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General Site Info => General Discussion => Topic started by: zieg85 on January 10, 2013, 05:12:02 PM
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Hello everyone, I just had 2 huge (3+foot in diameter) oak trees cut down to make way for a new shop planned for this spring to be built. I am wanting to know if it would be better to split the wood now or let it age till the spring and then split it. I know I can't use it for at least a year anyway and would have to rent a splitter to do the work. Any lumberjack/firewood experts please chime in as I am a newbie at this. Thanks in advance.
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It will actually split very well if it is frozen, so if you get a nice long cold spell take the opportunity to split some otherwise see if you can keep as much off the ground as possible till spring.
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Oak takes a few years to season properly. I agree with Da67goatman about wood splitting easier in the winter. Get it split as soon as you can to start the process. With 3' diameter oak make sure you get a splitter that works vertically. Stack it outside with something just over the top so the air and sunshine get it, this will speed up the seasoning process more than putting it right in the wood shed. Once that oak is ready to burn you will have some High Performance firewood!
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Thanks for the advice! I will arrange it ASAP but it will be a couple of weeks, it is raining real hard and have been unusually warm for Chicagoland being in the 40's and 50's this time of year.
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I've found that with rounds that large, its easier to split the sides off by hand, then split the heart with a hydraulic splitter. Red oak is useable in a year of good open seasoning, same for pin oak, and after 5 years from splitting, both are too dry nearly unusable in a normal woodstove/fireplace, but are fine in an OWB. Black oak takes 5 years to season well, at a minimum. And white oak is mostly useless as firewood. Ever have that chunk of wood in your stove that just wont go away? Thats white oak.
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I've found that with rounds that large, its easier to split the sides off by hand, then split the heart with a hydraulic splitter. Red oak is useable in a year of good open seasoning, same for pin oak, and after 5 years from splitting, both are too dry nearly unusable in a normal woodstove/fireplace, but are fine in an OWB. Black oak takes 5 years to season well, at a minimum. And white oak is mostly useless as firewood. Ever have that chunk of wood in your stove that just wont go away? Thats white oak.
Good to know
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Did the extra tire came stock on the hood of the purple car? Lol
:P jk
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Looks like red oak by the pics, I can tell by smell easier than by appearance. Smell in the split/unseasoned stage differs a bit from the seasoned stage, and neither is describable. Red oak with the bark burns with an almost musky scent until the bark burns off and the split dries completely, then takes on a mildly sweet smell as it burns. White oak smolders and smokes, but produces a WONDERFUL sweet smoke. Pin oak smells like Ash, which burns with a bit of heavy smoke that leaves an almost bitter smell in your nose. Black oak smells nasty when its burning.
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hope ya get it split and stacked......but want the details on the new shop!! :)
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Looks like red oak by the pics, I can tell by smell easier than by appearance. Smell in the split/unseasoned stage differs a bit from the seasoned stage, and neither is describable. Red oak with the bark burns with an almost musky scent until the bark burns off and the split dries completely, then takes on a mildly sweet smell as it burns. White oak smolders and smokes, but produces a WONDERFUL sweet smoke. Pin oak smells like Ash, which burns with a bit of heavy smoke that leaves an almost bitter smell in your nose. Black oak smells nasty when its burning.
Yes they are red oak and my back yard smells amazing right now.
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X2 on the splitting it sooner than later, and stacking it with just the top covered. Old metal roofing with some weight on top of it, or tied down somehow works well for this. Good thing about using metal roofing is you can leave an over hang. Keeps the rain, and snow off it better than a tarp.
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hope ya get it split and stacked......but want the details on the new shop!! :)
Plans are undecided. Leaning toward a 32x64x12 pole barn but am going to price a stick built L shaped garage because I only need the 12 high in the area over the planned Bend Pak lift.
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hope ya get it split and stacked......but want the details on the new shop!! :)
Plans are undecided. Leaning toward a 32x64x12 pole barn but am going to price a stick built L shaped garage because I only need the 12 high in the area over the planned Bend Pak lift.
Zieg, have you looked at any of the prefab metal shops ? All you have to do is the ground work, and with a lot of them you can dress up the sides so you can't really tell it's a metal building.
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hope ya get it split and stacked......but want the details on the new shop!! :)
Plans are undecided. Leaning toward a 32x64x12 pole barn but am going to price a stick built L shaped garage because I only need the 12 high in the area over the planned Bend Pak lift.
Zieg, have you looked at any of the prefab metal shops ? All you have to do is the ground work, and with a lot of them you can dress up the sides so you can't really tell it's a metal building.
I am open to looking at anything. I have looked into Armstrong Steel but they won't give me a contractor in my area to see the labor costs. All my additions and stuff I have done to this point has been a little here a little there as funds permit. This shop has to be turn key however I have it done. I am going to have to know what to budget and what I have to arrange before I start. FBI buildings is where I am going to start, they have some good representations in my area. I can't hit a nail like I used to be able to do or I would just do it myself.
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I can't hit a nail like I used to be able to do or I would just do it myself.
I understand what you mean. I use to be the person who did everything because why pay someone when I can learn and do it myself. That way I new it was done right.
Now I weigh how much I will hurt afterwords and if it is worth it to me. Sometimes you just got to get help or have someone else do it all together.
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Bake, I have to pick my battles. If I am to pursue my hobby/hobbies I have to have a place to do them in. I have found quite a bit of things I can't do anymore or at least feel unsafe doing them at times. This I am finding as I mend and take on bigger things to do. Last thing I want to do it hurt myself in the process but also have to push myself to gain strength and muscle tone.
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One more thing I would add to splitting, unless you're real friendly with your current maul, is get a high velocity maul like a Fiskars splitting axe, especially if you're dealing with shoulder/back problems or blood pressure related issues. With a torn rotator cuff, I can't swing an 8 or 12 lb maul with enough velocity to split wood efficiently, at least without REALLY regretting doing so. Even a 6 lb maul is rough. My fiskars x27 only weighs a bit over 4 lbs, and is very easy to swing with a lot of speed, and with a compound split shape, splits very aggressively. If I get a VERY stubborn piece, I give it a couple good solid whacks with the maul, and set my wedge in the piece and "drop" my 12lb sledge on it to finish the split. I had to split all last winter with a 3 lb chopping axe because my shoulder injury was fairly fresh, and swinging a 6 lb maul was completely out of the question. It wasn't until after the heating season I discovered the Fiskars maul.
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Definitely splitting it while it is green is my recommendation. It gets considerably more difficult to split later. I'm a thrice heat kinda guy...I manually split with wedges and a maul. Maybe I'm just stubborn...no wait...I am stubborn! ;D I enjoy it!!