Groundie

[bigjake]

all the hackberry i've split was pretty easy... almost effortless.
it's a very straight grained wood for the most part

We have 2 different kinds of hackberry or you are spitting it well after it is
dry i was talking splitting when first cut it dosent come apart its very stringy.

 

[teacherman]

I have been told that hackberry can be burned when still green. I have also heard this regarding hedge, (osage orange). I know hackberry is nowhere near hedge in its BTU rating, but does anyone have experience burning green "hackleberry?"

 

[crane]

Great Thread!!!

Glad to see your having fun and getting some great pics to post. THANKS

rep sent

 

[teacherman]

Phase 2

Well, we went back after it this weekend. I am still sore from the snowboarding butt-fall session last weekend, so I was not running this time. I found myself holding the lowering line with one hand, the tag line (to guide the logs down into the proper place) with another, and the camera with still another. I did manage to get some goodones, though. Some of the logs were way huge, and the lowering was rather spectacular. Here is illustrated a technique known as "double-crotching," using a second stem as a redirect for lowering limbs:

 

[teacherman]

Stihl Über Alles!

Rob finally got out the REAL saw for the big logs.

 

[teacherman]

One more.

Ironically, this ancient saw proved difficult to start. Apparently the old coil is wearing out. It is an electronic ignition, one of three possible variants. Given that this machines dates to the Pre-Cambrian era, it is understandable, but frustrating nonetheless.

He has the IPL pic showing the three units, and I am going to try to find him one at a reasonable price.


I like the swarm of white bees around that saw whenever it is running.....:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[tree md]

I was just wondering because a "summer" customer was arguing with me one day and insisted the white ash I trimmed in his yard on lake superior was a hackberry.and insisted he knew everything about trees....he was so damn sur of himself I gave in and told him "well maybe it is" was early in the year, May, and needed the job....It was a White Ash. But did get the job.

I don't remember ever seeing or working on one the whole time I was in GA but they are very common here in OK and I guess KS too. I have taken down some huge ones here. My Peterson Field Guide Says that there are three varieties: Northern Hackberry, (found mostly above the Mason Dixon line but they are common in TN, Northern MO, Northern OK and spotty populations further South), Dwarf Hackberry (found in spotty populations North and South) And Southern Hackberry ( Found mostly below the Mason Dixon line but also throughout most of MO and into Southern KS).

The book also says that they are similar in species to Sourgum or Black Tupelo. And in the remarks it does say that the wood is similar to Ash. Says that all three species of Hackberry are highly valuable and may hybridize.

I know they are prized by people around here for firewood though I haven't burned any myself. I had to take down a huge one that was severely damaged in last years ice storm. I put a sign out on the street in front of the tree that said free firewood and the tree was gone by the end of the day except for the largest part of the trunk. The wood is very hard and they tend to split a lot (seemingly under their own weight). They have a mostly smooth, gray bark but they do start to grow knobby warts that wreak havoc on your hand when you try to climb them. When I first encountered them I thought they were a species of Beech because the bark tends to resemble that of Beech trees albeit a shade darker in color.

Great thread and pics! I love to see old school climbers work their magic!

 

[Zodiac45]

Great pix TM, Thanks for sharing. By the way, on the first page in post #3, 1st pix, you have captured some alien's in your yard looking at the fallen wood! See em, sort of pipe looking creatures with washer like heads! This isn't Kansas anymore Dorothy!, Oh wait....it is Kansas.

 

[almondgt]

I don't think any 041 has ever been that high in the sky. Got one, Great saw. Watch out you little top handles, the real McCoy is in town!
What a rush. This post may have been called Living on a Limb. Glad no one got hurt.

 

[blsnelling]

I'm surprised to see someone still climbing with a heavy and slow old 041. They're great old saws but seriously out dated. Just goes to show you how reliable they are. 30 years old and still getting used commercially!

 

[teacherman]

Great pix TM, Thanks for sharing. By the way, on the first page in post #3, 1st pix, you have captured some alien's in your yard looking at the fallen wood! See em, sort of pipe looking creatures with washer like heads! This isn't Kansas anymore Dorothy!, Oh wait....it is Kansas.

LOL. They are steel sculptures. My neighbor is an artist. Yes, the Martians are beginning Phase 1 of the Earth Colony project. Shhh. Don't tell anyone. We don't want folks to be alarmed. The assimilation process will be much easier if we do not resist.........

 

[blsnelling]

Is that modern art or redneck art, LOL?

 

[HolmenTree]

I'm surprised to see someone still climbing with a heavy and slow old 041. They're great old saws but seriously out dated. Just goes to show you how reliable they are. 30 years old and still getting used commercially!

A tree buddy of mine still climbs with a Stihl 048 , I ask him "why?" He says He has been running it and keeps rebuilding it since he bought it brand new 30 yrs ago because he is adjusted to it!!
Everyone has their favorite or your not a true saw guy.

 

[Mike PA]

I have been told that hackberry can be burned when still green. I have also heard this regarding hedge, (osage orange). I know hackberry is nowhere near hedge in its BTU rating, but does anyone have experience burning green "hackleberry?"

I've burned it green (seasoned 3? months). I was running out of wood one year and had to burn before it was ready. While you can do it and it will give heat, it's not great. I thought it lost a fair amount of its already low btu value burning it green. For me, hackberry is on the bottom of my list for burning, as it makes a lot of ash even well seasoned. But, if its what you got and you need heat, go for it. Just keep an eye on your chimney - you may need to clean more often than normal.

 

[teacherman]

Is that modern art or redneck art, LOL?

Likely modern redneck art. Those are not my favorite pieces, but I think she is talented. Abstract mostly, which I have a difficult time relating to......

My neighbor is a wonderful lady.

 

[teacherman]

More Pics

Saturday we spent taking out the rest of the brush and small limbs (except for the eastern part of the tree, which he is leaving fo rme to climb). The high stuff was way above my neighbor's house.

 

[teacherman]

Gotta have a Ground Man

Well, at least it does help a bit. My neighbor braved the bitter cold for a while, and agreed to snap a few of me. When the rope is set up properly, and the lowering point is well chosen, it is easy to look like a good groundman....:greenchainsaw:

Three wraps on the friction lowering device for the heavy stuff.

 

[teacherman]

Sunday

Sunday was also cold, and the gray sky was not as friendly to my camera...
It is quite a juggling act to handle two lines and a camera, trying to get good action shots while keeping Rob safe. The large logs usually swang right into the main trunk and hit it hard, shaking the tree with tree-mendous force. I know Rob got quite a jolt each time, but he never let on that anything was out of the ordinary. He is one tough hombré. Often I had to let it drop quickly to get it out of his way so it wouldn't bang into him. NO injuries, and the tree is now a towering 80-90 year-old stem. We had a dinner of specially aged and cooked deer backstrap, with a few Coronas to celebrate.

Sorry, no pics of deer steaks or Coronas.....

 

[teacherman]

I bet the squirrels are mad at me....

I might make a trash can out of this log. Any ideas as to a use for this, besides firewood?

 

[epicklein22]

Sweet thread here. When you getting in the tree?

As for his choice of saws, nothing new for an experienced tree guy. They don't have CAD and don't find the urge for the newest saws. My climber buddy still uses a 020avp in the tree. I asked him about the 200t, he said they are alright, but give him a 020avp any day over a 200t.