The photo you showed in your post #105 would of been a great example where you could have loaded that sled 3-4 times and dragged all the splits down hill to toss over the bank. I suggest the largest one you can afford.
New guy in Maine
- Thread starter trukn2004
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zogger
Tree Freak
Sander is on and snowblower is working. Just need to adjust the shoes so it'll skim and not dig since I'm on dirt. All I need now is for my sand to be delivered.
That there is plain cheatin! heheh
I had a thought with a few blizzards up north, heck with clearing roads and such, everyone just switch to snowmachines in the winter. Even come out with bigrig snow machines, like snowcats with big sleighs or something. Saw an example once,. a blizzard and heavy snow in vermont, zero wheeled vehicles moving, snowmobiles all over all the way into town. All the stores were open, etc, just snowmachines in the parking slots. I thought it was slick!
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
That is decently common up here still in some spots during big storms. mostly more for pleasure then need, while the roads are closed. going to be fun though. I have a half mile of dirt road to keep open, so doing it from the comfort of the cab out of the elements will be great! though at the rate this winter is going I'm not certain I will get to use it.
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
christ, got to like 55 out today so I did some outside things. Split the maple I took down the other day. also grabbed a photo of that red oak all stacked.
Then I decided I needed to decompress so I walked out into the woods and all around the property lines. Found some beautiful trees, some future scrounges, and just enjoyed the serenity. I love having 11 acres, backed by another 45 land-locked and undeveloped acres, with 80 acres across the street also undeveloped. It is my own personal sanctuary and I hope it stays that was for quite a while.
Then I decided I needed to decompress so I walked out into the woods and all around the property lines. Found some beautiful trees, some future scrounges, and just enjoyed the serenity. I love having 11 acres, backed by another 45 land-locked and undeveloped acres, with 80 acres across the street also undeveloped. It is my own personal sanctuary and I hope it stays that was for quite a while.
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Merry Christmas guys! just wrapped up a week long visit from family all over the country. house got quite full! Ive been enjoying the warmth all week, but our first snow is on its way this evening so its back to wood and work.Christmas eve myself, my dad, my uncle and my brother-in-law went out into the woods to play around with the saw. I had four trees picked out to get on the ground. 3 were beech with this weird bumpy crap on their bark and one maple with a dead top. I started with the maple and dropped it perfectly.
it had two leads, so i cut it low and sent them down together. ended up splitting apart when it hit.
Next up was a beech with a narly burl near the base. I formulated my plan, put in my notch, did my backcut and promptly got it wedged in another tree... :unamused: We used several methods and tools and got it to the ground. took an hour.
ugly stump, from cutting it free and sliding it off.
burl
with a bit of humility, i went to the next beech. This was a big one, probably the biggest ive cut. 18-20" diameter at the base. took every thing my little rancher had on that back cut. she fell a little off the mark, and wedged low on a pine... you can see how the day was shaping up.
luckily, the 4th and final beech was about 90 degrees out, so i cut it and drove the big beech off of the pine.
Tired and defeated, i left them to sit and just cut them all up today, well minus the last 15 ft of trunk on that big one. 3 tanks of fuel and i was spent, the saw was struggling, and i was beginning to get some dust. I will most likely leave them where they are and deal with it in the spring.
it had two leads, so i cut it low and sent them down together. ended up splitting apart when it hit.
Next up was a beech with a narly burl near the base. I formulated my plan, put in my notch, did my backcut and promptly got it wedged in another tree... :unamused: We used several methods and tools and got it to the ground. took an hour.
ugly stump, from cutting it free and sliding it off.
burl
with a bit of humility, i went to the next beech. This was a big one, probably the biggest ive cut. 18-20" diameter at the base. took every thing my little rancher had on that back cut. she fell a little off the mark, and wedged low on a pine... you can see how the day was shaping up.
luckily, the 4th and final beech was about 90 degrees out, so i cut it and drove the big beech off of the pine.
Tired and defeated, i left them to sit and just cut them all up today, well minus the last 15 ft of trunk on that big one. 3 tanks of fuel and i was spent, the saw was struggling, and i was beginning to get some dust. I will most likely leave them where they are and deal with it in the spring.
