How do you air dry your wood down to 20% ??

[Big J]

Just now, trigger_andy said:

How do you find time for a job?  Must have been nipping out for a bag of logs continually.  

 

I still prefer burning Beech, lovely glowing coals to lose yourself in with a glass of Whisky.  Birch smells amazing though, as I hear Cherry does, and Im looking forward to burning my stock of that once its dry. 

I hate it. Once I burn through the 20 odd cube I have left, I'm selling my firewood roadside and filling the oil tank.

[trigger_andy]

Just now, Big J said:

It's brilliant if grown to a proper size and mechanically harvested. Produces consistent (low to medium) quality timber, doesn't fracture when being felled, produces brash of fantastic quality and grows well on wet sites. Depending on how much you have, clearfell it and replant with eucalyptus glaucescens. Double the growth rate of spruce (at least), looks lovely and produces good logs.

Interesting. So I could use it to build a barn? Ie, stud work etc? 

 

What do you mean by fantastic quality brash? I hate lugging it to the bonfire.  I dont have much, I'm just clearing about an Acre to make use of the land. Its a mix of Stikka, Cherry and Beech.  Oh, and a monster Hemlock, is that good for timber? 

 

The only trees I'll be replanting is fruit and nut trees.   

 

Im still getting all the hardwood I want at £30 a ton roadside. Soft at £20 just around the corner from me. He has a bunch of good sized Stikka stacked up, maybe 30" at breast height. Might be worth me buying it then? 

[Bolt]

4 minutes ago, Big J said:

I hate it. Once I burn through the 20 odd cube I have left, I'm selling my firewood roadside and filling the oil tank.

Have you considered burning coal?

 

All the fun of logs, but with none of the storage or seasoning issues.

[Big J]

2 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Have you considered burning coal?

 

All the fun of logs, but with none of the storage or seasoning issues.

Nah. I can't be bothered with a fire anymore. Don't have the time or enthusiasm for it. Sell the timber at roadside, fill the oil tank. Simples.

[Big J]

4 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

Interesting. So I could use it to build a barn? Ie, stud work etc? 

 

What do you mean by fantastic quality brash? I hate lugging it to the bonfire.  I dont have much, I'm just clearing about an Acre to make use of the land. Its a mix of Stikka, Cherry and Beech.  Oh, and a monster Hemlock, is that good for timber? 

 

The only trees I'll be replanting is fruit and nut trees.   

 

Im still getting all the hardwood I want at £30 a ton roadside. Soft at £20 just around the corner from me. He has a bunch of good sized Stikka stacked up, maybe 30" at breast height. Might be worth me buying it then? 

Machine operators love sitka brash. It's brilliant for driving the machines on as it doesn't break down, thus reducing the likelihood of getting stuck on bad ground. 

 

Sitka is a good construction timber. Here is a barn I built with Sitka some years ago: 

 

 

You do have access to very cheap timber. My hardwood firewood is going out at £54/t and softwood sawlogs £55-58.

[The avantgardener]

27 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

But they still are not interested in burning Softwood. I know a couple of sellers over there (Small Scale) and they simply cant shift it. People have been ingrained to think Birch is the way forward hence why they seem to import huge quantities for all the stoves almist every home seems to have there. They dont sell anything other that Birch in almost all the outlets I used. But when they are importing so much Birch you'd think they'd also import other hardwoods, but they dont. Anyway, the point being is they, like us in the UK are conditioned not to burn Softwood, for whatever reason.

Why would Norway import Birch when it has 75% Birch Forest?

I would be surprised if they import large amounts for the domestic firewood market.

[trigger_andy]

Just now, The avantgardener said:

Why would Norway import Birch when it has 75% Birch Forest?

I'll assume why so many people sell kiln dried imported wood here in the UK when we also have an abundance. Because its cheaper to do so. Factor in the wages in Norway, and all the benefits the employers have to give their employee's verses what they pay your average Lithuanian. 

 

4 minutes ago, The avantgardener said:

I would be surprised if they import large amounts for the domestic firewood market.

Prepare to be amazed! 

 

About us | Varma

WWW.VARMA.NO

 

[The avantgardener]

5 minutes ago, trigger_andy said:

I'll assume why so many people sell kiln dried imported wood here in the UK when we also have an abundance. Because its cheaper to do so. Factor in the wages in Norway, and all the benefits the employers have to give their employee's verses what they pay your average Lithuanian. 

 

Prepare to be amazed! 

 

About us | Varma

WWW.VARMA.NO

 

That is fascinating, I wouldn’t have believed it from a country with such an extensive forestry industry.

[trigger_andy]

Just now, The avantgardener said:

That is fascinating, I wouldn’t have believed it from a country with such an extensive forestry industry.

I tended to buy from my Off-shore mates who all seemed to own a 'Farm' when they say farm they tend to mean a mountain or two.  So in their month off they would harvest and sell Firewood. But nipping into Byggmax for 40 litres of Birch for a fiver was very convenient.  

[Woodworks]

50 minutes ago, Big J said:

I If I were selling logs these days (which I wouldn't) I'd be looking to sell softwood at about 20-25% less than hardwood. I'd still make more money than selling hardwood as the processing time is so much less, but equally the customer would get better value for money. This local firewood retailer to my old yard has successfully converted most of their customers to softwood: 

 

 

 

Snag is most of us are limited on storage space and the main season for selling is short. Sure softwood dries far faster but we still cant sell, refill and sell again over the winter season. Delivery is a major cost and remains the same for either so maximising profit per load is relevant. And let's be honest there is fair difference in calorific value by volume and this has to be reflected in the price we sell at. The current high prices of softwood does not help matters either