Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)
- Thread starter mainewoods
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1project2many
ArboristSite Guru
I'll bet it's to the point.
My first saw was a little McCulloch that was in a trash can at an automotive swap meet. It had started to rain hard and a guy dumped a bunch of stuff into the trash and left quick. I grabbed the saw, pulled the cord, and it started. Whoopee! I was a woodcutter!! I worked that saw until the throttle cable broke. No more available new. I found a guy who wanted $35 for a used one! That seemed pretty high for used parts for a small saw so I gave up and bought my PP.
There was a local guy that was letting tree service companies drop wood in the lot next to his house. He'd let people come in and scrounge wood. There was always something there when I went but it usually took some work to get it. It was a good deal and I got quite a bit before he was forced to close the lot.
My first saw was a little McCulloch that was in a trash can at an automotive swap meet. It had started to rain hard and a guy dumped a bunch of stuff into the trash and left quick. I grabbed the saw, pulled the cord, and it started. Whoopee! I was a woodcutter!! I worked that saw until the throttle cable broke. No more available new. I found a guy who wanted $35 for a used one! That seemed pretty high for used parts for a small saw so I gave up and bought my PP.
There was a local guy that was letting tree service companies drop wood in the lot next to his house. He'd let people come in and scrounge wood. There was always something there when I went but it usually took some work to get it. It was a good deal and I got quite a bit before he was forced to close the lot.
I hear you. I've got $60 into my "free" Mac. At this point it's more to get it running out of respect to the deceased owner (my friend's dad) than anything. Then there's my little Johnny. I'm told it's worth $25 and the new .250 pitch chain runs $20 per loop and dulls very quickly so I never use it unless I have to. Thats the problem with fixer saws, you almost need a parts saw for each runner to make it feasible to keep them going when you can buy running pawn shop saws for $25-40
Ambull01
Addicted to ArboristSite
I'll bet it's to the point.
My first saw was a little McCulloch that was in a trash can at an automotive swap meet. It had started to rain hard and a guy dumped a bunch of stuff into the trash and left quick. I grabbed the saw, pulled the cord, and it started. Whoopee! I was a woodcutter!! I worked that saw until the throttle cable broke. No more available new. I found a guy who wanted $35 for a used one! That seemed pretty high for used parts for a small saw so I gave up and bought my PP.
There was a local guy that was letting tree service companies drop wood in the lot next to his house. He'd let people come in and scrounge wood. There was always something there when I went but it usually took some work to get it. It was a good deal and I got quite a bit before he was forced to close the lot.
Bad ass wood hauler my friend. I'm praying there's no sweet gum jobs in the future for this tree service guy. I will crap a brick if I see a whole dump truck load of sweet gum waiting for me. I guess that's the disadvantage of letting someone dump logs, you'll never know the type of wood until it's too late. As long as I can split it I don't really care what they drop off. I figure 3 or 4 dump truck loads of logs may be all I need for a whole year.
Just noodle that gum!
Ambull01
Addicted to ArboristSite
Ambull01
Addicted to ArboristSite
You did the timing change? I'm impressed. Read a little about it but it's too advanced for me right now.
Not that hard if U have a flywheel puller ($20 for the one for Stihl). There are detailed instructions in the thread Randy did for building the 461.
Ambull01
Addicted to ArboristSite
I took the flywheel off the PP375 by tapping the shaft with a hammer. Tried to tap the opposite side of the magnets with a piece of wood and hammer but that didn't work. Took me a long damn time to get it off. May buy a flywheel puller to never go through that ordeal again.
The one for Stihls is very simple, because the flywheels have an inside thread that it attaches to. Nice to not have to worry about damaging the fins or the crank, or the case!
1project2many
ArboristSite Guru
I'm in the same situation with a couple of my saws. They were gifts from a friend who's passed away. I've got more into the old Husky than a new PP costs and it still needs a few parts to be really good. But there isn't a chance that I'm not going to keep that saw in good condition.
With tree service you might have to deal with short pieces, random species, branches and leaves, poision ivy, rotten wood, seeds from invasive species, ants/termites, and whatever else they're making money on. If it's free then it might be worth it. A tree service guy up here offered to dump loads of "whatever I'm cutting that day" for $50 a load at my place. At the time $50 would buy enough gas for the wood hauler to drive 40 miles and enough to run a saw all day. I passed on the deal. I felt I'd be better off scrounging where I had more control over what I brought home.
Man shea , your kid may learn a lesson the hard way..we had a kid in 3rd grade alot bigger than us..when we were seniors he wasnt the big one anymore..life comes full circle
I should also say he isn't even close to being the biggest kid height or weight wise.......kids today seem to be bigger at a younger age. Everyone here at the school seems to love him, polite, helpful, studies hard. Last night he got his brain rewired with his butt though....NEVER ..EVER talk back to your mother or I will put one on that rear end. He gets it honest though.
Shea
PS-My nephew, getting ready to turn 5 already weighs 55lbs and is tall for his age.
Kids do grow faster these days and a lot of parents are holding their kids back so they have a perceived advantage at youth sports. If my parents had done that and I would have had to wait until 19 and several months to graduate, I would have been pissed.
Fessup time ------Update
I finally got the 33cc Tanaka fired up and into some wood.
Feels good, quiet and nimble, gonna like this saw.
I mounted MY chain not the supplied one, (junk, shark fin), 40:1 mix.
Bottom line, need to pull the limiters, running too lean, will 4 stroke on Half choke.
Oil pump adjuster stuck on max, just too much, maybe half will be OK.
I think I bought this saw as an anniversary present for my 25th year in retirement.
Once I get the carb adjusted and the oil pump turned down, I'm gonna like this saw.
As you were, carry on. I got wood to split.
I finally got the 33cc Tanaka fired up and into some wood.
Feels good, quiet and nimble, gonna like this saw.
I mounted MY chain not the supplied one, (junk, shark fin), 40:1 mix.
Bottom line, need to pull the limiters, running too lean, will 4 stroke on Half choke.
Oil pump adjuster stuck on max, just too much, maybe half will be OK.
I think I bought this saw as an anniversary present for my 25th year in retirement.
Once I get the carb adjusted and the oil pump turned down, I'm gonna like this saw.
As you were, carry on. I got wood to split.
Enjoy! I hope to live to retirement. 25 years of retirement is awesome, way to go!
Congrats on the 25 years, who did U work for? You went out at a good age!
I was slow to mature. Was only 99 lbs going into 9th grade, was the 3rd shortest going into 10th grade. My height shot up the next few years, but I did not fill out till college. Grad HS I was 6'1" and 147 lbs, end of college still 6'1" but 185 lbs, but no fat, I would sink in water even with a full breath of air.
I was slow to mature. Was only 99 lbs going into 9th grade, was the 3rd shortest going into 10th grade. My height shot up the next few years, but I did not fill out till college. Grad HS I was 6'1" and 147 lbs, end of college still 6'1" but 185 lbs, but no fat, I would sink in water even with a full breath of air.
1project2many
ArboristSite Guru
I'm thinking military retirement.
Can't wait until tomorrow. Finally getting help to get rid some of these darn aspen on my property that are dying of old age. I've got 50 trees/estimated 20 cords total in my woodlot that need to come out over the next couple of years as aspen don't exactly hold up in "standing dead" form like good firewood trees will. I'll burn it in my boiler when needed (big rounds work pretty good, splits go way too fast) but honestly I'd rather scrounge hardwood and do the same amount of work for wood that burns more than twice as long.
