Current picts of wood cutting and weather conditions.

[pioneerguy600]

Well I'll be surprised if the farmer calls me this week unless it turns back cold in the next couple of days.

It warmed up here and rain alot. Nothing but soggy mush here now and it will be tough to get through the field now to get back to the trees.

Sooner or later though..

Unless it stays frozen solid I stay off any areas that would be rutted up with cutting activity or woods roads that get rutted with the big trucks. The old 3/4 ton gets around without doing much damage but the 5 ton or the excavators rip things up too much when the ground is soft. It is getting soft here also, we had a little snowfall last Thursday and its been melting ever since. Just as well as the Mrs has me working on the Honey do list anyway. ARRRGH!!
Pioneerguy600

 

[dingeryote]

I HAD plans of dropping a dozen or so trees along one of our ditchlines today.
I am to the point of not planning ANYTHING anymore, because plan B is always the one that gets put into action anyway.

Woke up to this. 8" of Wet, gloppy, slushy, Lake effect nastiness.

I ended up plowing the drive and clearing snow around the house and barns and figured I'd still get a couple down. Still a couple feet of wet slop on the ground here.

First in line got the nod to be dropped. Started the back cut, and hit wire 3" in.
I figured it was in there, but not THAT high. I raised the back cut and did the dreaded slightly angled back cut making mental notes that I was gonna get beat up about it here...

I basicly wedged the tree and gunned to the hinge with this one, and snipped the hinge a bit in the process, but it dropped right where I was wanting it to go for skidding.

That's when the blasted Cell phone rang. "Could I head over and plow out the MIL?...."

Like I said.
Plan "B".
Tomorrows plan is to sit around doing nothing untill the wife tells me "Go do something usefull".

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[pioneerguy600]

I HAD plans of dropping a dozen or so trees along one of our ditchlines today.
I am to the point of not planning ANYTHING anymore, because plan B is always the one that gets put into action anyway.

Woke up to this. 8" of Wet, gloppy, slushy, Lake effect nastiness.


First in line got the nod to be dropped. Started the back cut, and hit wire 3" in.
I figured it was in there, but not THAT high. I raised the back cut and did the dreaded slightly angled back cut making mental notes that I was gonna get beat up about it here...



I basicly wedged the tree and gunned to the hinge with this one, and snipped the hinge a bit in the process, but it dropped right where I was wanting it to go for skidding.

That's when the blasted Cell phone rang. "Could I head over and plow out the MIL...."

Like I said.
PLan "B".

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

Those are real nice picts of the snow on the bushes, looks great but I know only too well what a joy it is to have to work in it. Those old fence line trees play havock on chains, I`m over 6' tall and cut those trees off about shoulder high, this usually misses the top run of wire but not always, after felling the tree I then cut the butt off at ground level getting in under the lowest run of wire, usually. I then just leave that 5.5' piece for nature to take care of it and move on to the next one. Wire fences and nails from old tree stands are what we hit the most, takes a toll on the chains, the woods turn blue when a new chain hits something like that.LOL.
Pioneerguy600

 

[Steve NW WI]

First in line got the nod to be dropped. Started the back cut, and hit wire 3" in.
I figured it was in there, but not THAT high. I raised the back cut and did the dreaded slightly angled back cut making mental notes that I was gonna get beat up about it here...

I basicly wedged the tree and gunned to the hinge with this one, and snipped the hinge a bit in the process, but it dropped right where I was wanting it to go for skidding.

That's when the blasted Cell phone rang. "Could I head over and plow out the MIL?...."

Like I said.
Plan "B".
Tomorrows plan is to sit around doing nothing untill the wife tells me "Go do something usefull".

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

Dinger, I see you've mastered obfucscatory photography, nothing terribly incriminating the way you took those pics. Did I ever mention I have a lot of stump pictures that have never been posted here for some odd reason? :monkey:

I like tomorrow's plan, even if it goes as planned, it's all good!

 

[dingeryote]

Pioneer-
Yeah, the snow makes for a pretty landscape.
Too bad for me that it's a heavy snow and kinda rough on the bushes, and none too fun to slog around in after a bit.
Makes everything into work.

