Best time to cut firewood

[Great-Kazoo]

Plywood has the glue right? Where regular "sparks" will come out of the chimney and be gone within a few inches of exiting. Plywood "sparks" will fly out, float around in the air, and still be burning as they settle on the ground. If you have a baffle you'd probably be okay.

It's not the sparks you need to worry about, It's the toxic fumes it and treated wood gives off.

[GilpinGuy]

I heat my house 100% with wood. We cut all year, for the most part, but if you get a live tree down in the spring it might be ok that winter. 30 days seems a bit short to me. I usually go for the standing dead though. Cut, split, and burn. If you're going into the NF, you should be able to find plenty of standing dead. I plan on doing this myself since I've cut all of the dead stuff on my property. $20 a cord is a steal, as long as you can get to some good wood that's not a PITA to get to.

[Bailey Guns]

CL is your friend, as others have said. We have no method of heating other than wood since we pulled the old boiler/air handler out last year so I process all of our firewood. I've never paid for wood, either. Other folks are always willing to give it away for free for one reason or another as long as you provide the labor of cutting/removing from their property.

Keep your eyes on local forums, CL, etc... You can find all the free wood you need.

If you don't have the saws and equipment, that can be a bit of an initial investment but a good saw will pay for itself quickly. Don't go low end on a saw, either. Buy a good one like a Stihl or Husky (Husqvarna) and learn how to use them safely. Chains make a big difference, too. Learn the difference between the types of chains available. As with anything else there is more information than you could ever need online with some of the wood cutting forums...just search around and you'll find the best ones.

Cutting wood with a friend or others is always a good idea. It makes the work seem easier/go faster and it's safer. A chainsaw can be pretty unforgiving if you don't use it properly...if the worst happens and you get hurt it'll definitely be a good thing to have help nearby.

My wife is actually showing an interest in learning how to use the saws and splitter. We've been out together a couple of times this year and it was fun. I get pretty nervous watching her use the saw but so far she's done fine. Fortunately we have 16 heavily treed acres and plenty of standing dead pine and aspen every year...not to mention the stuff that's on the ground already. Gathering and burning all the stuff, even the little stuff, also helps to clean up the property a little at a time.

I actually enjoy the process of cutting, blocking and splitting the wood for winter. I really enjoy not having to pay for propane or nat gas and keeping the house as warm as I want when it's cold outside.

[funkymonkey1111]

If you don't mind burning cottonwood and can split it, theres all the cottonwood you can burn available on CL throughout the year.

[Great-Kazoo]

deal days

http://cosprings.craigslist.org/for/4341339354.html

cottonwood is good, but not on everyone's must burn list. So this is probably still available. it does chew up chain saw blades.
http://cosprings.craigslist.org/grd/4260063869.html

[eneranch]

Saw this a while back

[blm28]

Cottonwood is almost impossible to split without a log splitter. You end up with about three times the ash that you would get burning pine (have to clean the stove alot more often).

[funkymonkey1111]

Cottonwood is almost impossible to split without a log splitter. You end up with about three times the ash that you would get burning pine (have to clean the stove alot more often).

all true. but, it's free and plentiful and burns pretty hot. perhaps it's not optimum, but it's nice for the price (again, if you have a splitter). i'm not the strongest guy in the world by a long shot, but i can split pine and maple relatively easily with a splitting axe or maul, but i've got pieces of cottonwood three years old i can't split.

[Great-Kazoo]

Cottonwood is almost impossible to split without a log splitter. You end up with about three times the ash that you would get burning pine (have to clean the stove alot more often).

It's doable by hand. That's what we used / use for folks who need firewood, cheap. Granted, as you say, it is much easier with a splitter.
For home use we mixed cotton with other wood when burning. Don't care for burning pine all the time.

[crashdown]

Cottonwood is almost impossible to split without a log splitter. You end up with about three times the ash that you would get burning pine (have to clean the stove alot more often).

But cottonwood doesn't have the creosote build up like pine.
Lot easier to dump the ash than clean the chimney.
Cottonwood needs to dry for a few years to not smell when burning too.
Splitting is a bitch, just buck it up in to smaller rounds.... I'll take cottonwood over pine any day.