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Digging through "Curly Maple's" firewood pile

Started by Daren, March 29, 2006, 04:28:22 PM

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Daren

I have mentioned this guy here before I call "Curly" to his face because he splits curly maple for firewood. I mentioned him on the general board awhile back because he burned his old trailer down with his wood stove. Anyway He is cleaning the place up and is going to haul another trailer in. He has to move his firewood pile that is under a carport, then move the carport. He flagged me down today when I was driving by. He wanted to know if I wanted any firewood. I said I would take a little load of the curly hard maple he showed me he split a few months ago for small projects or turning, but I had plenty of firewood... This maple was beautiful white, tight curl stuff. He showed me were it is in the pile, it is a ways down and he said he would get dug down to it later in the week. It was under a few rows of old stuff he found laying, all dried up and hasn't had any bark for at least 2 years before he split it. Wouldn't you know it, IT'S CURLY TOO. He said it was an elm, he was out splitting the day his trailer burned, he just split it because it looked dry enough to burn (I don't think its elm, but whatever) I simple cannot believe this guy, He has split 5-6 trees this year and at least 2 were curly hardwoods. I am going to put a radio collar on this guy, he is like a magnet for figured wood. He just finds logs laying and asks if he can split them for firewood. I have ran ads in the paper looking for sawlogs off and on since I had my mill and get guys showing up with firewood trying to sell it as sawlogs. When he gets dug down to the maple I will run a piece of it through the planer and post another picture.



Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Daren

He left with a load, so I went down to see if he was to the maple yet. I am going to lose my mind. He had gotten all the dry/barkless firewood off the pile and this is what is on top of the hard maple. I have never seen a full log before he split it, maybe the whole thing wasn't curly. Let me modify my last count out of 5-6 logs he has split at least 3 have figure. This one is wet and the bark is still on it. I just pushed it through the planer and wiped some water on it. I can't believe it, the whole thing makes me sick. Oh well, I have a mini lathe, that is better than him burning it.


Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

Dan_Shade

I think that guy might be the dumbest guy on earth.

but that's allright, I have relatives the same way, I have an uncle that cut down a nice cherry tree on my grandfather's farm for firewood.  same guy also was known to saw saw-logs up into firewood when my other uncles would have it bucked up to skid to the mill.  the saddest part is nobody would ever say anything to him about it.  at least I can say he isn't blood to me, he married my aunt!
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Daren

Quote from: Dan_Shade on March 29, 2006, 06:32:30 PM
I think that guy might be the dumbest guy on earth.


He is in the running for DanG sure, the hard maple he brought by a few months ago was 700-800 bft of fiddle back, fresh sawn. All split up. The thing that really gets me now he is giving the split firewood away to clean up his place so he can move another trailer in and set it up. So he not only split it, he is not even going to use it. That means he will be out splitting more this summer to heat his new (used $3500) trailer next winter.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

MotorSeven

Back when i was building humidors, i used to pick thru the "Home Desperate" stacks of maple. About every 3rd or 4th shipment i would find a "treasure" board of curly of fiddled, but i NEVER found anything like this guy has been burning >:(, Sheeese, it amazes me the beauty some people can't see even when it is in their stinking grubby hands! I hope you can salvage some of those 'cause they are darn pretty!

RD
WoodMizer LT15 27' bed

Dan_Shade

a lot of guys like that look at that sort of thing as the only way they can get even with the world.  a lot of them have a chip on their shoulder, and when the find out it bugs somebody, they'll do it for spite.

doesn't make much sense to a logical person, but it's the way they are. 
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Back40x2


   Daren,

   When you say "Hard Maple"  which maple are you referring too???  I deal strickly with "Hard Maple" on a daily basis.  Hard maple is the Rock/Sugar maple.  I believe it is the hardest of all the maples.  It may be the picture, but that looks like the silver maple???  It appears as though it has spalted a bit.  The spalt in that looks like the spalt in the silver maples.  The Bark on a rock maple is a relatively light greyish color and very tight.  That looks like its a dark color?  I noticed the growth rings as well.  Too wide for Rock maple.  It just does not grow that fast.  Very slow growing tree.  Silvers on the other hand extremely fast growers.  Cities use them all the time as street trees.
 
   Anyway, I was just wondering!  If you ever do come into a curly rock maple.  Salvage any piece you can.  Check out some of mine in my ebay store.  www.Back40x2.com  It really is the King of all Maples.  It's a different look from the Big leaf maple, which is BEAUTIFUL wood.  I only wish the rock maple would quilt like that. 

  Good luck!!!

