Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)
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I remember when you were talking about thing.
I was actually thinking of you/it last week iirc. The boy and his friend said they saw beaver sign on the creek out behind our place, we don't have property bordering it so I probably won't be the one "resolving" that problem.
I took on a job of clear cutting almost 1/2 mile of old overgrown willow that used to be a beaver hangout. They had trapped out the colony. Ambitious little things. They had built a dike that raised the beaver holding almost 5' above the level of the farm land. Cut in there for 2 years and then one morning arrived and found that beavers were back almost overnight and flooded the entire lower end. Even co-opted a pile of small rounds that I had waiting for pickup. Farmer solved the problem in a few days.
The time has finally come. After what seems like 10 trips to the old house scrounge I finally finished cutting out all the sap suckers growing off the bse of the two big trees as well as cutting brushing and bucking up 2 of the three small trees. I took the camera yesterday snapped some pics but they don't show much. I'll try again.
I threw the last branch on the pile after 3 hours yesterday. Took a short breather and planned to try a verticle cut down the 'seam' of the smaller tree. It is multistemmmed all growing together. Figured cut vertically down the seam separating two stems, make undercut then bore in for the back cut. Not to be. Grabbedthe 441 with 28' bar and tried starting it. It had been last used two years ago then cleaned up, rung dry and shelved. About a 6 pulls and admitted that I was too tired to continue. I did fire it up this morning without a lot pulling. Changed ther bar to the 32". Ready to roll in the morning. Truck still in the shop. I've already go over a load of good rounds waiting for the truck. Still have no idea of type of tree. Tomorrow I'll try for some good picks of bark and cut rounds. The rounds show just light, almost white wood with almost no visible rings. Bark smooth, thin and a bit scaly looking but doesn't feel that way. No sight of any nut residue on the ground. so probably not nut tree. Still in bud stage so no leaves.;
I threw the last branch on the pile after 3 hours yesterday. Took a short breather and planned to try a verticle cut down the 'seam' of the smaller tree. It is multistemmmed all growing together. Figured cut vertically down the seam separating two stems, make undercut then bore in for the back cut. Not to be. Grabbedthe 441 with 28' bar and tried starting it. It had been last used two years ago then cleaned up, rung dry and shelved. About a 6 pulls and admitted that I was too tired to continue. I did fire it up this morning without a lot pulling. Changed ther bar to the 32". Ready to roll in the morning. Truck still in the shop. I've already go over a load of good rounds waiting for the truck. Still have no idea of type of tree. Tomorrow I'll try for some good picks of bark and cut rounds. The rounds show just light, almost white wood with almost no visible rings. Bark smooth, thin and a bit scaly looking but doesn't feel that way. No sight of any nut residue on the ground. so probably not nut tree. Still in bud stage so no leaves.;
Another nice day to go to the beech, tree that is . Cut that some dead oak and hickory . 
I'd just notch the poles and drop them all on my dump trailer.
I love that little dry base ball bat sized stuff for my personal pile.
Sure wish his name wasn't JOE. I missed a few days and thought every one was calling me an idiot. Then I had to figure out how to get back to the old format, and just proved it.
Is that Beech in the back of your truck? Looks like something I ran across recently and didn't know what it was.
There is an endless supply . I cut into this one just to see and it was soft about a 1/4 inch in then solid . Probably 20 just like it in the area I was cutting today .
It’s a mix the Beech is loaded to the front but this is the Beech while I was splitting . Most of the rounds you see in the bed are Hickory . It was the last I cut
This is what I was thinking looked like the tree I found. Scaly bark and orange sapwood. When I enlarged your picture that could be Hickory. For grins, I'll get a photo of it tomorrow. Thought it was Birch.
Beech bark is smooth, thin and very light grey in my experience.
Sierra_rider
Piss revver
The original owner turned the back porch into a spa room. It's attached to the house in a rather rickety way and I originally planned on demoing this building.
Instead, I've decided on turning into my interim wood shop until I build a legit shop in the future. I've already got a 35'x30' 3 car garage, but I don't want a bunch of saw dust in it...I use it for more "mechanical" stuff. Eventually I'll build a shop with raised ceilings and the 35x30 will become the wood shop.
Anyway, I have to get it off the house and drag it about 50' away. I ripped a small pine log in half as skids...also milled some pine into 4x4s for cribbing. Jacking this thing up and separating it from the house is for another day. Starting feel like I'm on an episode of 'Alaskan Bush people' or whatever that crappy show is called...maybe call it 'Cali Hillbillies' or something lol.
