Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

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Cut some wood for hunting camp today, hung our stands. Up state Pa, season starts 9/29 and I can't wait!
looks good Ryan. where do you go upstate? been hunting deer all summer in the sweet corn patches.:angry: they have gotten out of control in the last couple of years thanks to land hunting leases where the hunters don't practice good management. i'm in the 5b area. @nomad_archer has come over from Lancaster the last couple of years and "helped" out and put some meat in his freezer.
 
Splitting up more wood but There is some I don't know what it is. It has bark that looks like oak but it is pale wood, not red and it has lots of strings attached when split. Put in a dry well yesterday on the side of the OWB. I had dug out a hill with the tractor to make a level pad for the OWB but water collects in the back where the clean out is. Went 5' down and had a left over drain pipe hanging around, back filled with 3/4" gravel. Time will tell if it works.
 
No comparison, I will never use wood again (on a splitting Axe/Maul). My X 27 has a lifetime guarantee, but I have not been able to brake one yet, wood does not last that long.

The last time I used a wood handle on a splitting maul, the handle broke and the head came back at me, I reflexively "slipped it", and it skinned my check as it went by. I will not use one again. I went to metal after that, then the X 27.

Steve, the X 27 is so much lighter, and can not see us liking the Isocore more.
 
Serious questions...

My gf has 45 acres near Tar Hollow st park just east of Chillicothe, OH. We are lookng into selling some of the valuable timber off the property but we know nothing about the real logging industry. We can rent equipment like trailers and skidsteers. I have saws. Getting the timber out and loaded on the trailer will be tricky in some cases but no big deal. How do we know what types of wood are even worth cutting? How big they need to be before we cut them? How do we know what the value is? What length do we cut the logs to before we load on the trailer or how short can we cut them?

I have seen alot of white oak, sugar maple and cherry down there. Unfortunatly the elusive highly valuable black walnut is thin where she actually has ownership, but biggins arent far....I just need some advice on a direction to go in selling timber.
I've been out of town for a couple days so I'm running behind. Another reason to let a logger do the work is you/we are your/our own worst enemies. We took some 16' logs to the mill and they said the were bottom quality, would use for ditch planking. There were "Cat Faces" on the logs. That's where a limb was broke or cut off. Before we left the yard a worker cut 4' off the end of the 16 footer, making it a 12 footer, and put it in the veneer pile. We thought they wanted 16' logs, but shot ourselves in the foot by leaving knots in the log. A "Clear" 12 footer is worth a lot more than a 16 footer wit a defect on the end. You may be able to get someone in to grade the property, then you have an idea what it's worth and select cut.
 
Picked up a new saw for James to try out at the Next GTG. It's a little baby one this time, 84CC's. But, it should pull a 24" OK.
SdQcJR6.jpg
 
No comparison, I will never use wood again (on a splitting Axe/Maul). My X 27 has a lifetime guarantee, but I have not been able to brake one yet, wood does not last that long.

The last time I used a wood handle on a splitting maul, the handle broke and the head came back at me, I reflexively "slipped it", and it skinned my check as it went by. I will not use one again. I went to metal after that, then the X 27.

Steve, the X 27 is so much lighter, and can not see us liking the Isocore more.
Thanks Mike, my heavy maul is starting get a loose head, so was thinking the Isocore might make it into my line up.
 
A couple weeks ago I scored a huge amount of wood from the tree service. I brought home 6 truck loads. Then, they were rushing to finish before students moved back to town. They loaded up their dump truck with logs and delivered them to me. I was shocked and very appreciative.

My scrounging is on hold for a bit unfortunately. I need to get a different truck. The rust has gotten the frame on mine, which I'm reading is common on 1999-early 2000s gm trucks. One rear cross member is about gone, and the frame near the trailer hitch is awfully thin. Not happy. It stinks because I need the truck for some side work I do. I need to sell for what I can, only has 130k. Then, I need to get an older truck, 3/4 ton 4x4. Looking at F250s any year and Chevy/gmc 2500 before 1999. Any advice?
 
A couple weeks ago I scored a huge amount of wood from the tree service. I brought home 6 truck loads. Then, they were rushing to finish before students moved back to town. They loaded up their dump truck with logs and delivered them to me. I was shocked and very appreciative.

My scrounging is on hold for a bit unfortunately. I need to get a different truck. The rust has gotten the frame on mine, which I'm reading is common on 1999-early 2000s gm trucks. One rear cross member is about gone, and the frame near the trailer hitch is awfully thin. Not happy. It stinks because I need the truck for some side work I do. I need to sell for what I can, only has 130k. Then, I need to get an older truck, 3/4 ton 4x4. Looking at F250s any year and Chevy/gmc 2500 before 1999. Any advice?
If you just had a big load delivered you wont need to scrounge for a while
 
Thanks Mike, my heavy maul is starting get a loose head, so was thinking the Isocore might make it into my line up.
Isocore is good stuff but its heavy. When I was hand splitting almost all the stuff I had was isocore material. The x27 wouldnt touch it. Now I have a 30T hydraulic "fast" model
 
