Tip of the Day thread:

[Sandhill Crane]

My wife is a list person. Write everything down, cross it off with a smile when it is done at the end of the day. I'm a procrastinator, and use imaginary lists. I write a list on the kitchen glass board, it looks at it me for a week. Then I erase it. Last winter I did not cover the wood pile. Wet wood this year. Year before the racks were all grouped together and covered with two 30' x 50' tarps. But, they had some holes in them from the year before that, which made them more like funnels with two feet of melting snow and spring rains. The tarps then acted as a moisture trap. Did I say not covering did not work either. It has rained every week this year. So yesterday, beautiful calm day, I took a break from splitting and cut up the tarps (the ones staring at me on a pallet). I did a few test pieces a several weeks ago, but, it was a pain on my hands and knees, and I needed twenty three more 6' x 6' pieces. I took a few minutes to built a temporary work table with saw horsed (2) 2" x 4"s, (2) sheets osb, and a couple spring clamps. Pair of scissors, chalk box and a hammer. Table worked great for measuring without measuring, rip cutting, and folding. 23 Done!!!! Now when I top off a rack it gets covered with a half sheet of osb and tarp before it is moved. No big tarps to mess with by myself, not now, not in the spring. I do have (100) 1/3 cord racks to fill and deal with yet. Thinking of pushing three together for a 4' x 8' cord and cover with a full sheet of osb and tarp for those, maybe skip the osb.

 

[Fred Wright]

Never trust a woman who doesn't trust her man.

If her mother is a dog, that's her in 20 years.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Just loaded out a cord of green oak, cut and split in June or early July. Stacked in September. The guy wanted two cord seasoned/two cord green to mix in. The bottom half of the green rack, 4' x 4' x 6' high (3/4 cord each), had begun to dry very well. The top is wet, like fresh split. This tells me that the time and effort to cover the wood as I fill the racks is going to be well spent. He planned on two trips with a one ton 10' dump. We loaded one cord of green and he wisely called it good. I've read in charts green oak is approx. 5,800 lbs. a cord.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

Be safe. Sounds great, logical and all. But it does not just happen. It is something to work at and practice day in and day out, in big and small ways. At the end of the day it may have made a difference. This past weekend a neighbor towed his splitter to his friends house to put some wood up. A third guy dropped in to help finish up, someone they knew well. Last piece. Third guy lost his thumb to the wedge. Don't know the what or hows about it. Only that it could not be put back on.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

Only the operator of the splitter should work the hydraulic lever......

 

[djones]

The fastest way down hill is the quickest.

Never put something soft between two hard moving objects. One of my workmates tried to stop a rolling dump truck from hitting another workers truck by putting his body between the two, not a good idea.

 

[DanTheCanadian]

Weld a chain loop to the top of ur scrench, paint it orange, add a carabeener and clip to belt. NOT BELT LOOP! I also clip on a tuning screwdriver just in case.

 

[blacklocst]

So you don't rock a chain on you first cut, always peek over the other side of a log before you cut.

 

[BoBDoG2o02]

The fastest way down hill is the quickest.

Never put something soft between two hard moving objects. One of my workmates tried to stop a rolling dump truck from hitting another workers truck by putting his body between the two, not a good idea.

We call that stupid around here. Can't fix stupid.

 

[unclemoustache]

Weld a chain loop to the top of ur scrench, paint it orange, add a carabeener and clip to belt. NOT BELT LOOP! I also clip on a tuning screwdriver just in case.

Now THAT is the best I've heard so far. Those things are such an annoying size and shape.

 

[Iska3]

Weld a chain loop to the top of ur scrench, paint it orange, add a carabeener and clip to belt. NOT BELT LOOP! I also clip on a tuning screwdriver just in case.

Good idea... Why didn't you post this a few weeks ago... Could have saved me a lot of time and $$$ over the years..

Maybe they could embed a chain loop in to the side of those plastic wedges and we could do the same with them.

 

[DanTheCanadian]

Ive posted that tip three times since i joined, people have appreciated it everytime too. I logged with a guy once who drilled 1/2 hole in his wedges, pounded in a tin "bushing" for lack of a better term, and had a giant carabeener he had bought at walmart. It had mommy hook written on it, guess it was a carabeener for clipping to baby carraiges to hang stuff off. Regardless, he loved it and never hit the tin because usually if you hit a wedge its only the end that bites it.

I have a special wedge pocket on my PPE pants, keep three in there. Plenty for me. Only problem is the sawdust.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I pour my bar oil in a small gas jug, the spout makes it easier to fill without dumping oil all over the saw. Also I normally thin it down with a cup or two of diesel when it's cold outside.

