# Harvesting Firewood



## SurvivalNut

I just put in a wood fireplace and have been harvesting wood from relative's properties. I am reforesting my 5 acres with localy appropriate trees (Ponderosa Pines) that thrive here. I have learned to use a chain saw (own) and hydraulic splitter (rented). I built a covered crib to hold 4 cords and will expand it to 8 this summer. I do have central heat (gas) but have turned it off and am going cold turkey to wood and am enjoying it. 

My question is what tools should I use if my chain saw were unusable and a power splitter is unavailable? In other words, long term off the grid self-sufficiency. 

Ponderosa Pine is realatively soft, is typically 50-75 ft tall and 18 inches diameter. The bottom 2/3rds of the tree is typically without branches. 


I have read about cross cut saws and sharpening them. But what hand tools would make it easiest to fell a dozen trees a year, and split them, AND MAINTAIN THE TOOLS IN THE LONG TERM? I want to buy the tools best for the job with enough spare parts and tools to maintain them indefinitely. 

My stove takes 24inch logs. 

Thanks!


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## dilligaf

the way they did it at the turn of the century is probably the most efficient way of doing things with hand tools.

there are documentaries that show how they did it back then,it doesnt look easy but nothing with primitive tools is.

from what i gather you will need a axe for notching and limbing and a cross cut saw for felling and cuting into lengths.
its my understanding you need a *special jig for sharpening cross cut saws*,a sharpening stone for your axe,a few wedges and a oil can of some sorts for lubrication while cutting with the cross cut saw.
a good splitting maul along with a couple wedges should be all you need for splitting the wood.

to me the biggest issue is transporting the wood from point a to point b without any motorized equipment.short of horses or mules,perhaps a good block and tackle and some good rope would be the answer there..

hope that helps..


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## MotherEarth

Depending on how far point a is from point b, you could use a sled when there is snow on the ground to move the logs, either using human power or a horse to pull it. Wheelbarrows might help also, but in either case it would take many trips to get your wood for the winter...no one said it would be easy!


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## SurvivalNut

*Moving Firewood*



MotherEarth said:


> Depending on how far point a is from point b, you could use a sled when there is snow on the ground to move the logs, either using human power or a horse to pull it. Wheelbarrows might help also, but in either case it would take many trips to get your wood for the winter...no one said it would be easy!


As far as moving the firewood, that is not a problem. I am free to harvest from relatives. My wood lot won't be ready for 20 years, but that is the long term self suffiency plan anyway. I am only moving the wood over my 5 flat acres in an emergency and I refuse to get caught moving firewood in the snow, that would be a deadly mistake, we received 3 feet this week, in Spokane! , so movement is not the issue or question, just the best and most maintainable way to cut, section and split the wood.

I don't want to buy some tools to experiment, I am hoping some with hands on experience wil share their first-hand knowledge on firewood cutting.


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## dilligaf

SurvivalNut said:


> I don't want to buy some tools to experiment, I am hoping some with hands on experience wil share their first-hand knowledge on firewood cutting.


oh i have first hand knowledge,just doing it mostly the modern way is all. i been cutting wood for heat for 20 years. ive played around with a axe and bow saw,but quite frankly no more gas and oil than it takes for a chain saw i believe ill just keep enough stored back to last me a good long while and save my back.

as far as splitting,ive rented a splitter once in 20 years because i was down on my back. we heat with oak here so i prefer a splitting maul and i keep wedges around for the persnickety logs, but as i recall from when i lived out west a lot of folks out there preferred a broad axe to split the pine and soft wood,any way it goes a axe is pretty much the only way to split wood.

stepping back in time isnt anything more than switching tools,the process is the same my friend.

perhaps watching this short documentary will give you some incite into the fact that my initial post WAS from someone with experience. 

http://www.folkstreams.net/video/woodsmenriverdrivers/woodsmenriverdrivers.mov


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## solaceofwinter

how do you guys know what trees to burn/cut down?


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## skip

Depends on where you are as to what you use.Here in the Midwest, we use a lot of oak and hickory. One we try to stay away from, especially if you're splitting by hand, is (and I don't know the proper name) piss elm. The grain is twisted, and tries to corkscrew on you when you split it. We try to stay away from the evergreens, as they produce a lot more creosote than hardwoods. But any will burn in a pinch.


