Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Cowboy254]

I could be wrong, but I think that may be Termites.

They look like some sort of borer or grub holes to me (bearing in mind that I'm saying this from the other side of the planet). Our termites forage around until they find the root system of a tree then work their way up the heartwood of the tree, pretty well dead centre. They don't like the sapwood so in theory they don't kill the tree, until they have weakened the structural heartwood to the point that the tree falls over or breaks in a storm. My pest control client tells me to test a tree for termites he will drill diagonally downwards very close to the base to see if there's any activity there - if there are termites that's the first place they show up.

 

[farmer steve]

Steve, great meeting you at the GTG yesterday, and thanks for the Blueberry Pie!!!

same here Mike. Guy's here's Mike runnin my jolly green giant poulan at the GTG.

 

[Cowboy254]

Now, back to scrounging. I just can't run out of wood sitting around to split and stack at home otherwise I'll have to spend the time talking to Cowgirl .

So I went back to see how the big manna gum in town was going. It has been a couple of weeks but I was confident that no-one else will have had a go at it.



Untouched. I sharpened Limby and the workhorse with the new Stihl 2-in-1 file and I was surprised how much it took off the raker, the gap between raker and cutter height seemed greater than when the chain was new (maybe it's just me). Anyway, Limby was devastating, if slightly grabby, but when just allowing him to make his own way it was knife-through-butter stuff with the bar buried.



I only took two rounds off it today since I didn't have long before I had to pick up the squids from school.



There was some interesting grain what with all the forks and whatnot. Someone with the gear, skill and inclination (@KiwiBro) could make some nice looking stuff out of this. In my case, it'll just look nice burning in the heater.



I didn't bother trying to split any of this by hand and since the boys were cutting so well it was a noodle festival.



It wasn't a full trailer load but maybe about 3/4 of a cube which I thought was pretty good for a short time cutting.



And there's still plenty left to go.

 

[woodchip rookie]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiFkIHV4oXXAhUD0oMKHawbBg4QFggwMAA&url=http://www.emeraldashborer.info/&usg=AOvVaw24H5y9-KwIDuYdkhU69WYO.
Ash Borer?

Definetly not EAB. They have no business with dead trees, only stay in between the bark and wood, and those holes are way too big for EAB.

 

[woodchip rookie]

And what is digging these holes? Ash stumps, doesn't appear if they go up very high. Only on the stump cuts.
View attachment 608356 View attachment 608357 View attachment 608358

Looks like common carpenter bees. ("Bumble Bees"). Were the holes in the wood before it was cut or were those bored after the tree fell?

 

[nighthunter]

Just get it over with and buy a 395

If a day does come and I buy a husky over a stihl it will be the day that hell freezes over

 

[JustJeff]

Just Jeff,
The ducting set up I have is this, Ø150 - 200mm duct (can't remember exactly) approx. 2 meters in front of the fire place in the ceiling (next to the down light). Pulls hot air from here to the other end of the house. Does this comply to your codes? Not sure what our code says but thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will look into it.


View attachment 608361

When everything is working properly, I’m sure that setup helps move the heat. Safety wise, if there is a smoke issue, it spreads throughout the house quickly. Many places don’t have code regarding wood heaters. Here the installation needs to be inspected by a WETT certified guy. (Wood energy technology training I think is what it stands for). A friend of mine is a certified installer and I learned a lot from him during my install. Also learned enough from the guys at the fire dept while I was volunteering, to know that I wanted to do it right. Guy I work with had his stove pipe fall off. I know, how does that even happen? Guess a couple screws worked out anyways, they smelled the smoke and woke up and got out. If there had been a fan and ducts pumping that smoke to the bedrooms.... check your building codes.

 

[LondonNeil]

Always love the look of cowboys wood

 

[muddstopper]

Just Jeff,
The ducting set up I have is this, Ø150 - 200mm duct (can't remember exactly) approx. 2 meters in front of the fire place in the ceiling (next to the down light). Pulls hot air from here to the other end of the house. Does this comply to your codes? Not sure what our code says but thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will look into it.


View attachment 608361

I dont know the codes, but I dont think I like your setup. If you are pulling heat from your stove thru a duct in the ceiling above the stove, it would seem to me every time you open the stove door, you will pull smoke into the duct and blow it into the back rooms. I dont know but what I wouldnt reverse the fans and pull the cold air from the back rooms and exhaust it toward the stove. Not and expert on this sort of thing, and maybe I am wrong. So do your own research on this.

 

[MustangMike]

Found this on the net:

Termites leave round holes, the size is one-eighth inch or even smaller,

 

[svk]

Looks like you guys had fun. Assuming it must have been hosted by folks from the other "hood" considering there was no thread here.

On a separate note I'm getting a visit tomorrow from a white truck with green and blue lettering

 

[cantoo]

Woodchip rookie, the trees were fresh cut yesterday. Almost every tree that I cut down had the holes. 1st time I have seen them here. It's a normally wet section of the bush and the trees have some exposed roots but nothing out of the ordinary. I plan to cut into them and see what I find just no time to do that yesterday.