That ditchline has eaten 4 chains now.
There's remnants of two old fences in those trees.
One is a 3 strand Barb wire from the 50's, the other is a 2 strand wire fence that was strung in the trees on the back side with staples for some ungodly reason, and NEVER friggin level... can ya see the height on that stump?
The one to the right was cut about waist level a couple weeks ago, and had wire above it.

Folks think the sky is Grey all the time here because of nasty weather.
Nope. Just me cussin' the blue out of it on another fencerow or ditchline.


Steve-
I didn't obfuscate anything.....
Notice the first aborted cut? I had a GOOD angle on that one, and the wire cost me a chain, but saved me from one hell of a stump-O-shame.
I gotta get a full wrap on the 372.

Notice the itty-bitty bit of pulled fiber sticking up?
LOL!!
That's what's left of hinge wood.

I hate it when Red Oak Barber chairs in the cold, so once I got the Wedge seated, I blasted the back cut while catching a face full of slop coming down, and BLEW through the hinge. Darn near 3/4 of it gone before I pulled the bar.

But you DO notice the face wedge placed on the little stump to the right?
Looks like a drunk beaver on crack got ahold of that one.

Two rotten cherrys, a Skunk Maple, and another Red Oak are next in line and tangled with 2" dia. Vines.
Gonna be some UGLY cuttin tomorrow, and I can't get the tractor in there.

We should do an ugly stump contest.
I have some I plan on flushing just to keep my Amish buds from seeing...

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Brmorgan]

Well I don't have any firewood pics but I did spend yesterday milling a bunch of short W.R. Cedar blocks into 1" with the 066 & Alaskan for an old woodworker friend:

The boards range from 12-19" wide (max width of cut with the 24" bar once it's mounted). There's a second stack behind the tall one that is just barely visible.

Three more stacks of boards and the slabs and edgings. In the background you can see a huge five-and-a-half foot Douglas Fir stump that I cut off at the ground for him last year. I used my 090 & 33" bar and it still had a small core of wood that didn't get cut; I had to wedge it up to break it off. The guy he had cut it down for him used a Cat loader and a block and tackle to put pressure on it, since it had a huge limb that would have made an impressive tree on its own overhanging the house.


Here's how the 066 looked at the end of the day:

Don't worry, I kept the filter etc. in good working order all day, and it's all blown down now! That saw looks like a total heap but it sure runs strong. Worth the $200 I paid for it anyway.

At any rate there was more snow than this at his place in early April of last year when I helped him bring a couple truckloads of those cedar rounds home from the log home builders. Heck, I had snow in my backyard where I'd heaped it up with the plow until the first week of May last year. I keep forgetting that it's still winter East of the Rockies! We've had early-spring-like weather and only 4" of new snow since the new year here; it's now getting into breakup on many of the logging roads out west. Best winter ever! Not for the water table or the coming forest fire season though, I guess. Unless we get a crappy rainy summer as a trade.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Brad, that 66 looks like a 10 year old that's been outside playing all day, filthy as all get out and doesn't care a bit. I'll take any grief the saw wax and polish crowd wants to give me, gotta get em dirty to enjoy em!

 

[little possum]

Brad you could just ride down tommorow and bring that mill Nice saw, that is the way they are supposed to look

We went out yesterday despite the rain cause the land owner sent 20 tons of red oak and white oak to the mill. Then we finish skiddin out the rest of the wood so he could bury the tops and stumps.
The rain made that red mud sticky and slick as snot. Most of the time the tractor got driven with the brakes. Ill try to get the pictures up tonight

 

[Arrowhead]

I HAD plans of dropping a dozen or so trees along one of our ditchlines today.
I am to the point of not planning ANYTHING anymore, because plan B is always the one that gets put into action anyway.

Woke up to this. 8" of Wet, gloppy, slushy, Lake effect nastiness.

Blueberries ??

