O.T. Wood Thief

deerlyparted · Jan 4, 2015

Lost 4 loads of good white oak firewood that I had
chunked up to some rascal that must have thought
they needed it worse than me. When I finally got
frozen ground last week I went back to woods to get
it, surprise, it was already gone. At least I
didn't have it split for them. That would have
made me even madder. Who has the nerve to go down
a mile long dead end road and steal that much wood?
Desperate!

Lou from Wi. · Jan 4, 2015

Is it public, or private property?
LOU

Goose · Jan 4, 2015

I read once in a history of Omaha that in about 1856 or so, when the city was being settled and most heating and cooking was done with firewood, a fellow would go into the hills north of Omaha, cut firewood, and haul it to a lot in the Florence area of north Omaha where he would retail it.

One winter, he noticed some pilferage. He took about two dozen pieces of firewood, bored a one inch hole down the center, filled them with gunpowder, and hammered a plug back in the hole. He then set the pieces where they could be easily swiped.

When stoves began blowing up in the neighborhood, the pilferage stopped. Guess you couldn't get away with that nowadays.

D beatty · Jan 4, 2015

Thats why I only cut what I can load and take take home the same day. Its getting so if its not nailed down they will steal it.

schumy ia · Jan 4, 2015

when I was a younger man,My wife & I planted about 100 lbs of seed potatoes one spring. We weeded,we mulched,we checked on them all summer.When we thought it was time to harvest , someone beat us to it.I guess the work was good for us,

Ray · Jan 4, 2015

I had 6 trees cut down in my woods,nothing left but the stump.

David G · Jan 4, 2015

That sucks, sorry for you.

Bruce from Can. · Jan 4, 2015

I love that story.

fixerupper · Jan 4, 2015

That would make me more than mad. I don't suppose there is any insurance coverage? We had a thousand steel posts stolen from a vacant farm quite a few years ago. Dad's insurance paid him a buck apiece which was the going price at the time. Dad had spent hours stacking them in a neat pile which made it easy for the thieves. It made us mad thinking the thieves were never caught and probably made a thousand bucks selling them.

Wemedeeres · Jan 4, 2015

My grandpa used to talk about the neighbor they had when he was a kid. He used to cut wood and sell, he'd stack it close to the road so it was easy to get to. When the threshing rigs would come by they'd often stop and help themselves. The neighbor would get mad as all he!! but never did anything about it as far as piling it in a different spot.

2x4 · Jan 4, 2015

saw a story other day on the 'net, about a hand grenade that blew up inside a wood stove in Austria. Was an accident; believed that in WW 2 someone laid the grenade in a tree crotch & it got overgrown. Fast forward to today & the crotch was in the stove & exploded. Blew the glass doors off the stove; no one was home so no injuries. Otherwise the stove was ok.

Russ from MN · Jan 4, 2015

I have heard of people putting a shotgun shell in and plugging it, I think it's a good idea!

Mark - IN. · Jan 4, 2015

I made that suggestion to my brother, legally blind, two seasons ago. He can see shapes up close, not much more, and now his colon cancer's back. A sister of ours works for a company that expanded their existing pole building by 100,000 square foot that moved into their woods. I provide much or most of my brother's firewood, but the place that she works for gave him permission to harvest as much as he could before a drop dead date when a professional harvesting company came in and cleared it so construction could start. I made it there a couple of weekends to drop and cut up a few big oaks, several cords worth, hauled them to his place, split them for him. In the mean time, Sis let him stay at her place for a couple weeks, took him to work with her in the morning, let him spend the days hitting smaller trees, maybe 10" - 14" round or so and kindling, cutting and stacking them, witnessed by plenty, and she'd take him home with her at night. Pretty dangerous for someone that's legally blind, but that's what happened for about two weeks while I was out of town and couldn't make it to pick it up and haul it to his place. When I got home, I picked him up Saturday morning, headed over and it was all gone. Every piece, gone. That took a lot out of him. He has this self pride and doesn't like the idea of appearing to not carry his own weight, and harvesting that wood on his own was one example. Two weeks of that hard work stolen by some low life(s). I wanted to take down a few more smaller ones for him, stack them, tap and plug them with gun powder, and cork them but he wouldn't have anything to do with it. His fear? Might be a home with small children. I'm not as nice, God fearing, or forgiving as my brother. He's a far better man than I am, God bless him.