 

[LondonNeil]

I need to get on the saw. I grabbed 3/4 of a cube from my usual wood guy/local tree surgeon Friday night, and Sunday he delivered, yes delivered, another 1.5 cube. Mix of ash and Sycamore, rings and cord wood. Add that to the ~2 cube already in the garden awaiting processing and I've got some to do now. My firewood pile will be approaching 25 cube.... I'm clearly a wood whore..... I want more!

 

[svk]

I need to get on the saw. I grabbed 3/4 of a cube from my usual wood guy/local tree surgeon Friday night, and Sunday he delivered, yes delivered, another 1.5 cube. Mix of ash and Sycamore, rings and cord wood. Add that to the ~2 cube already in the garden awaiting processing and I've got some to do now. My firewood pile will be approaching 25 cube.... I'm clearly a wood whore..... I want more!

Cube meaning cubic meter?

 

[LondonNeil]

Yes m³, so at 3.5m3 to a cord (full) I've a little over cord to deal with. With cowboy, myself and a few others in the metric world, are you finding us confusing? I should have posted photos, the universal language!

 

[Erik B]

Now, back to scrounging. I just can't run out of wood sitting around to split and stack at home otherwise I'll have to spend the time talking to Cowgirl .

So I went back to see how the big manna gum in town was going. It has been a couple of weeks but I was confident that no-one else will have had a go at it.

View attachment 608378

Untouched. I sharpened Limby and the workhorse with the new Stihl 2-in-1 file and I was surprised how much it took off the raker, the gap between raker and cutter height seemed greater than when the chain was new (maybe it's just me). Anyway, Limby was devastating, if slightly grabby, but when just allowing him to make his own way it was knife-through-butter stuff with the bar buried.

View attachment 608379

I only took two rounds off it today since I didn't have long before I had to pick up the squids from school.

View attachment 608380

There was some interesting grain what with all the forks and whatnot. Someone with the gear, skill and inclination (@KiwiBro) could make some nice looking stuff out of this. In my case, it'll just look nice burning in the heater.

View attachment 608381

I didn't bother trying to split any of this by hand and since the boys were cutting so well it was a noodle festival.

View attachment 608382

It wasn't a full trailer load but maybe about 3/4 of a cube which I thought was pretty good for a short time cutting.

View attachment 608383

And there's still plenty left to go.

View attachment 608384

@Cowboy254 I bought one of those Stihl 2 in 1 chain sharpeners and found they work great. I did read on some forum that you should consider removing the raker file and only put it back in every 3rd time you sharpen the chain. I have started doing this and it seems to lessen the grabbiness of the chain. With a little experimenting you can find what works best for you.

 

[woodchip rookie]

Woodchip rookie, the trees were fresh cut yesterday. Almost every tree that I cut down had the holes. 1st time I have seen them here. It's a normally wet section of the bush and the trees have some exposed roots but nothing out of the ordinary. I plan to cut into them and see what I find just no time to do that yesterday.

not bees then

 

[muddstopper]

@Cowboy254 I bought one of those Stihl 2 in 1 chain sharpeners and found they work great. I did read on some forum that you should consider removing the raker file and only put it back in every 3rd time you sharpen the chain. I have started doing this and it seems to lessen the grabbiness of the chain. With a little experimenting you can find what works best for you.

I got rid of my grinder after buying a sthil 2in1 file. I havent tried removing the raker file, it seems to me that it only polishes the raker every time I file. I usually just hit the chain about 3licks with the file so the raker file isnt taking much off. I also havnet seen any real grabbing while cutting.

 

[Cowboy254]

I got rid of my grinder after buying a sthil 2in1 file. I havent tried removing the raker file, it seems to me that it only polishes the raker every time I file. I usually just hit the chain about 3licks with the file so the raker file isnt taking much off. I also havnet seen any real grabbing while cutting.

@Cowboy254 I bought one of those Stihl 2 in 1 chain sharpeners and found they work great. I did read on some forum that you should consider removing the raker file and only put it back in every 3rd time you sharpen the chain. I have started doing this and it seems to lessen the grabbiness of the chain. With a little experimenting you can find what works best for you.

I loved it! I'm happy to take the minor grabbiness with the way it cut. Probly just need a little practice with the different file to what I'm used to as well.

A mate of mine has an MS880 and he takes the rakers down to zero, just doesn't push the saw.

 

[LondonNeil]

I got rid of my grinder after buying a sthil 2in1 file.

That's quite a compliment! I don't file my own chains, there, I said it, I feel sort of incomplete as a guy obviously. My brother's FIL has a grinder and does my chains for me. However I've been thinking I ought to learn to touch up my own chains. I'm very tempted to get an easy file. Or 2 actually, is need different sizes wouldn't I, for my picco 1.3mm chains and my wider 1.6mm stuff?