Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[arrow]

maybe you are confusing rock/sugar maple (acer saccharum) with red maple (acer rubrum) because ''decent" firewood doesnt do it justice. As firewood I would pick it over any other specie.

I’m not confusing the species whatsoever. I’ve cut it, sawed, planed and sanded it, burnt it, tapped and tasted it and made furniture with it.
I will say being in the woods for 60 years has made me not prone to hyperbole.
It’s like me saying 24” of snowfall is a decent amount of snow.
Someone from Texas may describe that with more gusto.
I can also think of about a dozen other wood species I’d prefer over either oak or rock maple as firewood.

 

[goeduck]

Yeah, poplar isn't my first choice for firewood either, but I can burn it outside and use it to fuel slash fires. Sure do have plenty of it right now

My morning wood is Poplar, starts quick, burns hot, leaves a bed of coals so I can roll over and go back to sleep.

 

[fc1]

My morning wood is Poplar, starts quick, burns hot, leaves a bed of coals so I can roll over and go back to sleep.

Best not burn that outside, prolly.

 

[John_Mc]

maybe you are confusing rock/sugar maple (acer saccharum) with red maple (acer rubrum) because ''decent" firewood doesnt do it justice. As firewood I would pick it over any other specie.

I'm not sure what species you have to choose from in your area. Sugar Maple is very good firewood, but I wold not go so far as to say I "pick it over any other species".

Around here we have Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana - tends to be small, but packs a LOT of BTUs), Shagbark Hickory (Carya Ovata), Black Birch (Betula lenta), White Oak (Quercus alba), and Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis) all of which beat Sugar Maple for BTU content.

We also have a lot of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) which is only slightly lower than Sugar Maple in BTU content, but a good firewood choice: Lower moisture content when green (the only common tree in our area with a lower green moisture content is Ash, and it only beats Beech by a couple percent), dries faster than Sugar Maple, nothing much for a commercial market for the wood, and a lot of it is suffering from Beech Bark disease anyway.

 

[DieselnHooters]

I'm not sure what species you have to choose from in your area. Sugar Maple is very good firewood, but I wold not go so far as to say I "pick it over any other species".

Around here we have Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana - tends to be small, but packs a LOT of BTUs), Shagbark Hickory (Carya Ovata), Black Birch (Betula lenta), White Oak (Quercus alba), and Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis) all of which beat Sugar Maple for BTU content.

We also have a lot of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) which is only slightly lower than Sugar Maple in BTU content, but a good firewood choice: Lower moisture content when green (the only common tree in our area with a lower green moisture content is Ash, and it only beats Beech by a couple percent), dries faster than Sugar Maple, nothing much for a commercial market for the wood, and a lot of it is suffering from Beech Bark disease anyway.

beside black birch we do have those other species around here--I am 50km north of the border--but they are few and far between save for hophornbeam which is common but like you said is only a small understory tree just like blue beech (carpus caroliana) another widespread small high BTU tree.

sugar maple splits and dries fine and coals up better and longer than any other I have tried.

in my area it is the climax tree and all others are weeded out whenever they sprout too close to a healthy sugar maple

 

[Jstpssng]

My morning wood is Poplar, starts quick, burns hot, leaves a bed of coals so I can roll over and go back to sleep.

I believe that you have a different poplar than we do.

 

[Jstpssng]

Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana - tends to be small, but packs a LOT of BTUs), Shagbark Hickory (Carya Ovata), Black Birch (Betula lenta), White Oak (Quercus alba), and Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis) all of which beat Sugar Maple for BTU content

The only one of these I have is hornbeam, and they aren't particularly common. I'd like to find one big enough to saw out some ax handle blanks.
The first time I encountered the others was on a cruise down in Vermont. I'd been working about 3 days when the project manager called and said "I forgot to tell you that there is hickory and butternut down there".
Rats! I went to the bookstore and bought a tree ID guide, then returned to every cruise plot which had what I called ash.

 

[dadohead]

Finished processing 8 cord in April and loading into 32 pods. This is our 6th season using the pods.

No repairs to the pods at all once I affixed cleats to their bottoms and set them on treated 2x4s (that sink flush to the ground).

 

[shooterdon]

Finished processing 8 cord in April and loading into 32 pods. This is our 6th season using the pods.

View attachment 874950

No repairs to the pods at all once I affixed cleats to their bottoms and set them on treated 2x4s (that sink flush to the ground).

Is that all ash?

 

[dodge man]

Pretty fancy to have a paved area for your wood. I assume that’s just a temporary location for it?

 

[dadohead]

Yeah, it's mainly ash. Have lost alot of trees in the last few years due to the Emerald Ash Borer.

Ha! Took the shot when we finished up in April. That was our staging area... lined up like Rockettes!

