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**Spinaker** · January 31, 2024, 09:18 AM

I got a fresh load of oak and ash dumped down at the sauna. So I am working on getting that split up. It has been splitting really well, most of it is straight which is perfect for my next project. My first Holzhausen.

You can see below I have laid out the first pieces of splits for my Holzhausen. I laid out the first pieces of wood along the circle I marked out with a string. Then I stack the pieces on their side, leaning towards the center.

When it is all said and done the walls will be 5 feet tall and the center will have a diameter of about 6.5 feet. (given the pieces of wood are about 18 inches). Then I will fill the middle as I go up. This will be filled with off cut pieces and twisted pieces of wood that will not otherwise stack very well. Once complete, I will cover it with some old roof tin from the barn. I have been wanting to build one of these for a long time, and since I have the wood to do it, I figured I might as well give it a try. I mean, who wants to build another wood bunk? (J/K I love building those)

I have been reading Norwegian Wood- Chopping, Stacking & Drying Wood The Scandinavian Way for inspiration. I LOVE this book. I am on the second round of reading. It has been a real fun read and I highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in spending time in the woods it working with wood. It is much more than just learning how to chop, stack and dry wood. It goes into the importance of wood fires, being in the forest and out deep connection to it. It has been fun and interesting to read and I highly recommend it.

**RonB** · January 31, 2024, 11:53 AM

A little more expensive than scrap tin, but made for the job:

Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081GF4PNG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B081GF4PNG&linkCode=as2&tag=firforlif-20&linkId=6b43789f23a1cf0777bdc27be0229503

**texastweeter** · January 31, 2024, 01:07 PM

Getting low. Will fill er up after squirrel season is over.

**Murdy** · January 31, 2024, 01:32 PM

Guess I'm not much on stacking

But it all burns up. Strictly heating for the outdoor boiler, not cooking, wood.

**Panhead John** · January 31, 2024, 02:02 PM

Does this count?…..

**Johnny Booth** · January 31, 2024, 03:59 PM

It’s a start. 🤓

**Spinaker** · January 31, 2024, 09:47 PM

Well I got some splitting and stacking done tonight. Although not as much as I wanted, but none of us have as much free time as we would like. (Well, maybe some of us do. LOL)

I got about 5 rows done this evening. This has been really fun to build so far, although it does take longer. I am finding this to be very therapeutic. Taking the time to place the splits onto the rows where they fit has been really fun. Then there is the sound of the Gransfors Bruks axe hitting that red oak. The way it echos off the other trees and the sauna is almost magical. There is just something about that deep cracking sound that I really love. Then there is the smell of that freshly-split red oak..........nothing like it.

Anyway, here is a night time shot of the round. I think it is coming along nicely. I have been taking my time splitting and stacking and I think it is paying off. For the most part, the pieces of wood are still leaning inwards, which is what I want. I need to make sure that I keep the ends lined up with the boarder I scribed, so the stack stays upright. As I get closer to 5 Ft tall, then I will start filling the middle and assembling the roof. Although, I might need to start filling the middle sooner than that. I am not sure I have enough wood right now to build this all the way up. I can remedy that though, so no worries. It might be tough to tell, but this is actually quite a bit of wood already.

I will keep updating this as I split more and more wood, when I have the time.

**Spinaker** · February 1, 2024, 10:13 AM

Just did some recon on silver maple down in the river bottoms. I have a few widow makers in the field. We harvested this section two years ago, and I was hoping this would have fallen by now. I am going to run a long rope on the tree closest to me in this photo. ThenI can pull that tree back with the skid. That should allow the other large truck on the right to slide down. with me well out of the way. All of the tree in this stand are about 50-80 ft so there is tons of wood to be had!

After all of that is done, then I can come back down and get to work making rounds. I love this silver maple, It is relatively softer than other hard woods, but it grows pretty straight, and thus splits easily. This small section of this stand has been standing dead for a few years, so it should be good and dry. And this stuff looks great when it is cut into rounds and I get it all stacked up and have it ready to be split.

**Spinaker** · February 2, 2024, 06:58 AM

Long day at the office, I got home late but I was able to get a couple of hours of splitting done. The holzhausen is really starting to take shape. I put in some cross members that should help to stabilize the stack. Although I feel like it is really solid so far. The a gain I am only half way up.

