Alder logs

[tommer9]

I posted the original thing over a year ago now - and I have to say it has turned out very well. Still going through some of it, and the coppiced alder has bushed up hugely.

 

Good to hear its all working out.

 

Thanks for the advice too Skyhuck.

[gensetsteve]

I thought either elder or Alder one of them wont burn its like asbestos. I remember it always has a small circle in the middle ? . May be a different species altogether and I am barking up the wrong tree. Thought it worth mentioning before filling the yard.

[Ben90]

May be a different species altogether and I am barking up the wrong tree.

 

That was the Pun Of The Day.

[Notmegov]

A long time ago (well 9 years) i used to coppice Alder along river banks in south Shropshire for charcoal, part of a project to bring alder back into use. Back then you could not give the stuff away for fire wood but made great charcoal.

One other thing is that Alder used to be used in clog making was very resistent to the chemicals they used to use in the weaving industry.

One of the main reason why the west Midlands has so many large coppice stools along its water ways.

 

And its still a HUGE untapped resource.

 

Tom

[TimberCutterDartmoor]

I thought either elder or Alder one of them wont burn its like asbestos. I remember it always has a small circle in the middle ? . May be a different species altogether and I am barking up the wrong tree. Thought it worth mentioning before filling the yard.

 

Beechwood fires are bright and clear

If the logs are kept a year,

Chestnut's only good they say,

If for logs 'tis laid away.

Make a fire of Elder tree,

Death within your house will be;

But ash new or ash old,

Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast

Blaze up bright and do not last,

it is by the Irish said

Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.

Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,

E'en the very flames are cold

But Ash green or Ash brown

Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,

Fills your eyes and makes you choke,

Apple wood will scent your room

Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom

Oaken logs, if dry and old

keep away the winter's cold

But Ash wet or Ash dry

a king shall warm his slippers by.

[Saw-sick Steve]

A long time ago (well 9 years) i used to coppice Alder along river banks in south Shropshire for charcoal, part of a project to bring alder back into use. Back then you could not give the stuff away for fire wood but made great charcoal.

One other thing is that Alder used to be used in clog making was very resistent to the chemicals they used to use in the weaving industry.

One of the main reason why the west Midlands has so many large coppice stools along its water ways.

 

And its still a HUGE untapped resource.

 

Tom

 

Years ago, gangs of Lancastrians used to travel down to Devon to cut Alder for clog making, supplying the mill workers during the industrial revolution.

They were pretty rough and ready by all accounts, and lived in the woods during the cutting season in home made shelters, subsisting on whatever they could beg, buy, trade or steal, and supplementing their diet with the local wildlife. What little time they had for recreation was spent in local pubs, where they gained a reputation for fighting all comers.

Northeners, eh?

[gensetsteve]

Years ago, gangs of Lancastrians used to travel down to Devon to cut Alder for clog making, supplying the mill workers during the industrial revolution.

They were pretty rough and ready by all accounts, and lived in the woods during the cutting season in home made shelters, subsisting on whatever they could beg, buy, trade or steal, and supplementing their diet with the local wildlife. What little time they had for recreation was spent in local pubs, where they gained a reputation for fighting all comers.

Northeners, eh?

 

I think they go to Ibiza or Corfu now

[Treewarrior]

oy, stop picking on us northerners, it's not our fault that we're ard as nails!!!!!!!!!!

[Mesterh]

I thought either elder or Alder one of them wont burn its like asbestos. I remember it always has a small circle in the middle ? . May be a different species altogether and I am barking up the wrong tree. Thought it worth mentioning before filling the yard.

 

Elder has a round pithy bit, I assume it burns fairly badly then!

[Big Bolt]

plenty of alder coppice around the broads used to be for piling and broom- heads although not any more, its called the devil tree around these parts because of the redish stain after its cut , lovley burning wood but i would use it within the year if not split as it goes soft .