I take great pleasure in cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking and storing fire wood. And then enjoying the fires with it. I find it therapeutic. Cold morning here - about 14 deg. F. I have a great stockpile of seasoned hardwood, which I have all mixed together, and today I am burning mostly hickory. Happy Saturday to all!

I always got a little pleasure out of it too. However it never lasted past one cord. It’s one of those things that give you instant pleasure. Like painting a room or mowing the lawn. Not many things give instant pleasure. Most times we don’t see the end results.

Throw some meat over a fire and you got my attention.

When I used to live in northern Michigan I heated with wood full time with a wood burning furnace in the basement with a blower tied into the heat ducts of my gas furnace. It worked exceptionally well with it's own thermostat. In later years I just used a cast iron stove in my living room, it too worked well at providing good dry heat. Nothing feels better than warming up to a nice wood fire in the harsh winter months.

I completely agree. I regard quality hardwood firewood as a nearly holy thing.

I enjoy it- it's good thinking time while you work.

Wednesday I dropped a good sized Ash, cut it up, split, and stacked it. About 1/2 a cord.

I agree

After a long cold day at work, hanging out around the wood burner with the dogs close by is pretty relaxing.

My wife and I would fall, cut and split our firewood for years in our younger years. We'd go up to the deep woods in Northeast Wa. with our travel trailer and pickup with racks and spend weekends till we got 3-4 cords for winter. It was hard but rewarding work and we enjoyed it. We're in our 70's now so we have to buy it every year now.

Jim

Just finished a start on next year's wood. New 25ton splitter picked up today, wife said Merry Christmas!
Do not have an addiction to cutting and splitting, but do have an addiction to warmth!
Wood is our primary heat, electric is secondary. Primary wood here in the Hills is ponderosa pine, some cottonwood, considered hardwood , but sure produces a lot of ash for the warmth it gives. Previously before the move here, primary wood was oak, ash, and black locust, with hickory available. Quite a difference from ponderosa pine and cottonwood, but one uses what is available.

Can you deliver a cord of oak to northern AZ? Every one of our regular sources is out.

I too used to love what you described related to the wood prep-work.... Now I use a wood pellet heater in the shop but I have a brand new $1000 wood burner still strapped to the factory pallet that I picked up last year at my local Lowes on a 75% off sale...Yup - $249....Going to go into my next shop and because I am older now my plan is to buy the cut offs from the local hardwood pallet company.....No cutting just grab some blocks and go...A 10 yard dump truck costs $125 delivered and dumped on your property....Nothing more relaxing than a beautiful fire in a fire box...Mark

quote:

Originally posted by az4783054:
Can you deliver a cord of oak to northern AZ? Every one of our regular sources is out.

Luckily that shit grows on trees around here.

Count me in, basking in the condensed sunshine of PNW old growth fir, or various hardwoods.

After nearly 50 years hand splitting for a couple seasons ahead, I bought an electric splitting machine last spring. Fabulous. This is the inertial flywheel type, 1.5 second ram time. No noise, no waiting. Just fine heat. And no shoulder twinges this year.

We have been burning wood since 1986. bought one load of wood, still in "log form". As I recall, that is the only time we bought any.

Met a guy at the landfill who was offloading nice chunks of wood cut to length but unsplit.

The land fill was charging him by the pound to let him dump it, I suggested that he follow me home and off load it there. He did. Brought a few more loads over a few weeks.

Since then we have burned wood from our 4.3 acres of "old growth" trees. Only cutting up that which needed it.

I split it by hand for a couple years and got tired of fighting knotty oak and bought a 26 ton splitter.

Come spring I will have to take down 3 dead-standing trees and split them up.

We have a 53 acre timbered plot down by South Boston, mostly old growth and hardwood. May have to resort to hauling firewood from there. Long drive, But with my truck and a nice trailer I can haul a couple cords each trip.

There's a place down on US 42 that makes a living selling cut and split wood. He's not cheap, but often has black walnut mixed in. I separate it out and stack it in a different pile. It smells great, kind of like black cherry. I'm out of it now, but guess I need another load. Wish I was rich like you guys and had a big $ splitter. I've got a bunch of cherry rounds that need splitting. My Harbor freight electric won't split anything much. Guess I need to set it out at the curb. Older son says he wants it, but won't haul it away.

It is a lot of work.

I don't burn wood, but I have been cutting up oak trees that fell during last years heavy rains and wind, and previous years.

People in this area are so lazy, they won't even take free cut up wood. I am not about to load it for them especially after cutting it up. Years ago, people were stealing wood. Nowadays, it's hard finding some one in my area that burns wood.

I agree, wood heat is a heat unlike any other, I guess it evokes mankind's primal senses.

I’m a firewood addict too. I like the house at 77.

Even though I’m not in the northern bush, I seem to sniff out plenty of firewood. I plan to cut today or tomorrow. A local contact has a large oak down.

I’m about two years out with my woodpile. Years ago the power company came to check my meter, wasn’t buying enough natural gas.

I did treat myself to my own log splitter a handful of years back. I had borrowed a buddies or split a lot by hand. This way I can now take my time.

I have my hierarchy of wood but will take most. Hickory is at the top, I haven’t used Willow in decades.

We also love our fireplace. Every spring I cut up about two cords of wood. As I get older, the job does get a little tougher. A few years back I got a 25 ton log splitter and that made a huge difference, but there is still a good deal of work.

One of these years I just won't be able to get that job done but I don't worry about it.

Good friend is the same way.. his wife refers to him as the wood nazi....

I grew up with an open fireplace and still like a fire.... nothing like it... woodstoves and heating with wood becomes work for sure.... is a bit different than an open fire but still has its place.

I can say all this because I've spent the last 37 years in fireplaces and messing with wood stoves.

I'm a certified chimney sweep:
Chimney Safety Institute Of America #599
Doctor of Chimney Science S.C.C.S.G.

I can't bring myself to burn oak, hickory maple or any of the good hardwoods unless it's being used for cooking. For recreational sitting around drinking beer fires it's slab wood pine or dead fall birch and popple hauled out of the woods.