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It's fall and time for.........Chainsaws, Ye Haw!
- Thread starter gggGary
- Start date
Cut and split a 4 cord American Elm last fall. About 42" diameter 3' above the ground. I bought a gas wood splitter to do that one! Found one that didn't run, cheap, fixed it, split the elm and sold it, turned a tidy profit.
The nearest bike to the door after wood hauling today was the GTS1000, put 50 miles of backroads on before sunset, but my back failed to see the humor in the riding position....
The nearest bike to the door after wood hauling today was the GTS1000, put 50 miles of backroads on before sunset, but my back failed to see the humor in the riding position....
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2 left but they ain't like her. Doing hay I'm on the wagon put bales on the elevator
she
carries and stacks in the loft.I bought a new splitter last month.
Much better...
7 more loads to go for 1 winter's firewood.
You’re a lucky dog gggGary.
Such a flurry of activity before the Wisconsin winter.
I'm wore out just from reading this.
Reminds me of a story.
Out on a hunting/camping expedition with several friends. Just finished setting up camp and tents. Thunderstorms start blowing in, followed by ultimate frenzy, nailing things down, rearranging trucks.
Men, we're masters of the last-minute panic...
I'm wore out just from reading this.
Reminds me of a story.
Out on a hunting/camping expedition with several friends. Just finished setting up camp and tents. Thunderstorms start blowing in, followed by ultimate frenzy, nailing things down, rearranging trucks.
Men, we're masters of the last-minute panic...
Meddy
XS650 Addict
So excuse my ignorance Gary, what's a cord?
Here in Oz we measure firewood by the cubic metre, which is roughly 1 ton.
We usually burn around 8-10 metre's each winter, heater going 24/7.
Here in Oz we measure firewood by the cubic metre, which is roughly 1 ton.
We usually burn around 8-10 metre's each winter, heater going 24/7.
EDIT Oops caught myself, a cord is4'x4'x8' or 3.62 cubic meters so 5 cords, my typical years burn is 18 Cubic meters.
Not ignorant just a different system
a cord is 8' by 8' by 4' or 7.25 cubic meters.
My typical winter burn is 5 cords or 36 cubic meters
A pretty well insulated 1600', 56 meter (too big) house, 100% wood heat, Wisconsin can have um "powerful" winters. The main heating season starts late September and runs to mid May.
a typical shot of the wood racks from a few years ago.
Each side is 36' long, it holds about 20 cords. Lifetime I've cut about 130 cords so far.
Not ignorant just a different system
My typical winter burn is 5 cords or 36 cubic meters
A pretty well insulated 1600', 56 meter (too big) house, 100% wood heat, Wisconsin can have um "powerful" winters. The main heating season starts late September and runs to mid May.
a typical shot of the wood racks from a few years ago.
Each side is 36' long, it holds about 20 cords. Lifetime I've cut about 130 cords so far.
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In the past years that this thread had started we got hit with the Asian Emerald Ash Borer.
Here on the property there're hundreds dead but in consolation there are thousands of seedlings and still a few smaller Ash that the bug missed (not likely) or that have a bit of resistance, hopefully. You don't realize the population of a tree species mixed into a forested hillside untill they're dead, gray and contrasting against live foliage - and Ash around here was a dominant tree.
We had a windstorm come through last weekend that knocked some down onto a trail going out on the ridge. Convenient to saw and haul but man, oh man, widow makers to the left and right and only me out there.....and the dogs. Yeah, it's exciting.
Hedge Apple. I don't think anything will kill it off. I've second harvested trees that I cut twenty five years ago. Talk about sustainability. If you cut them to ground level the deer will keep them browsed down, cut at three foot off the ground they shoot suckers up and soon beyond browse range.
Deer. I swear that the sound of a chainsaw in the woods is a dinner bell for them. I dropped a dead ash that had fox grape in the crown. I sawed until the tank went dry, refilled and then took a smoke break while sitting on the tractor. A big doe came up from the hollow and started browsing the grape a trees length away while I sat, smoked and watched.
Here on the property there're hundreds dead but in consolation there are thousands of seedlings and still a few smaller Ash that the bug missed (not likely) or that have a bit of resistance, hopefully. You don't realize the population of a tree species mixed into a forested hillside untill they're dead, gray and contrasting against live foliage - and Ash around here was a dominant tree.
We had a windstorm come through last weekend that knocked some down onto a trail going out on the ridge. Convenient to saw and haul but man, oh man, widow makers to the left and right and only me out there.....and the dogs. Yeah, it's exciting.
Hedge Apple. I don't think anything will kill it off. I've second harvested trees that I cut twenty five years ago. Talk about sustainability. If you cut them to ground level the deer will keep them browsed down, cut at three foot off the ground they shoot suckers up and soon beyond browse range.
