These milled hickory boards are just across from the pile of logs im currently cutting. See my thread Working the Mini Honey Hole. Got permission to take these as well. 16' long 1 1/4-1 1/2" thick x 10-12" wide They were milled for the guys big equipment based on my guess...side rails etc. He was an excavating/concrete contractor. Two+ years seasoned. Some fungi and minimal punk. Propped off ground which saved them from further rot. Couple slices were taken off this log. It's solid enough for decent wood. Maybe this year burn as well. My friend gets the hickory. Second pile of assorted boards. I didnt sift through them. Most are hickory as well. Some of these look like slices from the first pass or two of the mill. Needed some wood for our camping trip this week and these are perfect. The 334 made short work on cutting a few. Havent used it in a while so wanted to run it. Dont know if ill take it all camping, but will have the highest BTU wood there no doubt! An unusual score for sure but its seasoned hickory. Drive up, cut and load. Cant get much better! View attachment 218102 Same pile of boards i discovered this 4' black snake last month. Havent seen him since!
Thats great! I was wondering about those boards I kept seeing in the background of your other thread.
Got in early enough today from camping all week and was jonesing to make firewood. Ate too much and didnt expend enough energy i guess. Tired of scrounging twigs and small rounds in the campground!!! Cut up the rest of the hickory boards and log. and loaded them up. About 3/4 of a PU full. Left maybe 30 cut boards there to dry in the full sun. There were three tightly stacked and wet in between. It was strange bucking squared, round logs. Some passes had been made with the saw mill. Nicked some dirt as one end had sunk into the ground as support log had rotted out and couldnt see through grass/weeds. Figures as i just sharpened it! One board was over 18" wide. Little praying mantis scurried through the taller grass when i was taking a break. Havent seen one in a few years. Didnt harm it and let it go on its way! Unloaded sections awaiting splitting. 2-4 splits in each and ill add it to the hickory form the Hickory Dickory Dock, this little score does ROCK! splits from two weeks ago behind them. Both are about the same degree seasoned. Ill jab these with my moisture meter as im curious what the percentage is. The board cut offs. May use more if we go camping again the Summer. If not, add to the hickory pile. There is more hickory in the second pile back at the score. It will get added to this.
Well You sure did some thorough documentation buZZsaw BRAD! Problem now is I feel like I was practically there workin along side you and now I'm in need of a rest haha! That wood is rather pretty as its just starting to spalt, and I love that there's no bark. It must be just about ready to burn, but definitely by the fall/winter. let us know what your meter reads
Your campground must have smelled awesome, from the hickory smoke! I would burn just enough for the ambiance, but save most of it for heating purposes in the winter. That score really has me drooling.
i honestly cant say if i noticed the smell. I noticed smell from the EWP i was scrounging there. We cooked staek, burgers and chicken directly on fire grate over coals. It seems like blasphemy to "casually" burn hickory, but the boards were ideal for tightly packing to take and "cleaner" than regular sized splits. One thing i liked was the lack of spitting sparks. Last trip i scrounged pine limbs and they spit like crazy. Had to be pay attention when sitting next to the fire pit. I have better fires with smaller splits/boards when camping. I usually will scrounge hardwood boards from one of my suppliers that i get pallets from, but pot luck sometimes whats there and i didnt have time to go there.
i scrounged that from my supplier where i usually get my pallets. Happened to be empty and close by. It was a "spur of the moment improvision"!
Do you mean the firewood coals? Believe it or not that's all I cook with when grilling at home in my Weber kettle. I don't have a gas grill and wont buy charcoal briquettes (not that there's anything wrong with them) or expensive bags of lump. I use wood from all my splitting fly offs and smaller uglies...everyone says I make great grilled meats and they enjoy the flavor change from gas. Now with my "earth oven" I am really employing my byproduct wood plus some larger firewood.
yup, hot coals from fire. The campgrounds we stayed at have a thick grate you can flip directly over fire. She has a fine wire grate to put over it. Sometimes foil. We grill at home with charcoal briquettes and i use the fire pit to start them. Use an old steak grilling basket to hold them. Works great. Never used gas myself. I usually will keep the pit burning if i plan to stay out. Scraps/bark from wood processing the main fuel. Got plenty of that! Maybe ill try using just hot embers. I bought cheaper briquettes from BJ's. GF didnt like them as much as the popular brand. They were $10 cheaper for the same amount. I suggested she buy them next time....we're still using the cheaper brand and almost out. She gets mad as i only make enough for what were cooking. Claims there isnt enough heat. We grill 2-3 times a week.
Yes definitely try that! Here's some advice if you do: I made the mistake for a few years early on of listening to talk about burning the wood down to embers. Charcoal briquettes can burn hot and long in an ember state and are good for grilling that way, but natural wood is not the same. Once burnt to embers it's already on it's way turning to ashes and just too low in BTU's. These embers just don't have the blazing heat necessary to put a good sear on steak and can cause you to cook the steak too low and slow getting overdone on the inside before looking acceptable on the outside. This might not be the case if you have a heavy payload of embers in your grill, but why burn up all that energy just for a few steaks and burgers? It takes a lot of time to get to ember state as well which can begin to convince you to spark up a gas grill next time. What I found out now grilling with wood for 30 plus years is to place in the grill the proper amount of wood for what you need to cook, and factor in flare-ups. Burn seasoned wood only till its charred all around and the flames have calmed down some yet there is still active visible flames. The flames licking the steak or whatever you are grilling is the key rather than a slow simmer from dying embers (in my earth oven, embers are fine due to all the stored heat and also you are basically baking not grilling). Again factor in fat content and flare-ups and if your grill has room push wood coals to one side in order to pull meat away if necessary, if not simply have a roasting pan near by to temporarily relocate meat till flames are back in control. I've found the live flames on half life burning wood imparts a clean grilled char taste and less smokiness than more expired ember stages of wood. You may find your particular situation requires nuances of this advice, but you will come up with the sweet spot eventually and feel good that you always have your own wood on hand and can select which type to use which keeps it interesting.
I used to grill in my fireplace in such a manner. I just used oak because that’s all I had. But as you suggested build a fire, let it burn down a little then add little kindling splits as needed.
I went out this morning, split one of the chunks and took several readings. All over the place from less than 10% to over 40%. Maybe 10% of the wood was punkier, but still beefy. Those seemed to read the highest Urban Woods. I think it will be burnable for January...knock on wood, hickory that is!!! My friend gets all my hickory and by chance i scored it twice in two weeks.
I split the chunks from yesterdays load late this afternoon and added them to the mound of hickory splits. Over half cord between the two scores and when i add the boards. Split rather easy for 2+ year old hickory! Pieces in the small mound on the left are the longer rounds from todays red maple score.
Nice work buZZsaw BRAD! What will you do now that this chapter is coming to a close? It seems you really were attached to this place.
I still have the second pile of boards to sort and process Urban Woods. May go there today to sort it out. I discovered there is a lot of nicely milled softwood boards that have weathered to a nice gray. Hate to cut them to burn/kindling etc. Couple slabs of hickory as well. I have more wood to cut and split at the mini honey hole which is right there as well. I would say another 4-5 trips there. The wood from the MHH will get moved to my friends across the street once i set up stacking area. I have wood there already. I want to get all the wood cut and split, then move it.
