Been a long and stressful day running a shovel, sledge hammer and wheel barrow and dealing with landscape customers who think they is the only ones on this earth just cuz they are rich so I thought I would play Colombo in my wood stacks and try to relax. Left to right. White elm. Standing dead. 12 inch round split on Sunday morning. Hackberry css 1 year. Silver maple css 4 months. 125 year old 8x8 cedar barn beam. Gave them all another split and tested the M/C with my doohickey that does that. Elm was still at or over 30%. Hackberry was at 18, Silver Maple pegged the meter and the 125 year old cedar was under 10% (go figure huh?). No real info here just an observation and a way to look like I was doing sumpthin tonight to fool the wife.
If I got my hands on some cedar, I would be putting it in my clothes closet. I love the smell of cedar, bugs don't!
Do I need a moisture meter and four wood samples to fool my wife that I'm doing something when I'm really goofing off? Or do I just need to do my best Peter Falk impression?
Probably not possible, but it's too bad there is not a way to build a data base of the different drying times of different woods in the different locations we all live. For instance, I live in zone 7, my experiences wouldn't match someone from zone 10, but the question is always ---How long does it take? and it's always the same firm replies, replies that never ask a location, are you in a shaded area or open, get much rain or drought, wind? Then there's the "standing dead", that's a whole other question. At my age, my wife wishes I was fooling with her.
Thanks Butcher! Added that to my list of "how to fool wife" that cedar should burn nice..... maybe too nice
While This IS a pertinent idea, it'd be really hard to to with the variances in humidity and climate in one area to another.... That being said, in mu personal findings here in the mtns of central PA, a top cover on stacks is very necessary.....As I stack in a VERY large cube. The rows are tight together, but my wood has 3 to 4 years to season too...... Lots of variances. I think one common factor all over the country is that green oak takes several years to season once C/S/S. Lol....
Shoulda been here the night I got tared of tryin to salvage them old beams after the barn fell over in 60 mph winds. Wind was right and it had just rained good so I lit that mother up. Sat there and drank beer till 3 am and it was still burning so I said "Tahellwiffit" and went ta bed. Still got plenty of old beams though.
Raizin hell in Iowa I see......... Fire pit "Butcher Style" Probably roasted the marshmellows in your cabinet IN YOUR KITCHEN, 100ft away
Has everything to do wit it....an da size of your splits...gosh i love the little bananna guy...its wierd sometimes he dances..sometimes he dont..
How long you been married? I thought I fooled my wife the other day...turns out that's aholenuther story
Yeah, that Silver Maple is the baffler to me. I would have thought it would lose a lot of moisture in 4 months, especially with the wind you have there. As far as foolin' the wife....remember the commercial where the guy fools his wife by filling a pair of pants with stuffing, then having them sticking out from under the car or kitchen sink? Then his buddy tries it, but has the pants legs sticking out from under the deck of a push mower.
Been a wet year here in Iowa, I cut some green Silver Maple a year ago and the smaller splits are below 20% but not some of the bigger pieces and the small rounds are going to take 2 years to get below 20%.
Wow. I thought you said several times that Oak was two years out there. Must have been one helluva soggy year!
