Another score from my tree service contact...Silver Maple this time

Seen ad on CL this morning,gave him a call.Dumped in backyard driveway about 530PM tonight.

Not near as big as the White & Red Oak he delivered in mid December,but still nice.A couple long pieces around 10" diameter,most everything else is 15" to 22". Gonna call tomorrow to see if he has any more.I have a nice spot along 6ft high east fence that's empty now. Between north fence & big walnut tree its 14 feet,I can get not quite 2.5 big pickup loads split/stacked there.Burned the last of the 3-4 yr old red/white oak,walnut branches,mulberry,red elm & hickory that occupied that spot this week....

Need more wood to fill the spot for Winter 2014-15 Silver Maple dries fast,especially in my windy area.

Pics to follow,sometime tomorrow once I start bucking/splitting/stacking some of it.Got dark fast & I'm too tired to go back outside

 

The telephone scrounge. Tree man wood is the way!

 

Heck maybe you could call somebody else and have them split it while you sip a beverage Thistle. GEEZ

 

No one splits but me.Dad used to like to swing that ol' Monster Maul occasionally but that was 20 yrs ago easily.He did like the way the X25 & 27 performs though.I'm in no rush.If it takes a week or three that's no big deal.Will be faster than the White/Red Oak no doubt.Pretty much same amount of wood,but these are smaller rounds & Silver Maple is much softer & faster bucking.

 

I underestimated the volume. There was a bit more than the previous load of White/Red Oak in December.Rounds were smaller - none over 24" but close to half of all of it was in pieces anywhere from 3 to 6 feet long.So more actual wood fit on that dump trailer.Easily 3 large pickup loads,5-6 tons total weight.

About 1" more snow early today.Bucked it all this morning,after lunch I picked through the best rounds & milled a dozen random sized blocks/slabs for future woodturning etc.Nice curl/cross grain to most all of it,one reason Hard or Soft Maple can sometimes be a real pain when splitting.Split/stacked about 20% of the total.Am a bit tired,not doing much this weekend now.....

 

And a couple more.......

 

Nice looking wood.
Looks like a nice sunny day to be outside working
Have fun !

 

Sunny & 22 degrees.Was 45 & sunny yesterday afternoon.First time this month it was above freezing,only 3 days last month were above 32.Another inch or two snow tomorrow is expected.So far we've had almost season total (mid November-early April) of 32 inches.Biggest single snow was just 8" back in December.

Lots of 1"-3" amounts,city/county crews go through same procedures/expense of prepping hard surface roads for snow or freezing rain forecast -brine,salt/sand mix etc & plowing whether an inch or a foot.But anyone who has a small business clearing parking lots of businesses loves this - most pay a flat fee every time there's 2 inches on the ground,nice easy paycheck twice a week its been happening.

 

I just can't imagine someone dropping off wood in your yard for free. Good for you!

 

Wow it doesn't get much better than dropping free wood off at your house! Looks great!

 

Even with another couple inches of snow falling it was a nice day,though a bit chilly.Couldnt keep me inside for long today after all... Almost 50% split/stacked now in less than 2 days..In the downhill stretch now...Not bad for an old man.Hydraulics? None for me thank you.

 

Getting closer....barely 20% left to finish up. Amazing how much you can get done in just 2-3 hours per day.That fence in back is 6 feet tall,its 14 feet from north fence to big Black Walnut tree.

Last pic is the random sized blocks/slabs roughed out on Friday.Have 3-4 more nice ones to salvage in a day or two,then the remainder/scraps is all firewood.Biggest one will soon be resawed on the big bandsaw for future cutting boards once they are dried.Should get 3 pieces from it - 2" thick x 12" wide x 16" or so length.

 

Almost 10% snow raked up in there.....I wasn't about to sift through it They dry in a few weeks since I'm always cutting something it seems like - Always have 2-3 big paper birdseed sacks or cardboard boxes in the shed for firestarter .Just a handful every time I start a new fire.By the time one of those sacks is empty,another sack or box nearby is dry enough to start using.Some of the extra (except if its Black Walnut,which I don't get very often) is used for mulch/pathways around the yard,most is given away to anyone I know who wants/needs some.

 

Picture 020 in post #7, is that figuring in the grain that I see?

 

Yup. Real tight curl/cross grain on most of the bigger rounds.One reason even the knot free rounds were kinda stubborn splitting.

That face is split, when sawed didn't seem to be quite as pronounced. Beautiful stuff though.

 

I cant say that I have worked silver maple but that figuring will look great. Nice stuff.

 

Maple is good. Quick to season.