A coincidence, maybe, maybe not, been burning red maple cut off chunks and shorties all day. Don't really remember where they come from though. Besides my saw. They're quite a few years old.
I feel like I've been on a deserted island and just found out I'm not alone! By the time I'm done processing for the season I've usually got a dozen milk crates and couple plastic barrels full of cut offs, shorts, chunks, and splitter shreds. My Vermont Castings Vigilant is a bit oversized for my small house, especially in the shoulder seasons and I usually burn nothing but shorts & chunks for the first six weeks in Fall. Small fires that don't have to be smoldered down to keep from overheating the house. Hot fire equals cleaner chimney & more interaction with the stove for me. Good for when I get home and things are cold & I just want to get it going hot real fast, just keep tossing in chunks. Hell, I like them so much I'll intentionally cut shorts at times just to make sure I have enough. Don't mess with trying to split crotches anymore either, just buck them down into 4" cookies, let em dry a bit and smash em with the maul. Dries much faster too. And talk about not wasting, all that extra sawdust becomes cat litter or speedy dry for the shop.
Shorties go into the outside fire ring. Mooseknuckles go either to my buddies outdoor stove or into his nephews homegrown big door smoke dragon
Ah so a bit smaller than my normal splits which are 8-10 inch. I too enjoy burning chunks and ‘uglies’ of a similar size. My log man sells them a little cheaper which is good when I have to buy firewood sometimes
Mooseknuckles. Lol. I bring those over for outside fires. I've got a couple that I'll bring over to my buddy's Friday night fires. " Hold on a minute, let me get something out of my truck". Lol
Now when ya split that piece and get one nice split and the resulting other piece which won’t stack worth a damm is the moose knuckle
Gotcha, thanks. I kinda figured thats what it was, but folks in different parts of the country have different terminology. Sawbuck vs sawhorse for example.
I keep a pile of wood that is really tough to split by hand, and when the pile gets big enough I start noodling into chunks. Usually use for camping or firepit and then try to burn the rest in shoulder season. Have to admit I get a lot of satisfaction burning the tough chunky pieces.
This thread inspired me to burn up a bunch of Ash odds and ends this morning! I’ve got a big ol pile of em outside. I don’t let anything go to waste.
I like burning the chuckies and big ugly moose knuckles more than regular uniform split wood. The regular wood goes in when I am not going to be hanging out in the family room, where my stove is located, and I am burning hot to keep the house temp up. I save the uglies for those nights the Mrs and I are relaxing in the family room.
