The ones that didn't make it - the most interesting firewood!

[Roger Chandler]

I had been looking at the threads this evening on the SMC turners forum.........and while doing so, my wife came into the den to complain about it being cold. We are currently under a winter weather advisory for ice and snow in the morning and then rain changing to snow on Wednesday.

I looked at the thermometer here in the den, and even with the furnace going, it was a little cool........the masonry walls of the lower level in this house seem to radiate the cold, especially when it is windy and cold such as it is now, here in the Shenandoah valley.

My neighbors are always looking at my firewood pile, to see what I have thrown on it lately, because every so often there is a piece that did not make it due to some cracking, such as some of the Stonewall Jackson Prayer Tree rejects.......that 350 year old white oak is just so brittle in places, it is unbelievable. There were a couple of reject lidded boxes, and some other scraps.......a bowl started and abandoned because it got really dangerous to continue. Some maple etc, wormy ash, a bunch of cutoffs, and generally a lot of punky stuff that I just did not want to fool with ......of course some regular seasoned oak firewood as well. It got down to 14 degrees last night and is supposed to get down to about 18 degrees tonight.

Anyway, first fire in the old wood stove for the season tonight, and I was wondering how many other turners are doing some similar things with "interesting firewood?"

[charlie knighton]

the thin ones make great kinling

[Thom Sturgill]

I don't have a fireplace down heare in Florida, but do have a smoker for the occasional pig (or turkey). My sons are pretty particular about what we burn though since it flavors the meat. I save the curlies from the rare turned oak - it makes great kindling once dry. Any fruit wood or citrus makes good flavoring woods when soaked.

[Dale Gillaspy]

We don't burn a lot in Phoenix, but every winter, we'll have a fire or two. I keep my mesquite shavings for smoking. I burn a whatever else is around on those few fires. If you keep the walnut separate, it also makes great plating mulch.

[Jessica Gothie]

I have a woodstove as primary heat for my house, been that way since 1996. The lathe projects that didn't work, didn't come out right, cracked when drying, are ugly, were leftover wedges from bandsawing the blank into a more-roundish shape, wound up on the floor underneath the splitter as "leftover"... all that jazz goes into the stove. I also scoop up the pretty long curlies (tinder) for when the fellow is visiting so that he can pretend he's building a fire without using up every scrap of cardboard in the house.

[Curt Stivison]

I was at an art exhibit a couple years back and there was a bunch of reject pieces from a woodshop all glued togeather and it was called art. Looked like when he had a reject he just glued on the pile. It was about three feet high. Just a thought.
Curt

[Roger Chandler]

I was at an art exhibit a couple years back and there was a bunch of reject pieces from a woodshop all glued togeather and it was called art. Looked like when he had a reject he just glued on the pile. It was about three feet high. Just a thought.
Curt

I guess that would be one way of dealing with rejects. Wonder how big the pile would ultimately get in 25 years? Probably too big to move it or keep it around! I think I will just burn mine for kindling in the winter.

I would like to have seen a picture of that.........art...........I guess it is in the eye of the beholder! ;)

[bob svoboda]

A couple of beverages, a guitar, and a bonfire in the woods behind the house-Oh Yeah!

[Thom Sturgill]

A couple of beverages, a guitar, and a bonfire in the woods behind the house-Oh Yeah!

Sounds great to me!:D

[Roger Chandler]

A couple of beverages, a guitar, and a bonfire in the woods behind the house-Oh Yeah!

Hey that is another way of utilizing the rejects, for sure and sounds like a good time as well............at least what I am doing with the wood stove cuts down on the $$$ that have to go out because of heating bills........a win/win to me! ;)

[Lee Koepke]

here's the complete opposite to your thread .... this WAS firewood and its now a pen :D

275803

[Ben Darrah]

Just read my signature. Plenty of my flatwork projects fed the fire even before I started turning.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I call it "warming myself by the fire of my mistakes".
faust

[John Sanders]

I keep two large garbage cans that I fill each year with cast-offs blank corners etc. . . . these I burn in the winter and yes they do make excellent kindling. . . . . the shavings . . . . I have some of the most interesting multicolored mulch you have ever seen.
Turns use that which others toss . . . we recycle!!!

[Roger Chandler]

I didn't think I was the only one! Interesting responses so far. :)

[Ryan Mooney]

My friends and neighbors get a fair bit of firewood. About 2? (or was it three) ranger loads this year. I've also mulched all of my flow beds, and a friends flower beds and given away/used a fair bit of fruitwood/fruitwood shavings for smoking meats.

I don't have a wood heater at home otherwise it would go pretty quickly.