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## Magus

You'll regret using a diet of 100%pine in your fireplace!mix it with hardwood on occasion or you'll be on the roof every fall cleaning your chimney!

Keep a anti fire bomb handy too,pine creosote burns under the right conditions!


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## dunappy

We have two axes, one splitting maul and one hatchet and a variety of hand saws to use in case we can't use the chain saw. We don't have a splitter and won't rent one. We split by ax and splitting maul. Get a couple of splitting wedges and a couple good sledged hammers also.


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## SurvivalNut

dunappy said:


> We have two axes, one splitting maul and one hatchet and a variety of hand saws to use in case we can't use the chain saw. We don't have a splitter and won't rent one. We split by ax and splitting maul. Get a couple of splitting wedges and a couple good sledged hammers also.


Thank you. This seems like a simple usable list. I appreciate the advice! I too plan to kick the splitter habit and pass the time by axe.


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## ShaiserManelli

One good tool for harvesting firewood is craigslist. Look on there for people hiring to carry away their leftover wood and go grab it and make an extra buck


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## Roi du Rodentia

Kudos on your choice to do it with "Armstrong" tools! You probably already know the double benefit(s) of splitting wood, even Elm by hand, that whole warm you twice thing and that exercise noise we hear about all the time too. 
In my time heating a house entirely by wood in Northwestern Wisconsin, (younger and MUCH Stupider then) I learned the value of a good cant hook or peavey, a six foot pry bar and of course a good set of files to keep the cutters on the saw(s) SHARP! A bench vise proved to be invaluable to secure the blade while sharpening it and getting consistent angles on the cutting faces. 
In a only slightly facetious tone, you may consider a one inch auger and a small supply of black powder and fuse for the really really stubborn lengths of firewood such as Elm. 
Where I lived in WI, there was a bunch of logging for pulp wood and the loggers were required to take away all the wood cut which included a fair bit of hardwoods such as maples and oaks and a few of the cursed elms as well that they would deliver to your place for a nominal charge for about eight full chord loads of eight foot logs that made it silly even for a younger and stupider man to go into the woods and harvest the trees himself. Maybe there is something similar in your area? Can't hurt to check it out and the work saved is IMMENSE!


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## dilligaf

oh i forgot all about the peavy.. yes that is indeed a essential tool in harvesting firewood..


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## flatlandr

hello all, im new here, first post and all! hope all are well and in good spirits. In a reply to splitting wood without power tools. i have seen an attachment for a high lift jack that is a wedge of sorts that makes it possible to use it for splitting needs. I do not have a link or pic of it. It resembles an wedge with a "c" channel that attaches with a pin thru the highlift jack close to the top.then you jack the log in two.
Hope this helps with your question.


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## Canadian

In some municipal areas road crew remove trees that have fallen down. These usually get dumped in a yard and left to rot. If you contact to local group that removes the trees you can often arrange to pick them up for free.


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## UncleJoe

Call a local tree service. I have one of my own and before I started heating 100% with wood, I was always looking for someplace to dump it. I ended up finding a couple of guys that would come right to my job sites, cut the wood up and haul it away. That could sometimes mean a 2 hour savings in my labor cost. You may get a very positive response if you offer to go to the site and pick it up. Keep in mind, a lot of jobs are in residential neighborhoods. If you tell the man that you will be there to get it, *BE THERE*. If you don't, he will never call you again. I had it happen a couple of times and those 2 fellows never heard from me again. My clients don't want a pile of wood laying in their yard for a couple weeks till you get around to it.


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## pubwvj

Some thoughts on burning wood:

1) Get a woodstove. They are far more efficient than a fireplace.

2) Add thermal mass to the wood stove if it lacks it. Masonry. The woodstove should burn hot and fast to heat the masonry which slowly releases the heat to the house. A fast hot fire makes for less creosote in the chimney and is less polluting.

3) The chimney should be interior to the house for as long as possible, as straight as possible, as vertical as possible and extending a minimum of three feet above the roof within 10' or more. Any horizontal chimney or stove pipe sections should be close to the woodstove where it gets maximum velocity and heat to minimize creosote.

4) Provide fresh air to the fire. If your house is too tight you'll not get a good draft. Control the inflow of air. I like earth air tubes as they offer free pre-warming of the fresh incoming air. Stale house air is constantly being exhausted by the chimney. This is good.

