Figured I would start a new thread instead of continuing my red oak one. I got permission to take the beech from my new favorite cutting spot. I parked in the driveway, and it was a short walk into the woods to cut. I noodled some and hand split almost everything into sizeable pieces to carry out. Sure glad I had my pickaroon with me. I mostly worked up the trunk, I'll have to go back for all the good size limbs. The grain was twisted and some was harder to split then others. Very unique wood, but overall not horrible to split. I had room for more, but after 2-1/2 hours I was worn out. I ended up with around 3/8 of a cord. I also brought home a little bit of some other hardwood that I threw on top of the stack. My app says it is sugar maple. Can anyone confirm this? Closeup shot in the last picture. I can get more of it next time I am out there.
The trunk looked nice and straight. But when I ran it thru my splitter, some pieces broke apart and went flying. It was hard to read the wood. Ended up with lots of curved pieces, or very irregular splits. Reminded me of splitting the bottom of a trunk with a big flare. This tree grew in the woods, not in an open field or yard. Is all beech like this? Almost seemed like a combo of stubborn silver maple and (dare to say it) bradford pear? Just in the way some pieces broke apart, instead of just splitting open.
The FHC spirit is alive and well in you sir! Not much fun schlepping rounds but you got it done. Some nice firewood you've made. That is sugar maple. It, along with beech are similar in terms of drying time and btu's. Ill keep them separate for the most part for my wood stove customers.
Beech can have mixed grain like that. Frustrating when you think it will produce nice straight splits and they are twisty and stringy. A lot of the beech around here are infected with either beech bark disease or beech leaf disease. Sad sight to drive by a grove of them an maybe 1/3 leafing out. My woods have a lot of them and the small ones have died out as they don't get enough sun.
I didn't take any pictures when I was cutting it up. I can next time I am out there. There is a little bit of the trunk left and it was pretty big. When I was hand spitting the rounds it would start to crack open. Then the crack would start traveling at an angle and end up with some weird looking splits! Very strange wood to process. Thanks for the kind words! I lurked here for a couple years and wished I would have joined much earlier. "Noodling" is something I learned here, and I use the term often!
To quote (sorta) Forrest Gump, Beech is like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you're gonna get, when you split it...but its still worth finding out
I went back and cut another load of red oak and beech. Finished off my 1/2 cord stack of Oak and started another. Beech stack is just about done too. These rounds were from the top of the tree. Obviously smaller and more manageable. But a lot of them still had that strange twisty grain. It was 80 out already at 11 am when I was finishing up.
Some sweet perfect size wood and even sweeter stacking! Were you lucky to have shade to split in? Making firewood in full sun in the Summer isn't much fun.
When I was cutting the oak rounds I was in the sun. Luckily the beech is in the woods, and loading that up is shaded too. I dump all the rounds next to my maple tree. So, it is a nice, shaded spot for splitting. I usually wait to stack for the morning, or late evening. A couple hours here and there and the job gets done.
You can see a short, covered stack of Ash behind the oak. I have a bunch more Ash rounds out at Bob's that needs to come home. That should finish that stack and be used this winter. I just put it off so I could concentrate on this latest score.
I have the load I cut from Saturday on the PU which I'll split today luckily in shade even though its not humid here with temps forecasted for the mid to upper 70's.
That happens to me constantly...postponing splitting/stacking to bring home more wood. Matter of time, priority, availability and weather. I delayed going back to a cut and missed out on a load of black locust. Had cut one load already. It was a longer ride one way hence the delay.
It has been mid 80's here. Yea the wood at Bob's is always on the back burner. Hard to access due to mud a lot of the times. I don't want to rut up his property too. It is a great place to cut in the winter though. I have been trying to stay on top of this current score. The owner told me to let him know when I don't want anymore. And he will look into getting rid of the rest. Luckily, I found out about this from a friend. So it hasn't been posted on FB or anything yet.
Huge plus to have dibs on a score. I checked one out on FBM a couple weeks back. Nice hickory and maple logs, but the backyard was squishy so I couldn't back up to it. He said it dries up in the Summer so hoping its still there. I see it being relisted on FBM. If still up I'll contact him soon if it stays dry. Ease of access my main criteria for a score. If I have to schlep rounds, its probably out. I have enough trouble schlepping myself around!
This is the only picture I took of just one spot on this property. You can see the oak I am working on. Also some big cottonwood that I am not interested in. And some other logs on the right, that my app says is basswood. I am going to pass on them as well.
Done blame you for passing on those. Ill mix them in my bundles so don't need them in volume. I have over a cord of cottonwood splits on hand and have access to more. I do like the basswood for the quality of split it produces. Buck a few rounds of it and give it a try. Cottonwood on the other hand doesn't split as clean, but will dry in a month if left in full sun. I was shocked to learn this firsthand last year.
When I was new to hoarding, I cut up some cottonwood that I found piled behind a school parking lot. I didn't even know what it was. Just that my chainsaw was going thru it quickly. I learned what it was after I got it home. I did burn it that winter but was never in a hurry to get more.
