal ranges of the Pacific Northwest, from northern California to British Columbia, where winters are wet and mild and summers are cool and dry.
Never heard of it anywhere else least of all in the oven of Texas.
L Ross
Well-Known Member
Ah, the Fox Fire books, love them. When I was younger and had my first big piece of rural property, I grabbed every old hand tool I could find cheap. I made an effort to learn to use them in at least a rudimentary fashion. One and two man cross cut saws with matching saw vices and sets. Old large Swede saws, axes, chisels, draw knives, spoke shaves, shaving horse, augers, on and on and on. What I couldn't buy I'd make. I used to demo black smithing and primitive wood working at rendezvous. Learned to make tool handles and make and install a couple for people during a rendezvous. I could not find a decent forge welded, tapered eye froe until I was on a trip to Colonial Williamsburg in 1996. Stoped at a road side junk shop in West Virginia and there was the nicest hand made froe I could have asked for, 5 bucks! I've kept almost all of that stuff knowing that if TSHTF I could maybe live a bit longer and in more comfort than my urban neighbors who think Applebee's car side carry out is Supper.
I gotta run, I found out yesterday that Hornady released a batch of 60 grain flat nosed .25 caliber bullets with a cannelure. I called Recob's Target Shop and Tina put their only two boxes behind the counter for me. It's not snowing that bad and it's only 52 miles.
fiver
Well-Known Member
i'll bet dollars to donuts none of those make it anywhere near here.
got in a little more fishing yesterday, the wind wasn't cooperating but they fishing was good.
the swans have finally moved down from up north, and the geese are having a good time in the fields around town.
we are kind of having a little Indian summer right now getting up to the mid-40's during the day, and I am taking as much advantage of it as I can.
got in a little more fishing yesterday, the wind wasn't cooperating but they fishing was good.
the swans have finally moved down from up north, and the geese are having a good time in the fields around town.
we are kind of having a little Indian summer right now getting up to the mid-40's during the day, and I am taking as much advantage of it as I can.
uncle jimbo
Well-Known Member
Because I have been looking for 25-20 brass, I was told to go look here.
www.rccbrass.com
It was a good thing I was sitting down. I doubt they will sell many.
.25-20 Winchester - Roberson Cartridge Company
smokeywolf
Well-Known Member
Jimbo, I wonder if Starline has seen that webpage.
Gary
SE Kansas
Because I have been looking for 25-20 brass, I was told to go look here.
It was a good thing I was sitting down. I doubt they will sell many..25-20 Winchester - Roberson Cartridge Company
Maybe that's why they have some.