 

[pioneerguy600]

Well I don't have any firewood pics but I did spend yesterday milling a bunch of short W.R. Cedar blocks into 1" with the 066 & Alaskan for an old woodworker friend:

The boards range from 12-19" wide (max width of cut with the 24" bar once it's mounted). There's a second stack behind the tall one that is just barely visible.

Three more stacks of boards and the slabs and edgings. In the background you can see a huge five-and-a-half foot Douglas Fir stump that I cut off at the ground for him last year. I used my 090 & 33" bar and it still had a small core of wood that didn't get cut; I had to wedge it up to break it off. The guy he had cut it down for him used a Cat loader and a block and tackle to put pressure on it, since it had a huge limb that would have made an impressive tree on its own overhanging the house.


Here's how the 066 looked at the end of the day:

Don't worry, I kept the filter etc. in good working order all day, and it's all blown down now! That saw looks like a total heap but it sure runs strong. Worth the $200 I paid for it anyway.

At any rate there was more snow than this at his place in early April of last year when I helped him bring a couple truckloads of those cedar rounds home from the log home builders. Heck, I had snow in my backyard where I'd heaped it up with the plow until the first week of May last year. I keep forgetting that it's still winter East of the Rockies! We've had early-spring-like weather and only 4" of new snow since the new year here; it's now getting into breakup on many of the logging roads out west. Best winter ever! Not for the water table or the coming forest fire season though, I guess. Unless we get a crappy rainy summer as a trade.

Nice picts of your worksite on that day, your 066 looks a lot like mine. Does your 066 have a metal air filter cover? The obne on mine is metal and is a brighter orange than the plastic/nylon engine cover.
Pioneerguy600

 

[dingeryote]

Blueberries ??

Yup. Jerseys in that pic. Blue crop start about halfway to the tree line.

Need any? Takin' orders for 2010 now.


Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Brmorgan]

Nice picts of your worksite on that day, your 066 looks a lot like mine. Does your 066 have a metal air filter cover? The obne on mine is metal and is a brighter orange than the plastic/nylon engine cover.
Pioneerguy600

No, the filter cover is plastic, but the filter mount plate (or whatever you call it) underneath is Mag. I believe it's a pretty old '66; it has the metal model plate and it has the old-style kill/choke/triggerlock switch, which I hate because I find it more difficult to activate due to its much lower profile. But since this saw never sees use outside of milling it isn't a big issue, nor is its cosmetic condition.

 

[pioneerguy600]

[/IMG]

No, the filter cover is plastic, but the filter mount plate (or whatever you call it) underneath is Mag. I believe it's a pretty old '66; it has the metal model plate and it has the old-style kill/choke/triggerlock switch, which I hate because I find it more difficult to activate due to its much lower profile. But since this saw never sees use outside of milling it isn't a big issue, nor is its cosmetic condition.

My rear airfilter cover is metal, may be its not off an 066 but it fits correctly, here is a couple picts of it. This is my $100, 066.

Pioneerguy600

 

[Brmorgan]

Odd, that cover isn't nearly as squared off on at the back as other 066 rear covers I've seen. Must be very very early? I'm not really familiar with a lot of the subtle changes they've seen over the years.

My $100 066 (not this one) will look nearly that good once the new piston for it comes in the mail. Though at that point it will be a $150 066, but still... It's very dirty, but is in really good condition.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Odd, that cover isn't nearly as squared off on at the back as other 066 rear covers I've seen. Must be very very early? I'm not really familiar with a lot of the subtle changes they've seen over the years.

My $100 066 (not this one) will look nearly that good once the new piston for it comes in the mail. Though at that point it will be a $150 066, but still... It's very dirty, but is in really good condition.

I`m starting to wonder if the cover is from a 064? I have not handled or seen a 064 in person so I don`t know what they looked like. May see one some day but it really does not matter, thar 066 is a very powerful saw for its size. I have another 066 but it has the heavy duty airfilter and cover on it so it sits higher in the back end.
Pioneerguy600

 

[Brmorgan]

Yeah that's very possible. I've never seen an 064 in person either.