Deer. I swear that the sound of a chainsaw in the woods is a dinner bell for them. I dropped a dead ash that had fox grape in the crown. I sawed until the tank went dry, refilled and then took a smoke break while sitting on the tractor. A big doe came up from the hollow and started browsing the grape a trees length away while I sat, smoked and watched.
Nice - I wish I had a piece of bush land to work and play in.
A pal of mine once told me that he could heat his large home from just harvesting the deadfall on his 40 acres. He seldom needed to cut down a live tree - and it sort of sounds as though that is what you chaps have found as well.
A pal of mine once told me that he could heat his large home from just harvesting the deadfall on his 40 acres. He seldom needed to cut down a live tree - and it sort of sounds as though that is what you chaps have found as well.
I ran a 16" bar Poulin when I cut my own firewood back in Pinawa MB.
~3 cords a year from the local woods for a token permit fee, burned in my homebuilt copy of a Jotul stove in the basement.
No natural gas in the town, nobody delivered heating oil and electric heat ran us $600 a month in winter.
Switched to 1 cord a year designer firewood for the family room fireplace when I moved to the 4-level split in Saskatoon.
Alas that our current bungalow don't have a fireplace and watching the fireplace channel on TV just ain't the same.
On a Historic note, the Welsh archers at Crecy and Agincourt used longbows made from Spanish Yew because English Yew trees weren't tall enough to give the necessary 6' long bow staves and, of course, nobody had discovered North America back then or perhaps they'd be using Osage instead?
~3 cords a year from the local woods for a token permit fee, burned in my homebuilt copy of a Jotul stove in the basement.
No natural gas in the town, nobody delivered heating oil and electric heat ran us $600 a month in winter.
Switched to 1 cord a year designer firewood for the family room fireplace when I moved to the 4-level split in Saskatoon.
Alas that our current bungalow don't have a fireplace and watching the fireplace channel on TV just ain't the same.
On a Historic note, the Welsh archers at Crecy and Agincourt used longbows made from Spanish Yew because English Yew trees weren't tall enough to give the necessary 6' long bow staves and, of course, nobody had discovered North America back then or perhaps they'd be using Osage instead?
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Meddy
XS650 Addict
That's a serious amount of wood Gary, I don't envy your winters at all, we would be lucky to get 10 days a year where the morning temperature is below 0C/32F.
I only live a few hours south of Gary. It can get so cold here a dog can freeze to a tree while taking a pee.
We used to burn wood but SWMBO decided she didn't like the mess. I enjoy working up firewood. No trees on Someday Farm so I'd have a 6 cord truckload of tree length brought in when I needed firewood.
Compared to the monsters I read about in this thread, my Stihl 026 with a 16 inch bar isn't much of a saw, but it's just right for a half-crippled old fart to play with. I did go to a full-chisel chain.
I still have the stuff, including a grapple for my tractor so I can pick up a log and hold it at a comfortable height for cutting and a 3 point hitch mounted splitter. I don't do mauls, and I'm lucky if I can get my wife to clean the ashes out of the stove, much less break a sweat working up firewood.
Compared to the monsters I read about in this thread, my Stihl 026 with a 16 inch bar isn't much of a saw, but it's just right for a half-crippled old fart to play with. I did go to a full-chisel chain.
I still have the stuff, including a grapple for my tractor so I can pick up a log and hold it at a comfortable height for cutting and a 3 point hitch mounted splitter. I don't do mauls, and I'm lucky if I can get my wife to clean the ashes out of the stove, much less break a sweat working up firewood.
I found this old photo of Gary out in the woods next to his house. Getting his first cord of wood for the winter.
pic makes it look smaller than it seemed.
Took a couple days off, rain and my back said a break was needed.
So been relaxing with the "Milwaukee iron" easy wake up drill, shift shaft needed to be replaced.
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I noticed I got a like on this post from 8 yrs ago that drew my attention to it.... What was I talking about with "recoup you tax expenses with the food they produce with no maintenance"? LOL.
#9, last load.
The rusty old Dakota, frame didn't break, whew. Was very slow and careful loaded.
4" of rain expected over the next couple days. When it gets muddy this time of year it won't dry out. Wood lot is steep hills.
Now I can get back to the "Milwaukee iron" wake up.
The rusty old Dakota, frame didn't break, whew. Was very slow and careful loaded.
4" of rain expected over the next couple days. When it gets muddy this time of year it won't dry out. Wood lot is steep hills.
Now I can get back to the "Milwaukee iron" wake up.
I don’t know how you do it! You are like the energizer bunny!