Mark

IH2444 · Jan 4, 2015

Had someone stealing my firewood once. Poison ivy does not bother me so I took some big ivy vines and ran them thru a chipper shredder and put on my bait stack of wood. Sure nuff about 2 days after it dissappeared a family down the road had a strange poison ivy outbreak. hmmm

Russ from MN · Jan 4, 2015

If it was a regular old pineapple US hand grenade it would of done a lot more than blow the glass out, might of just been a loaded rifle cartridge.

bison · Jan 5, 2015

(quoted from post at 21:32:38 01/04/15) If it was a regular old pineapple US hand grenade it would of done a lot more than blow the glass out, might of just been a loaded rifle cartridge.

ears ago i took out a forestry permit on crown land (next to a at that time friendly neighbor) to cut 500 spruce rails to build a corral with.
I had them all cut to length and peeled and stacked at winters end.
When i came a month later to pick them up there was none left.
That summer that neighbor was building a long rail fence around his place with...you guessed it,... my rails.
I called the cops on him but they would not do a thing even with i showed them the permit.
Useless pr"cks :x

sms · Jan 5, 2015

Had someone take down a fence and drive onto my place to steel a couple loads all split once. Called local police who did nothing, found out who did it myself then went to the local detective I knew and suddenly he was arrested. Many years later he showed up at a construction site looking for a job and guess who was the foreman and did all the hiring. Heh Heh

Richard G. · Jan 5, 2015

Old man that worked in the local cotton gin here years ago would only cut one pickup load at at a time. Folks would ask him why he did not cut more ahead. He would say "I might die and my wife would burn it with some other man".
Richard in NW SC

Billy J Shafer · Jan 5, 2015

Had a man down here that stuffed wood. With two eggs and sulphur. I hear the smell was very bad.

LME · Jan 5, 2015

Years ago a local guy had about a quarter mile of "T" posts stolen out of his fence. They cut the wires, it was muddy, and along the road. Had to have had some helpers.

Donald Lehman · Jan 5, 2015

The same ones who are stealing scrap, radiators out of workimg combines, and anything else that isn't welded down.

I really like the gun powder spiked firewood idea. Sadly, as said, you probably would be in more trouble than the thief.

The eggs and sulfer idea would be pretty good, too.

oldtanker · Jan 5, 2015

(quoted from post at 09:24:19 01/05/15) The same ones who are stealing scrap, radiators out of workimg combines, and anything else that isn't welded down.

I really like the gun powder spiked firewood idea. Sadly, as said, you probably would be in more trouble than the thief.

The eggs and sulfer idea would be pretty good, too.

You nailed it. You would be in more trouble that the wood thief. At most he would be charged with misdemeanor theft and criminal trespass. You could be charged as a terrorist today because they could consider a powder charged piece of wood a bomb or weapon of mass destruction. Plus the crook would be able to sue you for personal injury, mental anguish (imagine having to pay to heat the guys house for life because he claims he's afraid to burn wood) and any physical damages to his property. Some states have laws that make booby traps that are in place to cause damage or injury illegal. MN is one state like that. You put something out to puncture tires and you can be charged. Put something in your home shop or barn and someone get injured you are in big trouble. State pen type trouble.

Rick

ss55 · Jan 5, 2015

That would be a problem if the thief sold the wood to an unsuspecting third party.

Deere Scotty · Jan 5, 2015

Watch out for "Un-Manned Aerial Drones"! I haven't heard any stories yet; but I cant think of a better way to...

A) Escape being caught.
B) Thieves finding ways, in without going in unknown places.
c) Keeping an eye on Your habits, & if anybodys around.

