Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Cool trip! My family and I made the same trip a couple years ago. There is also a sub and a destroyer escort in Houston not too far from the USS Texas. Look up sea wolf park. It was devastated by hurricane Rita, but the ship and sub are still there. Its usually empty. Dont forget about the USS Alabama, and the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge. I have 2 boys and we have been around the country seeing museum ships.

or the WWII diesel submarine the USS Cavalla, Gato class. it is an awesome tour! the Cavalla was in the bay at Japan when McArthur had the Japs sign the peace treaty on USS Missouri.

http://cavalla.org/

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Even growing up in the 80's our basement pantry was full of canned food and bottled water just in case plus several gallons of white gas for the Coleman.

I have at least 15 gallons Coleman fuel for my Colemans....

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I know how you feel, bit like that myself tonight. Last Friday I had a day off work and was at home in the garden enjoying some sunshine and tidying. On the wind I hear a mid size 2 stroke...hmm..is that a saw? i think. I carry on with my work. The noise continues. I continue to wander....and try to work out what might be coming down. Then I here the unmistakable sound of a chipper. Its a tree service at work. I finish up and walk down the street folloeing the noise and soon see a guy at work in a rear garden, up top of a large tree. get to the front of the house to see the lorry and chipper and a pile of.....oh, its Eucalyptus, about to go in. That's not bad actually...hard wood I'd not get given i suspect and euc, although wet and pithy, is a change from pine and smells nice. I await the return of the groundy who i guess is coming as I see leaves/branches approaching. 'Would you like somewhere to dump what isn't going through the chipper?' i say. it turns out the tree is just getting a prune and no logs, but 'Take a flyer and give us a call' says the groundy, passing me a flyer he grabs from the cab, 'we'll have some logs for you next week, we are felling a few trees round here.' Great. So Monday I text and remind him, got a 'Yep will definitely have some for you this week'. Fab.
So here we are, Friday night. Zip. Nada, Zilch. Not a twig. oh well.

good tale. pays to ask!! I wonder if these US guys know what a lorry is...? lol

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Speaking of electric saws. I scrounged this up today while looking at an old trailer frame to ressurect:

The can is full too.
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@Philbert do you want that saw for the museum?

prolly needs some WD 40!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

That's very generous of you!

Not trying to start a saw museum - only want a few, working models (although, I do, sort of, collect chains . . . )

Philbert

I still have my old elec Craftsman saw... still works, too... nary a spot of rust...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

That's very generous of you!

Not trying to start a saw museum - only want a few, working models (although, I do, sort of, collect chains . . . )

Philbert

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Man it has been a long time for me. This summer has been crazy. I thought you would be interested in my latest build. I designed this log grapple earlier in the summer, and today I finally got to build it. Let me know what you think.

View attachment 520516 View attachment 520517 View attachment 520518 View attachment 520519

well done! I like good craftsmanship in steel! that is excellent craftsmanship! pretty good flame job and welding, too... lol

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Whats a fortune out of curiosity?

I've got four slabs that I plan on building something with. They're ERC as that's all I come across here.

by definition: good chance or luck; large amount of wealth, assets, money.

as in: it would be my good fortune to have an inexhaustible fortune!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

View attachment 520759 My new duck "pond" that I traded a dozen eggs and some strawberry rhubarb jam for. Hooked up a pvc drain with a ball valve no more kiddie pools for me. View attachment 520760Sold a couple face cord of firewood and used the cash to do some horse trading. Upgraded my boat from a 14' with a 20hp to a 16' with a 35. I bought well and sold even better, have cash in the bank and a new to me kick butt boat that catches fish.
Haven't even held a saw in my hand for months, I'm driving past scrounge wood because I just don't need any more. Got a bit of splitting left to do, but have enough for me for the winter and about 10 cord left to sell once the weather cools and people start thinking about firewood.
Hope everyone is having a good summer!

I like ur pix, especially the duck pond!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

Been scrounging together the last parts to fix my wood hauling trailer.

I'll be about 700 bucks into this rebuild when it's all said and done but the trailer will have redone gate, new lengthened tongue, new coupler, new wiring, new lights, one new leaf, new axles, new bearings, and new tires.

Comparable trailer would have cost me about $1300 before side boards so I guess I'm still ahead of the game.


View attachment 521207

I like the new springs job! nice....

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

today I went scrounging! because, tomorrow it will all be gone. city wood and tree debris pickup day. piles of it everywhere in my neighborhood.. elsewhere's, too. had my eye on some EZscrounge oak, etc. but first... I had to empty my 8 wheeler logging trailer from my last urban scrounge. never too much $$ , never too much ... and never too much firewood. campfires daily is our motto over here at my camp...

needed my logging trailer so off came the last cuts...

its all firewood. mostly camp fire firewood. ala Brutus... some to be split.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

off loaded, it became a firewood stack... a pile, if u will....


haven't yet met the person with more firewood than me here in my area... other than those selling it commercially. I do have some oak. we burn it in daily campfires... when we are working outside... 101F out and we got a camp fire...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

so now we are ready to travel. up them loggin' roads... and here we come to first scrounge stop. free firewood out of a seasoned limb that fell out of oak tree other day. this stuff falls, is cut or hauled to street on a regular basis. nobody has an interest in it but me. this I came back to later and cut the limb up. easy work. free firewood! 2 doors down!

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

but main scrounge is a bit further up the mountain... some nice trimmed oak and other stuff I can use, too. u can see some of the tree work done in this pix.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I have my eye on some EZscrounge oak in this pile... key word: EZ!

front


back

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

soon I had my logging hauling trailer loaded pretty good...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

this big guy was a bit tuffer to get out of pile in backside and up to curb... and them onto trailer... on to trailer... more or less.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

I could have scrounged a lot more. there was a lot more in the pile. but it was late in day, and I dint feel like doing too much work... so some I let go. I almost got this guy out, but a saw was needed. and so I said nbd. left it.

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

all set for return trip down the mountain....

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

but, however... as I pulled into the yard... I lost the big guy. it was a bear to load... no cranes avail at time... so I left it where it fell. still there. I will cut it up into chunks tomorrow... easier to move then.... its dark out now, work into the hours of darkness... logging by the light of the moon...


way up there in the high country....