Free Firewood...A Wet Ohio Spring

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So it's been a while since my last post. In the spring I get busy with baseball and coaching and that tends to take up my time and energy.
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Spring in Ohio this year has been bizarre. The weather has brought us nothing but rain, rain, and more rain. The only one enjoying this spring has been our duck. She hangs out at her favorite puddle in our yard. The wet conditions have quashed any wood gathering activity...and even if I could procure firewood, I wouldn't have any where to put it as my wood shed is now surrounded by a moat that would swallow my truck if I ventured over that way.
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I have had one opportunity to get wood this spring and it came from a friend installing a new driveway. A very large, hard maple had to be removed and he was in need of the wood getting cut up and gone quick so the workers could get busy on the concrete. The big maple was right by the road and his driveway so mud wasn't an issue. I was able to get four truck loads of wood out of this score but as of today the wood is still on my driveway as I wait for my yard to dry. Things are still too wet to move the wood to the shed.
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This is me with my 346 XP cutting up some 2011 firewood! The owner is in the background with his dad's 35 ton Huskee Splitter. I cut, he split, we both lugged.


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Here I am running my big Dolmar 7900.


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Here is a nice load of wood. I got 4 truck loads and 1 small trailer load of this hard maple. Very nice firewood. All split!


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This was a very nice day of running my saws. My only problem is I have double work to do once the ground dries because I have to move the large pile of maple from my driveway over to the wood shed. My saws ran great after spending the winter moth-balled. This was also the first time I had the truck out this year and it too started right up and got to work.
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OWB

Fiskars Firewood Fun

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Northeast Ohio experienced a warm-up this week and most of our snow has melted back to expose the mud and half of my wood pile.
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Today I decided to get in some exercise and lose some of the extra weight I have put on being cooped up inside my house this winter. I pulled out my handy Fiskars Super Splitter and took some swings at the large oak rounds laying in my driveway since mid-January. These were dumped in my driveway by a friend who asked me to bring my Dolmar 7900 over to his farm to cut up a large oak that had fallen.
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If you recall from an earlier post, the Fiskars Super Splitter is a fascinating tool and comes with the Ohio WoodBurner Seal of Approval for all woodcutters, wood mongers, and wood addicts who enjoy splitting firewood.
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The Fiskars Super Splitter works just like the traditional maul but has two distinct differences. It weighs just 4.25 pounds and is RAZOR sharp. Most mauls have a keen edge but not so sharp that they stick in the wood if the log doesn't split. Also, most mauls come in 6 or 8 pound weights. The Fiskars really shines when you have a lot of logs to split as the light weight becomes noticeable as its less fatiguing. I also love the handle as it keeps vibration to a minimum and it fits my hand very nicely. I have total confidence in the Fiskars construction which allows me to swing like Babe Ruth going for the cheap seats! Put simply...the Fiskars is a Joy to use!

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So that was my workout for today. Oak is a nice splitting wood. Except for its unpleasant odor, which is reminiscent of vomit...it opens up easy and doesn't leave you with a mess of splinters and bark. Do not hesitate in getting one of these Fiskars gems. Rumor has it Fiskars is coming out with a longer handle version, in response from discriminating wood splitters who were bothered by the 28 inch handle. Honestly, the shorter handle has never been an issue for me despite my Greek-god like 6'2" frame...but hey, now I have an excuse to buy another one!

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OWB

Firewood For Sale...I'm Rich!

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I was at a local grocery store today and they had a display of bundled firewood out in front of their entrance. I pulled out my 8 year-old cell phone and snapped a quick picture to share with you.
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I almost choked when I saw they were asking $5.99 each for these small bundles of wood! Holy Cow! First I thought to myself, "who would pay that much for such a small amount of firewood?" The bundle contained about 7 pieces of firewood which probably comprised of about two medium sized logs before split. As the old saying goes...to each, their own. By looking at the display rack the store was certainly selling them nicely. There were only about 5 bundles left. The advertisement said the firewood was kiln dried and was free of bugs and crumbs. Ugh...The indignity of stooping to the level of a person who would heat their house with wood. The filth! The smoke! Ugh.... I can imagine the poor manager of this store had probably fielded complaints from angry customers in the past because the firewood dropped a chunk of bark on their carpeting as they carried it to their fireplace. After too many people griping they decided to find a firewood supplier that would shake off all the loose bark. If I were to ever spend that much money for one of those firewood bundles it had better sing and dance for me before I toss it in the stove.