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
We got our first official snow. somewhere around 4-5" I think. Broke out the tractor and struggled to learn and clear snow off of a partially frozen half mile of dirt. found some nice rocks and went through two shear pins. overall, snowblower performed well, but if the ground can freeze a bit more it will work even better. Spent the whole day fighting a cold too, and its only getting worse. going to see what tomorrow brings, I might do another cleanup run on the road.
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
little update: Between end of December and now we've been bestowed a couple small storms. this, combined with some frigid temps kept me out of the woods. This past week its warmed up quite nicely and the woods are almost bare. I decided to head out today and split some of the wood that I dropped around Christmas. I started at the first tree. which I am pretty sure is a sugar maple. splitting was pretty easy, though the farther up the trunk the more punk I found. kinda made me a bit sad. I got about 40% of that tree split.
Next I headed over to one of the Beech trees. The first big round I started to split and found the grain was very twisted. Made it quite a struggle for the first two or three rounds. After that, they straightened out and I got a decent amount done.
I still have plenty more to go, but it was getting late and I was tired. headed to the house, washed up and headed to work. ended up stopping in at a local store and picked up a Jet Sled. I cant wait to give it a try hauling out splits and rounds from where I can't get with the tractor.
Next I headed over to one of the Beech trees. The first big round I started to split and found the grain was very twisted. Made it quite a struggle for the first two or three rounds. After that, they straightened out and I got a decent amount done.
I still have plenty more to go, but it was getting late and I was tired. headed to the house, washed up and headed to work. ended up stopping in at a local store and picked up a Jet Sled. I cant wait to give it a try hauling out splits and rounds from where I can't get with the tractor.
Jordan3605
ArboristSite Operative
Welcome to AS. Im in Kittery if you ever need a hand let me know.
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Thanks a lot!
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Updates!:
I figure I will regale you with tales of wonder and frustration. After a day or two rest, I hit the Beech again. Splitting was getting harder and harder with the fiskars. Just bouncing off of the wood. I tried multiple rounds and gave up and grabbed the old school 6lb and 11 lb mauls. I made some more progress, but came across several rounds that the 11 bounced off of
. I managed a meager pile before I had to call it quits.
here you can see how many times I hit it and nothing.
I think I need to wait until it cools and they freeze, or maybe if they can dry a bit. just impressive how tough they are. On top of that, the top rounds of the maple are mostly punk, so I am debating even bothering with them.
To save face I decided to reload the wood rack on the porch with my new jet sled.
Man is it slick! just glides over snow and ice, no problems. I had trouble on bare grass, but it wasn't terrible.
a few days later I decided to inspect the sander and tractor since weve had such nice weather. Took a look in the sander and found this
seems a bunch of small rocks packed in the bottom. The grade 5 bolt I used did not shear. reading the manual I finally got told me how you aren't supposed to use anything but their specific bolt. so I now have a bent ear, I had to completely disassemble the sander, and I am waiting on 30 bucks worth of parts to fix it. not to mention I need to bend that ear back too.
the offending rocks
I will be making a secondary screen to prevent this from happening again, since the provided one does not prevent them from falling in.
On top of that, we got 8" of snow today onto a half mile dirt road that has zero frost. took me a hour and a half to half clear it, and I had to do a crappy job since I could not use the float feature with the snowblower since I would just dig into the road. On the plus side, fire was re-lit and the pup is quite happy about it.
that about sums it up! thanks for listening to me vent.
Joe
I figure I will regale you with tales of wonder and frustration. After a day or two rest, I hit the Beech again. Splitting was getting harder and harder with the fiskars. Just bouncing off of the wood. I tried multiple rounds and gave up and grabbed the old school 6lb and 11 lb mauls. I made some more progress, but came across several rounds that the 11 bounced off of
. I managed a meager pile before I had to call it quits.
here you can see how many times I hit it and nothing.
I think I need to wait until it cools and they freeze, or maybe if they can dry a bit. just impressive how tough they are. On top of that, the top rounds of the maple are mostly punk, so I am debating even bothering with them.
To save face I decided to reload the wood rack on the porch with my new jet sled.