5) Don't burn pine. In general, avoid the creosote filled evergreen woods. They are fine for a little use as very dry kindling to start the fire. Poplar is another fast burning wood, pretty, fast growing, blows down easily and gives little heat.

6) Burn hardwoods. There is more energy per log, they burn longer, have less creosote and are less likely to cause a chimney fire. Think oak, maple, birch, etc. They do take longer to grow - burn the junk logs and use up the whole tree. The tops are filled with kindling and kitchen wood.

7) Burn dry seasoned wood. Cut it, block it, stack it and ideally let it sit under cover for a year to dry - Three months at the minimum. Less moisture in the wood means you waste less energy driving off the water so you get more heat. Less water in the wood means less water going up your chimney cooling the smoke which means less creosote build up which means less chance of chimney fires. Less water in the wood means less moisture on the metal parts of the chimney which means less rusting and they last longer saving you money and time replacing them.

8) Clean your chimney at least once a year. Inspect it too. Depending on what you burn and your chimney condition & design you may need to do this more often.

9) A chainsaw uses little fuel. If you think it's about to be a SHTF situation, stow ten gallons or so for the saw along with its oil. It will last a long time.

10) Learn to sharpen and maintain the saw well. They cut a lot faster using less fuel when sharp. They're also safer.

11) Wear protective gear - boots, chaps, helmet, face guard, ear protection... Calculate the value of your leg... Likewise, don't work with dangerous tools when you are tired. Do it when you are at your best.

12) Split with an axe for most wood, a sledge and wedges for the worst. Try to avoid the worst stuff - use it for outdoor bonfires so you don't have to split it. Some wood splits a lot easier than other woods. Split in the dead of winter when it is cold and it is even easier. At -10°F wood almost falls apart from a tap of the axe. See this article for a good slitting axe.

13) Cut the worst trees from your land, the junk, the pulp, to burn yourself - of the burnable species of course. Thinning the forest allows other trees to grow better and is an important forest management technique. The next up are to cut and sell. The next up should be left to grow and become timber. In time you'll improve your wood lot and eventually you may have some timber to sell. I get up to a couple thousand dollars for a single veneer quality tree, many hundreds of dollars for a lumber quality tree and about $10 for pulp and firewood quality trees. It is worth cultivating your forest to gradually improve it.

Here's some more on heating with wood.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
Sugar Mountain Farm
Holly's Pencil Portraits
NoNAIS.org


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## SurvivalNut

*follow up to firewood harvesting-chain sharpening*

I have cut and split 10 cords of firewood, about 2 years worth I am estimating.

I have been sharpening my chain saws with a file like I was shown, but they just don't seem to keep an edge. Are those inexpensive ($40-50) electric chain sharpeners worth it or should i just keep filing?

I rented a gas log splitter, but does anyone have any recommendations for a manual splitter I can keep for little jobs or as a backup?


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## pubwvj

We got this one:

Sugar Mountain Farm: Chainsaw Chain Sharpener

and like it very much. It was well worth the cost. For years we've done it with hand files. Hand filing is a good skill to have but this is fast. Good when doing a lot of chains. File is still good for touching up in the field.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
Sugar Mountain Farm
Holly's Pencil Portraits
NoNAIS.org


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## sailaway

We have a 100 year old Oak that needs to come down soon. The center of the tree and the branches are hollowing. There will be alot of fire wood for a while, but the tree will need to be replaced for astetic and also environmental reasons. Do you have to leave the area where the tree was empty for 5 years to let the roots die off? I have been told this by several people.


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## Jason

I ue maybe 10 cords a year in my outdoor wood furnace. There is no way on this earth I'd be able to cut and split that much wood by hand so we bought a 35 ton splitter a couple years ago. It's really nice to have around. I use a Stihl MS290 chainsaw (FarmBoss) but we have a couple axes and sometimes if I'm bored I'll split a couple logs with a sledge hammer and wedge, but not very often at all. I may use 30-40 gallons of petroleum a year to heat my house now between bar oil, 2 cycle oil, hi test for the saw and regular gas for the splitter. WAY less than the ~1200 gallons of heating oil the old furnace used.


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## Von Helman

Bump

We use anything from twigs to logs and everything in between and gather during the warm months


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## Jason

You said it. In a nod to UncleJoe's post, I got hooked up with a fairly large scale tree service whose lot was covered with pine logs they had no idea what to do with. They ended up delivering them to me for free just to be rid of it, then THANKED ME FOR TAKING THE WOOD. I just stood there laughing. That first day they brought a tandem dump load, a big single axle dump load, and 2 F550's full of logs. Now every once in a while they just show up and dump some. Brings a smile to my face, and it helps out the tree service, too.