I did some quick calculations in my head and figured if this grocery store could sell this small bundle of firewood for $5.99...that makes me a MILLIONAIRE!!! Why am I burning my wood to heat my house? I need to shove my logs in a mesh potato sack and sell them to people shopping for milk and eggs!!

OWB

A Big Storm!

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In case you haven't heard, there is a pretty big winter storm surging across north America so I hope everyone throws an extra log on the fire tonight.
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Today, I took advantage of the "calm" before the storm and did some rearranging to my wood pile. I have a section of wood that is not under a roof so I spent the evening moving some of that wood under the roof of my wood shed. This area of the wood pile has a lot of smaller round logs I like to throw into the Hardy H2 to help the larger logs burn. Below is a picture of the wood shed and to the right is the wood I pulled from the snow and stacked under the roof. The small rounds I pulled are mostly maple and black cherry. The split wood to the far right is honey locust.


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The shed was totally full of logs to start my burning season...that is four rows deep of wood. You can see how much I have burnt this year by how empty the shed looks now below. The logs I just moved into the shed are to the right in the picture below. Now that I have done this work, I am ready for the storm! Tonight the freezing rain and icing began covering my Hardy H2 in a small layer of ice. When I think about how the ice and snow builds up on the top of my Hardy H2...I'm impressed given it's holding 100 gallons of 170 degree (f) water! It's pretty nicely insulated!
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Now I will wait and see how bad this storm is. If there are a lot of trees downed by the ice I have a feeling my phone may be ringing in the morning. A lot of people out my way know I am always looking for wood.
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OWB

The 346XP Just Keeps Giving and Giving...

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The weather in northeast Ohio is bitter cold. My thermometer read -1 degrees this morning...that's Fahrenheit for my international readers of this site!
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While its very cold outside, the snow has held off giving me some time to do some woodpile maintenance to my stash of firewood. I spent some time moving logs into the wood shed, under the roof so they will be easier to reach when we get snow again. I have given up on using tarps to cover my wood stacked outside the wood shed. The tarps are too hard to pull back and fish out logs when there is 100 lbs of snow on top. When I need a log from one of my "outside" piles, I just bang the snow off and toss it in the furnace. While I was moving wood into the shed today I came across a section of logs that I fondly remembered cutting last spring. These were honey locust logs from a huge tree I cut up less than a mile from my farm. The reason I remember these logs was because of the beauty of their grain, their color, the pleasant aroma...not to mention the area where I was cutting was just awesome scenery. I was on the edge of a farmers field, next to an old farm house and it's barns and out-buildings. I was far away from people, no city, just me, my truck, and my saws. Below is a picture from that day. I posted this picture before but I think it's nice to look at...so here it is again!
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This honey locust score was also one of the first chances I had to run my then new saw, the Husqvarna 346XP and...if you love and appreciate saws like me...the experience was one of those that you just don't want to end. The 346XP is simply a joy to run. It is smooth, powerful and nimble. All I want to do is run this saw all day long. The weather was mild as it was early March and the earliest hints of spring, and all its changes, were just peeking out from all around. I still recall how bright the yellow heartwood of the locust looked and how bright it contrasted against the still grey, early spring surroundings.