**fzxdoc** · February 2, 2024, 07:51 AM

I'm really enjoying watching your Holzhausen take shape, Spinaker . It sure looks like a lot of work. But if, as you say, it's therapeutic and you feel gentled out when you stop for the night and head for the house, then it will be well worth it.
Me, I get tuckered out just looking through those photos!

Kathryn

**Spinaker** · February 5, 2024, 09:37 AM

More progress was made this weekend on the Holzhausen. Friday night I started filling the interior of the circle with more knotty, long or curvy pieces of wood. I had some pretty stubborn and nasty pieces that I was more than happy to chuck into the middle. (In my earlier days, I would have kept chopping those into oblivion just to get a win.) I have about 8 inches of space between the pallets the wood is stacked on and the ground, so I should get plenty of airflow. As you can see, I stacked all the wood with the bark facing down. The idea here is that as the moisture leaves the wood during the drying process, it will not be trapped by the bark. (I try to remove all the bark from most pieces anyway, if I can) Doing it this way, moisture can more easily flow up and out of the stack. According to the book I have been reading, this stack creates a chimney effect; with air rising through the middle and drying the wood stack as the air rises. Plus, let's be honest, it is pretty damn cool to look at. I got tired of just stacking wood into a bunk or into a face cord stack. So this has been a rewarding and satisfying to build. I am really happy with it so far. There is truth in the idea that chopping and stacking wood gives you instant gratification. A lot of the stress and anxiety of the day seems to disappear when you are focused on chopping and stacking. This has become a safe haven for me. (just like BBQ) A place to go when I need a break from everything going on around me. It is just me, the wood and my axe. (Ripley hangs out too, of course)

I stacked the round to about 5 Feet and then really started to fill the middle. It is amazing to see how much wood the Holzhausen will hold. I would estimate that I split about 2 cords of wood this weekend in order to fill the sides and the middle. I split a good mixture of ash and oak. There was a little bit of boxelder mixed in there too.

The tire helps to hold the split pieces on my chopping block so I do not have to bend over after every swing. I secured the tire to the chopping block and four screws, so it will not slide off the stump. This is a game changer if you are splitting a lot of wood. (Info: The tire is a 275/R18)

I am going to use the bark pieces pictured below as the roof. These are off cut bark pieces that I chopped from large oak and ash rounds. The bark pieces are water proof and it should help to shed water from the top of the Holzhousen. I was originally going to use a metal roof, I and I might still do that, but I am going to try to go the traditional route and use the wood as a roof for now. I will stack them on top as if they were shake shingles, that should work just fine.

I need to add a few more pieces to angle the pile up from the sides. I will do that by adding a few more rows to the walls. However, instead of having the pieces leaning down towards the center, I will start to angle them upwards, towards the middle, as the middle pile grows. Then I can add the wood shingles to the top.

I won't be able to get down to work on it tonight, but I should be able to get some more chopping done on Tuesday night. I am looking forward to seeing how it looks when she is all done. I will post more results when I make more progress. Still more wood to be split down there!

"...what is most likely going through my mind as I address the chopping block these days-the idea that what I'm about to do connects me with history. It reminds me of who I am, and where I come from." -Roy Jacobson

**Spinaker** · February 9, 2024, 09:45 PM

Whelp. I got the middle filled up and some of the bark pieces on top for the roof. I still need to add some pieces of to the very top. (Not sure how I am going to go up there and do that, it is about 10 FtT from ground to the top and 4 feet from the edge to the middle) I ran out of rounds to split open, so I will need to find some more rounds tomorrow. I will post a better picture when the sun is out tomorrow.

**fzxdoc** · February 10, 2024, 09:45 AM

That photo is a feast for the eyes, and a tribute to the perseverance of an outdoors man. Kudos to you, Spinaker !

Kathryn

**Greygoose** · February 10, 2024, 10:55 AM

What are those small silos on the other side of the tree line ?
just wondering,,,,

**Spinaker** · February 10, 2024, 02:55 PM

Here is a daytime shot. Much easier to see . The one below is a close up of the shingles.

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