Here are a few pics I took today at work:

Last year there would have been an easy two feet of snow on the ground there; this year there's really none except where the sun doesn't hit. There's a fair bit of ice on the flat areas from all the daily melt/freeze cycles though so it's slippery work.

The crew I've been working with has been doing the tree spacing / clearing, skidding, and piling, and today the big Timberjack forwarder machine showed up to start hauling it all out to the main road for pickup by trucks. It's part of a different contract and our crew has nothing to do with that end of things. I tell ya though, could I ever put a machine like that to good use moving logs once I get the bandmill up and running! I don't know what it's worth but it's driving on probably $25k worth of just rubber and chains alone.

I don't have any photos of the work we've been doing yet; my boss has taken a whole bunch and I keep bugging him to email some over but he hasn't gotten around to it yet. Somewhere at the University of British Columbia, though, there are a bunch of pictures floating around of myself skidding loads of these trees with my quad - there were a bunch of students up a few weeks ago to tour our project for whatever reason.

 

[super3]

Hauled several loads the last few days,5 loads in the big white oak to my Dads'. 4 loads of red oak added to the pile. 5 loads of hickory.
Pic of the hickory

 

[pioneerguy600]

Yeah that's very possible. I've never seen an 064 in person either.

Here are a few pics I took today at work:

Last year there would have been an easy two feet of snow on the ground there; this year there's really none except where the sun doesn't hit. There's a fair bit of ice on the flat areas from all the daily melt/freeze cycles though so it's slippery work.

The crew I've been working with has been doing the tree spacing / clearing, skidding, and piling, and today the big Timberjack forwarder machine showed up to start hauling it all out to the main road for pickup by trucks. It's part of a different contract and our crew has nothing to do with that end of things. I tell ya though, could I ever put a machine like that to good use moving logs once I get the bandmill up and running! I don't know what it's worth but it's driving on probably $25k worth of just rubber and chains alone.

I don't have any photos of the work we've been doing yet; my boss has taken a whole bunch and I keep bugging him to email some over but he hasn't gotten around to it yet. Somewhere at the University of British Columbia, though, there are a bunch of pictures floating around of myself skidding loads of these trees with my quad - there were a bunch of students up a few weeks ago to tour our project for whatever reason.

You are working on the spacing crew? What you using for space work, brush cutters? The ground looks good for working on, its much rockier here and very little flat ground. The forwarder looks like its quite new, a John deere model?
Pioneerguy600

 

[pioneerguy600]

Hauled several loads the last few days,5 loads in the big white oak to my Dads'. 4 loads of red oak added to the pile. 5 loads of hickory.
Pic of the hickory

That is going to make a nice pile of firewood, snow mostly gone also, my fav. time for woods work.
Pioneerguy600

 

[Brmorgan]

You are working on the spacing crew? What you using for space work, brush cutters? The ground looks good for working on, its much rockier here and very little flat ground. The forwarder looks like its quite new, a John deere model?
Pioneerguy600

Work is all done with that crew now. I'm going back to grading lumber at the sawmill next week. Hopefully it lasts and can stay profitable this time!

A couple guys used brush cutters in some areas, but largely it was done with saws. One guy had a Jonsered 2186, the boss and another guy both had Husky 575s, another a Stihl 460, and another had an 038. I used my ported 371XP, but I didn't really end up spending all that much time cutting since I was skidding with the quad quite a bit. The forwarder is a Timberjack; as far as I know they make their own machines, no? I don't remember seeing any JD insignias anywhere, and I was looking because the same thought crossed my mind.

Jerry, I don't know if you remember from your trip out here last summer, but we were working around the intersection with the stop light up by the brake check on the highway a couple miles north of town, at the top of the hill. The gray in the background through the trees above the green pickup in the pictures is actually the highway. Right there we were working on the powerline that runs parallel to the highway just downhill from that intersection. Basically we were clearing out all dead and downed stuff, and most of the smaller living and standing ones as well, to reduce forest fire fuel around the houses there. We spaced the larger trees to about 6-8' give-or-take, and limbed them up about 8' as well. It looks like a park up there now. Or at least it will once the moss and everything grows back to cover up our tracks!