Man is it slick! just glides over snow and ice, no problems. I had trouble on bare grass, but it wasn't terrible.
a few days later I decided to inspect the sander and tractor since weve had such nice weather. Took a look in the sander and found this
seems a bunch of small rocks packed in the bottom. The grade 5 bolt I used did not shear. reading the manual I finally got told me how you aren't supposed to use anything but their specific bolt. so I now have a bent ear, I had to completely disassemble the sander, and I am waiting on 30 bucks worth of parts to fix it. not to mention I need to bend that ear back too.the offending rocks
I will be making a secondary screen to prevent this from happening again, since the provided one does not prevent them from falling in.
On top of that, we got 8" of snow today onto a half mile dirt road that has zero frost. took me a hour and a half to half clear it, and I had to do a crappy job since I could not use the float feature with the snowblower since I would just dig into the road. On the plus side, fire was re-lit and the pup is quite happy about it.
that about sums it up! thanks for listening to me vent.
Joe
ChoppyChoppy
Tree Freak
Grade 2 bolts usually work well for shear bolts
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Yea, I contacted the place that sold it to me, he said he looked it up. I know now that he didn't since the manual calls for a HHCS bolt. luckily nothing expensive broke, but just a lesson on my part to fact check. in hind sight, a screen should have caught those rocks and I never should have had this problem. Live and learn! lol.
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Vengence was mine today!
We got hit with another 6 inches of snow and some quite bitter, well in comparison, temperatures. Went out and beat on those beech rounds. A TON easier when frozen. I did all of it with the Fiskars and got most of the large rounds handled.
The small stacked pile under my coat was from before.
Overview. got a decent amount split before my hands got cold and wet from fishing rounds out of the snow.
A rare selfie. Sent it to the wife.
We got hit with another 6 inches of snow and some quite bitter, well in comparison, temperatures. Went out and beat on those beech rounds. A TON easier when frozen. I did all of it with the Fiskars and got most of the large rounds handled.
The small stacked pile under my coat was from before.
Overview. got a decent amount split before my hands got cold and wet from fishing rounds out of the snow.
A rare selfie. Sent it to the wife.
Looking good. Colder temps certainly do help with popping those rounds apart!
Check in to a hookaroon, pickaroon or log tongs to keep your hands drier.
Check in to a hookaroon, pickaroon or log tongs to keep your hands drier.
zogger
Tree Freak
Vengence was mine today!
We got hit with another 6 inches of snow and some quite bitter, well in comparison, temperatures. Went out and beat on those beech rounds. A TON easier when frozen. I did all of it with the Fiskars and got most of the large rounds handled.
The small stacked pile under my coat was from before.
Overview. got a decent amount split before my hands got cold and wet from fishing rounds out of the snow.
A rare selfie. Sent it to the wife.
LOL! Big frozen fun man!
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Another update! Fixed the sander I had boogered up a couple weeks ago with new parts. That was a bear, but its back together and running great. This summer im going to weld some finer mesh on top to keep all the rocks out. For now, I just used a dirt sifter that I put on top while I load. Takes a little longer, but no more rocks in the sander.
First pic shows you the bent fans that needed replacing. They took quite a beating..
Second shows the new ones installed. Nice and straight, no dings!
So the wife and I are looking into a abutting land-locked piece of property. I decided to walk the boundaries and check it out. along my trip I found this. it started about 8 ft up, and was about 6 ft high. After some research I learned porcupines do this! kinda neat. Tree is about a 1/8 mile from my back property line.
So the weather has been wonky the last couple weeks. Cold, hot, rainy, cold, windy, etc. It finally leveled off and we hit 60 today! The ground has been drying a ton so I headed out with the saw. It hasn't been run since Christmas
. I headed out to the beeches to finish up some cuts. First I got the last portion of the last tree bucked. These are some serious rounds. will have to halve them first just to pick them up.
I also had some stubborn ones, so they got a noodling! thatll teach them to not respect the fiskars.
