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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 12, 2022 11:48:45 GMT
Splitting Yellow Poplar with my Go-Devil that Jordan got me for Christmas many years ago; I have busted many a stick of wood with it. Not until a very few years ago did I ever hear these referred to as anything other than a Go-Devil. If you said "splitting maul", folks would think you were referring to that place in the big city where you can watch a movie, buy a new pair of shoes, eat cotton-candy, and go into Barnes & Noble, all in the same building. Do they call them Go-Devils where you guys come from ? I have also heard them referred to as "Heart Attack Hammers"; however, I feel that is a misnomer; as, I never knew of anyone having a heart attack while actually swinging one; usually, they get all the wood split, go into the house and set down in the recliner, and then have a massive heart attack; I don't hardly see how that can be blamed on the Go-Devil. In the woods, there were three sizable trees growing right against each other as if from a single stump, two Poplars and a Cherry. Several months ago, the center of these three trees fell across my bush-hog. With a big snow and super-cold in the forecast, I cut and split the tree into firewood and stacked it on the porch. Friday_11-March-2022      |
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Post by cats4jan on Mar 12, 2022 14:38:34 GMT
We have one of them - don't call it anything. Herman? George? Robert? or maybe Sally
The chainsaw doesn't have a name either.
When we bought our last lot - DH decided he and his dad were going to clear the lot themselves. Not sure why...
We didn't need wood because we had gas fireplaces, so we stacked the logs at the curb with a "free" sign and made the neighbors very happy.
But the best story is when DH had a truck load of uncut logs delivered to one of our houses. We had just built the place and installed two wood burning fireplaces...
He had no idea what he ordered. 15 foot long trees were dumped on our front yard (good thing the landscaping wasn't in yet).
I told him - he had one weekend to get them split into firewood...
He and two friends from work cut and split all weekend long. Finished the job and when we left that house 4 years later, the new owner had enough firewood for the rest of his days, too. As an added bonus, the friend with the wooden leg went home with an infestation of carpenter ants on his leg. Yes, he really did.
You have to understand - this was a subdivision in the city... we were building on the only vacant lot...
We were new to the neighborhood...
Boy, did we get the looks from the neighbors. I can only imagine what they were thinking...
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pontiac1940
CE Members
Posts: 6,359
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Post by pontiac1940 on Mar 12, 2022 16:37:00 GMT
If you said "splitting maul", folks would think you were referring to that place in the big city where you can watch a movie, buy a new pair of shoes, eat cotton-candy, and go into Barnes & Noble, all in the same building. HA HA HA! Too funny. You forgot to add, "Starbucks" At the risk of offending folks here, I've been into a Starbucks approximately three times in my 75 years; twice I was with with others who insisted.  I'd just call your Go-devil a maul or big-a$$ed ax.  (Can I say that here? ) A couple of years ago I hired a tree guy to fell three large poplars at our summer lot...he also bucked the large logs. It pays to have young friends who own a wood splitter. Dave and Darin offered to come up, cut the logs into firewood length and then split logs for us. I am too old to be chopping wood. Your poplar logs look very "clear" .. knot free. Nice. |
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 12, 2022 16:37:22 GMT
DH had a truck load of uncut logs delivered You know....., that's really not such a bad idea; I bet a load of Hickory or Pecan logs would be cheaper by quite a bit than the equivalent amount of cut/split firewood. I have been thinking seriously of getting myself a coal-burning stove;.. not one of those modern politically correct keep-the-chimney-stopped-up kind, but a genuine coal stove like everyone had when I was a kid; most of them had "Warm Morning" cast right on the lid. There is a reason why, while living in the middle of hardwood forests, everyone had coal stoves; coal is a lot less work than wood and is just as good after laying outside in the weather for twenty years as it was the day it came out of the ground. |
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 12, 2022 16:46:53 GMT
Your poplar logs look very "clear" I have my own band-mill; if that tree had been a few inches bigger around, I would have sawed boards out of it instead of firewood. I have at least fifty big Poplars on the place that are 36- to 44-inches at the butt and sixty feet to the first limb, straight as a gun barrel; I need to bring them down before they start losing ground on me and go hollow. |
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Post by cats4jan on Mar 12, 2022 18:19:00 GMT
I have been thinking seriously of getting myself a coal-burning stove We heated our house with the two wood burning fireplaces until the day the attic started on fire. I blame DH's obsession with the fireplaces - asking me to keep them burning all day long - One day he came home and said - the house is smokey - I said, yep - I've been looking for the source He opened the crawlspace to get into the attic and the flames were trying to ignite the rafters. He came down and said - the attic is on fire. I said, what should we do? He said ... I suggest you call the Fire Department.They said we came within minutes of losing the roof. The Firefighters were so good - we had minimal mess from the water and smoke due to the way they handled things - - huge fans to get the smoke out of the house - wet vac catching the water as it poured through the ceiling It was an interesting experience, however, I don't think I'd care to try that one again. Needless to say, there was never another fire in either fireplace. And no, it probably wasn't caused by the fireplace - more likely it was the can light in the ceiling shorting out, but ... |
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 12, 2022 19:24:26 GMT
until the day the attic started on fire
I am glad for you that it wasn't any worse than it was.more likely it was the can light in the ceiling shorting out
Unless a flue is in terrible shape, it is highly unlikely that a fireplace or woodstove would catch an attic afire.
Even without shorting out, any type of recessed lighting is highly dangerous and likely to catch a house afire; a light bulb can get as hot as a branding iron.
Who is DH ? I have several possible ideas as to who it is, some of them not very flattering..... |
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Post by cats4jan on Mar 12, 2022 20:12:11 GMT
DH Dear Husband
These can lights were zero clearance - not supposed to get hot - but when they repaired the ceiling, they built boxes around the lights just to be sure. After that, I seldom turned those lights on. Didn’t trust them
BTW - the house was only a couple years when we had the fire.
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 12, 2022 21:11:17 GMT
Boy, I'm sure glad we got that cleared up; of all the possibles, that one hadn't even popped up in my mind. |
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Post by BuckSkin on Mar 13, 2022 0:25:59 GMT
Same Yellow Poplar wood 20-hours later; most of it is stacked inside by the stove. It dropped overnight from a calm and sunny 67° to a fierce windy 21° with about two inches of snow. If the ground had not been so warm, we would have had a foot of snow. Saturday_12-March-2022  |
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(Can I say that here?