 
My JD 4120 Loader/Hoe/fransgard winch, a 10,000 pound Warn winch, STIHL 460,  Timberking 1600,  Lots of logs, a shotgun, rifle, my German Shorthaired Pointers and a 4-wheel drive, is all this Maine boy needs to survive!! Oh Yeah, and my WIFE!!!!!!

Daren

Quote from: Back40x2 on March 29, 2006, 09:11:44 PM

When you say "Hard Maple" which maple are you referring too??? 
 

Sugar maple is hard maple, like I said earlier in this post, I have not even gotten to that "firewood" yet. I don't know what the species I have already dug out of the pile are, I am guessing red maple in the picture with the bark. I have no way to really tell on the heavily spalted piece with no bark.
Quote from: Back40x2 on March 29, 2006, 09:11:44 PM

   If you ever do come into a curly rock maple. Salvage any piece you can. 

That is the whole point of this post, I'm trying. I would have much rather had the sawlog I wouldn't have to dig through some dummies firewood pile for scraps. The stuff in the pictures is all spalted, the hard maple was as white as milk when he brought it around. I will post some pics of what this guy likes to burn in a day or 2.

Dan, I'm not so sure that is not part of his motive. The guy is 81 (I guessed him 60) and has come around the mill to kill time and lent a hand stacking slabs and I had to take a breather before he did. In our converations I found out he had been around wood, he helped a local tree service get off the ground 50 years ago. I buy logs from the grandson who runs the same business. I don't think he is ignorant, he has a better knowledge of tree species than I do, and I think he can tell figured logs too. I am not going into all my thoughts on this guys reasons for tormenting me, but without sounding paranoid, I am SURE he is trying to drive me crazy.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

wesdor

Daren, I have a possible solution for both of you.  I'm cleaning up a lot of timber land this spring and summer and will have a lot of firewood.  It won't be curly maple  :), but will be good firewood.  A mixture of elm, cherry, oak, mulberry, and who knows what else.

I live near the Quad Cities and perhaps we could arrange for you to get a load(s) of his wood in trade for a load(s) of mine.  I'm sure we could work out something that would be fair to all parties.  I'm not sure where you are exactly located, but give it some thought.  If you could offer him some firewood that is already cut, maybe he would be willing to make a trade. 

I'll leave the details to you, but just thought we might be able to help him out and you as well at the same time.


HORSELOGGER

Wesdor, I think Daren has tried that and that just provoked the guy to be sure he made a special point out of showing off his figured firewood. It seems that it is not the wood but the spitefulness that is entertaining the older guy. ???


Once I was driving by a farmstead of a local landowner bout the same age as curly maple. He had a tree service with 2 workers taking some large red pines out of his front yard. There was a big burn pile out behind the barn, one nice log all sectioned up into firewood rounds, and three more to go :o I stopped of course and asked if I could haul away the rest of the logs, the tree guy said that would seem like a good idea, as he was being paid hourly to clean up the mess, and they were planning to burn the whole lot anyway. We went and found the land owner and I said how bout if I haul off these pine logs?... He said how much will you give me for them? I said, well I dont normally buy yard trees, and seeing as how your just burning them I would save you some time and money and haul them away for you. He said, well, we'll just burn them then ???.... Okie doke. ::)
Heritage Horselogging & Lumber Co.
"Surgical removal of standing timber, Leaving a Heritage of timber for tommorow. "

Kirk_Allen

Hang in there Daren.  Your wood will come ;)

I was reminded of the farmer I cut for that cut the most beutiful Osage logs into fence posts and corner posts.  It made me sick they were so clear and he refused to work with me and sell the lumber.

Now I have more Osage than I know what to do with and I am guessing its going to provide lumber never seen before from Osage. 

JP Sinclair

Daren-

I just read your post on the curly maple.  That is some beautiful stuff.  It's amazing how much incredible hardwood lumber gets burned, buried etc.  A friend was driving past a firewood pile a few days ago and rescued a 7' , 22" top piece of black cherry.  We milled it and it had black grain spaulting inside that made my local woodworkers drool.  I had no problem getting $10/ft for it.  Pity the rest of the tree had already gone up in smoke...

JP

SwampDonkey

It looks to me like red maple. Curly in hard maple (sugar maple) is not that common. We do find curly in yellow birch quite often. Also, sugar maple is not the only hard maple, black maple is also included. No black maple in my area.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

rbjones03

My cousin cut an old oak that was going to be used for firewood. Only problem  after he gets it bucked up he can't understand why it was so black, must of been bad huh.

Yeah next time you get ready to cut up a 24" black walnut for fire wood call me I'll have some oak already spit.
Peterson WPF 8 HI-LO Large Frame

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