These new drones are going to make life more miserable than helpful within the next few years I predict!!! They can even collide with a drone You might send up to see whats going on which would ruin Your ability to see what they are up to. & loosing 1, or $200 in a drone is cheaper than going to jail for them!

GeneMO · Jan 5, 2015

(quoted from post at 09:46:43 01/05/15)

(quoted from post at 09:24:19 01/05/15) The same ones who are stealing scrap, radiators out of workimg combines, and anything else that isn't welded down.

I really like the gun powder spiked firewood idea. Sadly, as said, you probably would be in more trouble than the thief.

The eggs and sulfer idea would be pretty good, too.

Click to expand...

You nailed it. You would be in more trouble that the wood thief. At most he would be charged with misdemeanor theft and criminal trespass. You could be charged as a terrorist today because they could consider a powder charged piece of wood a bomb or weapon of mass destruction. Plus the crook would be able to sue you for personal injury, mental anguish (imagine having to pay to heat the guys house for life because he claims he's afraid to burn wood) and any physical damages to his property. Some states have laws that make booby traps that are in place to cause damage or injury illegal. MN is one state like that. You put something out to puncture tires and you can be charged. Put something in your home shop or barn and someone get injured you are in big trouble. State pen type trouble.

Rick

If you kept your mouth shut, how could they prove you booby trapped the wood?? He more than likely steals from numerous sources.

Gene

deerlyparted · Jan 5, 2015

Private property that I own.

GeneMO · Jan 5, 2015

Many years ago I had a big, gnarley chunk of white oak that a splitting maul just bounced off of. This was before the hydraulic wood splitter.

So for fun, my cousin and I drilled a 5/8" hole down the center as deep as we could. Cut a groove in the side of the hole for the fuse. Filled 3/4 full of black powder, then took some 3/4" wooden dowel, Tapered it some with a rasp, soaked it in water overnight, then added the fuse, drove the dowel in.

Set it out in the driveway, lit the fuse, and retreated inside the shop. One heck of a explosion. Went out and the chunk of wood was gone!! Gone!... Place in the gravel drive was kinda like pulverized. It broke the chunk into five pieces and slung one as far as 60 yards.

Lot of work but we got the chunk split.

teddy52food · Jan 5, 2015

I had some big tough elm I couldn't split by hand. I used dynamite & got the job done. Took a lot of caps but was fun. About a good tablespoon opened them up.

oldtanker · Jan 5, 2015

(quoted from post at 16:46:25 01/05/15)

(quoted from post at 09:46:43 01/05/15)

(quoted from post at 09:24:19 01/05/15) The same ones who are stealing scrap, radiators out of workimg combines, and anything else that isn't welded down.

I really like the gun powder spiked firewood idea. Sadly, as said, you probably would be in more trouble than the thief.

The eggs and sulfer idea would be pretty good, too.

Click to expand...

You nailed it. You would be in more trouble that the wood thief. At most he would be charged with misdemeanor theft and criminal trespass. You could be charged as a terrorist today because they could consider a powder charged piece of wood a bomb or weapon of mass destruction. Plus the crook would be able to sue you for personal injury, mental anguish (imagine having to pay to heat the guys house for life because he claims he's afraid to burn wood) and any physical damages to his property. Some states have laws that make booby traps that are in place to cause damage or injury illegal. MN is one state like that. You put something out to puncture tires and you can be charged. Put something in your home shop or barn and someone get injured you are in big trouble. State pen type trouble.

Rick

Click to expand...

If you kept your mouth shut, how could they prove you booby trapped the wood?? He more than likely steals from numerous sources.

Gene

Gene, not true. You get some who pick up a little here and a little there hoping no one will notice. But a guy grabbing 3-4 loads from one place isn't going out the next night to get more. He's going to sit by the fire while he drinks or is strung out on drug. Then when he runs low he'll find more to steal. If you are willing to risk the consequences so be it. And lord help you if a little kid is injured by your actions. You may not get caught but you would have to live with that and you know it's going to be in the news.

Rick

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