New to wood burning

[johnM]

For those of you who haven't been following the saga OH (Annpan) has been keeping you up to date with our stove story, well it's here now and we're going to have to get organised so here are a couple of questions regarding fuel.

What's the best design of log store for at least 10 cubic meters?

It is becoming aparent that we should get a chainsaw if we want to gather our own logs, does anyone have any recommendations on this?

We have a small axe, is it worth investing in a larger one or a maul?

Discuss

Cheers

John

[Clara]

Mr Clara is a tree surgeon and swears by Stihl saws, but whatever you get DON´T buy an electric one or he´ll have to come ´round and have words!!!!! But seriously, chainsaws are dangerous enough without adding an electric cable into the equation.

Don´t forget your protective gear either - trousers, boots, gloves and eyewear. And preferably a day course on how to use your saw safely. All this might seem like overkill, but I can send you photos of what happened when Mr Clara forgot to wear his gloves one day

You´ll also want a log splitter.

Happy woodburning!

[red]

get yourself a lovely new bow saw. and a huge axe. and sharpening stone.

we hand saw and chop our wood. (thats the logs. the pallets have to be walloped with a sledge hammer)

[colhut]

I would recommend a long handled axe for log splitting. I've been told that "grenades" are also good for splitting logs (it is a cone of metal, unlike a wedge splitter it lets the log split in whatever direction it is weakest in) but never tried one myself as the axe works fine.

[Thomzo]

For your log store I would recommend finding somewhere under cover for about a week's worth of wood. The rest can go somewhere sheltered outside. You are aiming to drain it of the sap rather that get the water out. If it can all be under cover then great but it must have good ventilation otherwise the logs will just rot. Try to get it up off the ground if you can or sacrifice the bottom row of logs.

I keep my firewood in heaps around the garden, under bushes and so on for a couple of years and just bring enough for a month at a time into the car port. An old shopping trolley, chucked out by Sainsbury's, is perfect for storing it inside as it provides loads of ventilation.

Zoe

[Muddypause]

For splitting you won't do better that a decent maul, which is designed to split logs along the grain; it cleaves them better and is less likely to get jammed than a thinner bladed cutting or felling axe. These are better for cutting across the grain, though they will work for splitting if it's all you have.

Buy the heaviest one you can comfortably swing, but not so heavy that it tires you out after a few swings - not unless you are specifically aiming to develop your upper body muscles.

[Jack]

Gidday

Before you even think about getting a chain saw, get some training on how to use the,.

They are one of the most dangerous tools ever invented. A chainsaw will never cut you, it will just tear bloody great huncks out of you so you cannot be just stitched up but will have to have grafts to fill the holes.

[Martin]

and also, chain saws use a petrol/oil mix (quite a lot of it!), and they make an horrendous racket - it may be worth your while to look on Ebay for a pukka sawbench - you can sometimes find them complete with aged Petter or Lister diesel to power them (used chipfat job!)
I'd echo Jack's caution - chain and bench saws are fearsomely dangerous things - be a devout coward, and go for complete Kevlar armour! If using a sawbench, always use a "sacrificial pusher" (a bit of wood to push the logs in), chop the end of that off it doesn't matter too much!

[Wombat]

When I was in the State Emergency Services, the guys who knew chainsaws also said "Stihl"

But only the larger ones, the smaller householder type models are evidently crap.....

Nev

[Millymollymandy]

Get an electric hydraulic log splitter as it will save you countless hours of time not to mention energy.

Personally I would store all the wood for a whole winter under cover, as once it is rain wet it will take ages to dry out. Wet and unseasoned wood don't burn well and you'll use much less wood if it is both dry and very well seasoned i.e. couple of years.

[Martin]

dryness is all important! - here's the recommendations of the woodburner stove company who's products we supply -

"Lighting and Loading Fuel Wood.