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## UncleJoe

You never told me that! Glad to here it's working out for you.


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## Von Helman

Jason said:


> You said it. In a nod to UncleJoe's post, I got hooked up with a fairly large scale tree service whose lot was covered with pine logs they had no idea what to do with. They ended up delivering them to me for free just to be rid of it, then THANKED ME FOR TAKING THE WOOD. I just stood there laughing. That first day they brought a tandem dump load, a big single axle dump load, and 2 F550's full of logs. Now every once in a while they just show up and dump some. Brings a smile to my face, and it helps out the tree service, too.


Man you can't beat that, I mean free delivery and all, I would be calling other tress service companies and telling them you have a free dumping location and specify what you will and won't take.

You can never have too much of a good thing, well maybe but not when it comes to fire wood. What you can use then trade or sell.


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## Jason

The only drawback is it's at least 90%pine. Not great for burning in anything other than an outside furnace, but believe me, I've thought about hiring one of those mobile sawmillers to come over for a weekend. 

Thought I'd mentioned that, Joe, sorry. This guy is in the suburbs of Pittsburgh and he seems like a city boy. I say that as in I don't think he'd have an outside furnace. His employees split and sell the best stuff as a sideline (cool of him to let them do that) and I get the rest. I don't think the owner burns any.


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## UncleJoe

Jason said:


> I've thought about hiring one of those mobile sawmillers to come over for a weekend.


I'd give you the number of the guy that does mine but you may be outside his travel range.


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## Radio_Gal

Was reading an old, out of print book (off line) about how the native peoples went about felling trees without modern tools. The book was relating the process of using pine pitch or sap to place a line of fire on wood (at the base of a tree) and then allow the weight of the tree and the fire to bring the tree down. A summary of this type of off-grid wood working can be found in this article: http://www.gwbhs.com/Articles/NATIVE AMERICAN CANOES.pdf

In addition, there are a number of plans (online and elsewhere) to build a wood spliter that uses gravity (non-electrical) to split wood. Gravity is free and a lot less work than chopping--unless you need the exercise.


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## Radio_Gal

Here is another link for using fire in felling trees: Living with Fire: Making Wise Choices - Native Americans


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## jodell8964

*Heating Value of Common Wood Species*



solaceofwinter said:


> how do you guys know what trees to burn/cut down?


BTW, take a look at the chart found at:

Heating Value of Common Wood Species

The chart details the amount of BTUs per chord of different woods.


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## JeepHammer

There is no farmer or rancher that won't let you cut trees out of his fence rows!
Great source of fire wood on the cheap.

Also look for overgrown right of ways, most people will PAY YOU to take the overhanging limbs and trees off right of ways.

Cross cut saws sound great, but they are a PAIN to work with, I've done it, and it SUCKS.
Electric chain saws when you are cutting logs at your place, gas powered when you are working in the field. The time savings are incredible!

Keep the saws SHARP! Let them do the work.
If you use a dull saw, you might as well be cutting with a buck saw, it will wear you out!

Pay attention to trees you are cutting, look for things like fence wire or nails grown into them.
Keep them out of the dirt!

If you have to 'Grub' with a saw, and you will at some point, make sure you use one of the 'Carbide' tipped chains, they last SO MUCH LONGER and don't go dull when you hit something like a nail or wire or get into the dirt with it.

Look into a 'Bush Axe' (curved blade that catches limbs, vines, ect. that an axe won't cut, and chain saws like to yank around and wad up instead of cutting cleanly)
I use a bush axe to clean away things like brier thickets, vines, small limbs, ect.

Anything under about 4" and the brush axe is faster than most chain saws and will hook/cut where most other cutting tools won't.

I don't cut/split wood like I used to, but I do cut up/stack everything we cut for something else, no sense in wasting it since we are already there and have the tools out!


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## pubwvj

JeepHammer said:


> There is no farmer or rancher that won't let you cut trees out of his fence rows! Great source of fire wood on the cheap. Also look for overgrown right of ways, most people will PAY YOU to take the overhanging limbs and trees off right of ways.