With those piles pretty well set and just in need of some splitting and being moved to the stacking area, I ventured back to a steep hill towards the back of my property. I have about 6 red oaks that have been down a long time. All the sapwood is gone, but the heartwood is solid and ready. I cut until I ran the tank dry. Its about a 60% slope, not my most favorite footing, but I moved slowly and carefully and didn't run in to any problems.
I headed in, so I had time to get ready for work and passed this snapped top propped against itself. Looks like it might be a lightning strike to me, but im not sure. seems weird to be singed just in the middle like that.
Back out front, I grabbed a beer, sat down on my big pine stump by the road, and took it all in. What a awesome feeling living out here!
First pic shows you the bent fans that needed replacing. They took quite a beating..
Second shows the new ones installed. Nice and straight, no dings!
So the wife and I are looking into a abutting land-locked piece of property. I decided to walk the boundaries and check it out. along my trip I found this. it started about 8 ft up, and was about 6 ft high. After some research I learned porcupines do this! kinda neat. Tree is about a 1/8 mile from my back property line.
So the weather has been wonky the last couple weeks. Cold, hot, rainy, cold, windy, etc. It finally leveled off and we hit 60 today! The ground has been drying a ton so I headed out with the saw. It hasn't been run since Christmas
. I headed out to the beeches to finish up some cuts. First I got the last portion of the last tree bucked. These are some serious rounds. will have to halve them first just to pick them up.
I also had some stubborn ones, so they got a noodling! thatll teach them to not respect the fiskars.
With those piles pretty well set and just in need of some splitting and being moved to the stacking area, I ventured back to a steep hill towards the back of my property. I have about 6 red oaks that have been down a long time. All the sapwood is gone, but the heartwood is solid and ready. I cut until I ran the tank dry. Its about a 60% slope, not my most favorite footing, but I moved slowly and carefully and didn't run in to any problems.
I headed in, so I had time to get ready for work and passed this snapped top propped against itself. Looks like it might be a lightning strike to me, but im not sure. seems weird to be singed just in the middle like that.
Back out front, I grabbed a beer, sat down on my big pine stump by the road, and took it all in. What a awesome feeling living out here!
zogger
Tree Freak
Another update! Fixed the sander I had boogered up a couple weeks ago with new parts. That was a bear, but its back together and running great. This summer im going to weld some finer mesh on top to keep all the rocks out. For now, I just used a dirt sifter that I put on top while I load. Takes a little longer, but no more rocks in the sander.
First pic shows you the bent fans that needed replacing. They took quite a beating..
Second shows the new ones installed. Nice and straight, no dings!
So the wife and I are looking into a abutting land-locked piece of property. I decided to walk the boundaries and check it out. along my trip I found this. it started about 8 ft up, and was about 6 ft high. After some research I learned porcupines do this! kinda neat. Tree is about a 1/8 mile from my back property line.
So the weather has been wonky the last couple weeks. Cold, hot, rainy, cold, windy, etc. It finally leveled off and we hit 60 today! The ground has been drying a ton so I headed out with the saw. It hasn't been run since Christmas
I also had some stubborn ones, so they got a noodling! thatll teach them to not respect the fiskars.
With those piles pretty well set and just in need of some splitting and being moved to the stacking area, I ventured back to a steep hill towards the back of my property. I have about 6 red oaks that have been down a long time. All the sapwood is gone, but the heartwood is solid and ready. I cut until I ran the tank dry. Its about a 60% slope, not my most favorite footing, but I moved slowly and carefully and didn't run in to any problems.
I headed in, so I had time to get ready for work and passed this snapped top propped against itself. Looks like it might be a lightning strike to me, but im not sure. seems weird to be singed just in the middle like that.
Back out front, I grabbed a beer, sat down on my big pine stump by the road, and took it all in. What a awesome feeling living out here!
Real nice spread man, and plenty of cuttin fun!
trukn2004
ArboristSite Operative
Thanks man! it is great, though sometimes i get jealous of all the flat land owners.
. I've got great trees, but its very steep and a lot of ledge. makes getting the wood out a bit more difficult.zogger
Tree Freak
Thanks man! it is great, though sometimes i get jealous of all the flat land owners.
I remember living up there and know exactly what a Mainer would say "Aaayup..and it helps keep the tourists out..."
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