1. Always burn dry wood (logged and chopped, stored in a dry airy store for minimum of 2-5 years - the dryer the better.
2. Always burn wood on a good bed of ashes, the more the better only take out part of the ashes when the appliance allows spilage from the fire door.
3. Always run the appliance hard after loading with fresh fuel for 15 - 30 minutes to establish a good hot fuel bed, before closing down for the night.

4. If when you return to the stove after a period of slumber, the door has tar deposits forming then the fuel load was either not hot enough, or too wet - or a little of both!!"

[frozenthunderbolt]

If you want to go the chainsaw way, get the smallest petrol drivenone with the logest bar that you can on it - you can get a range or bars and chains that are generaly interchangeable within the same brand, do check though.

Low power means that if it does slip it will choke on your clothes /chaps more quickly and cut out beofore cutting you. i never wear chaps, i should but dont, have had my little beast slip once in the 5 years ive been using it an it ate my jeans by the synthetic boxer underwear i was wearing choked it within seconds - i was lucky and only lost a wee bit of skin.

DO invest in AND wear the best protective.

Long bar means you can cut bigger logs or build a parrallell fram of posts like this : : : : andstach multiple branches between them then cut through them all at once instead of one at a time.

Low power with a long bar means it wont cut them fast (relative to a high power chainee), but it will get through them safely and faster than a hand saw.

dont use a table saw to cut fire wood. just dont. limited depth to the cut it can make, if you change the angle of entry for cutting the wood then you can potentialy shatter the blade and send shrapnel flying through the air/house/garrage/body. and it wears out the motor too fast.

my 2c . . .

[johnM]

Thanks for all the advice, have went off the chainsaw idea a bit now and will give the bow-saw, axe and grenade splitting log a go.

Trying to decide on a design for a log store, we plan to run it parrallel to the boundry about one foot from the hedge. Using vertical fence posts every six feet front and back, pallets at the base to allow for air circulation and over three compartments to allow for rotation and to keep track of seasoning.

The roof will be fixed to the top of the posts, however I'm not sure what the best way to build this is and what material to use, I don't have any sheet material to hand and would like it to be fairly attractive as it's quite near the house, any suggestions?

Thanks again

John

[Bukormen]

1. Hand tools are better than motor, because they last longer, are cheaper to run, can be used in rain. Motor is noisy and very dangerous.

2. A electric chain saw is safe to use. I have used axe and to-mans sawes and electric and peterol saws. I prefer axe and to-mans saw.

3. A cheap motor splitter is not fun to use. Noisy and you have to bend down all the time. A cheap will not last many seasons unless you care more for tools than other things in life. (Do not forget a power tool outside in the rain...)

4. A nice shed is made of pallets. A layer of pallets for floor and open walls with a roof over. The walls should let the air through, if this does not happen it will take a long time to dry...
Do not stake the long piles to near each other. The air must run along the piles.

5. If you have a lot off wood and land, let the wood dry where it is cut. Cut longs in winter and bring them home in late autum. No need to have a roof over them before autum time.

6. A two-man saw is very cheap to buy and easy to use. You and a friend get healthy while listning to the birds singing... If it rains you can still saw. It is easy to start work and easy to end work. With power tools you have to drag them out and drag them back in again.

For those of you who haven't been following the saga OH (Annpan) has been keeping you up to date with our stove story, well it's here now and we're going to have to get organised so here are a couple of questions regarding fuel.

What's the best design of log store for at least 10 cubic meters?

It is becoming aparent that we should get a chainsaw if we want to gather our own logs, does anyone have any recommendations on this?

We have a small axe, is it worth investing in a larger one or a maul?

Discuss

Cheers

John

[wulf]

Me, I love working through a pile of sawn logs with an axe:



Mind you, I only get to do that once in a while, when I visit my parents and then only have to do enough to provide a fire to warm the living room for the evening rather than all the heating in the whole house.

However, I do love the mixture of physical exercise (swinging the axe, etc) and mental exercise (working out where best to aim for in order to minimise the work and get a good clean split).

Wulf