Not so fast. I'm a farmer and I don't want anyone cutting any wood on my land without my permission. I sell timber, firewood and pulp. This is part of what I farm along with livestock. I have a couple of neighbors that I allow to cut some marked trees for firewood each year but THEY PAY for the wood. Wood is a resource. Don't go thinking you can go onto someone's land and take it or that they'll be happy to have you do it.

Not only that but we have a lot of trees along our fence lines that act as shade trees for the livestock, provide fruit and nuts, etc. I would be majorly pissed to have someone cutting them. I planted many of those trees.


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## lotsoflead

I wouldn't let anyone cut wood here anymore and most of my neighbors will not either as there is a liability today. years ago before lawyers got into the act, it was different, today if you do someone a favor and they hurt themselves, guess who get sued?


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## cqp33

*Hybrid Poplar*

Has anyone ever heard of hybrid poplars? I have been reading up on them and thinking of growing an acre for heating only. This way you would never have the need to split them. They grow extremely fast so they are not good for structural wood or anything but they burn clean and grow fast. Not high on the BTU's but better than cutting my oaks for firewood and for the growth rate the BTU shortfall would be covered by not having to split it and the amount you can grow. I can use the oak for structural lumber or woodworking when they are cut on the band mill. Any thoughts?


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## pubwvj

We consider them to be trash wood. There is so little energy in them they are not really worth the effort. Go with maple, oak or other hardwoods for heating. It doesn't take much land to be able to simply use the dead wood. Have a well insulated home with a high thermal mass.

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop

Check out our Kickstarting the Butcher Shop project at:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sugarmtnfarm/building-a-butcher-shop-on-sugarmountainfarm


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## UncleJoe

pubwvj said:


> We consider them to be trash wood. There is so little energy in them they are not really worth the effort.


Agreed. It burns like paper and doesn't produce much heat. 
We burn wood as our main source of heat and use about 6-7 cord of mixed hardwoods per average season. That would probably triple using just hybrid poplar and you wouldn't be able to keep a fire going overnight unless you plan on getting up every couple hours to feed it. Another thing to consider; do you have a dry place to store 20 cord of wood? That's a 12'x12'x24' stack of wood.


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## pubwvj

6 to 7 cord a season... Ouch! Our drafty old farm house was like that. With a huge amount of work and a lot of money I got it down to 3 to 4 cord a year. Then I gave up on it. It was never possible to keep comfortable.

So we built a new house that is smaller, about the space we were actually living in. The new cottage is made of 100,000 lbs of masonry so it has a high thermal mass (and won't burn down). We heat this cottage, which is just up hill of the old house, with less than 0.75 cord of wood a year and it stays comfortable. That's just a couple of deadwood trees a year. Wood is our only active heat - we also gain passive solar heat through the windows that gets stored in the masonry. I've been logging daily temperature readings in the cottage for five years. Even unheated (during construction) it floats well above freezing (40's) in our very cold northern Vermont mountain climate.

I wish I had done this decades ago instead of fighting with the old house. I spent many tens of thousands of dollars trying to 'fix' the old house. I spent $7,000 building the new house. The new house is also easy to clean and virtually maintenance free. It's a world of difference.

You can see our cottage at:

http://SugarMtnFarm.com/cottage

I designed it so we can expand it if we want and so that we can eventually berm it into the hillside. What is really amazing is it performs this well and I have not yet put the roof insulation on. We just have 1/2" of foil-bubble-bubble-foil on top of the roof. With proper insulation the cottage might need no heating. However, we enjoy burning wood - great for drying cloths in the winter, etc. We farm so things get wet.

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop

Check out our Kickstarting the Butcher Shop project at:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sugarmtnfarm/building-a-butcher-shop-on-sugarmountainfarm


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## cqp33

*Fire wood*

I have 34 acres of land, 20-25 of which is wooded with red oak, white oak, maple and a few hickory. I don't want to cut these down just for fire wood so I think if i select cut them (cut the mature ones only before the heart rots out) that should yield quite a bit for burning as well in the tops and limbs alone. That would leave the logs for me run through the mill for some good ole hardwood lumber! Think I may still use some poplar but mix it in with some hard wood and only use it during the day sparingly, there are some poplars on my property too but only 3 or 4, might as well burn the tops of them too since they will be available, I think the best use may be in the wood shop though in ole pot belly cast iron stove! Leave the hardwoods for the house for the hot long fires!


