When you receive a delivery of logs, you might need to split some or all of them. Even if they're pre-split, the logs are sometimes too big for your requirements, especially if you're using them in a small wood-burning stove rather than a large fireplace.
The trouble with splitting logs is that it can leave you with quite a few small chips and offcuts of wood. Most people just leave them on the ground where they fall, but you can waste quite a bit of your firewood by doing this. With efficient, high-energy varieties like red gum firewood, there's still a lot of potential in those small pieces of wood.
Here are some ways you can use up your spare bits of wood once you're finished splitting your logs.
Free kindling
If you do nothing else, you should save those small wood offcuts to use as kindling. Anything that's bigger than a tiny chip can really help you get your fire going, and it's particularly effective with those dense woods like red gum, which burn nice and hot.
Lots of people buy kindling separately when they have plenty lying around on the ground after splitting logs. Make sure you pick it up quickly and store it indoors so it keeps dry.
Make your own fuel briquettes
The very small chips and sawdust-like pieces of wood don't burn very well if they're sprinkled on a fire, but turning them into bricks changes that.
Mix the sawdust with water, and leave it to soak for a day or two. You can also add other materials, such as waste paper, dried grasses and other plant materials. Once it's soaked thoroughly, it can be pressed.
You can buy presses for this purpose, but it's also possible to improvise. All you need to do is to squash some of the mixture into a container with drainage holes – plant pots work well. Press it down until most of the water has been squeezed out, then leave your briquettes to dry in the sun.
They make great extra fuel or kindling and help you get the most out of your firewood.
More stable stacking
Stacking logs can be quite precarious, and even if you're confident they're stacked well, you might find they collapse without warning.
Pressing a few wood offcuts into the gaps helps keep your logs stacked and upright, preventing accidents and unnecessary extra work. You can also create a layer of offcuts on the ground before you begin stacking. This helps keeps the logs dry, and stabilises the whole pile.
Share26 January 2018
I have always wanted a pretty flower garden of my own. My grandmother has a glorious garden filled with vibrant coloured flowers that smell so good. Unfortunately, I have black fingers, and it seemed that growing a flower garden of my own was always going to be beyond my reach. This year I am making it my resolution to create a garden just like my grandmothers. Follow my blog journey as I figure out the best way to get flowers to flourish and bloom despite my lack of gardening talent. I have the perfect spot picked out in the back garden, so it is going to be an exciting adventure for sure!