Felling for Firewood

Rugged made
Wesspur
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mountainguyed67 said:
What brand and model of come along is that?
Click to expand...
Sad to say, this commercial come-along came from a long career in construction, then on the farm. All the brand and model info, as well presumably as the capacity and safety notices are long worn off:

IMG_0667.jpg

Only marking I can see at all is this in the cast of the body of the tool:

IMG_0668.jpg

Which I think is a cast number, not a model number. I've never been able to find anything via google to help me know more about it.
sundance said:
One thing to think about. If the log is off the ground any braking is only the towing machine. Dragging the back end helps with stopping.
Click to expand...

Absolutely correct. Neither my smallish tractor, nor my ATV have sufficient brakes to handle a run-away. Truth be told, I work on the north facing slope of a hill and all my pulls are up hill, but I wouldn't want to ride either tractor of ATV while a log is playing crack the whip with me. Pulled the last two sections of that tree out this morning:

IMG_0669.jpg
 
gggGary said:
I'll throw in here. Got about 7 out of a dozen diseased ash cut and in the wood shed this fall/early winter. Mostly edge of the pasture trees. None were huge but several were heavy leaners. Did my first plunge and out the back cuts.
View attachment 955081
All has gone well so far. Full disclosure one I was trying to wedge against the lean went down at 90 degrees to the plan. I had an exit path, a bent fence post and a few insulators the only casualties.
I also have more "free ash" than I can get to for the cutting, both standing and dropped with easy access.
View attachment 955084
Doing some with friend who no longer can get all his firewood done on his own.
I buck and split where they fall before loading for the trip to the wood racks. Mower and trailer here at the farmette, into the van when out n about.
Don't know what you guys are seeing but looking around at the woods this winter is rather sad, so many species have been decimated by the various diseases, the woods are full of dead and looking pretty haggard, thin.
Click to expand...
What disease has hit your Ash trees? Is it Ash blight?
 
dealing with EAB here too. Dropped, limbed, and bucked 3 more this weekend. That puts me at 23 still standing out of 86 we started with. Home stretch. Unfortunately, now that the weather is turning cooler I'm not sure how much time I'll have since I picked up an adjunct professor position this semester on top of seeing my normal clients.
 
StihlsawuserMS361 said:
EAB here also. It's so sad to see this happen, thanks to imported insects.

The next big one is the Lantern Butterfly. I guess that bug goes for any hardwood.
Click to expand...
Yes, the lantern fly likes the maples, but it will eat any hardwood. they don't necessarily kill the tree like the Emerald ash borer. they feed on the tree and kill branches and stress it. (Trees don't look good with dead branches) they also usually feed at the top of the tree makes it hard to control them.
 
Not sure if you are referring to the depths, height or both. Unless I am trying something unusual my height is typically just a function of the depth as I rarely change the angle. Due to the chair potential of white oak and whatever kind of hickory I was falling in this patch, I started using a more shallow face when falling against the lean. This gives me more protection from a face chair, more room for boring and wedge placement. Not saying this is how it should be done - just my thought process and reaction to a dangerous red oak face chair I experienced this season with a deep face cut.

Ron
 
Jere39 said:
Sad to say, this commercial come-along came from a long career in construction, then on the farm. All the brand and model info, as well presumably as the capacity and safety notices are long worn off:

View attachment 969899

Only marking I can see at all is this in the cast of the body of the tool:

View attachment 969901

Which I think is a cast number, not a model number. I've never been able to find anything via google to help me know more about it.


Absolutely correct. Neither my smallish tractor, nor my ATV have sufficient brakes to handle a run-away. Truth be told, I work on the north facing slope of a hill and all my pulls are up hill, but I wouldn't want to ride either tractor of ATV while a log is playing crack the whip with me. Pulled the last two sections of that tree out this morning:

View attachment 969904
Click to expand...
 
Jere39 I sure like your log carriage/ arch idea... I have couple those come-along I think mine are like 50 years old i got them from my dad 40 years ago. Not quite as good of shape as yours. Mine the springs don't have tension anymore.
 
Growing up, I helped string many strands of barbed wire with a similar come-along. Not sure what happen to it, the last time I saw it almost 50 years ago, the wheel was broken from a creosote post tossed on it and the top of the handle holder was broken. I would love to have one. Actually, found one this summer for $40, I passed because it would have been a 140 mile round trip to get it plus the risk that it was stolen.

Ron
 
I'm usually cutting up deadfall, but in this case it was time for the spruce trees in the front yard to go. The first two leaned towards the street so they were easy, but the closest one to the buildings was a back leaner, so it had to be roped and wedged.
Picture of the middle one down, with a couple of Pioneer saws taking care of business.
The big cookies destination the wood stove, along with the Ash cut during the previous summer. Those cookies actually dry out quicker than long splits, and save a step. The ones too big to fit in the stove get cut in half.

Notice all the branches on the big trailer in the background, not even all of them.


IMG_20210615_172705.jpgIMG_20210619_124613~2.jpg
IMG_20210624_214909~4.jpg
 
rwoods said:
Not sure if you are referring to the depths, height or both. Unless I am trying something unusual my height is typically just a function of the depth as I rarely change the angle. Due to the chair potential of white oak and whatever kind of hickory I was falling in this patch, I started using a more shallow face when falling against the lean. This gives me more protection from a face chair, more room for boring and wedge placement. Not saying this is how it should be done - just my thought process and reaction to a dangerous red oak face chair I experienced this season with a deep face cut.

Ron
Click to expand...
Yes, sorry, I was referring to depth of your face cut. Typically I go a good bit deeper then that. I can't say I've had any barber chair issues in either white or red oak. Wonder if it's an area specific type thing? Always interesting to know the why someone does something. Thanks
 
I used to go at least 1/3. I went too deep on a nice straight red oak late last winter. It sat back on my saw during the back cut too tightly to get a wedge in place (over confidence in my assessment of the lean -I should have placed a wedge as soon as there was room). While contemplating my next move fortunately at a safe distance, a puff of wind caused the tree to chair backwards with the stem ultimately falling sideways. Since then I have shortened most of my face cuts on trees I am falling against the lean or that have canopies that make it difficult to access the limb load.

Our white oak are the most chair prone trees that I encounter - until whatever type of hickory is on my present site. Once the stem moves, you better be on the trigger or near a finished hinge. I bogged the saw by binding the tip when falling the small hickory in the picture. That little hiccup is all it took for the stem movement to overrun the thinning of the hinge. After that one, I bore cut the remaining hickories. On this job, the LO wants high stumps left for mechanical removal. I am struggling with being precise while holding the saw at chest height.

Ron
 
sean donato said:
Not making fun or judging, but why are your face cuts so small?
Click to expand...

He’s the opposite of me, mine vary from just right to too big. Many of our trees are big enough that it’s difficult for me to get started straight and in line, sometimes I have three false starts before I’m ready to go.
 
mountainguyed67 said:
He’s the opposite of me, mine vary from just right to too big. Many of our trees are big enough that it’s difficult for me to get started straight and in line, sometimes I have three false starts before I’m ready to go.
Click to expand...
I aim for 30% as well in the face. I'm pretty particular about my face cuts. I also like to get a wedge in the back cut once um in deep enough. But I will add circumstances vary and there's no dead set way to fell a tree, hence why we all learn as many techniques as we can.
 

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