I've been out of town for a couple days so I'm running behind. Another reason to let a logger do the work is you/we are your/our own worst enemies. We took some 16' logs to the mill and they said the were bottom quality, would use for ditch planking. There were "Cat Faces" on the logs. That's where a limb was broke or cut off. Before we left the yard a worker cut 4' off the end of the 16 footer, making it a 12 footer, and put it in the veneer pile. We thought they wanted 16' logs, but shot ourselves in the foot by leaving knots in the log. A "Clear" 12 footer is worth a lot more than a 16 footer wit a defect on the end. You may be able to get someone in to grade the property, then you have an idea what it's worth and select cut.
Just talked to a guy at Timber Works in Cincy and he said the exact same thing. Cut logs as long as you can without defects. He is scheduled to come and look at the property this weekend. :D
 
If I could get an isocore for under $50 Id grab one. No, Id grab several.
Love the x27 but some wood demands more mass. I was facing £85 or more for an 8lb maul, either shipping an isocore from Amazon us, or for a Stihl pro cleaving hammer, then got super lucky on eBay and got a stihl for £35. If I'd been able to get an isocore cheap, I'd have got that without a doubt. It's too add to the arsenal along side the x27 though, not to replace it.
 
Question for the brains trust, how do the moulded handles on these Isocore and X27’s hold up to long term abuse vs a wooden handle?

The thing I like about the x27’s handle is that I can strike the wood with accuracy. The few times that I have missed my mark and the handle caught the edge of the log, it did not shock my hands with recoil. That is the reason for the hollow handle towards the end. And the handle has held up great. No cracks, missing chunks, etc.


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A couple weeks ago I scored a huge amount of wood from the tree service. I brought home 6 truck loads. Then, they were rushing to finish before students moved back to town. They loaded up their dump truck with logs and delivered them to me. I was shocked and very appreciative.

My scrounging is on hold for a bit unfortunately. I need to get a different truck. The rust has gotten the frame on mine, which I'm reading is common on 1999-early 2000s gm trucks. One rear cross member is about gone, and the frame near the trailer hitch is awfully thin. Not happy. It stinks because I need the truck for some side work I do. I need to sell for what I can, only has 130k. Then, I need to get an older truck, 3/4 ton 4x4. Looking at F250s any year and Chevy/gmc 2500 before 1999. Any advice?

I don’t know much about Chevys. But if you go with a Ford, you can’t go wrong with the 7.3 diesel or the 351 or 460 gas engines. Even the 5.4 is a decent option but you have to avoid 2004-2008 because of cam phaser problems. And whatever truck you decide on, definitely get the 8 ft. bed.


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I don’t know much about Chevys. But if you go with a Ford, you can’t go wrong with the 7.3 diesel or the 351 or 460 gas engines. Even the 5.4 is a decent option but you have to avoid 2004-2008 because of cam phaser problems. And whatever truck you decide on, definitely get the 8 ft. bed.


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I'm not sure what the best one to get is. I really need an extended cab. I know chevys from 1999 -? had major rust issues. Great engines, but rust. I like the early ford super dutys, 1999-2003. The 5.4 can last a long time, but I've also heard of spark plug issues, blowing out. Maybe my best bet is Ford or Chevy older than 1998ish. I like the 7.3 diesel, but I worry about maintenance or repair costs. Don't know much about them. I have a 99 Honda civic I drive most of the time, but I need the truck to haul and pull a trailer. It doesn't have to be perfect, but I'd like it to be in good shape mechanically. I don't like buying and selling vehicles.
 
I'm not sure what the best one to get is. I really need an extended cab. I know chevys from 1999 -? had major rust issues. Great engines, but rust. I like the early ford super dutys, 1999-2003. The 5.4 can last a long time, but I've also heard of spark plug issues, blowing out. Maybe my best bet is Ford or Chevy older than 1998ish. I like the 7.3 diesel, but I worry about maintenance or repair costs. Don't know much about them. I have a 99 Honda civic I drive most of the time, but I need the truck to haul and pull a trailer. It doesn't have to be perfect, but I'd like it to be in good shape mechanically. I don't like buying and selling vehicles.
I don't like getting rid of old vehicles either. I love my 99 Ram 4X4. But, it's starting to nickle and dime me to death. My wife said her car will be paid off in a couple months, for me to go get a new truck. Mowing 11 lawns I'm putting about $100 a week in fuel. I was looking at the twin turbo Ford V6 and it's putting out 90 HP and 100 foot pounds of torque more than my 99 Ram 5.9. I can just about make the truck payment with the fuel saved. I know you are looking for an older truck, preferably a 250, so was I, till I started looking at the F150. The other thing I really wanted was the jump door, and it looks like Ford is the only one offering it now. The others have full doors with a center post. Every now and then I have stuff that will slide right in the back seat with the half/jump door open, but won't fit with a center post, even though the back seat is bigger. Sorry for pushing a new truck when you are looking for an older one.
 
Question for the brains trust, how do the moulded handles on these Isocore and X27’s hold up to long term abuse vs a wooden handle?

I've had my X27 since the 1st or 2nd year they were introduced. Lives outside, never inside, been hammered on to complete splits, has split many a cord of both soft and hard (locust). Still going strong and the handle shows no sign of deterioration. AS for wood handles? I used to replace a handle about every two years. I don't see any need to do that ever again as I bought a plastic handle maul and 8lb sledge last time the handles broke. Got so just a wood hanlde was almost the cost of a complete maul.
 

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