Big 'un

I just tipped over a huge cottonwood this afternoon. close to 5 feet across where I cut it off. I think that's the biggest tree I have fallen. It pretty much exploded when it hit the ground, it's been dead for several years. I'll be cutting/splitting for a week. cottonwood isn't my first choice but it's close to the house and I pushed all the snow back with the tractor so I can work on bare ground.

We always cut red oak as first choice for firewood growing up in east Texas
Second choice was whatever died close to our house
We had a troybilt tiller that had a log splitter to hook up to it
I loaned it to my nephew, still works great
That sure saved a lot of work
The best chainsaw back then was a Partner with a bow on it
We used it for firewood and cutting pulp wood
I have a Husqvarna 455 Rancher now, it seems as good as the Partner but I cant get a bow for it anymore
They told me they quit making them as they were to dangerous
having used a bow i know the bar is the most dangerous
Sounds like your cotton wood was just about a widowmaker being that big and dead two years
Goodluck with it, you've got your work cut out for you

I prefer oak or ash but screwed around getting oak and now there is too much snow to get around. I had to chain up and go get the splitter from where I was cutting oak. I have about a cord and a half of hardwood left but it isn't enough. Cottonwood burns clean but only has about half the BTUs of oak. Bois de Arc is supposed to have the most but I never tried to cut any, we don't have it here. I've also never used a bow saw, I think Baileys still has them. That little 455 Husky is a great saw, I've had a couple. I use a Stihl 036 Pro with a 28 inch bar. I used to have an old Poulan 3400 countervibe that I cut firewood with. I probably cut over 100 cords with it. It was a great saw and had the manual oiler in addition to the automatic one so you could pour the oil to it in dry wood.

Are they hauling a lot of beetle kill pine in for firewood in your area JB? The forest service here was basically giving all they could away to people.

I know a few people who burn pine, I don't much care for it.

I have cut alot of Bois D arc, Just imagine cutting a cross tie standing straight up that is as hard as a 2-3 year old dead walnut. Yes they burn great but seems like they had a unpleasant smell.
Our backup or second saw was an old 10-10 Mc Collough with a bow on it. Got to were you couldn't get parts for it so when it broke and that was often we'd just buy one in the pawn shop for parts.
I can't wait for retirement and get back to east Texas

I'll take lodgepole pine anyday! It's so nice and clean to burn! I don't need the high btu's of larch or even doug fir here, our house is small and very well insulated. We've got LOTS of beetle kill right close, and it's easy to get to, so that's what comes through the door.
I like Doug Fir or Larch for the outside boiler for the shop, as I don't have much chimney on that, so not to worry about kreosote buildup.
Yellow Pine or Ponderosa isn't great....burns cold and lots of ash, not to mention is a bitch to split, but if there's one in the way, it goes to the boiler to get mixed in with the good wood.
Sounds like you have your work cut out for ya JB...was that cottonwood solid or pretty much punk in the middle??

that's a big-ass tree---did it get the adrenaline up???


bodark(sp) & hackberry -- you can watch the sparks fly off the chain--those things are hard as a rock

hardtailjohn wrote:I'll take lodgepole pine anyday! It's so nice and clean to burn! I don't need the high btu's of larch or even doug fir here, our house is small and very well insulated. We've got LOTS of beetle kill right close, and it's easy to get to, so that's what comes through the door.
I like Doug Fir or Larch for the outside boiler for the shop, as I don't have much chimney on that, so not to worry about kreosote buildup.
Yellow Pine or Ponderosa isn't great....burns cold and lots of ash, not to mention is a bitch to split, but if there's one in the way, it goes to the boiler to get mixed in with the good wood.
Sounds like you have your work cut out for ya JB...was that cottonwood solid or pretty much punk in the middle??

It only had about 6" in the middle of the stump that wasn't solid. A few of the limbs have a little rot in the middle where there was an old wound but it's mostly real solid. I've been burning some rounds last night and today, seems to burn pretty good.
Our pine here is ponderosa I believe. It soots up pretty bad if you run the stove choked down, lots of chimney fires with people who burn it. I've never had a chimney fire, but I do open my stove up and let it get real hot a few times a week so nothing builds up too bad.

