Brought in the good stuff

It's was cold enough to justify going to the shed out back and getting some of my better stuff tonight. The cherry only has a year on it and I'm saving 99% of it for next year. The fir is 2yrs old, tight-grained, and destined for the stove this season. And it's all cut short enough for NS loading.

 

Need to bring in some of the dry locust that I've been saving and give it a try. Fire looks good.

 

Looks like some good stuff. Is there a big difference in heat output vs wider grained fir/softwoods?

I can always recognize old slow growth fir in framing lumber when i do demo work. I also notice the heft of it too.

What percentage of your wood inventory is hardwood?

 

I can attest to the fact that the tighter ringed, old growth softwood is much more desirable. It’s much heavier. It burns hotter for much longer. I also get some pretty decent coals from the old growth Doug Fir around here. Good enough coals to get a ripper going the next morning with ease.

 

Some 2x lumber i scored that was stored in an old garage was like that. Tight grained doug fir. Rather rot resistant too. Commonly used as tongue and groove porch floors years ago. I did a porch restoration last year and the clear fir i used wasnt as tight grained as the "old time" stuff. Still nice stock though.

 

Looks really nice!!

 

There's a huge difference in density between old growth and newer fir. I've mentioned this before. It's my belief that the evergreens planted after a harvest have declined in firewood value over the decades. The trees they plant have been selectively bred to grow faster and faster. The result is trees that are much less dense.
My supply is usually a mix of fir, hemlock, red alder, big leaf maple, and a little birch. Just depends what's available but over the years I probably average 50/50 hardwood/softwood. The cherry I got last spring is rare for me. My supply for this season is mostly fir and alder (which is a pretty soft hardwood). Next season's wood is looking like an even mix of cherry, birch, fir.

 

I keep about 1/6 of a cord of black locust stacked in my root cellar, right next to my woodbin. I call it my private reserve. Already took a couple pieces out this year. Maybe since I finally took the window unit AC's out and closed the garage windows, I can get the house warmer.

 

That there is a thing of beauty, love the look of raw wood on flooring.

 

Me too. I was sad when i saw they stained it. Actually going there today to do a small job and will get a pic if i remember.

 

I moved a garbage can full of Black Locust shorts and uglies to the garage. Most of these were what Brad calls petrified when I scored a year and a half ago.