Compared with past, we have a variety of energies to use today, such as coal, natural gas,solar energy and electricity. You may think using firewood to keep warm is out of date. But actually, many families choose to cut firewood to heat their home because of soaring price of energy.
If you decide to join in the army of “Using Firewood To Keep Warm”, I will say” Welcome!” But just one question, have you worked out a way to get your firewood?
I think some of you didn’t think about it carefully before. Let me tell you, only two ways. Doing it yourself or paying for it. Which one would you like?
Safety-First
Cutting firewood on your own is a good experience. It practices all kinds of your abilities. To some extent, it is a god-given opportunity to exercise your body and steel your will. After doing that, you will be proud of yourself! You did such a great thing to provide warmth to your house and save lots of money!
Despite of all these attractive advantages, doing it yourself is still uneasy. Look before you leap. If you decide to do it yourself, remember to be well-prepared( physically and psychologically). It’s exhausting and dangerous! Last time I cut firewood for several days, everyday I came back from outside, I felt very tired and fell asleep with snoring involuntarily( without taking off clothes and shoes)! I hurt my hands when I cut a large tree, and nearly strained my back when I moved it.
Just like someone says, cutting firewood on your own can warm you twice. The first time is when you cut them and the second time is when you burn them( it’s very humorous and reasonable).
Some may say,”Ah, it’s so difficult! Why not buy some from someone or some place?” Yeah, I agree with you. It’s really much easier. But you may feel heartbroken to see the scene of burning firewood, just like burning your hard earned money, what a hasty decision! I understand that feeling, because I did it before.
I get accustomed to cutting firewood myself but sometimes I have no time because I’m busy finishing my work. Buying firewood is costly, especially when your family need a large amount.
Another choice is buying some semi load and cut the firewood by yourself. In this way, you don’t to enter the woods to find proper firewood. And semi load is cheaper than real firewood. You can save some money.
Safety First!
Now you decide to cut firewood yourself. First, pay attention to your safety. It may sounds boring, but it’s really very important, especially for amateur woodcutter like us. Remember, your personal safety is prior to everything. You must prepare completely and had better check all those things several times before cutting.
Cutting firewood needs some dangerous machines which may cause severe injury even death. I’m not scaring you. In my community, every year has a few accidents which were caused by misusing the cutting machines. Learning how to use these machines correctly is a necessary step. What’s more, wearing some special equipment may save you.
Read:Firewood Types：Which Firewood Types Should you Use?
Equipment
chainsaw
The chainsaw is the most popular tool for cutting firewood, everyone who needs to cut firewood frequently should have at least one. Chainsaws have many kinds of styles and sizes for all kinds of firewood. So how to choose a chainsaw? It mainly depends on the amount of firewood you cut and the place they will be placed.
Is cutting trees down enough? Of course not. The firewood need to be moved from woods to your vehicle. Then you drive your truck or trailer to your storehouse. At this time, you had better have a rest, because placing them side by side needs more physical consumption. All the firewood will be kept in your storehouse. When it’s winter, you just carry them out of the storehouse, and put them in your furnace. A firewood cart is a good way to make the process simpler.
If you are very interest in firewood, you may know that a firewood manufacturer can produce large amounts of firewood at a time. But their machines is large, expensive and not easy to control. You should choose the one really fits you.
If you can produce lots of firewood and have enough experience about it, then congratulations! You can be a boss!
Cutting Firewood
Use the chainsaw to cut off all the branches of the wood. A 16-inch chainsaw is ideal, because its power, speed, capacity are perfect. Not too heavy, and easy to use.
16 inches fits in most fireplaces and wood stoves, but don’t be hasty to cut immediately. First, you need to use the chainsaw to cut a shallow line on every 16 inches to make a mark. With the bar of the chainsaw, you don’t need to take out your tape measure to make the lines accurate.
Make the motor housing of the chainsaw against the end of the wood, and make the bar of the chainsaw against the wood smoothly. Remember every place which the end of the bar meets the wood. Lift up the wood vertically and cut a groove on every mark. Repeat these steps again and again, you can cut grooves on the whole wood.
Next you can use the chainsaw to cut the wood. Don’t cut through from the same direction, 3/4 is OK. Then you turn the wood around(180 degrees) and cut the rest part. This can prevent too much dirt and rocks from entering the machine.
Splitting Firewood
Want to split firewood manually? Get a maul! It seems like a cross between an ax and a sledgehammer. Like other tools, mauls have many sizes, even the largest 12 pounds. Don’t worry, we don’t need that. A 6- or 8-pound is suitable. With its help, you can work faster and won’t get tired easily.
Splitting firewood is similar to cutting vegetables. You need a board to do this thing. Chopping block is a board on which you can put log pieces and firewood. A 14- to 16-inch tall, 12-inch diameter piece of log is needed. Put the chopping block on a piece of flat area, and lift up the log vertically on it.
The using of maul is a little complicated, I’ll try my best to explain clearly. Put the maul on top of the log and stand with your feet apart at a width of your shoulders. If you are used to doing things with right hand, then clench the handle with your left hand near your hip.
Your right hand grab the top of the handle( the place is under the head of maul). Next raise the maul and hit the log. When the head touches the log, remember to slide your right hand down to your left hand. You should hit the center of the log. Don’t swing the maul like a pendulum, which can reduce your strength and lead to a bad result. Coming down with a straight and vertical line is the best.
According to the diameter of the log, you can choose to split the log into two parts or four parts. If you still don’t feel exhausted, you can repeat the steps above. No pain, no gain. You will enjoy the benefits with your beloved family.
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