I'm quickly becoming a firewood addict. I burned relatively green wood last year, it sucked. About 2 cords for a 700 sqft cottage. So this year once my wife and I determined we were going to extend our lease I got the addiction. I have 1 cord seasoned stacked and split, 2 that were in huge rounds for 3 years that are still not ready for this year but they are now stacked and split. Also have a lot of shorts from long rounds that I trimmed, was planning on mixing those in even though they are not seasoned fully. I have been checking craigslist for local scrounges, got 1/2 cord yesterday of oak and poplar. My wife thinks I have lost my mind, but I LOVE IT, my back feels stronger than when I used to lift and workout daily, and productive exercise sure beats a gym. Although, I have noticed my beer intake has increased quite a bit with all the time at the wood pile. Killed 2 copperheads this week. They love the woodpile. How long does kindling take to dry out? Specifically for poplar.
Welcome. Poplar is a fast dryer, kindling is a fast dryer too. I split all of my short pieces really small and use them for BBQ (except things like pine and walnut that wouldn't taste very good) and I find that most woods when split very small will light very easily after less than 3 months.
It is great to hear about your new addiction. You might want to check out the smokehouse section and DIY section of the forum. You might find some recipes for your snake kills and also make a snake skin chainsaw file holder.
Welcome, the addiction is one of the better ones offered in life! Henry Ford was a addict as well. He once said "He who cuts his own firewood warms himself twice"
Welcome to the forums! Aint it great workin all the muscles you forgot you had? And yes, your beverage intake will drastically increase.
You might think he's kidding, but I'm currently in the process of trying to secure #3! @DexterDay and @MasterMech have about a million each. True story.
Welcome to the forum. Poplar dries really fast like maybe a couple hours Ok maybe not that fast but it after split stacked and top covered it does dry very fast it also burn like paper its great to get things going and in shoulder season.
Welcome aboard z. Where 'bouts do you live? There's always water instead of beer. Gooder for you too. I'll go put on my flame suit now. Lots of beer lovers here.
Welcome! Looks like you are on the right track--keep it going and keep your eyes out for those free scrounges. You'll land one soon enough.
Welcome brother! Watch those snakes, I don't like killing them because they keep the other woodpile critters in check, but poisonous snakes and little kids around don't make a good mix either..... Glad to have you in the club!
Skinned the snakes and stapled to a board to dry out the skin. They were both small so I did not bother trying to clean the meat off. I think I will take all the poplar I just got and split small and hope it dries out enough. I guess I could break down and buy a moisture meter but I burn wood to save money and play with my Stihl 310. Try and keep the expenses down. I'll try to chime in on some more post and include pictures of my scrounges and stacks as they progress.
I'll leave the black snakes be but I have no interest in wondering where the copperheads are the next time I am out there if I do not kill them. I live in Northern Virginia. One chainsaw for now. Lots of free wood on craigslist locally. I'll be headed out tonight to scoop up some more. Got a guy with a bunch of good oak, halfway seasoned(been split from large rounds but not split to firewood pieces) he said if I split some for him I can take as much as I need. He must not be a hoarder.....
Welcome Poplar dries pretty fast, split into kindling, couple months. Should be more than ready by burn season Tan the snake skin, make a great belt No snakes in Alaska,
Welcome to the forum zmccart2. Don't be concerned about having only one saw. I cut for about 40 years with only one saw and got along just fine. Could see no sense in owning more than one saw. Also only have one chain. I did break down and bought a really light saw (Stihl 180) for limbing but only because of physical problems. So now I do have 2 but believe it or not, since getting the little saw, it is now my "go to" saw. lol With the narrow kerf, it cuts really great for its size. I've even cut a red oak that was over 20" with that little saw. Your 310 should shine for a long time.
Welcome. I have been cutting 3-4 cords a year for 10 yrs with a MS310 16" bar - just upgraded to 18". Keep it maintained, sharp chains and you will be fine. When its 75 deg in your house in Dec and the furnace doesent kick on - thats the pay off - your wife will thank you then. Guys with tons of info and experience here - enjoy
Welcome. Pictures of dead snakes are always better than of live ones. I hate snakes. No poison ones in Maine so I leave them alone. They alway startle me when I come across them. I don't have an outside cat so I am am hoping these snakes can keep some of the mice population down. Can't have an outside cat because of too many predators hanging around.
Thanks for the welcome. Found some oak that was split down into large pieces (6-8 inches on the large part of the split) and off the ground. So should be relatively seasoned. Supposedly 3+ years as large splits. Split and stacked tonight. Probably close to 1/3 of a cord. Closing in on this season and next. Pic attached of tonight's scrounge. Sorry pic is sideways from the phone upload. I started splitting the poplar into kindling until it was too dark to see. I have a small stove so I have to start fires after 4 hours empty. Lots of kindling will be used throughout the season.
