chainsaws, chopping stacking and general firewood advice pls?

[bimble]

Yep, every fire is different and constantly changing, more so when yr logs have nice odd shapes for the flames to play around. Better than Netflix. This house I’m in has an open iron range type thing the kind that was once used for cooking , not sure if that’s called a stove really.

 

[JimW]

We took a stroll along the Grand Union canal earlier - good to see the residential narrow boats with (coal) fires going , - but some had "foraged" wood on top to eke out the purchased fuel. Tidy.

I found I could forage most of what I burned in those years with it being just me heating a small space (and boiling the kettle) and surrounded by woods.

 

[davesgcr]

I found I could forage most of what I burned in those years with it being just me heating a small space (and boiling the kettle) and surrounded by woods.

Not too proud to pick up windfall stuff and cart it home by hand. "Free fuel" as I say to passers-by , who are now convinced I am eccentric. Plenty there for the taking in all sorts of places , and this is suburbia.

 

[bimble]

I used to collect the wooden (birch I think) bases from Christmas tree recycling piles, the ones with holes in the middle. Walking around London with a wheely shopping bag & a bowsaw did get a few raised eyebrows but well worth it, they burned lovely.

 

[neonwilderness]

Pallets are good for kindling once cut down into smaller pieces.

I have a small store in my shed. I’ve been tempted to build something bigger as the guy at the yard I buy my logs from keeps trying to sell me “a van full for £80”. I only use it for a garden burner and the odd trip to a camping barn though, so it’d be a bit overkill

 

[bimble]

No such thing as too many logs.

 

[bellaozzydog]

Amazing book

 

[Idaho]

Got a half load of Oak left over from last year that burns beautifully now. Got a load of mixed hardwood last month (for next year), and a load of those compressed briquettes which work really well combined with the oak.

House is pretty well insulated so we only use the fire when it's close to freezing. Only had a couple of fires so far this year.

 

[Duncan2]

It is nice if you are in a position to plan ahead .Probably the easiest way to get a substantial supply of genuinely combustible firewood is to pile it up in six-foot lengths as soon as its cut.Pretty soon you will find that you always have a pile that has spent a year or more exposed to the prevailing wind.That will generally burn wonderfully-well.Failing that if your wood doesn't want to burn you can usually help it along by chopping it into billets.

 

[friedaweed]

Think of how much wood you will need.

Triple that amount.

Triple it again.

Now add a bit.

I thought that when i looked at the op.

"So what will you burn on Sunday then"

 

[weltweit]

Building a log store warms you twice, once when splitting and when burning

 

[weltweit]

I second the be careful with a chainsaw, they are dangerous and it helps if you know how they work and what to look out for. Do you have a petrol or an electric one?

 

[Duncan2]

Building a log store warms you twice, once when splitting and when burning

I have found that sheep-wire comes in handy for log-store construction.

 

[bimble]

I thought that when i looked at the op.

"So what will you burn on Sunday then"

It’s a work in progress .
Goes up to ceiling almost now.

 

[friedaweed]

It’s a work in progress .
Goes up to ceiling almost now.

It's a good effort mate, I was just kidding. We're waiting to move into our welsh cottage in the new year and he have a wood attached to it so I'm very interested in the thread. I've had the book, the chainsaw and the log burner now for a number of years but have managed to escape the pants

The book is a treat

 

[bimble]

Excellent. Looking forward to your woodpile, he of the wavy shelves.

 

[friedaweed]

Excellent. Looking forward to your woodpile, he of the wavy shelves.

We have a very large Scots Pine which is listing on a bank and we have been told it needs felling however we will be moving into a conservation area so I'm meeting the conservation tree man in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping we will have a wood pile well worthy of mention if all comes to plan. Plus one or two more wonky shelves

The wife wont let me touch the monkey puzzle tree though

 

[mx wcfc]

We have a very large Scots Pine which is listing on a bank and we have been told it needs felling however we will be moving into a conservation area so I'm meeting the conservation tree man in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping we will have a wood pile well worthy of mention if all comes to plan. Plus one or two more wonky shelves

The wife wont let me touch the monkey puzzle tree though

I was told not to burn pine. It has more resin than hard wood? This either spits lumps out of the fire, or evaporates and sticks to the inside of the chimney and causes a chimney fire?

Not sure how reliable that advice was though. Presumably it's a bit safer in a stove than on an open fire.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Don't burn elder wood or a witch will sit on your chimney. Only piece of advice I ever got, so just passing it on.

Yew wood is probably a bad idea too.

 

[davesgcr]

Always worth saving the wood chips in a bucket or similar - when dry , great for pulling the fire round. Same principle as biomass.

(and of course , good clean wood ash can always be put into a compost heap - pure(ish) potash after all.

 

[bimble]

In todays thrilling wood-related news I have found out that these exist, for clamping logs into your workbench so that you don't need to have a friend to hold them whilst you saw. The postman is eagerly awaited.

 

[Libertad]

This may have been a safer choice:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-loggers-mate-24cm-log-capacity-log-saw-horse/76387

 

[bimble]

true but its all getting a bit expensive, even before the kevlar chaps. Will only be using with the bowsaw for now so should be ok.

 

[Duncan2]

I was told not to burn pine. It has more resin than hard wood? This either spits lumps out of the fire, or evaporates and sticks to the inside of the chimney and causes a chimney fire?

Not sure how reliable that advice was though. Presumably it's a bit safer in a stove than on an open fire.

Really don't think there is any problem with pine as a source of firewood.It grows quickly is easy to split and smells beautiful as it burns.We once had quite a dramatic chimney fire but that was because we thought that chimney sweeps were an unnecessary expense.The Scots Pine is a noble tree though and far too good to be chopped down for fire-wood.

 

[mx wcfc]

Really don't think there is any problem with pine as a source of firewood.It grows quickly is easy to split and smells beautiful as it burns.We once had quite a dramatic chimney fire but that was because we thought that chimney sweeps were an unnecessary expense.The Scots Pine is a noble tree though and far too good to be chopped down for fire-wood.

I wouldn't burn pine on an open fire, personally. My sister used to, because she had pine trees, but the pine logs did spit so much that she really, really needed the fire guard. Silver Birch grows quick too and seems to be what the commercial log places round here use.

 

[rubbershoes]

Got loads more in the log store outside

 

[mx wcfc]

Got loads more in the log store outside

View attachment 189080

Bloke I know who stacked his firewood around his log burner damned nearly had his house burn down when it started smouldering.....

 

[Idaho]

Is that wood pile a bit too close to the stove Mr Shoes?

 

[rubbershoes]

Is that wood pile a bit too close to the stove Mr Shoes?

We don't use that burner till it gets really cold. We keep the wood there to use in the other burner as there's not really the storage room by the other

 

[rubbershoes]

More wood