Specifically western red cedar. For a long time, I've wanted to get rid of this cedar before it causes problems with my septic system. A tree guy doing work on my neighbor's property gave me a reasonable bid so it was time. He limbed most of it in one afternoon and then came back to finish it off last friday morning. This tree had 3 trunks coming off one stump. Starting on the cleanup friday morning, it took me 5 days to get most of it done. At least cedar cuts easy so my 290 was able to handle the big stuff. The last 2 rounds at the butt were too much of a reach for my 20" bar so I put on a 25" bar and chain to reach the last bit holding the rounds together. That's a lot of crappy firewood. My dad came over with his 032 and helped out A LOT. I'm 43 and I think that saw is older than me. Cutting so many limbs justified a smaller saw. The local dealer had one MS180 in stock that is now mine. Cedar isn't something I want as a real firewood source. My dad took a half cord, I delivered a half cord to a coworker, another coworker picked up a half cord that I piled up by my driveway, and a friend is coming to take a pickup load. The stuff I gave away was only split enough to make the wood manageable size. That leaves me with roughly a cord that I'm still putting away. A neighbor loaned me his chipper, which was a big help. There's still 3 piles of branches that I'll burn soon. It's raining now and the outdoor burn ban gets lifted tomorrow at 8am. I took a lot of pics to see my progress. I saved a half dozen logs that might get used in a landscaping project. Tuesday evening I finally was able to run the mower over the yard to clean up most of the sawdust and small stuff. 7 bags worth. It only left 3 big divets in the yard, which I already took care of with soil and grass seed. In summary, I gave $1000 to the tree guy, bought a new saw, worked up 3 cords (or 9000lbs) of wood, got a fat lip and numerous bruises, my hands still hurt from feeding the chipper, my forearms are torn up from handling cedar branches, and it got me a cord of firewood I normally wouldn't want.
Cedar may not have a great reputation as firewood, but it is great at disease resistance and repeling bugs. Make sure you keep a couple small splits in each closet in your house. It will keep bugs and musty oders at bay. I personally never would have cut down trees like that. In fact Eastern Red Cedars is exactly what I planted in my back yard...
Take the weekend off! . Id love to buck it just for the smell. Maybe even split my own shakes. I scored some WRC 4x4's today and have already sniffed them! Nicely done there blacktail and congrats on the new saw.
When my kids were little, they always asked for “the snap crackle pop wood” when we had a campfire cuz that is what cedar does in a campfire!
Eastern white pine isn't much better, especially in the BTU department. I can make about a cord, maybe a cord and a half disappear in a year. Sometimes burning it is convenient, most of the time it is a bit of a chore. A lotta work for a low BTU firewood for sure.
Western Red Cedar smells so awesome just sitting in the woodshed. I have a cedar chest that my grandfather made me. I just love opening up the lid and getting a whiff of the scent.
Nice job getting the job done blacktail. Too bad it wasn't a species that you lust after. But in the end still a good job!
Theres all that finding of tools, putting away and then cleaning up. Maybe if I spent more time in the closet.
