In my youth my dad along with my two brothers cut fire wood for something to do and added income during the winter when not much else was going on at the farm other than feeding animals.

One year we had a logging company come in and log a bunch of larger trees. The tree tops and some bad logs were left. Dad was thinking the wood would be cured and dry. Left in the log it was still wet and did not dry out till we cut it up.

My experience is if it is left in a long log it will take a long, long time to cure out. It may rot before it cures. But once I cut it into fire wood length, split or not split, it cures pretty quickly.

We have a wood furnace in our house and I have been cutting trees up that a small tornado took out early this year. The wood is still wet but once I get it cut up will be fit to burn within a few weeks. I have cut probably 20 ricks of it so far for myself and for FIL/MIL that still cooks with wood. Pin oak and pecan mostly. I like burning hedge (osage orange) best but it is not what the storm blew down.

John

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