Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[chipper1]

I teach my kids to bend knees and keep arms straight on the downstroke. Not quite a squat or even enough to be uncomfortable. What this does is puts your hands closer to the ground and farther away from you so if you miss or the axe glances off, it hits the ground. I have no idea if this is right and proper technique, but it works for us.

I would believe it is if their not hitting themselves in the feet .
It keeps the axe in the wood as it makes the stroke a straight line at the log instead of an arch. Another benefit is more power through the bottom portion of the swing which may be needed, or not.

 

[MustangMike]

The splitting block should be low, near the ground, not a full length piece. Feet wide, knees bent a bit, and I like to keep my hands a few inches apart, seems to help me put more power on the stroke.

Usually the danger is from pieces of the wood coming back at you, but that can do real damage also. Some pieces will split far easier than others. I've seen pieces of wood fly a good distance. Knots in the wood, etc, may change the trajectory of the Ax.

 

[woodchip rookie]

No difference.

As for ppe, after my recent incident with the shorty handled x-shin splitter 17, I can tell you what happens if you don't have ppe. I'm now a fan of shin pads too.

I was just thinkin that last night. Every time I split I get busted in the shin by something. I was out yesterday just doin some "casual" splitting. In sandals. Oops. I wont do that again either.

 

[LondonNeil]

New tool, short handle, doing as fiskars say and using a tall block which does seem daft but it's what they say. Swung at a split they needed halving one last time, caught it just off centre and chipped the corner off, axe deflected enough to miss the block despite it being a fair size and the round being well back on it (could have been further back though, one to remember). Swung through and caught the top of my left shin. I'd bit the wood enough to take all but the last of the energy from the swing but brand new and razor sharp the x17 only had to kiss me to clean cut my trousers and shin. About an inch laceration, 3 stitches and tetanus. I now use a low block and crouch, and ensure split is at the far side of the block.

 

[chipper1]

New tool, short handle, doing as fiskars say and using a tall block which does seem daft but it's what they say. Swung at a split they needed halving one last time, caught it just off centre and chipped the corner off, axe deflected enough to miss the block despite it being a fair size and the round being well back on it (could have been further back though, one to remember). Swung through and caught the top of my left shin. I'd bit the wood enough to take all but the last of the energy from the swing but brand new and razor sharp the x17 only had to kiss me to clean cut my trousers and shin. About an inch laceration, 3 stitches and tetanus. I now use a low block and crouch, and ensure split is at the far side of the block.

Good to learn from others mistakes for sure.
I believe if it weren't for Gods grace I would not be here as I've had to learn many lessons the hard way, either by choice, or because I had no-one to teach me.
Glad it wasn't worse.
Reminds me of this story.
Highlight of it.
Imagine making a $2 million mistake and not getting fired. No one was happy about the mistake at Braskem Americas, where an employee made a bad deal and cost the petrochemical company a lot of money. But, the company has an employee development approach that factors risk into its talent development plans.
Worth the read if you are in management, parenting is management .
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/jobs/2-million-mistake-didnt-get-employee-fired-Heres-why-.html

 

[LondonNeil]

Question about saws for you, and I know the answer will depend on a lot of variables but I'm interested in your views and experiences.

Chains, sprockets and bars all wear and wear together. How many chains per sprocket and per bar before you replace? Stihl say 2 chains per sprocket. I seem to hit rubbish and blunt chains a lot so I'm hoping for 4 per sprocket (I'm alternating 4 chains on my ms180). What about the bar? I've just thought about the bar as I've got 2 brand new chains for my 038 and finally a new sprocket. The bar on it has some life left but would it be best to set it aside and fit a new one along with the chains and sprocket?

 

[coryj]

CL ad said free firewood, will load 6' lengths for free.

No time to go home and get my trailer because of stupid work. So I drove over on my lunch break in my Ford ranger.


Loaded in 5 minutes and back to work. Old boy running the Bob cat wanted to go one more log, but my leaf springs looked a little beyond a straight line.

I tried to get him to leave some for me, but the homeowner wanted it gone by the time they got home at 3pm. I gave him my number and told him to let me know a day in advance next time and I'd bring the trailer into town and be prepared to take multiple loads.

 

[svk]

Question about saws for you, and I know the answer will depend on a lot of variables but I'm interested in your views and experiences.

Chains, sprockets and bars all wear and wear together. How many chains per sprocket and per bar before you replace? Stihl say 2 chains per sprocket. I seem to hit rubbish and blunt chains a lot so I'm hoping for 4 per sprocket (I'm alternating 4 chains on my ms180). What about the bar? I've just thought about the bar as I've got 2 brand new chains for my 038 and finally a new sprocket. The bar on it has some life left but would it be best to set it aside and fit a new one along with the chains and sprocket?

That's very subjective and depends on your sharpening practices as well as what you are cutting.