Yeah JD, tipping one of those over is dangerous as hell, a widow maker can come out. You definitely keep an eye to the top when felling one, and be ready to run. I make sure and clear a good path and have my way out planned.

I cut a couple of big slash pines off our farm that fire had killed
I tied a rope around me and had my son keep his eyes up on the tree holding the rope
Told him to give it a good jerk if one of those big limbs moved any at all
I was going to run like hell after I looked back to see if I was running the right way
We only have bull pine and slash pine here. Loved finding those big pine knots for fire starters

Cottonwood, Bois D arc and hackberry don't grow around here. We have a few varietes of pine but most people don't burn it. Locust burns slow and hot. Has a bit of an odd smell but not unbearable. It's getting harder to find since red ants love to eat the bark. Best to cut it green. After it's down 6 months or so it's like cutting concrete. Absolute hell on chains.

AlleyCat wrote:Cottonwood, Bois D arc and hackberry don't grow around here. We have a few varietes of pine but most people don't burn it. Locust burns slow and hot. Has a bit of an odd smell but not unbearable. It's getting harder to find since red ants love to eat the bark. Best to cut it green. After it's down 6 months or so it's like cutting concrete. Absolute hell on chains.

Is that the one that has big bean pods?

willowbilly3 wrote:

AlleyCat wrote:Cottonwood, Bois D arc and hackberry don't grow around here. We have a few varietes of pine but most people don't burn it. Locust burns slow and hot. Has a bit of an odd smell but not unbearable. It's getting harder to find since red ants love to eat the bark. Best to cut it green. After it's down 6 months or so it's like cutting concrete. Absolute hell on chains.

Is that the one that has big bean pods?

Yes honey locust has bean pods. Honey locust top out about 70 feet or so. Black locust will grow 100+ feet. Both are good heat. They can be banked like coal and a good wood stove or furnace fighter can set up a fire to last all night.

Dosn't the Honey locust have those big 6" thorns on it?

CJ,s 67 F100 wrote:
Dosn't the Honey locust have those big 6" thorns on it?

All the locust I've seen have short, rock hard thorns. Crab apple trees have thorns that can grow up to 2" or so. Any of them can punch holes in most tires.

Hell I burn whatever I can get my grubby little hands on.

If I were to "hold out for the good stuff" Id never fire up the stove.

I usually run with the damper no less than 1/2 closed to wide open.

Gets so hot downstairs I can heat 2 55 gallon aquariums to almost 90 degrees.

I have some trees in my yard that have no thorns, but big ass black pods with about 10 or so seeds in em.
They rattle when they fall and the squirrels love em.

CJ,s 67 F100 wrote:
Dosn't the Honey locust have those big 6" thorns on it?

He CJs, if you ever find any Mesquite big enough to mill, let me know. I'd like to get a couple few logs, anything 10 inches and bigger and 6 feet or longer. I have kin in the DFW area and could get someone to pick them up.

There are thorned and thornless versions of Gleditsia triacanthos (honeylocust)....Are you sure those "crabapples" aren't some kind of hawthorn as they look very similar and most hawthorns have thorns about that size.

71ford100 wrote:There are thorned and thornless versions of Gleditsia triacanthos (honeylocust)....Are you sure those "crabapples" aren't some kind of hawthorn as they look very similar and most hawthorns have thorns about that size.

Could be. I was told they were crabapples when I was a kid. I know for sure the thorns mega suck when you slam into one of those trees while riding a wheelie on a dirt bike.

AC, Thats what I was talking about, I walked out of our huning cabin in OK one morning and walked
right into one in the dark.

WB, I know we have some 10" or bigger at our deer lease south of Abilene
I,ll take the chain saw the next time I go but that won't be until April
for spring turkey season
The trick will be to find a straight 6', we have some 18" but they are as crooked as a snake
I have a 2k acre lease and we can cut all the firewood/ cooking wood we want
its the 250 mile haul that stops me from bringing home my firewood

jb--saw that pic on fb---twas a giant for sure---i didn't unnerstood the legs comment--prob better i don't eh???

That was my cousin, Barb. I'm not sure what she meant either, just pokin fun I guess.
I'm headed over to finish splitting it up now. I got it all cut a couple days ago, built another chain for my pickup and am ready.