Here's a compromise between the small gas jug and the other smaller dispensers mentioned. Try an empty common pancake syrup bottle that holds 26 oz. The pour spout is easy to work with, the lid opening in the bottle is large enough to pour into from the gallon jug, and I spill practically nothing when adding the bar oil to the saw. I seldom use more than 26 oz. per outing. The lid with pour spout will wear out first, but it usually lasts about a year or so.

The reason I like using this dispenser rather than an empty quart bottle of oil is because it's easier to fill from the gallon jug and it's transparent, so you can see how the filling (and emptying) is coming along.

 

[Whitespider]

Never set anything of value on he ground and step away from it... ever‼
I can't remember the number of posts over the years where someone accidentally drove over, or dropped a tree on a saw, fuel can, or what not.
Set it on a stump, a large round, the hood of your truck, in the crotch of a tree... anywhere but on the ground (although, when in a pinch, on the ground right up next to, and preferably touching, a large tree is near as good).
And if you set it in the bed of your truck... immediately and automatically close the damn tailgate.

A lesson my dad taught me as a very young man that has served me well... I've never driven over anything, or lost anything from the bed of my truck.

Oh... and while I'm at it... never lean anything of value against a vehicle and step away from it (such as a shotgun or long handled tool). However, leaning it against the drivers door of an unmanned vehicle is acceptable under certain circumstances.
*

 

[Wood Doctor]

Never set anything of value on he ground and step away from it... ever‼
I can't remember the number of posts over the years where someone accidentally drove over, or dropped a tree on a saw, fuel can, or what not.
Set it on a stump, a large round, the hood of your truck, in the crotch of a tree... anywhere but on the ground (although, when in a pinch, on the ground right up next to, and preferably touching, a large tree is near as good).
And if you set it in the bed of your truck... immediately and automatically close the damn tailgate.

A lesson my dad taught me as a very young man that has served me well... I've never driven over anything, or lost anything from the bed of my truck.

Oh... and while I'm at it... never lean anything of value against a vehicle and step away from it (such as a shotgun or long handled tool). However, leaning it against the drivers door of an unmanned vehicle is acceptable under certain circumstances.
*

Amen to this advice. You would not believe how many tank housings and outside handles of chainsaws I have replaced for operators who run over them with their pickup trucks or watch them fall out the back of the truck's bed with the tailgate down.

 

[Iska3]

As soon as I cut a tree, my gas can and oil go on that stump. I was out today cutting and forgot two of my wedges.... They'll be on the one stump so when I go back I'll be able to find them.

Good Advice Spidy.... After a few times, this becomes second nature...

Never set anything of value on he ground and step away from it... ever‼
I can't remember the number of posts over the years where someone accidentally drove over, or dropped a tree on a saw, fuel can, or what not.
Set it on a stump, a large round, the hood of your truck, in the crotch of a tree... anywhere but on the ground (although, when in a pinch, on the ground right up next to, and preferably touching, a large tree is near as good).
And if you set it in the bed of your truck... immediately and automatically close the damn tailgate.

A lesson my dad taught me as a very young man that has served me well... I've never driven over anything, or lost anything from the bed of my truck.

Oh... and while I'm at it... never lean anything of value against a vehicle and step away from it (such as a shotgun or long handled tool). However, leaning it against the drivers door of an unmanned vehicle is acceptable under certain circumstances.
*

 

[H-Ranch]

Never set anything of value on he ground and step away from it... ever‼
Oh... and while I'm at it... never lean anything of value against a vehicle and step away from it

Goes for the roof of a vehicle too - I call it a black hole because stuff that is put there is never to be seen again. Roof, trunk lid, bed rails, bumpers, and I've even seen stuff set on the hood only to be noticed after driving away and picking up a good bit of speed then... you guessed it: hard braking!

 

[Wood Doctor]

Another tip for firewood cutters. When you throw your splits into a random pile for drying and eventual loading, always add more to the random pile than you think your truck will hold. Most of the time it will, and then you will have to split and/or cut more to top off the truckload, slowing you down. A packed truckload holds a lot more than you think it will.

 

[DanTheCanadian]

I have the opposite probelm. Cut what i figure to be a trailer load and end up with close to two. First load rounded right over cuz i tried to fit in one load, second load only half full cuz i failed at my first load.

 

[unclemoustache]

Another tip for firewood cutters. When you throw your splits into a random pile for drying and eventual loading, always add more to the random pile than you think your truck will hold. Most of the time it will, and then you will have to split and/or cut more to top off the truckload, slowing you down. A packed truckload holds a lot more than you think it will.