J
Jamie
Guest
Just wondering if anyone out there knows or can remember a rhyme which is used to remember the best woods to burn etc?
cheers
cheers
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Logs to burn! Logs to burn!
Logs to save the oal a turn!
Here's a word to make you wise
When you hear the woodsman's cries.
Beechwood fires burn bright and clear,
Hornbeam blazes too,
If the logs are kept a year
And seaoned through and through.
Oak logs will warm you well
If they're old and dry,
Larch logs of pinewood smell
But the sparks will fly.
Pine is good and so is yew
For warmth through wintry days
But poplar and willow, too
Take long to dry and blaze.
Birch logs will burn too fast,
Alder scarce at all.
Chestnut logs are good to last
If cut in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax,
You should burn them green,
Elm logs like smouldering flax,
No flame is seen.
Pear logs and apple logs,
They will scent your room.
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But ash logs, all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.
Logs to save the oal a turn!
Here's a word to make you wise
When you hear the woodsman's cries.
Beechwood fires burn bright and clear,
Hornbeam blazes too,
If the logs are kept a year
And seaoned through and through.
Oak logs will warm you well
If they're old and dry,
Larch logs of pinewood smell
But the sparks will fly.
Pine is good and so is yew
For warmth through wintry days
But poplar and willow, too
Take long to dry and blaze.
Birch logs will burn too fast,
Alder scarce at all.
Chestnut logs are good to last
If cut in the fall.
Holly logs will burn like wax,
You should burn them green,
Elm logs like smouldering flax,
No flame is seen.
Pear logs and apple logs,
They will scent your room.
Cherry logs across the dogs
Smell like flowers in bloom.
But ash logs, all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old,
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.
Have you seen how long it is Tone?
I generally work on the thinking that if i can get a fire going, pretty much anything will burn!
I generally work on the thinking that if i can get a fire going, pretty much anything will burn!
Thats not the one i was thinking of. The one i heard ends with ash logs being fit for a king i think.
At the moment i am burning mainly Ash, with horsechestnut and some willow that wouldn't burn last year.
I've still got a stash of Yew in the yard, seemed too good to burn, and i had fancied making a bow out of it. Maybe a bit short and knotty though.
Cheers
Rich
At the moment i am burning mainly Ash, with horsechestnut and some willow that wouldn't burn last year.
I've still got a stash of Yew in the yard, seemed too good to burn, and i had fancied making a bow out of it. Maybe a bit short and knotty though.
Cheers
Rich
Roving Rich said:
I always hate burning yew too. It's got to be my favourite wood, just a shame it's poisonous so I can't actually use it for usable bowls or spoons.
Do you know anyone who does woodturning? If you've got any bits big enough you could ask them if they'll make you something with it.
J
Jamie
Guest
I could turn 'yew' something if the wood is properley seasoned. Yew bowls are OK, just don't eat out of them - ok for keeping nuts etc in though. It is hard to find solid lumps of english yew that are suitable for turning.
Silas
Silas
You shouldn't use yew for cooking fires, or breathe in the fumes... the sap is toxic i believe, not the wood itself... the fumes can do funny things to the head ;-)
Ed
Ed
silas said:
Try going to your local cemetery and see if they're chopping any down. They quite often have it growing there and that's where I've got some nice freebies in the past.
If you do this, don't be tempted to cut bits off for yourself. Many churchyard yew trees are older than the churhes themselves. I seem to remember that all yew trees are protected in this country and you need permission to prune them , let alone chop them down. Yew is actually a softwood and grows in a most peculiar manner, once cut and seasoned, it develops shakes and splits, also, the bark often grows within the wood of the tree and, as I said before, finding bits big enough to make decent turning projects is not easy, though not impossible. Most wood turners just accept the fact that Yew will have numerous flaws and imperfections and just use it anyway, this often gives bowls with holes and splits in them that can look very attractive, but practically they are not so good.
Silas
Silas
Hmm my Simultaneous post vanished? so here it is again.
Whhaaa Yew from graveyards ! Yew trees are the most Sacred tree to the Druids, and are often older than the Churches who's shadow they stand in as these were sacred groves before the Christians arrived.
Yews in graveyards are supposed to be inhabited by the Souls of the Dead lying beneath them, and if you listen carefully and a breezy day they can be heard whispering to you..... :roll:
I believe that they are one of the slowest growing trees so take centuries to reach any girth.
More tales from the Crypt later...
Cheers Rich
Whhaaa Yew from graveyards ! Yew trees are the most Sacred tree to the Druids, and are often older than the Churches who's shadow they stand in as these were sacred groves before the Christians arrived.
Yews in graveyards are supposed to be inhabited by the Souls of the Dead lying beneath them, and if you listen carefully and a breezy day they can be heard whispering to you..... :roll:
I believe that they are one of the slowest growing trees so take centuries to reach any girth.
More tales from the Crypt later...
Cheers Rich
J
Jamie
Guest
Yew's are the 'slowest' growing of our trees once they reach maturity, although, and relatively speaking, they are quick to grow as saplings.
I wasn't suggesting chopping them down yourself!
My local cemetery has chopped some down in the past and do the same thing as they do with all their felled trees - burn them! I've had some very nice pieces of wood from them in the past (not just yew) and have made some nice bowl and boxes from them. I've also occasionally persuaded them to use their chainsaw and trim the bits down further to save me carrying too much home. :-D
My local cemetery has chopped some down in the past and do the same thing as they do with all their felled trees - burn them! I've had some very nice pieces of wood from them in the past (not just yew) and have made some nice bowl and boxes from them. I've also occasionally persuaded them to use their chainsaw and trim the bits down further to save me carrying too much home. :-D
It's mine all mine!!
:twisted:
I actually haven't been for a walk round there for ages, I'll have to go for a wander...
:twisted:
I actually haven't been for a walk round there for ages, I'll have to go for a wander...
I know a man that only cuts Yew. Trims Yew to be precise, hedges trees etc. The clippings are then boxed up and sent immediately over to France where they are processed into some anti-cancer drug. He's manages to make a full time job with just that.
Moving on, Elm I scavenged some dead Elm from the hedgerows a couple of years back. The ones that grow about 20 feet then die off as they can't pump sap any higher due to their clogged arteries from the dreaded dutch elm disease.
Anyhow when burnt on a nice bed of embers the whole log kinda smoldered with a white glowing heat, then when I went to adjust it in the grate to add another log the whole thing instantly crumbled to dust like a vampire off Buffy. No trace, a whole log gone ?
They kept us warm though that winter burning slowly all night.
Cheers
Rich
Moving on, Elm I scavenged some dead Elm from the hedgerows a couple of years back. The ones that grow about 20 feet then die off as they can't pump sap any higher due to their clogged arteries from the dreaded dutch elm disease.
Anyhow when burnt on a nice bed of embers the whole log kinda smoldered with a white glowing heat, then when I went to adjust it in the grate to add another log the whole thing instantly crumbled to dust like a vampire off Buffy. No trace, a whole log gone ?
They kept us warm though that winter burning slowly all night.
Cheers
Rich
