cutting down / cutting up trees

[Konstabel Els]

when is the best time to do this

a) for cutting trees down b) for cutting the logs into pieces small enough for an open fire

[Morris Dovey]

Assuming you want the wood for fireplace or stove, two years before you need to burn them.

[Keith Nuttle]

My father used to say any time the knife was sharp. ie. saw, ax, etc.

I personally like to cut them when it is not so hot and humid. Meaning early spring or late fall, depending on where you live

[spaco]

Daytime.

Other than that, they say that the "sap is down" when the tree is dormant in most cases. This might mean they'd have less moisture.

Around here, they say that the white ash is one of the few trees that burns well when green.

Pick a time of year when you can work comfortably and still get the tree out of the woods. I never cut or split trees in the summer unless its an emergency. Down to about zero °F is best for me. I guess that says "winter", but not January.

Pete Stanaitis

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K> when is the best time to do this

[Morris Dovey]

Elm burns like the graveyard mould, Even the very flames are cold! Apple wood will scent your room, With incense-like perfume. Oak and maple, if dry and old, Keep away the winter's cold. But ash wood wet or ash wood dry, A king will warm his slippers by.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Right after the storm knocks them down. If you have a choice, I prefer after the leaves fall. Weather is cooler, less leaves to fuss with. As for spitting, I prefer to wait a while and let it dry a bit. Best, IMO, is when the logs are frozen and they "pop" with a couple of hits of a heavy maul.

[Hammer Hands]

Nice verse Morris!!

Morris Dovey wrote in news:4a454def$0$87067$815e3792 @news.qwest.net:

[Swingman]

Beechwood fires are bright and clear If the logs are kept a year. Chestnut?s only good, they say, If for long ?tis laid away.

Hard to beat olde English poetry for going right to the hea(r)t of the matter. :)

[Morris Dovey]

Yessir - and thank you for the lines I hadn't heard before!

[Konstabel Els]

straight away ?

[Tanus]

Around here, where there are cottage industries for firewood, wood is cut down in mid to late winter, snow is on the ground, but temps are a bit reasonable.

The people I know who are in the business split as soon as they've cut to length. So from the time the tree is standing til it's split and piled could be a matter of days, or even the same day if they're really hauling.

Although two years seems to be conventional knowledge for letting wood air after it's been stacked, I've had success with same year wood. ie, the wood is cut and split in March and it's in my woodstove in November. I also have some two and three year old wood. While it does burn a bit better, it's not something I notice that much.

YMMV

Tanus

[Ross Hebeisen]

is this olde English? When I'm dead and in my grave no more pussy will I crave on my tombstone I want written I've had my share and I'm not shitt'n if by chance you pass me by just piss on my I'm always dry. ross

[Swingman]

Sounds more Harvard, or Princeton ...

[Martin H. Eastburn]

If the tree is cut in winter - e.g. sap down in the roots - the turn around time is much shorter. I've burnt wood the same winter - a month or less seasoning.

Mart> >>> when is the best time to do this

[Konstabel Els]

I guess it depends on the wood type, soft woods being ready sooner. What I am trying to understand is, as I'm splitting manually, will I use more energy to split the wood when wet, or should I wait for the wood to dry out a bit, since the wood will start splitting itself after a couple of months.

[Tanus]

It's easier to split if it's dried out a bit - you're right. If you live in northern climates, it's even easier if you wait til a good freeze.

Tanus

[Morris Dovey]

... and easier still if you do it with a powered hydraulic splitter. :)

[Lew Hodgett]

Better yet, let someone else do the job while enjoying a cold one on the beach under a cocoanut tree in someplace like the Fiji.

Lew

[Tanus]

And easiest yet if you have a neighbour with a splitter and way too much time on his hands. Sadly, I have neither.

Tanus

[Morris Dovey]

I'd split about 30 cords (about half elm) before I bought a splitter. If you have any quantity to split, it might be worth locating one to rent

- they do save a /lot/ of work.

Heh. I had a couple of neighbors (not exactly with time on their hands, they /made/ time to come over) help me cut up about a dozen trees that'd been knocked flat in a storm. One of 'em brought a home-built frame that had a 30" circular blade (with no guard, of course) that was pulley driven from his WD45 PTO.

I think I was in my late 30's and both of these guys were in their early

70's. I'd already limbed the down trees, and one of these gents would drag a branch over to the saw, and the two of us at the saw would swing the branch into the blade - brannnnggg! I'd toss the cutoff up onto the growing pile and reach to catch the cut end of the branch coming at me to do it again. By suppertime the pile looked like a small mountain and I was sure I'd set a new record for fatigue - but the old guys were still looking pretty spry when they headed for home.

I've always thought it was a minor miracle that I still had both hands at the end of the day.