So the big lot not far from me, where the fellow boasted there were 20 gypsy moth kills, kinda turned up less than that. There are many.which looked dead this winter, but which now seem to have leaves. There are 4 or 5 that are well dead, and maybe 1 more that could come.down. I didnt walk all his acres, but there doesnt seem to be as much there as I initially thought. Will go back when he's there and figure the rest. Mean time, a friend who is clearing pasture land, has wood on the ground for me. I dropped 3 trees a few weeks back amd he dragged them out for me. Then I spied hickory branches on the ground. Turns out to be the entire canopy of a 40+' tree. The bare pole was still standing. Got that hickory mostly cut up, a 25' red maple cut up, as well as wood for my farmer friend. And some miscellaneous stuff he dragged out for me last week. Tomorrow will be splitting day, by hand. Hopefully we can drag a couple loads out. Everything today cut to 14" for my friend's stack. We've got him 4 cord this year, 3 of which he'll use this winter. So, we're working on his second year. (Yeeehaw)! And, used my new stump vise for the first time today. Well worth the money! I field dressed that chain several times, never changed it out for a sharper one....
Back at the farm this sabbath morning, for a couple hours' splitting, chain sharpening, devos. The 450 cut well, but the 460 cut this Hickory far faster. I'd forgotten how hard that wood is! Into my 3rd gallon of B & C oil this year. Not braggin rights, but relative to last year's 5G. (Ace brand was $19 yesterday. Didn't purchase any) The cut site/back pasture as it stands this morning. My ever faithful companion.
This morning's wood splitting reveals that Hickory splits easier than me and my first girlfriend. Almost easier than oak.
All but 3 rounds of the Hickory split today. It was toasty out there. I did not know Hickory rated higher than Red Oak. Its surely heavier, and harder to cut, and as easy to split. There were several Red Maple trunks handy, so we started cutting those. One trailer load moved to my friend's place. Lotsa good exercise! Sca
Hickory totally kicks Oaks butt in the BTU department (I think the BTU chart rates it a lil low) and as far as splitting easy, you must have lucked out, its usually not easier than Oak to split...tends to be stringy, as AC mentioned above.
Nice work there, sir. Glad that hickory split good for you. Sometimes it will make ya scratch ya head. Glad to see the book too. I haven't read that one yet
I seems like all the hickory I split around here is halfway between oak and elm in the splitting department. I love burning hickory I just don't cut much of it.
Yes it makes me scratch my head and wonder why I got more, because of the extra effort and time to process and every one of my hickory stacks has collapsed. If it’s a stack with partial hickory it falls. I restacked yesterday and thought about creating a thread about the downfalls of hickory. It gives me an opportunity to debark, but dang hickory and gravity are foe’s.
Im not sure why it was so easy to split, but that it rates higher than oak, means Ill be after that with as much focus as buZZsaw BRAD is focused on BL. Even with this tree, I took everything down to an inch that was straight enough. And that bark is like armor! I saved some, I bet it will make good kindling. I haven't stacked enough to see how it will season. I know where it is in 2 stax, so I'll watch for it. I'll be on the look out for the Chud Phenomenon. Today was another beautiful day! My very dear friend and I hit the cut by 0645. Coffee and devos together, with pipe-birds going full bore in their sunrise songs. Split the last of the hickory and some maple of some sort. I split some of it, but it had a kinda twisty grain, and was miserable to split. I got the smaller round, but the bigger stuff I left for my friends for sugaring this winter. Pics below. Three loads to another friend's place, 5 cord on his stack ytd, and some to my stax at his place....5 cord now on my stacks (Yeeeehaw!). While my wife once was my Best Friend, I've not ever, till recently been best friends with another man. Mentors, pastors, friends, but never a best friend. Kind of a new thing. Stumpy and I usually see eye to eye, and sometimes we have words, when we disrespect/interrupt.....we'll be a couple krusty old codgers chucking wood one day. The relationship is mutually beneficial. Which is something I do not enjoy beyond the workplace. But, wood was chucked. There is one more red maple all cut, ready to split on site and bring to the stax. Pics of the Maple or whatever it is: And of Stumpy:
That bark is so tough, it's actually hard to start burning. Save it and throw it in with some wood. Burns almost as hot as the wood itself. We have some that's been run over numerous times for 18 months or more, still hasn't broken down
Great way to celebrate the Fourth (or any other day for that matter) by making firewood. That miserable maple is of the red variety. Sometimes they are easy and sometimes twisty and split like elm. Pics of some from last year coming off the hydro. Here's the thread Twist & Shout
Fresh cut hickory can split very easy IME, but not all the time. If the ends start to check it makes it a lot tougher though. The bark is the toughest that i know of. Ive seen sparks when cutting it at dusk.
Well, that explains a few things.....I have split that before, at home on the hydro. Forget it by hand though. I cut up and left almost a whole tree for my friend. I'd be so tired wacking that stuff multiple times, I'd not have any energy to load haul, stack. And it split exactly like that Brad. Jeff, im not sure I'll save the Hickory bark, but for the few pieces I kept. Perhaps I'll grab the rest....there was plenty of it peeling off. The canopy I cut and split came down a few weeks ago, the spar, today. Nice straight grain generally... Sca
Funny story yesterday. Stumpy was tossing wood into the trailer, when he says "theres something on my back". I looked under his shirt expecting to see a bug of some sort. Nothing. Then I looked from his collar down, and from under his shirt, left shoulder, was a little tail. Waay to small to be a snake. I grabbed the tail and out came a little grey female fieldmouse. Apparently Stumpy was a safe place to run to as her hiding space was removed and tossed in the trailer. She got launched into a fern stand after being onced-over by the dog. I don't know how often he gets some tail, but he did yesterday! Sca
At the woods and splitting by 0530, done by 8 including breakfast with friends there. A good sized Red Maple was relatively easy splitting. I didnt have time for a finish pic, but started and finished this morning. buZZsaw BRAD , I saw sparks several times splitting this stuff. There was some dirt present, but sparks also happened on clean wood.
Shaggy does that a lot. Typically that protruding bark pushing the chain sideways a bit causing it to twist in the rails, throwing spark. Unless it's also hitting some embedded stone.