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## ZoomZoom

With 20-25 acres of hardwood, you should easily have a perpetual amount of wood just from dead-fall. Selective cutting of mature trees is also a good idea as it clears the canopy so you can get new growth. 
I hired a forestry consultant years ago to look over my woods. Well worth the investment. He advised on how much to cut down and actually selected the trees that should be kept vs. culled. I don't recall the exact number but I think he said you should have no more then about 12 mature trees per acre. With that number, I had a huge amount of trees to remove (years worth of firewood).
As for having it logged, if you have your own mill, you will do OK. If you're having someone else log it, check the price they're offering per board-foot and compare to its value in firewood. I had them review my woods and in essence, they were offering about $100 per mature tree. I could sell as firewood for more then that.
I'd put the poplar in the bonfire. Would not burn it in any wood stove.


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## cqp33

ZoomZoom;126762 I don't recall the exact number but I think he said you should have no more then about 12 mature trees per acre. With that number said:


> wow only 12, that seems pretty thin compared to what is there now! There must be at least 60-80 per acre at least, more in some spots! But there are some younger 15-20 year old oaks that obviously need some room to grow and I fully intend to give it to them! First order of business is to thin the old growth considerably! I will probably fill 2 barns with fire wood from doing that, going to use the logs to make some pole barns first to store the fire wood in, having the bandsaw mill the lumber will make them dang near free, still got to buy nails and something for the roof (tin) but cheap in the grand scheme of things! One good 20 X 40 pole barn to store lumber in the dry as well as the tractor and a 20 x 20 barn for fire wood! will probably fill both quickly though with as many trees as i need to cut! The local forestry service will come for free and assess here locally so I am going to have them come over and get their opinion just to see how far off my plans are from what they recommend! I will back home on my land later this month or early next month, gonna have them come out then and I will let you know what they come up with!


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## FutureFriendly

pubwvj said:


> We consider them to be trash wood. There is so little energy in them they are not really worth the effort. Go with maple, oak or other hardwoods for heating. It doesn't take much land to be able to simply use the dead wood. Have a well insulated home with a high thermal mass.


I avoided burning things that were not optimal for the chimney for the first six months and after I realized that it wasn't that hard to clean the chimney, kind of unpleasant though. I used to put recycle in the recycle and after a trip to the dump in my municipality I realized they just burn it to make room for other stuff.

I think a lot of people are striving for what will be most efficient and in the process, we miss out on free or low cost options. The dump was just wasting the potential heat because people were not interested in regular maintenance. I try and save my potato peels, dry them and burn them because I was told they help break down creosote when burned. I don't know how true that is? I have also been told that maple seasoned and stored for over two years becomes a much less efficient heat source and again I don't know if that is true either?

It think most thing's that get labeled as trash could have a use if you get creative. I like to think of poplar now as a fun thing to burn in an outdoor fire pit when seasoned and that it gives people a chance to get involved and through a few pieces in. :wave:


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## pubwvj

By trash wood I mean there isn't much heat energy in it. It takes almost the same effort to collect, block, split and burn good hard wood. If the good hardwood is available I would rather put my effort into that as a log will burn for hours instead of a low energy, low density, high air filled log which will quickly burn out giving off little energy. It is a matter of priorities. I have other things to do with that time. If you need the exercise, then by all means go for the trash wood.


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## BillS

FutureFriendly said:


> I avoided burning things that were not optimal for the chimney for the first six months and after I realized that it wasn't that hard to clean the chimney, kind of unpleasant though. I used to put recycle in the recycle and after a trip to the dump in my municipality I realized they just burn it to make room for other stuff.
> 
> I think a lot of people are striving for what will be most efficient and in the process, we miss out on free or low cost options. The dump was just wasting the potential heat because people were not interested in regular maintenance. I try and save my potato peels, dry them and burn them because I was told they help break down creosote when burned. I don't know how true that is? I have also been told that maple seasoned and stored for over two years becomes a much less efficient heat source and again I don't know if that is true either?
> 
> It think most thing's that get labeled as trash could have a use if you get creative. I like to think of poplar now as a fun thing to burn in an outdoor fire pit when seasoned and that it gives people a chance to get involved and through a few pieces in. :wave:


http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/preventing-creosote-build-up.56040/

"I agree on the prevention. The potato peel thing was promoted several years ago by The Mother Earth News and they seemed to be pretty high on the idea. It also seems to me that someone else did some experimenting and found the idea to be nothing at all.