I'll throw my personal experience out. When I say cords I mean cords of firewood processed. Obviously a logger that does tree or pulp length is going to have more cords per chain because they are only making a few cuts.

Chains:
If you hand file i.e. "touch up" chains as needed and don't rock them often you should be able to do a couple dozen cords easily, especially if you are cutting clean softwood.

If someone is inexperienced and/or sloppy while cutting and frequently puts the tip in the dirt then they bring the chain to a hardware store where a heavy handed employee grinds away 1/3 of the chain to get it sharp then you may only get a few cords per chain.

Bars:
A good bar should be good for a triple digit cord count. I've always worn out the bar rails before the tip but again I'm mostly cutting clean softwood. When I say worn out I mean wearing the rails down until the drive links are bottoming out in the channel or the gap has widened so much that there is excess slop. If wanted a guy could jump up a gauge in scenario 2 i.e. go from .050 to .058 or .058 to .063 but I have so many chains that it's easier to buy a new bar. Ive acquired/been given several bars that were perfect but needed a new tip and can only attribute it to them cutting in different conditions.

I will say that the Oregon Pro-Lite bars I've ran are relatively soft compared to any other bars I've used and with 25-30 cords on my 550's Pro-Lite bar there is significant wear immediately before the nose sprocket. I already found a nice RSN bar so I really don't care how long it lasts.

Sprockets:
Some guys replace them frequently, but I only change them as necessary. Either when they physically look work or when they are causing wear on the chain drive links.

I've seen saws that were 30 plus years old with the original sprocket that didn't look too bad and I personally knew that saw cut many cords of wood.

 

[LondonNeil]

Sounds like I can continue with the existing bar then, good.

 

[turnkey4099]

I have that axe but mine just says "splitting axe" and it has an all black handle with no orange on it. Is there a difference between the "x27" and the "splitting axe"?

I have the X27, buddy has the "splitting axe" We matched them up side by side and can see no difference anywhere except the colored handle on the x27.

 

[woodchip rookie]

I have to use the isocore on almost everything anyway.

 

[LondonNeil]

I must say I'm very pleased and surprised by the shin splitter, ok if the grain is naughty I need the 27, but shinny does a good job on stuff. Not sure I'm much quicker with it but it's less tiring.

 

[Erik B]

That's very subjective and depends on your sharpening practices as well as what you are cutting.

I'll throw my personal experience out. When I say cords I mean cords of firewood processed. Obviously a logger that does tree or pulp length is going to have more cords per chain because they are only making a few cuts.

Chains:
If you hand file i.e. "touch up" chains as needed and don't rock them often you should be able to do a couple dozen cords easily, especially if you are cutting clean softwood.

If someone is inexperienced and/or sloppy while cutting and frequently puts the tip in the dirt then they bring the chain to a hardware store where a heavy handed employee grinds away 1/3 of the chain to get it sharp then you may only get a few cords per chain.

Bars:
A good bar should be good for a triple digit cord count. I've always worn out the bar rails before the tip but again I'm mostly cutting clean softwood. When I say worn out I mean wearing the rails down until the drive links are bottoming out in the channel or the gap has widened so much that there is excess slop. If wanted a guy could jump up a gauge in scenario 2 i.e. go from .050 to .058 or .058 to .063 but I have so many chains that it's easier to buy a new bar. Ive acquired/been given several bars that were perfect but needed a new tip and can only attribute it to them cutting in different conditions.

I will say that the Oregon Pro-Lite bars I've ran are relatively soft compared to any other bars I've used and with 25-30 cords on my 550's Pro-Lite bar there is significant wear immediately before the nose sprocket. I already found a nice RSN bar so I really don't care how long it lasts.

Sprockets:
Some guys replace them frequently, but I only change them as necessary. Either when they physically look work or when they are causing wear on the chain drive links.

I've seen saws that were 30 plus years old with the original sprocket that didn't look too bad and I personally knew that saw cut many cords of wood.

Does anyone have some pics of sprockets that need changing? I would like to see what constitutes needing a new sprocket.

 

[chipper1]

Question about saws for you, and I know the answer will depend on a lot of variables but I'm interested in your views and experiences.

Chains, sprockets and bars all wear and wear together. How many chains per sprocket and per bar before you replace? Stihl say 2 chains per sprocket. I seem to hit rubbish and blunt chains a lot so I'm hoping for 4 per sprocket (I'm alternating 4 chains on my ms180). What about the bar? I've just thought about the bar as I've got 2 brand new chains for my 038 and finally a new sprocket. The bar on it has some life left but would it be best to set it aside and fit a new one along with the chains and sprocket?

