A little story you might like

[Wood Scrounge]

A little back ground info:
I work with a lot of folks who make 6 figures more then I do, live in McMansions in the suburbs or old town homes in the city. I think the technical term for these “men” is metrosexuals, some of them are good people just confused on life priorities.
This week every year I load my truck up with wood and let them fill their BMWs, Mercedes and the like with as much firewood as they want. Many of them have those prefabed metal fireplaces in their homes, and some of the folks in the city even have stoves.
I own 4 saws a husky 350 with a narrow kerf bar and chain, a 372 XP and a $40 Craig’s list Wild thing, I am just a homeowner who cuts wood for himself and friends.
I am in the process of taking trees mostly ash and cherry out of a horse pasture for a guy.


A few weeks ago one of the guys I work with asks if he can help me cut wood one weekend just for the experience, I say “sure meet me at 7:30 “. He is at the decided location promptly at 7:30 and we go to a place where I cut, I lend him a pair of chaps and he has safety glasses, and I drop the first tree a little ash tree. I allow him to buck up the tree after a little lesson on chainsaw usage and safety (I am no expert but have done it long enough to know what to be afraid of), I then show him how to drop another small ash tree which he does well. We load up the trailer and take about a face cord to my house to be split and stacked. At the end of the day he thanked me and he seemed to have enjoyed himself.
Last week he comes to me and asks if he can borrow a saw to cut a large branch up that fell in his yard. The next day I hand him my chaps and the Wild Thing, he says “oh I did not realize you were going to give me your good saw”………………………………


Ok not much of a story and my delivery may not be that great, but it made me chuckle.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Well that made me chuckle too

 

[Junkfxr]

Yep, me too. You have to wonder how those people survive.

 

[woodbooga]

Good story.

Well worth the read.

For those that didn't, here's the readers digest three word summary...

Ignorance Is Bliss.

 

[CrappieKeith]

Way to ease him into it....take him out again for a 3 cord plus oak....see if he can make the day....:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[mga]

The next day I hand him my chaps and the Wild Thing,

i sure hope you told him not to run the chain into the ground when cutting a downed branch.

 

[Wood Doctor]

i sure hope you told him not to run the chain into the ground when cutting a downed branch.

Good point. That dulls the chain faster than anything you can imagine and it is by far the easiest thing that any inexperienced CS user can do. However, it's a $5 lesson that usually isn't forgotten very fast.

The only story I have that might equal OP's is the day my next door neighbor cut the top rung of his extension ladder in half with a chainsaw while trying to prune his tree. He said smoke got in his eyes while he ran the saw with a cigarette in his mouth. Gasp!

 

[matt9923]

Good story, good to see he liked it and actually helped you!

They survive cause they have so much $!

 

[kevin j]

and he won't ask the borrow the 372 as you have already started the precedent of allowing him to use the 'good saw'.

 

[unclemoustache]

Funny! However, let's not forget we were all that ignorant at some point in our lives. Granted, some of you were probably about 4 at the time - I'll not say how old I probably was at that same level of ignorance. :biggrinbounce2:

 

[Taxmantoo]

If a used Wild Thing is worth $40, it must look brand new when sitting next to a beat up 350.

 

[RVALUE]

If a used Wild Thing is worth $40, it must look brand new when sitting next to a beat up 350.

green with envy?

 

[Wood Scrounge]

If a used Wild Thing is worth $40, it must look brand new when sitting next to a beat up 350.

It does look brand new (how did you know ) and the chain is sharp, or was sharp I should say.

I figured for $40 I could loan it out to anybody, anybody who would not cut off their own leg.

These guys I work with are funny, they make big money but have big debt. They won't do anything for themselves until someone (OK, me) busts their chops about it, then when they do it they actually enjoy doing it.

 

[Wood Scrounge]

oh and by the way they do know I talk about them here :biggrinbounce2:

 

[johncinco]

Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you have a drinking partner for the boat.

Oh wait, that aint right.....


Give a man fire and you keep him warm for a day. Set a man on fire and you keep him warm for the rest of his life.

Naw thats not it either....

:biggrinbounce2:


You get the idea. Youu may have just given the guy a new life. Hey how do you think those brand new 9010's and 066's that barely got used end up on ebay? People with too much money and a lil ambition buy em, never use em, and put em up for sale! I'd be taking that fella to the saw shop.

 

[matt9923]

Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you have a drinking partner for the boat.

Oh wait, that aint right.....


Give a man fire and you keep him warm for a day. Set a man on fire and you keep him warm for the rest of his life.

Naw thats not it either....

:biggrinbounce2:


You get the idea. Youu may have just given the guy a new life. Hey how do you think those brand new 9010's and 066's that barely got used end up on ebay? People with too much money and a lil ambition buy em, never use em, and put em up for sale! I'd be taking that fella to the saw shop.

Great post!!!

 

[Taxmantoo]

These guys I work with are funny, they make big money but have big debt.

Some people are frugal, some people are always running out of money. I've observed the income of some of the latter group going from going from $10,000 a year (if we had $15k we'd have it made) to $25k (if only we had more income we could make ends meet) to $40k (we get by, but we never have any money left over after we pay the bills) to $50k (yep, they're still broke). By that time, I figured out that the ones who spend every available dollar will always be broke, no matter how many dollars are flowing in.

 

[K7NUT]

The next day I hand him my chaps and the Wild Thing, he says “oh I did not realize you were going to give me your good saw”………………………………


chuckle.

Damn! Glad I read this...

Anyone want to buy some "cheap" saws?
I need to go buy some "good" saws!

 

[wkpoor]

i sure hope you told him not to run the chain into the ground when cutting a downed branch

A few yrs back I watched a neighbor of mine dig around a stump to expose the roots and all and promply go to work on it with his brandy new out of the box chainsaw. I thought about it (didn't say a word to him) and came to the conclusion that is was probably cheaper than hiring a stump grinder......so what the heck.

 

[Scootermsp]

It does look brand new (how did you know ) and the chain is sharp, or was sharp I should say.

I figured for $40 I could loan it out to anybody, anybody who would not cut off their own leg.

These guys I work with are funny, they make big money but have big debt. They won't do anything for themselves until someone (OK, me) busts their chops about it, then when they do it they actually enjoy doing it.

Next plan for "Operation Honky Tonk Metrosexual": Play some great country music while you are out working. He'll tell his friends and before long you can open your own "Adventure wood camp". Then you can charge all the city folks $$$ to come out for a day in the country to cut YOUR firewood. (Of course saw rental fees will apply)