Instead, I've decided on turning into my interim wood shop until I build a legit shop in the future. I've already got a 35'x30' 3 car garage, but I don't want a bunch of saw dust in it...I use it for more "mechanical" stuff. Eventually I'll build a shop with raised ceilings and the 35x30 will become the wood shop.
Anyway, I have to get it off the house and drag it about 50' away. I ripped a small pine log in half as skids...also milled some pine into 4x4s for cribbing. Jacking this thing up and separating it from the house is for another day. Starting feel like I'm on an episode of 'Alaskan Bush people' or whatever that crappy show is called...maybe call it 'Cali Hillbillies' or something lol.
The little logs I cut yesterday were the tops of the log on the slope from yesterday. Got the go ahead to scrounge it today. Broad leaf peppermint.
I had a helper today, he was pumped.
Limby was being a little ***** today and refused to start. Good thing I had the 460 with me. Cut up from the bottom and it was stihl good at the point I stopped. There is only a few metres of log left and it is suspended and there is the potential for the root ball to roll on me if I take its downhill support away. Don't need to go there.
I had a helper today, he was pumped.
Limby was being a little ***** today and refused to start. Good thing I had the 460 with me. Cut up from the bottom and it was stihl good at the point I stopped. There is only a few metres of log left and it is suspended and there is the potential for the root ball to roll on me if I take its downhill support away. Don't need to go there.
One tank through the 460.
I split the rounds and chucked them down onto the road where Cowlad loaded into the ute.
I split the rounds and chucked them down onto the road where Cowlad loaded into the ute.
As always life is busy but I'm on a roll keen to get on top of all the wood I've scrounged, or start at least. I'm still WFH 3 days a week and the weather was/is good so I've developed a routine that seems to work, a short on(30 min) sharp splitting session of an evening, and about the same stacking the next lunch time. Means I can get back to work not too sweaty but still get lots done. I've also managed several hours splitting and stacking at the weekend. I learnt one of those 36" rounds split down to half brick sized chunks is a little over a wheel barrow full, and shifted 3 such loads plus 2 of long thin limbs. Also started on the stuff already moved to the back. Approaching half a cord CSS now. That doesn't sound much but remember i have to split, and cut small for my small stoves.
There's a lot of extra work and time with the extra splitting, picking up and stacking. My stove will take 2 12 inch diameter rounds side by side - anything under 12in I don't bother splitting.
I was thinking about boxing up those saw chips to burn and I wonder if you filled a cardboard box loosely the chips might dry out over summer then you could pack them down hard to burn them. Depends whether you can be bothered I guess and how much hassle it is to get rid of other ways. Mine were already dry and it burned pretty well with a bit of wood alongside.
I was thinking about boxing up those saw chips to burn and I wonder if you filled a cardboard box loosely the chips might dry out over summer then you could pack them down hard to burn them. Depends whether you can be bothered I guess and how much hassle it is to get rid of other ways. Mine were already dry and it burned pretty well with a bit of wood alongside.
501Maico
ArboristSite Operative
Thanks, it was long overdue. First job was busting up 6 large rounds of willow oak small enough to finish in the horizontal position. It went through large knots like nothing. Next time I'll noodle big rounds because I was wasted from positioning them under the wedge. I had a short 4x4 under the rounds so I wouldn't crush my pallets.
The ZT is a 1990's Bunton, now Bobcat. Bunton was a division of Jacobsen which built its products like tanks. Everything on the mower is twice as thick and heavy than needed, but good in this case because it made the mower last.
A few years ago, the neighbor right behind me on the other side of the fence wanted to sell his house. The Bunton was the only thing left from equipment that he brought to Maryland from his fathers lawn business in Michigan. He wanted to give me the mower but my lawn is tiny and I wasn't really interested in a big project at the time. I eventually gave in and said I will take it if I can get it running and drive it the 1/2 mile to my house. My trailer wasn't availiable at the time and I had no way of getting it home if it wasn't running, or even on a trailer.
It was a big mess with weeds growing up all around it, wheels sunk in the ground, frozen controls, and both fuel tanks filled with water. Once I got it running it would only only move in circles. A spring that held belt tension on one of the pumps had rusted in half. I used welding wire to to hold the tension pulley tight enough to get it home. Other than fluids and filters, 2 tubes, unfreezing controls, that one spring was the only essential part. It also had a huge suction blower and grass bagger that I finally got rid of for free on Craigslist.
BTW, the first time I mowed my grass I was hooked like crack and could never go back to a riding or push mower.
Timely for the weekend warriors
I'm sure if cowlad keeps up a regular involvement in the wooding, he won't be as spindly looking by next year 
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