How to get your friends to stop mooching wood

Almost everyone I know has a fire pit in their back yard. A few have wood burning fireplaces. Any firewood I cut, I'm cutting for my use. I have a day job, and it's not selling firewood. 2 or 3 times per year, I get a friend calling me up asking if they can buy some wood for whatever reason. My answer is always no....I won't "sell" you any. You can come and take how ever much you need for your backyard party...BUT....you have to come out for a day and help me cut more. This stops most of them dead in their tracks. They have an idea of what's involved with getting a load of wood from start to finish, but life gets real when they're faced with having to actually invest some of THEIR precious time and sweat to come out in the bush and slug it out with me for a day. LOL.

So far this year, I've only had one friend take me up on my offer. He and his son came out with me, and we hammered out about a cord in 90 degree temps. They did pretty darned good for never having cut wood before, but they were tired campers by the end of the day. I know they have a new appreciation for what it actually takes to get the stuff from sun up to piled in the yard here in the city.

 

Everyone has their price..... Your price seems to be pretty fair.... But many lack the “currency”to make the required payment..... Seems that you are open and willing to employ an apprentice... teach them well and help them understand why we wood hoarders are the way we are....

 

So many people don't think it's worth their time. But if you take a moment to sit back and watch what they're doing with this precious time they have it amounts to them sitting on the sofa watching tv or a similar well spent venture. Sad but true....

 

True friends would be more than willing to help replenish what you donate for their use, if physically capable. I like that form of payment

 

Keep doing what you are doing!!

I once had a guy who found out that I have a lot of Basswood here and he was a carver. He wanted to make a huge dragon carving and needed the wood, so I cut a really nice Basswood, probably 30 inches in diameter, tall and straight. My Uncle even cut it up into the precise cants he needed. Then....he never showed up. In the end it rotted right into the ground as I waited for him to haul it home.

Too bad, I hate waste, but with no investment on his part, he did not care.

 

My neighbors are funny. They are Meth Heads anyway so their thought process is a little confusing, but they cut firewood off their 4 acres (2 acres being field) and burn it in their ever-present summer fire pit. Then all winter they try to scrounge pallets to burn to stay warm in their shanties.

I could see the first year or two that they are here having to do that, but by now they should understand how cold it gets here.

Most silly thing I ever saw.

 

I just don’t have any friends!

 

Oh, no kidding. If somebody volunteers to come out and help me, they're getting something in return and it doesn't matter if it's cutting wood, moving a fridge, or whatever. It's just the right thing to do.

 

New neighbors moved in and the lady asks if she could buy some wood for a fire for her party. She's a knock down beautiful blonde 1/2 my age wearing short shorts and a tube top..........I stuffed the tractor bucket overflowing and drove right over.

 

same story with my sister's live-in boyfriend,,,, he thinks i can spare some.

 

When i was working, we were on a out of town road trimming jobs, trimming limbs away from lines, over head danger limbs and tree's. I knew some of the ''people'' who lived in little shacks along the river. Most were druggies, but, still people i knew in school. Told them we'd even cut the wood to lengths for them , made it easy on them to get the wood. One day while i was up in the bucket this one gal is down below on the other side of the truck trying to steal our tools!!! I yelled at a couple of the guys on the other side of the bucket truck to stop her. We had a little ''pow wow'' with the other people who lived in the same area and got it stopped. Talk about taking advantage of a really good situation. And, we were cutting, and giving them all the wood they needed.

 

Yeah it's a tough deal because you're sort of in a situation where you lose either way. You either lose progress on something very important, or you come off as a selfish di.. . Asking someone for firewood for a backyard party is like asking someone to tap into their propane tank to fill up your bbq bottle.

Where I live most of the people I know either currently heat their house with wood or have in the past so pretty much everyone I know, knows how much work it is (and knows not to ask ). City folks just don't understand how much time and effort it takes to process firewood (especially without much help). If they ever get a taste of it I doubt they'll ever ask for wood again.

 

I hope she at least invited you to the party !!!

 

Yes she did !! But I would have felt like the creepy old dude. Did watch a little of them playing frisbee though.......

 

I've pointed to a pine log in the woods and told whomever they could have the whole thing if they wanted it. Never once had a taker.
My brother has come cut wood here and I've helped him a bit but that's pretttyy much where my generosity ends. I was giving a sister some wood but then she started telling me when I would cut it, how I would cut it, why I would cut it and where I would cut it and she doesn't get wood here any more.

 

You got me...but ur too d@mn far away!!!!!