Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Philbert]

Yes. Also some sort of guard to protect the engine from road debris. The recoil is full of dirt everytime I drive down a gravel road.

That could just be some type of drawstring bag that you cinch around the entire engine, once it has cooled off.

Philbert

 

[KiwiBro]

When dealing with very large trees in comparison to the bar length I have done a very open face cut then a plunge cut into the center of the notch and swept from the inside of the tree out, then you connect to the inside sweeping cut from the outside(this leaves a slot in the hinge and can get you in trouble on a weak tree). You can use a fairly small bar to cut a relatively large tree. I have found it easier to meet(or at least get close) to matching the cuts than starting on one side of the tree and working all the way around the tree for the back cut, and you will also be able to achieve a hinge closer to 80% rather than somewhere in the middle.
I also like a thin(top to bottom)tip on the bar I use for doing plunge cuts as it doesn't hardly chatter. Make sure you don't take your rakers down to far if you plan on doing plunge cuts as that will also make it chatter, all the more on hardwood to.

I need to go over to my buddies to help move his chicken coop to a different location(it's right where I plan to drop a couple of the trees).
I will get some pictures of the before. This is one of the larger ones out of three I already took care of, my hinge was a little off as well, but the power lines were still in the air when I was finished lol. Directly behind the stump is another one of the larger ones that I will be cutting, you can see it is missing a lot of bark already, perfect for this winters wood. To me this is the perfect sized tree to work with for firewood.
I think I may have already posted these, but couldn't find them.

Thanks for the info. Looks like the tree was leaning towards the power lines. Scary stuff.

 

[cantoo]

chipper1, I use a 1/4" poly rope to get my cuts to line up where I want them. I just tie the rope around the tree then spray it wit my orange marking paint. Take the rope off and you have a nice clean 1/4" line of bark to get perfect cuts every time. Also use the paint to mark where I want my hinge cut to be too. I do this only on trees that matter where they land. Ain't no shame in cheating to make sure it goes where you want.

 

[dancan]

Slim pickens for adding to the pile of wood this weekend , all I managed to get was to cut up some 4' that I had hauled home last fall and a bit of slabwood .

I cut up some Zogger wood wild cherry but I'll keep that stuff for the BBQ .
I also got a call from a fella that bought a houselot in the development where we have the tractors , he's clearing his own lot but wanted to know if I wanted the spruce he drug up to the road ...... LOL

 

[dancan]

BTW , 39* here with some rain on the way .

 

[JustJeff]

chipper1, I use a 1/4" poly rope to get my cuts to line up where I want them. I just tie the rope around the tree then spray it wit my orange marking paint. Take the rope off and you have a nice clean 1/4" line of bark to get perfect cuts every time. Also use the paint to mark where I want my hinge cut to be too. I do this only on trees that matter where they land. Ain't no shame in cheating to make sure it goes where you want.

That's a heck of an idea! I'm gonna use that.

 

[svk]

BTW , 39* here with some rain on the way .

We had mid 90's on Friday with 70's last two days. Smoke was real thick from that Canadian fire. Lots of fires to the south and east of me too.

Here's Friday evening. Luckily it cleared out later that night.

 

[H-Ranch]

My buddy is borrowing my splitter next weekend so I figured I better "pop the cherry" before I brought it over to him. View attachment 502249

Looks to me more like "pop the birch" but I have no idea what that reference means...

 

[svk]

Looks to me more like "pop the birch" but I have no idea what that reference means...

Lol that's slang for "the first time".

 

[H-Ranch]

Lol that's slang for "the first time".

Yeah, I get the cherry, but "pop the birch" is slang for the first time, too? Never mind...

 

[chipper1]

chipper1, I use a 1/4" poly rope to get my cuts to line up where I want them. I just tie the rope around the tree then spray it wit my orange marking paint. Take the rope off and you have a nice clean 1/4" line of bark to get perfect cuts every time. Also use the paint to mark where I want my hinge cut to be too. I do this only on trees that matter where they land. Ain't no shame in cheating to make sure it goes where you want.

Hey cantoo, I was wondering were you been.
Figured you were getting busy with sets as it's that time of yr.

That's a great tip, and would probably work great for what I was saying. Maybe I will do some cuts and take a few pictures in case what I said wasn't clear.
There is another trick you can use once you have the face cut made. You just take a little whip(straight stick)and put it into the center of the face cut to give you something to shoot for when you start from the other side.
Ain't no shame in sights on a gun either right.
The way I figure, the more accuracy needed the better the cheats required, some people are just better cheaters than others .

 

[chipper1]

Thanks for the info. Looks like the tree was leaning towards the power lines. Scary stuff.

I guess it was a little, but the more you do the better your confidence gets, although I don't think it was a very bad one since I didn't even put a rope in it.

Some of the ones I need to get on Wednesday are leaning very bad. There is one in particular that is over the neighbors garage/pole barn, if the hinge doesn't hold I will be in trouble and the pictures will be turned in to the insurance company. Before cutting that one the neighbor will need to give me permission as all these are freebies for a good friend.
Not sure if any of that will even be happening because they are now calling for rain Wednesday.

I also realized when I came back here and saw my pictures that the tree that was behind the stump I dropped up the hill, and the other big one is on top of the hill not that one.

 

[Woodyjiw]

Does scrounging count if it's in my yard?

 

[JustJeff]

Does scrounging count if it's in my yard?

Not if you have a cool skid steer with a grapple. That goes right from scrounger to "you suck"!! Lol.

 

[Woodyjiw]

Not if you have a cool skid steer with a grapple. That goes right from scrounger to "you suck"!! Lol.

[emoji23] [emoji23]

 

[Marine5068]

Found some Red oak at side of road the other day. Maybe five or six logs at about 10" diam.
Not a lot, but it's nice when it's cut to four or five foot lengths and easy access.
I'll slice 'er up and split stack it this weekend and it'll be good to go in a couple years.
Also the black flies are swarming right now up in my part of the woods.

 

[svk]

Warm weather brought out our sandflies in droves. I'm thinking next weekend will be my last hurrah with no skeeters.

Despite having a very dry spring I've yet to see a tick.

 

[zogger]

Does scrounging count if it's in my yard?

Sure does count! Great scrounge and what cool slabs!

 

[dancan]

All I got tonight is free spruce , no ash, no hard maple , no hedge , no oak , no locust , no beech no siree , just spruce .

But Hey !
Free is free

 

[cantoo]

My wife says I would buy anything as long as it was at an auction. Stopped in at a local nursery that has an auction sale every year, just to take a look. Bought almost 100 trees, various types and sizes, got some ornamental grass too. She was with me and even bought some herself. Glad I made a tree spade for my tractor last year, too bad I let someone borrow it, they didn't bring it back and now can't remember who it was. Used the trusty forks on the tractor to at least loosen the soil to make it a bit easier. Future firewood for my grandchildren I guess. Sale was at a sawmill, I spent more time nosing around the portable mills than the sale. He has stacks of ash all over the place. This is the mill that I used to buy my firewood logs from.