The Block Had A Story Hidden

Splitting up cedar for our firewood project the other day had me working on a few blocks of cedar. We like to mix in cedar with our predominately fir kindling. Cedar makes good kindling since it is nice and dry, and even well aged wood works up into fragrant pieces that light easily to ignite a fire with the fir.

The cedar I was working on didn’t look pretty from the outside, it was very weathered and at one time had limbs or knots of the limbs from when it was growing that were sticking out. As I started in splitting, I found that the knots were not too big for the pieces I wanted to make. I was able to split off the pointy parts and didn’t lose too much wood in the process of making the small stick pieces.

About halfway through my third of a cord of wood for the kindling, I split into a piece of metal. I did not see the screw from the outer edges of the wood but it had been sunk deep into the chunk, most likely an insulator for an electric fence had broken off years ago. I may not have even found the screw if I were splitting bigger pieces than the kindling. If I had been a few inches off when sawing the piece, I would have sawed right into a screw. Metal is a hazard in the woods and when working up the wood pieces either in my small operation or in large mills. Hidden nails, screws, metal tags, parts of choker cables, pieces from broken equipment or even bullets can dull a saw or send deadly shards flying.

I found the tip of the screw driven in more than an inch from the outermost edge, with the outside degraded off by time and rust. The brush with the close call reminds me to keep an eye peeled for danger even when I can’t see it easily.

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