I’ve been welcomed nicely here, just a few days in. There is much to like, given wood in all its forms has been my obsession since moving to Idaho ten years ago. I’m 65 in a week or so, retired journeyman machinist. I live in a 100 year old craftsman house with a modern furnace and a large Lopi insert. Furnace heating bills are way too high with virtually no insulation. For a few years I was buying mixed hardwood cords from a terrific local guy for $130 split and deld. He still holds that price for me but...I’ve become a hoarder. There I said it. My small yard doesn’t allow much storage but I’ve found that I can stuff 5 or 6 cords into crannies or under tarps. I’ve come into a mess of white oak/red maple pallets, 4x6 with 2x6 tops. They weigh a good 65# ea. From them I’ve built among other stuff, a couple of standing butcher blocks in my garage shop. Are there any issues with burning spoiled pallet pieces? The markings indicate that they’ve been h/t and are quite dry, no pesticides. I do jump on free wood listings on CL, recently a large standing pear tree, my first felling. I use a smallish echo but am excited to finally pick my 18” 261C-M on Monday, a recommendation of my cordwood guy. That’s all. Good to be here. Michael
I admire you for turning pallets into something so nice! justdraftn turns scrap wood into beautiful boxes. TurboDiesel does wood turning. Have you found the Hobbies and Interests forum?
Nice woodworking. Used to be a hobby of mine. Gave it up for competitive rifle shooting. Gave that up to hoard firewood. Guess I’m a one hobby at a time type guy. Welcome aboard and enjoy your stay
Nice work MFMc. and welcome. No issue with burning pallet wood aside from avoiding nails while cutting.
You’re in the right place to get introduced Michael! Those tables are just excellent and post more away of your stacks, we can always help you figure out more spaces or make it more comfortable stacking it with possible sheds? I’m actually a fond liker of those oak pallets because they are usually ready to burn and the heat treated(h/t) stamp on them means it’s safe and sound usually. Unless that stuff has some serious paint on it, burn away. The white oak is one of the best as the porosity of the oaks is interesting to discuss here. My point here is that a lot of pallets can sit for awhile and get soaked in rain. So I take the moisture levels seriously if I pick up anything oak, usually in blocks or beams. Check out this cool video explaining it! I’ve found these pallets and skids, got a couple threads on here documenting some pick ups, the upside is that they burn forever it seems, great for mixing woods up and use for longer burns. I don’t usually find white oak available often in splits but just want to jump on any that I find especially in pallets since most of the stuff is all midwest or eastern grown wood. Burns like coal. I had picked up some very large (and heavy!) pallets recently and just finished taking apart one last night, dismantled it then will cut in sections to burn this winter.
Welcome MFMc. You do beautiful woodworking. I really admire the skill you have. My woodworking tool of choice is a chainsaw and I make firewood
Beautiful work MFMc. You'll fit right in here on FHC. I've been using the white oak "stringers" my buddy brings back from his work for stacking on. They are 5-6" w x ~7-8" tall and 4' long. Some have been sitting in diesel or hydraulic fluid, so I don't burn them.
Thank you. I used to think I had hobbies but in reality they were obsessions. But that’s just me. I loved loading for and firing my 300 WinMag at fair ranges in NM. But I never got into competitive shooting or that 6.5 Creedmore that I hear so much about.
I stack on top of this stringers. Well at least 1 area I do. I don't think it helps with keeping bugs out of the wood I will burn.
MFMc. Welcome to the land of BTU's. Looks like you jumped right in. Those are some fine pieces of wood work. Those Echoes are great values in saw that I think get overlooked. Pretty sure you will just about retire it once you get the 261C-M.
