New favourite firewood

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,892
2,144
Mercia
These embers are from a log that I put on the stove at 7:30 last night. It's burned for over 14 hours

Would anyone care to guess the wood?

IMG_20221223_092230.jpg
 

Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
39,133
4,810
S. Lanarkshire
My Dad didn't like using Hickory wood, but he did like burning it. It lasted all night in the fire. Not native, but it does grow here. Not as hot as oak to burn, but it lasted longer.
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,657
2,727
Bedfordshire
Dogwood or locust? had a champion dogwood fall in the arboretum my mum volunteers in and that stuff burned a long while. I have had only a little locust, but it is a popular town tree where I am.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,892
2,144
Mercia
Holly it was - a 10" diameter bone dry log. Never had such big holly before. Amazingly dense and a pretty white wood . Shame to burn it but wood workers never seem to turn up for free wood. Burning seasoned yew and cherry too which seems a waste
 

bobnewboy

Native
Jul 2, 2014
1,318
870
West Somerset
Aargh, sacrilege! :) - mind, there's a bloke in the village down the road that was boasting he was burning walnut :( - sadly, he told me after he had got through it.
Sacrilege indeed! Seasoned Yew, laburnum, rowan, walnut, cherry, elm etc are all very good for making bows, and hard to get hold of….
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,762
786
-------------
Holly it was - a 10" diameter bone dry log. Never had such big holly before. Amazingly dense and a pretty white wood . Shame to burn it but wood workers never seem to turn up for free wood. Burning seasoned yew and cherry too which seems a waste
I have some Holly firewood I picked up from work recently.
Another place I was working at had something like a sixteen inch diameter holly stump that theyd cut down. I didn't get any of that but did notice that it was sprouting again from a few parts of the bark so it wasn't a total loss.
One thing I've noticed about holly 8s that it often has little sort of warts in the bark that you can knock off, peel the baxk off them and its like a little bead.
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,892
2,144
Mercia
Sacrilege indeed! Seasoned Yew, laburnum, rowan, walnut, cherry, elm etc are all very good for making bows, and hard to get hold of
Sadly no-one ever seems to want to come out into the fens for it. It's often not enough for a bow stave - 4' or so logs although I have a 5' cherry log getting bucked up next week
 

demographic

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 15, 2005
4,762
786
-------------
Sadly no-one ever seems to want to come out into the fens for it. It's often not enough for a bow stave - 4' or so logs although I have a 5' cherry log getting bucked up next week
Cherry is one of my favourite woods, lovely natural colour that doesn't require stain to look great.
Can be pretty hard stuff and a bit splitty to work with, also it's not often in big sections.
 

Kadushu

If Carlsberg made grumpy people...
Jul 29, 2014
944
1,024
Kent
Holly cuts like butter on the lathe and comes up lovely and smooth with minimal effort. It's a bit brutal to carve by hand though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: punkrockcaveman

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,413
1,702
Cumbria
We had two leylandii down and the guys took out one of the trunks from a Holly. It was one tree that became two equal sized trunks a foot off the ground. One trunk grew out of the base trunk from the side the curved 90 degrees to grow up tall and straight next to the other. Same tree just two trunks.a good 5" diameter probably more. Very heavy sections. Wet through now but will do something with them as we need to clear that upper garden. No idea what to do with it as nowhere to dry them and no burner for it. Thinking of sorting out a fire pit but so much wood it'll take years to burn through if it burns that long!

Now the leylandii I have no use for at all. Doubt it burns well but the tree surgeon uses it. He said if he can't sell the wood he burns it himself such as leylandii.
 

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
2,179
1,109
Devon
Leylandii is a very useful wood, it is fairly rot resistant and mills well. If we'll seasoned it burns well too.
 

slowworm

Full Member
May 8, 2008
2,179
1,109
Devon
Shame to burn it but wood workers never seem to turn up for free wood.
I keep looking at the stuff I cut and burn. Ash especially as I think I should keep any lumps with a good, straight, grain as there may not be much of it it years to come.

I have a collection bits and pieces of various species that are too nice to burn... so I bought a lathe.
 

bobnewboy

Native
Jul 2, 2014
1,318
870
West Somerset
Sadly no-one ever seems to want to come out into the fens for it. It's often not enough for a bow stave - 4' or so logs although I have a 5' cherry log getting bucked up next week
Hi Hugh, I hear what you’re saying but it’s a bit of a haul from here on the Somerset/Devon border :)

Note though that two pieces, 3 feet in length are more than enough to make a bow!

If anyone’s cut any clean yew/laburnum/walnut/elm/ etc in the W Somerset area and wants rid, I’d be happy to come and have a look!
 
  • Like
Reactions: British Red

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,892
2,144
Mercia
Hi Hugh, I hear what you’re saying but it’s a bit of a haul from here on the Somerset/Devon border :)

Note though that two pieces, 3 feet in length are more than enough to make a bow!

If anyone’s cut any clean yew/laburnum/walnut/elm/ etc in the W Somerset area and wants rid, I’d be happy to come and have a look!
That's the issue Bob - we live in banjo country

Ah well - it all burns!
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE