DrewUth
Jack of all trades, master of none.
Look at them blue flames- she's a hot one boys! White oak [emoji1]
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Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)
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Look at them blue flames- she's a hot one boys! White oak [emoji1]
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zogger
Tree Freak
I felt that way about oakzilla. I knew the bucket truck guys and he would kill the tree, they aren't trained arborists. Nice enough guys, but no training in actual trimming. Apparently that isn't needed here, just ownership of the tools makes you a professional...
Me, situations reversed, being the millionaire land owner, I'd move the cabin outside of tree falling range, and leave the tree be. I had no say in anything. I have enjoyed cutting it up of ccourse, and appreciate the wood, but getting to live under it for several years was awesome, it was just so massive. I never really worried about that tree, now the rotten one that smashed the house, yes. The big healthy live one, no, I think maybe it could have lived another century, I really don't know how long oaks in good shape can live.
>I really don't know how long oaks in good shape can live
well past 50 years, that's for sure!!!
No, just happen to saw them beside the rd.
It's a little over 1.5hrs away from the house so that would be a long scrounge, but that's a lot of wood there.
I managed to get fuel for 1.449 last weekend as well
It's not the norm around here, but I watch gas buddy when I know I need to get gas, and try to get the best price in route
So I gave the chainsaws a final workout this morning, they will hibernate for the next 2 1/2 months.
Dropped a Cherry that was leaning the wrong way and had to be tied & pulled, then removed the stump & cut it up. Also removed a White Oak stump and two Red Oak stumps (the 36" bar would not reach through 2 of them), then cut up a good amount of a big Red Oak the homeowner had previously dropped (w/o knowing the direction it would fall, I told him not to do that any more).
Used the MMWS 044 with the 28" bar to fell the Cherry, stump it, and do most of the large bucking, used that Beasty MMWS 460/046-D w/36" bar to do the Oak stumping, then used the Smittybilt 046 and the other 044 to do the noodling and start wacking up the Red Oak. The homeowner mostly used my 362, it cuts a lot better than his saw, so they all got a workout.
I've accumulated a lot of firewood for next year, and there is a lot more to cut up here.
044#1 felt very strong with the base gasket deleted. It was eating through the wood on that big Red Oak like nobody's business.
Dropped a Cherry that was leaning the wrong way and had to be tied & pulled, then removed the stump & cut it up. Also removed a White Oak stump and two Red Oak stumps (the 36" bar would not reach through 2 of them), then cut up a good amount of a big Red Oak the homeowner had previously dropped (w/o knowing the direction it would fall, I told him not to do that any more).
Used the MMWS 044 with the 28" bar to fell the Cherry, stump it, and do most of the large bucking, used that Beasty MMWS 460/046-D w/36" bar to do the Oak stumping, then used the Smittybilt 046 and the other 044 to do the noodling and start wacking up the Red Oak. The homeowner mostly used my 362, it cuts a lot better than his saw, so they all got a workout.
I've accumulated a lot of firewood for next year, and there is a lot more to cut up here.
044#1 felt very strong with the base gasket deleted. It was eating through the wood on that big Red Oak like nobody's business.
Attachments
About 10 years ago we lost four large oaks to blight in close proximity to each other and they have been standing dead since. During that large ice storm we had in late December, three of the four came down. All are large, about 30" at the base, and here you can see two down along with a large branch that was sheared off the one left standing. Sadly, a live 18" shagbark hickory was knocked down as well and is under the oak.
In this picture you can see the base of the third one that went down in the other direction
I used a sled to bring out the gear and used an MS241C with a 16" bar and an MS261C with a 20" bar along with a peavey and other assorted safety gear, spare chains, etc.
It was between -8F and 9F when I was cutting over two days. The 241 worked great, but the 261 could not keep enough oil on the bar. Despite topping off the tank with the winter-weight oil, it wasn't enough and the normal/winter mix was gumming up bad with oil/sawdust and the saw ran like crap in the thick oak. I gave up and brought it back in and grabbed my father's vintage Super XL, also with a 20" bar and a new chain. While it slowly ground its way through the thick oak, it was vibrating badly (old saw) and cutting crooked. I could not finish the job and brought it back in. When I told my father about it he said "oh, it always cuts a bit crooked..." . I am guessing the bar is warped so it will go in the "to fix" pile.
Here are the results after a good two-days work. I got the two large trunk sections mostly bucked up except for the thicker parts that I will cut-up in a couple weeks:
And from the bottom looking up
The 241
To be continued...
In this picture you can see the base of the third one that went down in the other direction
I used a sled to bring out the gear and used an MS241C with a 16" bar and an MS261C with a 20" bar along with a peavey and other assorted safety gear, spare chains, etc.
It was between -8F and 9F when I was cutting over two days. The 241 worked great, but the 261 could not keep enough oil on the bar. Despite topping off the tank with the winter-weight oil, it wasn't enough and the normal/winter mix was gumming up bad with oil/sawdust and the saw ran like crap in the thick oak. I gave up and brought it back in and grabbed my father's vintage Super XL, also with a 20" bar and a new chain. While it slowly ground its way through the thick oak, it was vibrating badly (old saw) and cutting crooked. I could not finish the job and brought it back in. When I told my father about it he said "oh, it always cuts a bit crooked..." . I am guessing the bar is warped so it will go in the "to fix" pile.
Here are the results after a good two-days work. I got the two large trunk sections mostly bucked up except for the thicker parts that I will cut-up in a couple weeks:
And from the bottom looking up
The 241
To be continued...
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
About 10 years ago we lost four large oaks to blight in close proximity to each other and they have been standing dead since. During that large ice storm we had in late December, three of the four came down. All are large, about 30" at the base, and here you can see two down along with a large branch that was seared off the one left standing. Sadly, a live 18" shagbark hickory was knocked down as well and is under the oak.
In this picture you can see the base of the third one that went down in the other direction
I used a sled to bring out the gear and used an MS241C with a 16" bar and an MS261C with a 20" bar along with a peavey and other assorted safety gear, spare chains, etc.
It was between -8F and 9F when I was cutting over two days. The 241 worked great, but the 261 could not keep enough oil on the bar. Despite topping off the tank with the winter-weight oil, it wasn't enough and the normal/winter mix was gumming up bad with oil/sawdust and the saw ran like crap in the thick oak. I gave up and brought it back in and grabbed my father's vintage Super XL, also with a 20" bar and a new chain. While it slowly ground its way through the thick oak, it was vibrating badly (old saw) and cutting crooked. I could not finish the job and brought it back in. When I told my father about it he said "oh, it always cuts a bit crooked..." . I am guessing the bar is warped so it will go in the "to fix" pile.
Here are the results after a good two-days work. I got the two large trunk sections mostly bucked up except for the thicker parts that I will cut-up in a couple weeks:
And from the bottom looking up
The 241
To be continued...
Ufda.....You definitely have something to keep you busy for a while that's for sure.
Awesome workout for the saws though. Kinda stinks the 261 flaked out on you.
Looks like you have some killer scrounge action going on though.
I feel the same way.
There's no wood I love to burn more, so I would be in if I knew they were going to be cut
No, just happen to saw them beside the rd.
It's a little over 1.5hrs away from the house so that would be a long scrounge, but that's a lot of wood there.
I managed to get fuel for 1.449 last weekend as well
It's not the norm around here, but I watch gas buddy when I know I need to get gas, and try to get the best price in route
good plan, but since I was sure gasoline would be over 5/gal by now... I just consider it a near gimmie these days... at anything below 2!
I cut these up mainly to get the smaller diameter (8" and under) stuff to shore up this year's wood supply. I also wanted to get the hickory cut/split so I can burn it next winter.
For splitting I used a GB splitting maul. I have honestly not been a fan of this maul because the handle is short (31") and I am used to the long-handled Fiskars and Mueller mauls (both around 36"). However, with the ice, snow a nd lack of steel-toed boots, I went with the GB as it is easier to control.
I split another recently-downed, live hickory in September and it was very hard to split: even for the rounds that were knot-free. However, in the freezing temperatures, it seemed like I just had to lightly tap the hickory and it split. Even stuff with knots split easily. I cannot remember a time when it was more fun splitting wood. Anyway, I managed to get a good section of the hickory trunk split and stacked.
At the back of the pile is some black cherry that was standing dead and well-seasoned. Unlike the hickory, it was hard to split, it was surprising considering it was clear of knots and not thick (like 10"). I am guessing it has something to do with the water content in the round. The Hickory was green and full of water and the cherry was very dry.
Last picture is the winter-hauling sled with some black cherry for the woodburner. The oak to the left is for winter of 2017.
For splitting I used a GB splitting maul. I have honestly not been a fan of this maul because the handle is short (31") and I am used to the long-handled Fiskars and Mueller mauls (both around 36"). However, with the ice, snow a nd lack of steel-toed boots, I went with the GB as it is easier to control.
I split another recently-downed, live hickory in September and it was very hard to split: even for the rounds that were knot-free. However, in the freezing temperatures, it seemed like I just had to lightly tap the hickory and it split. Even stuff with knots split easily. I cannot remember a time when it was more fun splitting wood. Anyway, I managed to get a good section of the hickory trunk split and stacked.
At the back of the pile is some black cherry that was standing dead and well-seasoned. Unlike the hickory, it was hard to split, it was surprising considering it was clear of knots and not thick (like 10"). I am guessing it has something to do with the water content in the round. The Hickory was green and full of water and the cherry was very dry.
Last picture is the winter-hauling sled with some black cherry for the woodburner. The oak to the left is for winter of 2017.
Gotta love that, beautiful old stove to boot.
Look at them blue flames- she's a hot one boys! White oak [emoji1]
My fav the black locust always does that, red oak burns cold in comparison, thats what I'm burning in this warm spell lol.
About 10 years ago we lost four large oaks to blight in close proximity to each other and they have been standing dead since. During that large ice storm we had in late December, three of the four came down. All are large, about 30" at the base, and here you can see two down along with a large branch that was sheared off the one left standing. Sadly, a live 18" shagbark hickory was knocked down as well and is under the oak.
In this picture you can see the base of the third one that went down in the other direction
I used a sled to bring out the gear and used an MS241C with a 16" bar and an MS261C with a 20" bar along with a peavey and other assorted safety gear, spare chains, etc.
It was between -8F and 9F when I was cutting over two days. The 241 worked great, but the 261 could not keep enough oil on the bar. Despite topping off the tank with the winter-weight oil, it wasn't enough and the normal/winter mix was gumming up bad with oil/sawdust and the saw ran like crap in the thick oak. I gave up and brought it back in and grabbed my father's vintage Super XL, also with a 20" bar and a new chain. While it slowly ground its way through the thick oak, it was vibrating badly (old saw) and cutting crooked. I could not finish the job and brought it back in. When I told my father about it he said "oh, it always cuts a bit crooked..." . I am guessing the bar is warped so it will go in the "to fix" pile.
Here are the results after a good two-days work. I got the two large trunk sections mostly bucked up except for the thicker parts that I will cut-up in a couple weeks:
And from the bottom looking up
The 241
To be continued...
good pix, working themes!!
enjoyed seeing... did you say outside working... It was between -8F and 9F when I was cutting over two days. 
I cut these up mainly to get the smaller diameter (8" and under) stuff to shore up this year's wood supply. I also wanted to get the hickory cut/split so I can burn it next winter.
For splitting I used a GB splitting maul. I have honestly not been a fan of this maul because the handle is short and I am always afraid of splitting my shin. However, I do not have winter steel tools and used the GB carefully as it is easier to control.
I split another recently dead hickory in September. Even stuff that looked clear of knots took some work, even with a heavy maul. However, in the freezing temperature, it seemed like I just had to lightly tap the hickory and it split. Even stuff with knots split easily. I cannot remember a time when it was more fun splitting wood. I managed to get a good section of the hickory trunk split and stacked.
At the back of the pile is some black cherry that was standing dead and well-seasoned. Unlike the hickory, it was hard to split, it was surprising considering it was clear of knots and not thick (like 10").
nice stack of hand split stix! interesting split easier frozen....
Little longer there BL, for sure
This is one of two I cut up at my parents house fall of 2014. It was 114yrs, and I'm sure there is older. Crazy to think what was happening back then, that tree had seen a thing or 2, just think a car didn't go by it for many yrs after it's birthday.
And like @benp said
lol.Check out that wedge to give some idea of the size, biggest one for me to work on.
Since we are on the topic of helpers @nomad_archer, there's my three youngest, other two are long gone from the house, gotta enjoy them while you can, their only little for a while, then they get big
This is the pile it and the other one made at the house.
I only split the big stuff and only to a "reasonable" size. I can't imagine how much it will grow when split to size. The whole bottom of the pile is rounds like can be seen at the base and to the right. I would guess the rounds to the right of the pile alone would be at least a cord and a half.
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
I cut these up mainly to get the smaller diameter (8" and under) stuff to shore up this year's wood supply. I also wanted to get the hickory cut/split so I can burn it next winter.
For splitting I used a GB splitting maul. I have honestly not been a fan of this maul because the handle is short (31") and I am used to the long-handled Fiskars and Mueller mauls (both around 36"). However, with the ice, snow a nd lack of steel-toed boots, I went with the GB as it is easier to control.
I split another recently-downed, live hickory in September and it was very hard to split: even for the rounds that were knot-free. However, in the freezing temperatures, it seemed like I just had to lightly tap the hickory and it split. Even stuff with knots split easily. I cannot remember a time when it was more fun splitting wood. Anyway, I managed to get a good section of the hickory trunk split and stacked.
At the back of the pile is some black cherry that was standing dead and well-seasoned. Unlike the hickory, it was hard to split, it was surprising considering it was clear of knots and not thick (like 10"). I am guessing it has something to do with the water content in the round. The Hickory was green and full of water and the cherry was very dry.
Last picture is the winter-hauling sled with some black cherry for the woodburner. The oak to the left is for winter of 2017.
I like your taste in splitting tools!!!
Seeing your sled to haul wood sure brings back memories.
When I was 4 my grandfather built me a sleigh with metal runners, 4 stakes on the side, and a heavy rope attached to the front. I would step in between the rope and sleigh and push against the rope to move the sleigh.
I would load up the sleigh and trudge my way back to the house.
.Little longer there BL, for sure
This is one of two I cut up at my parents house fall of 2014. It was 114yrs, and I'm sure there is older. Crazy to think what was happening back then, that tree had seen a thing or 2, just think a car didn't go by it for many yrs after it's birthday.
And like @benp said
Check out that wedge to give some idea of the size, biggest one for me to work on.
Since we are on the topic of helpers @nomad_archer, there's my three youngest, other two are long gone from the house, gotta enjoy them while you can, their only little for a while, then they get big
View attachment 482681
This is the pile it and the other one made at the house.
I only split the big stuff and only to a "reasonable" size. I can't imagine how much it will grow when split to size. The whole bottom of the pile is rounds like can be seen at the base and to the right. I would guess the rounds to the right of the pile alone would be at least a cord and a half.
View attachment 482682
That is pretty cool.
Those big trees are a lot of work processing them but it sure is worth it.
Cherry just does not split as well as those other woods, and Maple can be worse (especially Norway Maple).
Sounds like there is something wrong with the oiler in the 261, or it is plugged. Make sure nothing is obstructing things. That said, for the size Oak you got there, a 60 or 70 cc saw would be nice.
Sounds like there is something wrong with the oiler in the 261, or it is plugged. Make sure nothing is obstructing things. That said, for the size Oak you got there, a 60 or 70 cc saw would be nice.
nomad_archer
Addicted to ArboristSite
Does the 261 have an adjustable oiler? If it is like my 271 it has a fixed "epa" oiler that barely puts out enough oil for a 16" bar and sharp chain. A 20" bar and sharp chain and the bar gets so hot its not funny.
For being a medium density wood, cherry can be a real *****. Some of the cherry I've done split nicely with the Leveraxe (which we have determined is a tool that has its limitations in tough wood) and other rounds were virtually unsplittable with the Fiskars.
Little longer there BL, for sure
This is one of two I cut up at my parents house fall of 2014. It was 114yrs, and I'm sure there is older. Crazy to think what was happening back then, that tree had seen a thing or 2, just think a car didn't go by it for many yrs after it's birthday.
And like @benp said
Check out that wedge to give some idea of the size, biggest one for me to work on.
Since we are on the topic of helpers @nomad_archer, there's my three youngest, other two are long gone from the house, gotta enjoy them while you can, their only little for a while, then they get big
View attachment 482681
This is the pile it and the other one made at the house.
I only split the big stuff and only to a "reasonable" size. I can't imagine how much it will grow when split to size. The whole bottom of the pile is rounds like can be seen at the base and to the right. I would guess the rounds to the right of the pile alone would be at least a cord and a half.
View attachment 482682
B L sed: well past 50 years, that's for sure!!!
Chipper sed: Little longer there BL, for sure
hello chipper - well, good to hear from you. I only hedged my answer short to see who would take the bait?... and post up some cool pix of BIG oaks that had aged!
and you did!! after all, I could simply have googled how long do oaks live?... and then sounded more knowledgeable. but, imo... seems my answer was right on, and you confirmed it... as in... 114 years is well past 50 years - no? lol 
in any event, thanks for putting up your big cut! impressive to say the least... liked seeing all your woodchipkins, too... and that wood pile pix, as well...
ps: sometimes I am just too sneaky for my own good!!!! lol ~
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