Hey Stihl, after following your west coast tree I.D. threads I know you know your stuff about our woods out here. What's your take on Shore Pine? I've had a few come down over the years and have two more I'd like to knock out, but splitting them is like trying to split a marshmallow in my experience. I've never burned 'em inside, they just seem to never dry and like I said, splitting them with all the knots is just not fun. Here's what I did with the last one that came down in a really strong wind.... Should I even bother trying to turn the next two into firewood, or plan for another bonfire?
Shore pines here burned OK, but they were a tad green after only one summer drying when I first burned them. I have some more that is 2 year dry now and it burns fast and hot. There were 6 of them growing here when I bought this place, all about 20 feet high. I cut three down completely and thinned the others. They were all multi-trunked, and I cut them back to 2 or 3 trunks each. As for splitting them, I use the same method for any knot wood or wood that does not split with my maul. I noodle them with a chainsaw. Its quick, easy and takes little effort. I also use the noodles for mulching my blueberries. The really tough stuff I do the same as you: I have fires outside during the burn season. Usually smaller here though, inside a fire ring. At my ex's place in Eugene we had many huge fires the size of yours there. All the leftover crap that I could not split easy went into slash piles. Here is one with my ex's silhouette... these were burls which are impossible to split, even with a chainsaw, and some old nailed up fence posts.
Good call on the noodling, thank you. These are all multi-trunked, twisted, and lots of branches. There's no way I could split them. They do make a heck of a bonfire though, don't they? Great pics of your fires. Thanks for the reply, I will plan on noodling these last two when they come down.