I personally mix and match everything as I get pieces and parts from all over buying and selling as much as I do.
Some of the variables will be how well you maintain the bar as well as your chains, how much oil you have and the type of oil you run per the season, do you flip your bars, do you dress the bars, do you resize the bar groove these things, what kind of tension do you have your chain adjusted at, size of saw, type of wood, and even rim drive vs spur, how well you sharpen and how often. These can all make a huge difference in wear as well as the brand of parts you choose.
Cheaper aftermarket sprocket nose bars do not last as well as the pro bars with changeable tips. Consequently you can run more chains on a pro bar.
Same with chains and drives, if you buy cheap ones you will probably get less quality. There are some aftermarket bars that are very good quality and even better than the factory bars but most of those come at a greater expense. I don't know if any of the aftermarket drives are good or not other than Oregon ones which I would guess is what is on most huskys, but I'm not sure of this.
If you are eating up chains by hitting things in wood I would guess there could be a lessening of the run time of the bar too. A sprocket nose bar should last through 4 chains no problem, and they are a great alternative for a lightweight bar vs a pro when you compare the cost and the longevity. If you have a chain come off and you damage the driver on it and you put it back on the bar without filing the burrs off you will most likely shorten the life of the bar(I did this last night, old bar, and a bad chain so I wasn't concerned about it.
If you let the drive sprocket get warn excessively you will also stretch your chains out quicker and more than if you didn't, I learned this one years ago.
Guess I forgot to post this, don't feel so bad about being long winded after seeing SVK's post LOL.

 

[Cowboy254]

I believe if it weren't for Gods grace I would not be here as I've had to learn many lessons the hard way

Yes, its the "Oh SH!T" moment. The moment when you realise that you've screwed up but it's too late to stop and you know it's about to hurt. Like when you lean back on your new skateboard and it scoots out from under you and you find yourself flailing fresh air on the way to your backside meeting the tarmac. Or when you realise that you're taking that off-camber bend a bit too fast in the wet and need to widen the curve a bit but there's a car coming the other way and your car starts to slide. Or you're using your new shin-splitter and see the head ricochet off the corner of the bit of wood and make a beeline towards your shin. You can see it coming but it's too late to do anything about it.

I've learned an awful lot from Oh SH!T moments and they are mistakes you make precisely once. Of course, the best Oh SH!T moments are the ones where you miraculously avoid the pain through fluke circumstances but learn the lesson just the same.

 

[woodchip rookie]

Got out to scope out an ash trunk that was already down from some utility land clearing and got out too close to dark to really destroy anything but got to finally run some brand new saws. I was starting to regret selling my 576 and getting the 395 because of the weight but once I started running it that all went away. Datsamansaw. I'm only 5'7" 150lbs so slingin around a 395 with a 32 on it is awkward but as soon as I started using it my little "superman switch" flipped and game on. 20" fresh ash stands no chance. I started with the 445 with a 16 on it and even though I could bury it all the way and it never gave up, 6ft or so down from the top it was time to stop playin around and break out some POWA. I need two 5ft long sections of trunk to make some benches and I got some stuff bucked up then got one 5ft section cut but couldnt get it in the truck so I left it for tomorow. Its just a couple miles from the house.

 

[svk]

Does anyone have some pics of sprockets that need changing? I would like to see what constitutes needing a new sprocket.

The ones I've seen physically look fine but are either seized or the bearings are totally wonky.

 

[Haywire]

A few scrounge pics from earlier this summer... Haven't done much cuttin' since the stage 2 fire restrictions kicked in back in July.
Been hot and dry with fires burning all around us. If only we could get some of that rain the south is gettin'.
Did score some nice town maple ...

 

[Cowboy254]

I'm only 5'7" 150lbs so slingin around a 395 with a 32 on it is awkward

I started with the 445 with a 16 on it and even though I could bury it all the way and it never gave up, 6ft or so down from the top it was time to stop playin around and break out some POWA.

You know it. Using big saws in big wood is not tiring and you can go long time (as they say in Bangkok).

My first saw was an MS 310 Farm boss - 59cc landowner saw, with 20in bar. Okay, not great. Next saw was the 460 workhorse (also 20in bar) and man, was it so much easier to cut wood, and despite the extra weight it was so much less tiring. And so it stood to reason .... etc etc

Anyway, I'm sure the little saws are fine in puny softwood, but when you get into serious stuff, you need DAMANSAW. While I'm a Stihl man, I would grudgingly accept a 395 if inducements were offered. You go swing that big saw and get some lead in your pencil .

Where are the pics, BTW?

 

[Cowboy254]

A few scrounge pics from earlier this summer... Haven't done much cuttin' since the stage 2 fire restrictions kicked in back in July.
Been hot and dry with fires burning all around us. If only we could get some of that rain the south is gettin'.
Did score some nice town maple ...

Great pics Haywire! It's going to be a shame to progressively dismantle your artwork and chuck it in the stove .

I hope you avoid the fires. We had fires around us in 2003, 2006 and 2009. I could chuck a rock into the fires from my backyard in 2006, wasn't fun . A lot of our decisions around the house and property are now made with this in mind.