 

[Rockbadchild]

for us up north not to many people burn with Aspen or poplar but during a nice afternoons if you just want to take the humidity out Aspen is nice for that … I like burning it outdoor especially during the daylight as it doesn’t sparks and pops so it is a safe wood to burn I have some on my property so it’s a nice filler wood but we much prefer burch and tamarack or even spruce.

tonight fire start up… bottom and sides with Aspen and tamarack kindling

 

[Molalla1]

for us up north not to many people burn with Aspen or poplar but during a nice afternoons if you just want to take the humidity out Aspen is nice for that … I like burning it outdoor especially during the daylight as it doesn’t sparks and pops so it is a safe wood to burn I have some on my property so it’s a nice filler wood but we much prefer burch and tamarack or even spruce.

tonight fire start up… bottom and sides with Aspen and tamarack kindling

Yep, I really prefer Tamarack also . . .

 

[Gordon Gould]

Finished processing 8 cord in April and loading into 32 pods. This is our 6th season using the pods.

View attachment 874950

No repairs to the pods at all once I affixed cleats to their bottoms and set them on treated 2x4s (that sink flush to the ground).

Very impressive seeing it all lined up like that

gg

 

[Rockbadchild]

around here all the old barns are made with aspen … they are 80/100 year old still solid but last foot is rotten out … if you want to do a wood culvert or a buried retaining wall Aspen is a great choice … can make 50 years with one made of aspen…

 

[Molalla1]

around here all the old barns are made with aspen … they are 80/100 year old still solid but last foot is rotten out … if you want to do a wood culvert or a buried retaining wall Aspen is a great choice … can make 50 years with one made of aspen…

Our forefathers knew what they were doing maybe . . .

 

[Rockbadchild]

cheers to burning wood … which is what pretty much bring all of us here !!

 

[dadohead]

I've lost a few 100 year old Sugar Maples this spring. They'll process and burn well. From memory though, they are not robust once contacting the ground and can turn punky faster than my other hardwoods? They're on the log pile now stacked on top of more robust woods. They've been on this Earth longer than I have and deserve proper treatment.

 

[wolc123]

I've lost a few 100 year old Sugar Maples this spring. They'll process and burn well. From memory though, they are not robust once contacting the ground and can turn punky faster than my other hardwoods? They're on the log pile now stacked on top of more robust woods. They've been on this Earth longer than I have and deserve proper treatment.

There are lots of sugar maples over at my parents place, which is about 20 miles away. I remember my grandfather tapping them when I was a little kid. They have about 50 acres of woods and at least 25 % of the trees there are sugar maple.

Whenever one of those goes down from the wind, I get right on it and process it into firewood. I do the same with cherry which is maybe 15 % of the wood there, and the hickory, which might be 10 %. I’d rate those as about equal as firewood, but the cherry and hickory can lay a little longer before it gets punky. Either one is way better than ash for firewood.



My 5 acres of woods at home is about 50 % dead and dying ash and that still represents the bulk of my firewood, but it is a real “treat” to get some of those others. I tend to just let the ash fall and rot in the woods, unless they are easily accessible, like the many in my hedgerows that fall into the fields. I even push some of those back into the hedgerow with my loader bucket and let them rot there.

Ash can also lay a while before they get punky. I’m just so sick of cleaning the ashes from burning them out of the wood stove that I cringe whenever I’m processing another.

I think most of the folks who say they like ash for firewood are those who have a good supply and want to sell it to others.

This was working on one of the last sugar maples I took out of my parents woods, using dad’s JD 770. It had a few tap holes in it:

It’s all cut and split and in my woodshed now, and will most likely get burnt in the winter of 26/27. I like to stay at least 3 years ahead if I am able to.

 

[arrow]

There are lots of sugar maples over at my parents place, which is about 20 miles away. I remember my grandfather tapping them when I was a little kid. They have about 50 acres of woods and at least 25 % of the trees there are sugar maple.

Whenever one of those goes down from the wind, I get right on it and process it into firewood. I do the same with cherry which is maybe 15 % of the wood there, and the hickory, which might be 10 %. I’d rate those as about equal as firewood, but the cherry and hickory can lay a little longer before it gets punky. Either one is way better than ash for firewood.



My 5 acres of woods at home is about 50 % dead and dying ash and that still represents the bulk of my firewood, but it is a real “treat” to get some of those others. I tend to just let the ash fall and rot in the woods, unless they are easily accessible, like the many in my hedgerows that fall into the fields. I even push some of those back into the hedgerow with my loader bucket and let them rot there.

Ash can also lay a while before they get punky. I’m just so sick of cleaning the ashes from burning them out of the wood stove that I cringe whenever I’m processing another.

I think most of the folks who say they like ash for firewood are those who have a good supply and want to sell it to others.

This was working on one of the last sugar maples I took out of my parents woods, using dad’s JD 770. It had a few tap holes in it:

View attachment 875044

It’s all cut and split and in my woodshed now, and will most likely get burnt in the winter of 26/27. I like to stay at least 3 years ahead if I am able to.
View attachment 875045

I have to rethink how l process firewood.
Before it was how l did it being a logger.
Skid stems to a landing, cut em, split them, stack em all right there on the wood lot.
Easy stuff when you had the acreage.
Now l have “footage”” to do so.
Have to think “small” now.