Life is good!


 
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Andy B

TVWBB Member
I was doing some yard work yesterday and I heard my neighbor start up his chainsaw. I looked over and saw that he was cutting down the apple tree in his front yard. Of course I walked over and asked why he was cutting the tree. He said he was sick and tired of picking up apples so he could mow his lawn. I asked what his plans were with the wood and he said he was just going to throw it out in the woods behind his house. Of course I offered to take it off his hands, saving him all that work of hauling it out back. When he was done I hooked up the trailer to the lawn tractor and now all that apple wood is resting safely behind my shed.

Life is good!
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Great score. Free apple wood is probably one of the best wood scores one can get. I had a similar thing happen. I love the trunk - nice big chunks, low bark to wood ratio. It's also nice that it came out of a residence - probably has a lot less (if any) chemicals sprayed on it than wood from an orchard.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em - Andy's got 'em!
 
When I get a chance I'm going to cut it into 6" pieces then split it up with my axe. I've used apple wood green before with good results but the majority of the wood will be seasoned by the time I get to use all of it, I'm still working off some apple wood from some limbs I cut a while ago from one of my apple trees.
 
Andy, Listen good here. Apple wood, Cherry and all fruit woods are the favorite of many insects, especially ants. Get that stuff up off the ground and it would be best to store it in your garage or basement if possible. Even a out door shed is not the best choice but better than the ground. I have lost much fruit wood because of insects, ants, and have learned form it. Just a FYI for you. Great score on the wood.
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Bryan,

I picked up a dozen apple tree logs (3"diameter x 16" long) from my Dad's house. I have had them outside on my driveway waiting to bring them in the garage for the winter. Is there a "test" to make sure I am not inviting ants into my garage? Should I submerge them in water or anything before storing the wood in the garage?
 
Bang 'em on the ground a few times and wait to see if anything comes crawling or flying out.

Guess I've just been lucky. I keep my wood outdoors and have had no infestations.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Matt Savage:
Bryan,

I picked up a dozen apple tree logs (3"diameter x 16" long) from my Dad's house. I have had them outside on my driveway waiting to bring them in the garage for the winter. Is there a "test" to make sure I am not inviting ants into my garage? Should I submerge them in water or anything before storing the wood in the garage? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Matt, Normally the ants will bore a hole dead center in the log since the new ring is the softest part of the log. It'll be a tiny hole and then once inside they bore out a living chamber/room. If you look closely you'll see if they got to any of the logs, if they did it should just be one of them and if the logs haven't been out too long the hole shouldn't be that deep into the log. What is more of a problem is that when you leave fruit wood on the ground it goes punky/spongy real fast unlike oak, hickory, pecan.. which can spend some time outside will no ill effects to it. HTH, Bryan
 
Are there any restrictions to the type of apple wood that can be used? I have 2 wild trees out back. They have very small apples, maybe crab, maybe not, I don't know. The branches all have thorns. They flower real nice in spring. I will probably be cutting them down next spring/summer and was wondering if it would be ok to use for smoking?
 
I'm no <STRIKE>whoretoculture hortooculture </STRIKE>plant specialist, but I can't seem to recall any common species of apple having thorns. However, if the fruit is edible, the wood should be OK.

My best score was a freshly cut fig tree that a little old lady had cut down in August. Since I don't have a power saw, I only grabbed the smaller branches. I cut them up with a hand saw and placed them in a garbage can for storage. Next summer, I'll try them out.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Todd Randall:
Are there any restrictions to the type of apple wood that can be used? I have 2 wild trees out back. They have very small apples, maybe crab, maybe not, I don't know. The branches all have thorns. They flower real nice in spring. I will probably be cutting them down next spring/summer and was wondering if it would be ok to use for smoking? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
99.9% chance they are Hawthorn trees, which the fruit resembles crab apples, and the branches have thorns on them. I have a Winter King Hawthorn I planted several years ago to supply winter food for the birds. I would hate for you to cut them down, because of the food they supply to wild birds, and their sheer beauty when they flower in the spring and the bright red fruit in the winter.
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Does anyone know whether hawthorn can be used as smoke wood? My father gives me scraps when he cuts firewood (got a nice stash of apple and cherry chunks a couple of weekends ago), and he ends up cutting a fairly decent quantity of hawthorn.

Seems like it would have to work, just because of how closely related it is to apple. Has anyone tried it?
 
Great score Andy. Apple is 1 of my top 2 woods to use. Green or seasoned.
I too live where bugs are plenty and it is a must to get the wood off of the ground. I learned that the hard way. I back up to a huge farm and critters are everywhere. And to my wifes displeasure, bugs are a constant battle.

Jake, I have to plead ignorance because i have never heard of hawthorne.
 
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