Firewood

[flushcut]

I just read somewhere Osage orange and Joshua trees needed mammoths and sloths to propagate. I can’t remember where I read that or if it was a credible source.

 

[Altissimus]

Don't know any Mammoths , have worked with some Sloths though

 

[BeerGeek]

Rajan, I also saw this one about the mammoths and the Ice Age sloths eating Osage:

The Quirky History of the Osage Orange, Texas’s Ugliest Fruit

Once eaten by woolly mammoths, and later used by Indigenous Texans and settlers for its sturdy wood, this strange plant has spread from Texas across the country.

www.texasmonthly.com

 

[Cobleskill]

I read a bushel of oranges was worth $50 in I think 1848 or there abouts for a living fence that would keep cattle in pre barb wire. Big bucks for back then.

 

[lxskllr]

I have a couple monkey balls in the back of the truck. I need to split them apart, and try to get some seeds to start. Not sure I'd put them, but they're cool trees.

 

[Burnham]

What is a monkey ball? Not to put too specific a point to the question .

 

[lxskllr]

What is a monkey ball? Not to put too specific a point to the question .

 

[Burnham]

Sorry John...I am old and dull, apparently. WTF is that?

 

[lxskllr]

A monkey ball! :^D

It's the fruit from an osage orange. We call them monkey balls around here. They're huge, heavy, and virtually useless. Wikipedia says some people fry the seeds and eat them, but I never heard of that.

 

[Burnham]

Ahhh...thank you, sir.

 

[Marc-Antoine]

Very few around here. I saw maybe three in 10 years. The wood is very heavy and stringy but seems to split/ break easily due to wind and weight. The fruits rot quickly on the ground and steping on that isn't fun. I didn't find any seed in them, but that could be explained by the rarity if they need cross pollination.

Edit, not stringy, as this has a mean of fibrous but souple in my view. Actually I find the wood like an enhanced black loccust.

 

[Ed L]

Mid 40's today, went and cleaned up all the trees that had fallen in the field after planting.
Nice haul for an afternoon in the mud. The landing was empty when l started.

Ed

 

[cory]

Whatdya got there for wood, aside from the ash of course?

 

[Ed L]

2 sticks of aspen, 1 soft maple, the rest is ash. There was a small elm that we cut up.

Ed

 

[Al Smith]

That is about the size I've been dragging out of the woods . Damned splitter ran out of hydraulic oil yesterday for some reason .Shut it down, dumped in all I had,2 gallon then the SOB would not start .No spark .odd indeed . I have a hunch the kill switch shorted to ground .It's that's not it I have to pull the flywheel and check the points .
I've got figure out where that oil is going .It had 8 gallons of Dexron but that was 10 years ago .I suppose a little drip here and there would add up to a lot in that time period though .

 

[Cobleskill]

I put electronic ignition coil on my 8 hp Briggs. Got sick of pulling flywheel. It went for years with no trouble. I filed the points once. They were oxidized by the next season. Put a new set in and they oxidized in one season also. I talked to an old timer parts store owner and he said it would bolt right on. My bud had trouble and tried my coil. Fired right up. So he goes to the local chain saw lawn mower shop and asks for one of those. They ask what are you going to put it on. He tells them and they tell him it won't work. Okey dokey, just see if you have one!

I am convinced they aren't using silver or some other expensive metal in points like they used to. Oven thermostats don't last like they used to either.

 

[Ed L]

Took a Ranger ride out to the big Hickory today, cordless drill and 18" ship auger in hand....to my suprise at 3' up its solid the full length of the drill.
Now my back hurts just thinking about all that splitting....lol.

Ed

 

[flushcut]

You only have yourself to blame lol. Some good burning right there. I’m burning mostly oak hickory maple ash and cherry. In that order.

 

[Ed L]

Now I'm wondering if there is a millable log hiding in there.

Helped a friend do a Hickory kitchen, end result was beyond beautiful.

Ed

 

[flushcut]

A local tree guy by me just did his kitchen in hickory, gorgeous!

 

[cory]

Embarassment of riches!

 

[flushcut]

Rich in wood.

 

[Al Smith]

It's seldom I've had problems on points ignitions but some times it does get frustrating .This past summer I did change to a solid state coil on a Briggs 5 HP Some factory trained Briggs mechanic said it wouldn't work but by some miracle it did . On the 11 HP on the splitter it might not be anything more than the kill switch shorted to ground which can happen .You know a standard duty toggle switch sitting out in all kinds of weather ,anything can happen .If that isn't it I'll hook the tractor up and back it into my garage where I can sit my old butt on a 5 gallon bucket and figure it out .32 degrees , too damned cold to be on my knees out in the woods fumbling around .

 

[Ed L]

Got my "baby" all dressed to kill...ready to step out and break some hearts.....lol.

 

[Al Smith]

The 11 HP did have a short in the kill switch set up . It had been converted to a solid state ignition .Had a leak because of my haste in building that thing some 10 years ago from neglecting to install a hose clamp on the suction line . 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid later up and running again .--then came the rain and this morning it's still drizzling .No big deal it's 38 degrees and the propane furnace is working nicely .I'll get it when I get it .