Reader’s Forum
Firewood Stories from our readers
“A house is no home unless it contains food
and fire for the mind as well as for the body.”
~~ Margaret Fuller ~~
Wow!! Ask and you shall receive, and ‘boy’ did I ever. Obviously I struck a chord. Little did Jan’s cousin, Søren Tellerup Nielsen know what he would start when he sent us his firewood pictures from the cold of Denmark. I’ve received photos, poems, stories and wise words. Please enjoy, as I have. And thank you to everyone who took the time to share.
- A Good Neighbor by Rod
- "Nobodyz Perfect" sculpture by Trinita Waller
- Our Woodshed by Marsha McGrue
- An old timer I use to heat my workshop by Dave Jack
- What's left of a Juniper Wood Pile by Bill and Rosie Long
- Home is where the hearth is by Bruce Wilkin Design
- Quote and Photo submitted by Dean Ross
- Alexander Selkirkʼs Campfire story by John Montpetit
- 2 photo's of how I deal with a lot of firewood by Michael
- Best Fire = with my best friend by Jessica Laudien
- The Concerns With Burning Wood by Warren Franklin
- No Help From The Bahamas! by Roddie Pinder
- Dowel Bowel link sent in by Ron David
Reader’s Forum- Black Locust Fans
Fred Epstein’s Story in Newsletter #32 (Have a Species that Excites You…tell us why?!) elicited this response from David Shipway on Cortes Island.
“I’m also a boat builder and big fan of Black Locust. When I was living in Ruskin in the 70′s, I discovered that the municipality had cut down a large locust to build a sidewalk. A friend and I leapt to the rescue before it was turned into firewood, and Alaska-milled the tree into many 2″ slabs, some of which I still have. The rest of the wood went into steamed frames for a 42′ schooner on Gabriola, built by Nikos Darokakis. Most of the deck and hatches were also made of locust. He has since sailed the boat back to Greece, where it bakes in the hot Mediterranean sun, but the locust is still holding up remarkably well. Yes, someone with some good bottom land should plant a huge grove of Robinia, it would be worth a fortune in 50 years, after the oil that makes polyester and epoxy resins run out!”
Reader’s Forum – Yellow Cedar Deck Chairs
If you live on Vancouver Island, you have a deck or patio and have some nasty chairs and tables. If you are a woodworker on Vancouver Island, winter is the time – the gardens are done and the fishing is waning.
Two winters ago, my dear friends asked me to build some deck chairs and a small table for their cabin. Their cabin is on a small island in the Gulf. I tried to entice them with the prospects of Ipe or Sapele, but their wishes were for something lighter, so anyone could lift the pieces and store them away. My friends had an article from a very old magazine that had a rough plan to work from. My good friends were both born and have lived on the Island all their lives. They like local.
So, off to West Wind Hardwood. Yellow Cedar was the choice: light and very strong, and durable for the ages. We bought some gorgeous large slabs of cedar.
I buy small amounts of quality wood from West Wind. I look for the wood of the highest quality and grain. To finish, my camera work sucks, the woodwork is great and the basic wood is the best.