Getting a bit off topic aren't we eh? 

:-)

It's fir, arbutus, maple, and red cedar for kindling at our house. Non of which are as good as what you guys have.

Ab

> On Jul 5, 2017, at 3:02 PM, David McNeely <davmcneely40@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Sorry Alistair, slow brain today.  Typed "Al... " and went from there.
> 
> So far as wood species envy, I heat my house with wood, though I do have a gas furnace and it assists.  No hardwoods here in the West.  Well, there is birch, but not easily gotten where I am.  The best generally available are larch and Douglas fir, both at about 22M BTUs/cord.  Good white and scarlet oak like I burned in Kentucky, or post oak and black jack like I burned in Oklahoma and Texas run 28M up to 32M BTUs/cord, and burn much cleaner than any conifer.  In California there is oak, but not up here.  Mesquite has even more heat, up around 35M BTUs per cord.  I have only Ponderosa pine on my property, but trade it to wood vendors for larch and sometimes birch 2 to 1.  That is about par for heat content.
> 
> mcneely
> 
>> On Wed, Jul 5, 2017 at 2:50 PM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> Hey Dave,
>> 
>> I'm only Allison on the weekends.
>> 
>> :-)
>> 
>> Yeah, as a kid was always envious of the wood species on the east coast of the us. Stuck with mostly conifers up here on the island. Yeah, some exceptions but still...
>> 
>> Alistair
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> > On Jul 5, 2017, at 2:39 PM, David McNeely <davmcneely40@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>> >
>> > Allison, the gadget is of course, as you hinted on your blog, a third
>> > hand.  So, when working on something on the van (or any vehicle, or
>> > anything ferrous that can't be gotten to a vice or clamp, just use this to
>> > hold it in place against a ferrous background.  The work item wouldn't even
>> > need to be ferrous, if thin.  Wood, plastic, non-ferrous metal, any could
>> > be held in place against a ferrous base.
>> >
>> > Regarding dogwood, excellent for walking sticks and for mallets.  Gavels
>> > are typically dogwood.
>> >
>> > Another wood besides lignum vitae that sinks is Osage orange, also known as
>> > bois d'arc, hedge apple, and horse apple.  It also will not rot, and many a
>> > house in the lower midwest and Texas is on bois d'arc posts rather than
>> > concrete piers.  It was the favorite wood of Native Americans for bow wood,
>> > hence the French name bois d'arc (arch wood).  Woodworking tools are ruined
>> > quickly trying to work it, however.
>> >
>> > mcneely
>> >
>> >> On Wed, Jul 5, 2017 at 2:01 PM, David Beierl <dbeierl@attglobal.net> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> The cup provides a path for flux lines from backside of magnet to get to
>> >> the front, creating intense flux in the gap between them.
>> >>
>> >> Yrs,
>> >> d
>> >>
>> >>> On Wed, Jul 5, 2017 at 4:34 PM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> >>>
>> >>> Old shipwright gave me some scraps, wasn't from broken mallet.
>> >>>
>> >>> Yes, could use it for all those purposes, but isn't the primary use.
>> >>>
>> >>> The metal cup for the magnet I got from lee valley but must be available
>> >>> from many places. Sized for the magnet and has countersunk hole for
>> >> screw.
>> >>> I think they now have a notch in the side so you can get the magnet out
>> >>> again. Pretty well impossible to pry the magnet out of my version.
>> >>> Supposedly the metal cup alters the magnetic lines of flux enhancing the
>> >>> attraction on that side.
>> >>>
>> >>> Alistair
>> >>>
>> >>>> On Jul 5, 2017, at 1:18 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Very nice. Lignum vitae scraps? You must have had a woodcarving mallet
>> >>> come
>> >>>> apart on you. Also sticking notes, maps and such to the dash of a
>> >> diesel
>> >>>> vanagon! Where'd he get the magnet with the pocket on one side, or is
>> >>> that
>> >>>> just the way it appears?
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Jim
>> >>>>
>> >>>>> On Wed, Jul 5, 2017 at 3:03 PM Edward Maglott <emaglott3@gmail.com>
>> >>> wrote:
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> to prop open a too loosely swinging vent window?
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Edward   (who once made a much less attractive magnet with stick glued
>> >>> on
>> >>>>> for this purpose.)
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>>> On Wed, Jul 5, 2017 at 3:57 PM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca>
>> >> wrote:
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> This little gadget might be too small for Felder industries to bother
>> >>>>>> with. It might be even considered silly, but it works.
>> >>>>>> But just having a magnet on a short handle is handy for finding
>> >> screws
>> >>>>> etc
>> >>>>>> dropped in the gravel or dirt.
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> Most every van owner could use this, not saying many will, but they
>> >>> could
>> >>>>>> :-)
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> https://shufti.blog/2017/07/05/vanagon-whats-this-gizmo-used-for/
>> >>>>>>
>> >>>>>> Alistair
>> >>>>>
>> >>>
>> >>
>> 
>