Firewood: Splitting Season Has Arrived

by Dan Buckley

I love cutting down trees and chopping them up. It really gives me that woodsman feeling that I can't get enough of. I love sitting around a campfire in the summer until its so black out you can only see those around it. When I bought my house, one of the big selling points was the two sided fireplace. I stack my chopped wood next to my garage and wait in anticipation of the temp to fall to freezing so that I can make my first fire of the season. The exercise is great and November has the perfect temps to be doing such hard work. If you're like me, follow a few simple suggestions I've picked up:

Keep your eyes open.

I would never suggest cutting down a perfectly good, healthy tree to serve your need for a good fire. Besides, dead wood will age faster anyway. Do yourself a favor though and keep your eyes peeled while you're in the fields or on the road, for dead trees. If you own much land at all or know someone who does, there is almost always a tree or two that could use taking out. If you don't know someone, stop by the old farm house you pass that has a dead or downed tree by the road and ask that if you cut it up, you can have the wood. A great tip is to offer to plant a sapling in its place. Its a dollar or two that could be worth $100 in wood.

Choose the right type for the right situation

For burning outside, you can use anything. Any old tree will work for a campfire, and while your harder wood will burn longer your soft wood is great to start the fire or to make flames. For inside though, you'll want only hard wood. Not only that, you'll want something with low smoke. Last year I burned quite a bit of elm which turned out to be smokey and if the fire wasn't hot enough it would roll back into the room. I've learned my lesson though and look for oak wherever I can. Oak will burn hot, long and with low smoke. Its perfect for your indoor fireplace.

Think ahead when you're cutting

I know when you get that chainsaw in your hand its hard to distract you with actually thinking, but try to keep in mind what the wood will be used for later on. Ideally you'll cut the wood into chunks no larger than 18-20 inches long. This is so that they fit into your fireplace conveniently. You don't want to have to build your fire around the huge piece you cut way too long. Also when you're splitting the wood, remember that while the big thick chunks burn a long time, they need a hot fire under them and they won't flame up much at all. Sometimes quartering a log isn't enough. You should make sure at least half of your wood is cut small enough to start a fire with. If not, you'll be burning through kindling like there's no tomorrow. To make the splitting process easier on yourself, saw one short flat log from the trunk to use as a base to set your splitting wood on. Wear a good pair of gloves and pick up a maul at your local hardware store. After you're done splitting, pick up all the chips left behind too. If you soak them you can use them in your meat smoker later.

Plan for the future

You'll only want to burn aged wood indoors. One year is the minimum, but two or three is the perfect aging time. So this year, you should be cutting wood for next year or later. While aging the wood, keep it covered when possible and definitely off the soil. You don't want mold or rotten wood in your house. I keep mine stacked just under the overhang of my roof and stack on top of a bed of sticks. You also want to plant trees to replace the wood you've taken. Cutting out an old dead tree leaves room for the saplings to grow. If there isn't at least one planted already put one in. So often we plant softwood trees because the grow quicker and provide more cover. Think hardwood when you want years of burning for future generations.