In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

thescratchylens Gets Legit

Discussion in 'The Wood Pile' started by thescratchylens, Nov 5, 2023.

  1. Backwoods Savage

    Backwoods Savage Moderator

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    You can stack outdoors like in your picture but I do recommend a little change. If you look only at your top cover, it is bowed in the middle and that is where all the rain goes. Where does it go from there? I say just put more wood in the center so the water runs off at the ends rather than the center.
     
  2. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    Honestly, I don’t know. We hope to heat the house with wood this year; it’ll be our first. Our wood burning insert is new this season.

    Til this year, we had a “fireplace” in name only. It was an old prefab wood burning unit, turned into a gas unit, which was broken down utterly when we bought the house. As such, our insert is small. The new firebox interior is 1.5 cubic feet. Still, it gets almost the whole upstairs very warm. Once we figure out how to move the air around a little better, we’ll be golden. The bedrooms at the end of the hall stay cooler, but I prefer to sleep in a cooler room anyways. The Wife…. well, not so much!

    That’s also why we don’t have much wood. We didn’t have a way to burn it! Plus other issues came up that conspired to keep my wife and I out of the woods from the time we bought the house in late 2020 til this year.
     
  3. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    Roger wilco. Thanks for the look/recommendation.
     
  4. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    We finally got the log splitter filled up and ready to go! We broke down some of the bigger pieces that “Mr. Cottonwood” gifted us and ended up with loads of chunks, so that’s what’s in the fireplace today. We also broke down the last of the mulberry we inherited - but that won’t get burned til winter. For now it’s shoulder season buckthorn and cottonwood…

    Now I see what the fuss is about re: hydraulic splitting. Once we hit a rhythm, it was go go go.

    Next up - those oak rounds. IMG_0857.jpeg
     
  5. Eric Wanderweg

    Eric Wanderweg

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    Nobody here is going to judge you for that setup... Plenty of people here move firewood with a riding mower and yard trailer. Actually I have that exact same small yard trailer I got from my FIL who didn't need it. Up until this spring I had a 2001 Craftsman lawn tractor I pulled it with. I've since acquired an older Cub Cadet garden tractor, but still. No monster tractor with a front end loader here, and I get the job done.
     
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  6. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    Like you, Eric, we’re running out of storage space for yard/woods tools (splitter), vehicles (mower/trailer), etc. For now, tarps will have to do - but we don’t dig it.
     
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  7. Stephiedoll

    Stephiedoll

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    Love your tractor and wagon. Much nicer than mine.:smoke: 20231017_165654.jpg
     
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  8. Stephiedoll

    Stephiedoll

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    I see some John Deere 15 CF wagons on FMP. Wonder if they would be nicer and hold more?
     
  9. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    Gets her done though, right? :thumbs:
     
  10. Eric Wanderweg

    Eric Wanderweg

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    Incremental improvements is how I’m doing it. Half of my stacks are on pallets with tarps, and the other half are under my (mostly finished) woodshed. I have a small addition planned to keep my wood splitter under cover. For now I just put my wheelbarrow upside down over the engine and hydraulic cylinder to keep it protected from the worst of the weather.
    C1FB4F4C-15AE-4E84-9225-FA15ACF24233.jpeg 3DA776AC-95A1-494D-9BC9-5CEDAB532554.jpeg
     
  11. Erik B

    Erik B

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    Stephiedoll I have had a 15CF John Deere trailer for over 20 years and it is still going strong.
     
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  12. Scotty Overkill

    Scotty Overkill Administrator

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    Looks like you're well on your way to becoming a true hoarder!!
     
  13. Stephiedoll

    Stephiedoll

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    Seems to be a few around. $225 for a couple that look like they may have rust and out of town, although I have a brother that could go look/pick it up. Locally there is a very nice looking one, says no rust, for $300. Need to find dimensions, but looks much bigger than the little $30 cart I'm using now. I don't think the 185 would have any trouble pulling it up the small but a little steep hill to get to the back yard.

    Sorry to hijack the thread thescratchylens
     
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  14. Erik B

    Erik B

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    I pull mine around with a 530X JD garden tractor.
     
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  15. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    IMG_0874.jpeg Oh, I’ll be cuttin’ today. Maybe some S/S too. Yep.
     
    Last edited: Nov 13, 2023
  16. The Wood Wolverine

    The Wood Wolverine

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    Is this the new tractor and wagon thread, lol? :thumbs:
    I used this wagon for a while.
    IMG_3453.JPG

    This one when I have a lot of wood to move.
    20160904_143047.jpg

    Wheelhorse 3 series, 12hp, 8 speeds.
     
  17. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    :drool:
     
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  18. thescratchylens

    thescratchylens

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    Oak rounds? What oak rounds?
    IMG_0876.jpeg
    Don’t judge me on the inexpert stacking. The ground ain’t level and I’m new to the whole crisscrossed ends thing. Part of learning is inexpertise, yes?

    Oh whatever. It’s a mess. See you in 2025, oak!
     
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  19. The Wood Wolverine

    The Wood Wolverine

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    A few fellers on here are next level with their stacks, I ain't one. Took me a few years to learn to crib the ends and I've found splitting pieces rectangle or square works much better than triangle.
     

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  20. Eric Wanderweg

    Eric Wanderweg

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    "A few fellers on here are next level with their stacks, I ain't one."
    Proceeds to post a picture of a perfect, stable, and tall stack :)
    100% on the square splits for end cribbing. I'm getting away from triangles more and more, because when used for cribbing they have an inclination to roll if everything's not perfect. Square splits = strong cribbed ends.