Been a while since I last posted, but wanted to share this awesome score that I came across, 1.5 miles from my house. A guy had an oak tree taken down and was offering up this wood for free on craigslist. I showed up and I could not believe my eyes when I saw the rounds of oak cut so thin. Normally for firewood folks this would not be great but for me I love it because I process the wood for my smoker. The rounds are approximately 10 to 12 in thick and probably 2.5 ft wide. When I break them down I take the outside bark off and put it to the side for scrap wood to burn in the fire pit. I then take the inside pieces and let them season for at least 9 months before breaking them down into chunks that I use in my smoker. Based on the fact that two rounds of this oak is filling one gorilla cart and I got nine rounds total I think I'll have enough oak to smoke a hundred briskets! There was another tree there, but determined it was a sweet gum after I loaded some smaller cuts. Decided to just keep them and split them for the fire pit.
Nice score. Always nice when its close to home. Too bad they are shorties. One reason i like cutting my own when i can.
See that the thing, I want it for the smoker. We have gas logs (blame the wife - something about safety and children? Haha), so I do not have much use for fireplace length cuts. I end up cutting those to size and then using a chop saw to cut them into chunks. This here will reduce work as I can use these for chunks OR splits that will fit into my other smoker. Other upside is that where I live, people have more money than they know what to do with. As a result of the pandemic, a lot of people got solo stoves, smokers and other wood burning devices. I can market these cuts as "locally sourced and seasoned" and sell them at a premium because they don't want to go to grocery store or Home Depot to get splits. I sold a 5 gallon bucket worth of seasoned cherry wood chunks last week for $30. Nice to have a hobby that can also be profitable!
Good for you! I know that all too well. I have a bunch of year old cherry splits im putting aside for premium firewood. I have a potential customer who may want it in bulk.
10-12" chunks work nice. That's the size I stuff the stove N/S with at night. The front of the bin is stacked with the short straight pieces Then the back is filled in with uglies and chunks This was a buZZsaw BRAD idea.
I split the pancakes in half, right down the middle. They stack poorly, but are nearly a split. Nice work !!!
I have the wood, stacked in a holder under loose tarps in the backyard. Got plenty in stock that is ready to burn, so not too concerned about timing of drying. Though, I do have one stack that is closer to the house that I'll leave uncovered during our hot summer days to really speed the process.
I looked at the price that they sell at Home Depot for and I just basically matched that on a larger scale. take some pictures and post it to Facebook marketplace or craigslist and you would be surprised at the response you might get!
Yup. I have 2 smokers. One that burns full splits and a barrel smoker that I use charcoal and chunks in. For the splits, if they are not fully dry, they are slow to catch and end up smouldering while the temp drops. Fully dry just makes life easier, but I totally get why you would want some moisture for chunks or chips.
