How many chucks can a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

About ten years ago I got my first wood-burning stove and began to learn the benefits of burning wood. The first thing that was pretty cool to me was that I got to have some cool toys such as a chainsaw, sledge hammer, wedge, and a cutting rack. My first wood stove was a heavy cast iron Vermont castings style. It was a nice stove and got very hot. It heated the house easily and many times we had to open the windows because it got too hot. One thing I noticed almost immediately was that my heat bills were almost nothing and I got to sit in front of the fire on cold days and nights while saving money .

Since then I got a newer more efficient stove that has a blower on it. This stove heats the house with less wood in a faster time and also a bit cleaner burn. I do recomend the newer more efficient types of stove to enjoy all the benefits of this renewable heating hobby.

In many respects I tell people you can get wood for free which is true but it does require some work. Many times what I did is when I saw a tree down or pieces of a tree that have been left behind I would get my saw and hop in my truck and go get it. I got most of my wood this way. Then I bought a property that had a bunch of trees. I immediately got started cutting some trees that needed to come down anyway. I only dropped tress that didn't pose a threat to our house or the neighbors houses.

Once the trees were down I cut the tree up into rounds of about 18 inches long. I made a large pile of rounds. The next part was the hardest. I began splitting the rounds with a sledgehammer and a wedge. I worked several hours a day and lost track of how many days I did it. It actually became my regular work out. After a good amount was split, I built a wood rack out of pallets to stack the wood and keep track of how many cords I had. Since the pallets are 4ft x 4ft It was easy to keep track of the cords because a cord is 4x4x8.

After awhile I got finished splitting and stacking. I came out with 3 cords. Looking at the pile gave me a great sense of satisfaction. I thought that would be enough to get us through the winter. Then I needed to let it sit and season. after about 6 months, I tarped the piled to keep the wood dry and began using the wood in October.

While I understand this is not for everybody either because of the work or because of the mess it creates. I thoroughly enjoy my wood-burning hobby. I love to sit in front of the fire and look at how much I saved on my heat bill. I also love the outdoor workouts. Let me know what you think. I would love to talk wood with you.