Best idea is to have all of your wood seasoned a minimum of a year, better at 2 years and some even need 3 years. Burn good seasoned, dry wood and don't worry about creosote."


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## Magus

SurvivalNut said:


> I just put in a wood fireplace and have been harvesting wood from relative's properties. I am reforesting my 5 acres with localy appropriate trees (Ponderosa Pines) that thrive here. I have learned to use a chain saw (own) and hydraulic splitter (rented). I built a covered crib to hold 4 cords and will expand it to 8 this summer. I do have central heat (gas) but have turned it off and am going cold turkey to wood and am enjoying it.
> 
> My question is what tools should I use if my chain saw were unusable and a power splitter is unavailable? In other words, long term off the grid self-sufficiency.
> 
> Ponderosa Pine is realatively soft, is typically 50-75 ft tall and 18 inches diameter. The bottom 2/3rds of the tree is typically without branches.
> 
> I have read about cross cut saws and sharpening them. But what hand tools would make it easiest to fell a dozen trees a year, and split them, AND MAINTAIN THE TOOLS IN THE LONG TERM? I want to buy the tools best for the job with enough spare parts and tools to maintain them indefinitely.
> 
> My stove takes 24inch logs.
> 
> Thanks!


2 man buck saw attached to a weight suspended from a stout limb.you can cut wood sitting on your butt.


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## Jason

I burn a lot of pine but using good wood really does make a difference. I have a Hardy outdoor wood burner that is just about the best thing I've ever bought. This past winter I burned some tree tops from when our place was timbered a few years ago. I also burned some really old pine that was almost to the point that it would crumble when you tried to split it. The good wood burned better, for longer periods of time, than the bad stuff.

I'm kind of a scavenger as far as fire wood goes, though. A buddy I used to work with is a tree cutter now and I'm headed out to get some pines from him this morning. It's about 45 mins each way to get the wood and to me that's not efficient at all but I'm helping a friend, it's free wood, and I'll get more from him in the future.

As far as equipment, I have 2 Stihl Farm Boss saws that I sharpen with hand files, a big 35 tom splitter (the gray one from Tractor Supply), and a peavy. My truck is pretty small (Dodge Dakota) so I use a hay wagon to get the split wood to the pile. I have a "firewood center" away from the house where I do most of my splitting to keep the bark piles away from the yard.


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## 1969cj-5

*BTU Reference...*

Not mine, Found online. This is the best one out there. Hope this helps all you wood burners. Sorry if it is a repost. Page can be found at http://chimneysweeponline.com/howood.htm

