Took these pics this AM, thought you might like to see.. my brother in law has been generous to me and a few others in the family. (this is the pile I've been feeding on). He is in the tree business..one tree, red oak, 110 feet tall, he took it down last fall. Tree had to be a couple centuries old. Right on the edge of a street in downtwon Providence.
That's my golden sitting on one of the cross slabs he cut and has made coffee tables out of.. that one measures 5 feet across at the widest spot.. the pile shows what left.. still, goes all the way back to the fence.... he cut this down last fall.. he needs more room.. he has other piles stashed, from other jobs, and just took a job to cut down 15 more oaks.. I'm gonna need a bigger truck!

Bailey guardin the pile. :hihi: :D

Wow Karl --- spin spin spin --- lots of heavy hearty plugs in that pile:laugha: You are fortunate to have access to that wood. I was in Mooselookmeguntic Maine for two weeks and didn't see a single oak tree on the woodlot. All the Oaks have gone the way of the endangered!

I fished the lake daily and was skunked out of anything decent. All the good fish were being taken trolling at 30 feet down. The best fish i caught was a 3 pound river chub. Damn thing fought like a brown trout - what a dissapointment that was.

As a side story... All the grandchildren were there and I got them to fish off the dock at sunset. Each and every one caught at least 3 fish. Many were really small, but they had a blast. they age fron 2 to 12 and will remember that night forever. I was busy baiting casting and removing fish. One of those nights for -- do you remember when --- after I'm gone.:think:

that was a biggun....

all right.... nice table top... good job for great heat.

I got a 2 ton dump trailer- could help you clean that pile up- make room for that new boat.

that pile ain't in my yard GN.. that's the one I've been taking from, to put in my yard, and add to my pile, after I split and cut it up one more time.. new boat.. only in my dreams.. ain't gonna happen.

the chimney sweeper here ....to clean out the crud...wasnt much at all since it was done last year...

but just prior to that i went out cutting for just 3 hours in total since
its gonna start raining for the next two days and the mornings
are getting a bit nippity .... says the wifey....

here's my red oak wood i scored for free.
it's better than usin fuel oil.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/wood.jpg

That is some beautful stuff Rav, ready to go. :hihi:

What are you harvesting from your garden now. :huh:

tomatoes and potatoes prolly 50-100 pounds out there and more green bell peppers
than you can shake a stick at...been stuffing them.
the weeds took over ..this year....sadly... and no fall crop...
but the freezer is jammed packed with frozen stuff and theres
broccolli out there too... getting wood is more important now....

i have just around 30 days left...before deer season.
the air is so damned thick with bugs its ridiculous...
and i can't wait for the first frost actually.

:kewl: off to a good start :).. I did the math, I've got a little over 3 cord cut split and stacked, ready to burn,plus, got a 1/3 of a cord in the basement wood box. My brother in law left a message on my machine to come get more.. he needs the room, has more tree work. :D
I sweep my own chimney, bought the rods, brushes etc. 5-6 years ago.. guys around here get 150 bucks, and it don't take them 1/2 an hour.. I think I actually get it cleaner, run a drop light up and down it when I'm done, and go back if I see anything i missed.
Nice Garden, Peppers :D.. let them turn red on the vine.. :drool:

what did ya pay for the chimney cleaning tools just out of curiosity?

cost me a c-note...to get mine cleaned...

What kind of stoves are you guys burning in :huh:

i have a six foot wide brick fire place....not the most economical
set- up to be sure....but its called a heater-later or sumthin like that
where ya have a fresh air intake vent and a heat grid on both sides
but no blower. I can put in a 20 inch diameter log 30 inches wide
in this sucker to keep some hot coals alive til mornin.
Once you get that mass of bricks hot
..........they stay warm for a long long time.

Stove(s)
Have a Lopi Endeavor on the first floor.. heats first and second floor, tend it 2-3 times a day. Advertised to be a ten hour burn, but lasts longer, once you get to know the stove.
http://lopistoves.com/product.asp?dept_id=4&sku=33
Have an old small Trolla 104 in the shop in the basement, does the trick nicely.
Two Flue chimney, center of house, no fireplace, just thimbles for the stoves. Built the house in '83 with the idea of heating with wood. 2X6 frame, R19 in the walls, R30 in the attic, Anderson high performance windows. House is pretty tight, still.

Chimney tools.. I had to buy two different brushes, as I have a two flue chimney, they were around 20 bucks a piece, plus enough 4 foot sections of flexible rod to reach the basement, prolly around a C-note for everything.
I spend about 45 minutes doing both flues, and then empty the cleanouts.. I know the first year I did it, I got more crap outta there than any sweep I had ever did, has not been that bad since.
got the stuff through my True Value store.

Heatalators work good and nice to see a big blaze.:) Karl, you could heat your house with a candle with that insulation.:hihi:

I had a Garrison stove i bought in 76, when we had the oil /gas shortages, and used it for 20 years. Did the whole house but lost my supply of wood and buying it became to much $$$. :(

Karl -- I just re read this thread and wanted to make a comment about what happened this past week at my Camp up North. It got pretty chilly and I decided to light up the woodstove to get comfy. I havn't used the camp for a couple of years and my brother in law has. When the fire got hot and stoked fairly well I smelled a stink like I never smelled before - The stovepipe was actually running with creosote and the smoke it was building would kill you on the spot. I shut the fire down immediately and will have to chisel the buildup off the chimney pipes before lighting that stove again. Scared the Hell out of me as I have seen chimney fires go in the past.

It is so important to clean a chimney at least yearly to prevent this from happening. Also - burn the proper wood for heat!

i gave this lecture to my younger brother
about how not to use a woodstove.....

not to make a joke of your flue fire gone fishin....

i said dude.....the one thing you DON'T want to do is
to pack it so damn full of wood ....and expect to sleep
the whole night thru without having to add an extra log.

so......... thats just what he....did...

i also said: the worst thing you can do is to get that
sucker (woodstove) glowing so red hot that you can see
how it was made.... then while its so hot ...it'll prevent you
from waking up ...and you'll burn the place down.

i'll never forget that terrified look in his eyes.....:shocked:
as he ran for help...a little to late...i might add...:walk:

my fireman friend and i were sittin there all buzzed.....
and he says real fast like... ....with a panic stricken voice
:point: you and:point: you come with me right now!!!!! lol

he burnt the place down to the ground ......to ashes....:smash:

Sorry to hear that Rav. It can happen so fast. One Sunday i was watching footall after i had loaded up the stove. Went upstairs at 1/2 time and when i came down the 2 cast iron doors were cherry red.:shocked: Luckily i was able to get to the vents and close them down. Another 5-10 mins, it would have been all over. :(

but he was ok! the main thing
and the trailer was old , a fire trap
and not worth very much thank goodness....

catching up to ya Karl on the wood pile....
(just got in from cutting a trailer 's worth)

only thing is....i accidentilly dropped a 8 foot oak log
on my big right toe......booom....throb throb ...

thats it.....i'm buying friggan steel toed boots....
third time this month i smashed it....

i've had enough...
as i sit here with a bag of frozen veggies
sitting on top of my big purple toe....

ow....:bc:

Get a paper clip --- heat it up til it's hotter than hell, touch the big blue nail til it goes thru and the blood squirts up to the ceiling! That will relieve the pain a little bit:hihi: :hihi: :hihi:
Man I feel sorry for you - I have done the same thing many times. I still do not own steel toed boots!!!:tm:
Also about 4 inches of vodka in a tumbler helps with the pain -- til tomorrow AM.:p