Thread: Wood heater ... stumped!

The oak barrel was a nature strip find (there are lots of older Italian migrants around where I live who make their own wine). I then cut it into two to make planters for tomatoes. They didn't excel at that. Maybe it was the sulphur still in the wood; dunno.

This project was on the 'tuit' list for 3 years, and as I fly north for the winter wasn't a priority.

But I'm glad it's sorted given the change in the weather. It's hard to beat staring at the coals at night; beats TV by a country mile.

The heater must be 25 years old now and it's amazing that replacement bits can still be sourced. It's a full cast iron firebox, not steel and firebricks. The replacement baffle takes all the punishment that a hot fire can dish out which is why it's a sacrificial piece.

Going through the long pile of accumulated wood has been illuminating. Much of it was stuff picked up for turning that didn't pass muster. Several short logs had boring figure and awkward dimensions; didn't know the species but it acquired some spekky spalting sitting uncovered in the back lane. Which as an aside is interesting as some claim that spalting is a reaction of a live tree to a fungal attack.

Got lots of acacia (and yes Arthur, it burns damn hot) and lots of cypress. Some stuff an arborist described as stringybark willow which is good but often difficult for turning due to the bark inclusions. A couple of NIP turning failures and a heap of dunno wood.

Now have a bit more experience with the Fiskars X25.Always good to take some more time after the first flush of ownership.First up: for such a lightweight splitter it goes well. Have just despatched some 60cm lengths of fairly straight grained but dense euc and while it took some work at a guess with the old Cyclone I would've given up and got the wedges out.2nd: the coating on the blade has of course worn off. Maybe that's our timbers.3rd: acc to o/s forum posts, for those who like to sharpen it takes a couple of times to get down to hard steel.If I was buying again the X27 would be my choice, just for the extra oomph.