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Anyhow...that is what I found in my wood pile today. A log and a happy memory of when I brought it home. Thinking about it now, I bet I could identify every log in my wood pile and tell you when and where I got it. Probably I could tell you what saw I cut it with too. I suppose some people would not understand how I could speak of my wood cutting like this but, if you are like me and love this lifestyle...or hobby as I like to call it...only we know how addicting this can be.
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OWB

Big Chainsaw, Big Wood

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My phone rang the other evening and again it was a good friend who made an offer I couldn't refuse. A large oak had fallen on his property and he asked if I would like to come out and cut up the trunk with my big Dolmar. Of course I said "yes!"
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I think having a big chainsaw is like being the only person in your neighborhood with a pickup truck. People know who to call when they need something hauled, or in my case, a big tree cut up. I cannot think of a better way to spend my Saturday morning than running my Dolmar 7900 in big oak. This tree was on my friends lot line and was just about 24 inches at its base. He cut up the top of the tree and I did the big wood in the trunk. His brother ran the tractor and hauled the wood up to his trailer.


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It had just finished snowing when we got to the tree. The ground was frozen hard so the tractor and the truck made their way around the place without tearing up the ground. Honestly, I was happy just to run my saws but I was offered a trailer full of cut oak for my trouble. Despite the snow, the weather was perfect for woodcutting. The cold never bothered me at all and, at times, I removed my coat so I could cool down! The day was a perfect, beautiful winter morning here in my neck of the woods. I swear there isn't a nicer place to live in this world than right here in northeast Ohio!


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Below is an action shot of me running my big Dolmar. The saw is running a 24 inch bar so you can estimate the size of the trunk. I don't have much experience with oak for firewood but I can tell you it is VERY heavy to lug and oak has a very unpleasant smell when you are cutting it. The terrible odor from the wood chips reminds me of when our children were infants and battling a stomach virus. Not very aromatic...if you get my drift.


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So below is my wood score for 2 hours of work that morning. I had it dumped in my driveway as the snow was too deep for the truck to get to my wood shed. I don't cut much wood in the winter so I never had a need to keep clear the driveway leading up to the woodshed. I will split this oak where it rests and lug it over to the wood shed when the time comes. Again, sometimes firewood falls right into your lap as in this oak score and in my previous post. I have to be grateful for the Dolmar 7900 however. Without a saw as big and powerful as this one, I would not have been able to handle either of these scores.



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OWB

Firewood Score!

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The word is out in my area that I am always on the look-out for free trees for firewood. You would be surprised how many people come looking for you when you are known as a wood-monger.
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All the wood I burn is free to me. I refuse to pay money for any wood...this commitment was all part of my "return on investment" for purchasing the Hardy H2 and I wrote about this in an earlier post titled "The Wood Game." I sometimes have to go out and knock on doors for possible leads for trees...I sometimes ask my friends, or friends of friends for trees. And sometimes the trees fall right into my lap...or my yard...as in this case below.
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I was watching TV on a recent Sunday evening when my phone rang and it was a local farmer who had just tore down two big locust trees and he asked if I wanted them. The only stipulation was I had to be at his field in 15 minutes with my "big saw" to cut off the stumps, he would load them and dump them in my yard. His field bordered a cranky neighbor who would not tolerate the downed trees being burned next to his house nor would he appreciate the buzz of a chainsaw disturbing his peace. So...I jumped from the couch, grabbed by Dolmar 7900 and drove out to his field. The picture above shows the farmer's job site and one of the big stumps I had to cut off. He held the tree with his machine while I cut off the stump and then he loaded it onto his stake truck.

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Night time was falling hard as he dumped the locust into my yard, conveniently close to my wood shed. How nice is that? I didn't have to bust my back at all for this!


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Here is what my free firewood score looked like. Hey, just think...I can run my saws in the comfort of my own yard! All I have to do is cut these logs into rounds and split them up. Locust is a blast to split!

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Finally, I pulled out my Fiskars Super Splitter and quickly sliced the locust rounds into beautiful firewood. I think I will save this wood to burn for next season. It was a score and I can't wait to stack it.


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I don't think just being known as someone who will take free wood is good enough to fill up your woodshed. You have to have a strong reputation as being responsive and efficient. Had I not been able to immediately load up and jump on this score...and have a saw big enough to handle these stumps...the farmer would have never called me. I know he was pleased with my service and I can expect more calls from him in the future. Even us wood-mongers have reputations. Now, I think I will just lay around until my phone rings again.
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OWB