Firewood Chart A: Sorted by BTU Content 
Common Name Species Name Pounds/Cord MBTU/Cord 
Osage Orange (Hedge) Maclura pomifera 4,845 30.0 
Hop Hornbeam (Ironwood) Ostrya virginiana 4,250 26.4 
Persimmon, American Diospyros virginiana 4,165 25.8 
Hickory, Shagbark Carya ovata 4,080 25.3 
Dogwood, Pacific Cornus nuttallii 3,995 24.8 
Holly, American Ilex Opaca 3,995 24.8 
Birch, Black Betula lenta 3,910 24.2 
Oak, White Quercus alba 3,910 24.2 
Madrone, Pacific (Arbutus) Arbutus menziesii 3,825 23.7 
Oak, Post Quercus stellata 3,825 23.7 
Locust, Honey Gleditsia triacanthos 3,825 23.7 
Hickory, Bitternut Carya cordiformis 3,825 23.7 
Beech, Blue (Ironwood) Carpinus caroliniana 3,825 23.7 
Mulberry Morus rubra 3,740 23.2 
Locust, Black Robinia pseudoacacia 3,740 23.2 
Maple, Sugar Acer saccharum 3,740 23.2 
Beech, American Fagus grandifolia 3,655 22.7 
Oak, Oregon (Garry) Quercus garryana 3,655 22.7 
Oak, Bur (Mossycup) Quercus macrocarpa 3,655 22.7 
Oak, Red Quercus rubra 3,570 22.1 
Birch, Yellow Betula alleghaniensis 3,570 22.1 
Ash, White Fraxinus americana 3,485 21.6 
Myrtle, Oregon (Pepperwood) Umbellularia californica 3,485 21.6 
Apple Malus domestica 3,485 21.6 
Ash, Green Fraxinus pennsylvanica 3,400 21.1 
Maple, Black Acer nigrum 3,400 21.1 
Walnut, Black Juglans ***** 3,230 20.0 
Maple, Red Acer rubrum 3,230 20.0 
Ash, Oregon Fraxinus latifolia 3,230 20.0 
Birch, White (Paper) Betula papyrifera 3,230 20.0 
Tamarack (Larch) Larix laricina 3,145 19.5 
Birch, Gray Betula populifolia 3,145 19.5 
Hackberry Celtis occidentalis 3,145 19.5 
Juniper, Rocky Mtn Juniperus scopulorum 3,145 19.5 
Cherry, Black Prunus serotina 3,145 19.5 
Coffeetree, Kentucky Gymnocladus dioicus 3.060 19.0 
Sorrel (Sourwood) Oxydendrum arboreum 3,060 19.0 
Elm, Red Ulmus rubra 3,060 19.0 
Eucalyptus (Red Gum) Eucalyptus camaldulensis 2,975 18.4 
Elm, American Ulmus americana 2,975 18.4 
Sycamore, American Platanus occidentalis 2,890 17.9 
Maple, Big Leaf Acer macrophyllum 2,890 17.9 
Elm, White (Russian) Ulmus laevis 2,890 17.9 
Ash, Black Fraxinus ***** 2,890 17.9 
Boxelder (Maple Ash) Acer negundo 2,890 17.9 
Pine, Norway (Red) Pinus resinosa 2,890 17.9 
Fir, Douglas Pseudotsuga menzies II 2,805 17.4 
Maple, Silver Acer saccharinum 2,805 17.4 
Pine, Pitch Pinus rigida 2,635 16.3 
Pine, Lodgepole Pinus contora latifolia 2,465 15.3 
Hemlock Pinaceae tsuga 2,465 15.3 
Spruce, Black Picea mariana 2,465 15.3 
Catalpa (Catawba) Catalpa speciosa 2,380 14.8 
Pine, Ponderosa Pinus ponderosa 2,380 14.8 
Alder, Red or White Alnus rubra or rhombifolia 2,380 14.8 
Pine, Jack (Canadian) Pinus banksiana 2,380 14.8 
Spruce, Sitka Picea sitchensis 2,380 14.8 
Willow Salix 2,295 14.2 
Pine, White (Idaho) Pinus monticola 2,236 14.3 
Fir, Concolor (White) Abies concolor 2,295 14.2 
Basswood (Linden) Tilia americana 2,210 13.7 
Aspen, American (Poplar) Populus tremuloides 2,210 13.7 
Butternut (White Walnut) Juglans cinerea 2,125 13.2 
Pine, White (Eastern) Pinus strobus 2,125 13.2 
Fir, Balsam Abies balsamea 2,125 13.2 
Cottonwood (Balsam Poplar) Populus trichocarpa 2,040 12.6 
Spruce, Engelmann Picea engelmannii 1,955 12.1 
Cedar, Eastern (Redcedar) Juniperus virginiana 1,955 12.1 
Buckeye, Ohio Aesculus glabra 1,955 12.1 
Cedar, White (Whitecedar) Thuja occidentalis 1,870 11.6 
Bamboo Poaceae bambusoideae 1,615 10.0 
Balsa Ochroma pyramidale 935 5.8

Weight and Heat content figures are based on seasoned wood at 20% moisture content, and 85 cu ft of wood per cord. A cord of wood is defined as a stack 4 feet high, 4 feet deep and 8 feet long, which comes to 128 cu ft, but we deduct for air space between the pieces in the stack.


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## surviving

*Firewood*

I use to have two Stihl chainsaws, (181 and a 290) got rid of both of them and got a 54 inch one or two man saw and a 72 inch two man saw.

I'm 59yo and my son Jesse is 21, we can cut up a storm with these saws and it is not as hard a work as you may think. It all about leaning right, when your partner pull the saw towards him you lean forward, when its your turn you just hold on tight to the saw and lean back wards.

No noise, no worn out bar and chains and in the process get some real good abs.

Dan
survivingsurvivalism.com


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## Magus

oldwindrow said:


> done with a place promoting illegal fantasies which will result in others being hurt


Been stripping furniture in a confined space? better get some air before the gnomes come out of the wall and drag you off to Bentovia for a prostate prodding.


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