Cutting down firewood


 
J

Jeff Wildrick

TVWBB Fan
I just took delivery of a cord of firewood. The tree guy helped me pick out a few nice cherry logs which I'd like to cut into chunks. Does anyone see any problem with this? I'm going to use a hatchet to split and a circular saw to cut.

I wish I had a better knowledge of wood, 'cause that pile's probably got some good smokin. The tree guy said he'd call if they got more cherry in. Guess I'll be taking a "smoke offering" when I go to pick it up.

At $130 per 1/2 cord, it's a lot cheaper than the internet!

Jeff
 
No problem. My brother is a tree guy. I get wood from him when I'm in Conn and do exactly what you're planning.
 
A co worked has what he says was Red Oak tree that fell over during Ivan. I asked for some of the smaller branches for smoking. He brought some in and the bark is actually kind of smooth. I don't know anything about trees, but I thought the bark of Oak trees is rough, and coarse. I looked online and found a tree that closely matched what he gave me. The pic wasn't all that good, but the tree is called a Flamming Red Oak. Same smooth looking bark. Does this sound right, and can I leave the bark on it when I go to chunk the limbs up? Or should I remove the bark before smoking?
 
The appearance of bark changes greatly as a tree ages. Oak bark on a sapling or young branch is rather smooth, but becomes rougher as the tree grows larger.

Identifying a branch is easiest if you look at the buds at the end, where next seasons's flowers come from. It's probably not worth worrying about, though.

As for bark, I leave it on all the time. Experience says it's not worth the effort to remove it. Others disagree.
 
Be VERY VERY careful when cutting with your circular saw. The problem that i have had is that I can't split logs small enough for use with the WSM... typically I split and hand saw as I need it. Time consuming, but i took a shoulder hit from a chunk once and decided 5 minutes is worth less then my eyesight.
 
Jeff. As long as if you have a good sidewinder or wormdrive saw with a sharp blade, and you are smarter than the object that you are working with.
Go for it.
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Tim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> but I thought the bark of Oak trees is rough, and coarse. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Steve, Red Oak can have smooth bark. I have 2 Red Oak trees that are about 17 years old and they still have fairly smooth bark. I routinely cut the branches for smoke wood.
 
My father is bringing down some of his apple and cherry "firewood" for my smoker when they visit. It's tougher to come by in TX than in NY.
 
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