Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[mainewoods]

Had a bobcat show up at the "buffet" table today. He's a lot bigger than this pic makes him out to be. Dug out 2 moles from under the snow before he bolted. About all I can do is watch the wildlife, pretty tough cuttin' wood on snowshoes.

 

[dancan]

I've got it better here than most , my brother took a sled trip to my old man's camp which is inland and actually in Clint's direction as the crow flies , 5' of snow on the flats , he didn't measure any of the drifts .

 

[mainewoods]

I was noticin' all that "bare ground" you have, Dan.

 

[mainewoods]

On the way to work this mornin' I noticed a couple of fellahs scroungin' some maple on the side the road again. -16 degrees. I felt kinda bad for 'em but I am hoping they were working on next years wood pile. Scrounging never stops up here it seems, even if there is close to 5' of snow on the ground.

 

[dancan]

I was noticin' all that "bare ground" you have, Dan.

You'll hear no complaints from me , I know that nomad_archer and NSmaple have what you have Clint , I just have 6" of ice in my driveway and about 15" of snow in my back yard .

 

[Ambull01]

http://www.baileysonline.com/Arbori...es/Rope-Pullers/Maasdam-Pow-R-Rope-Puller.axd

Now that would be a huge help getting that stuck tree to the ground. Only $60 too. I need to upgrade my firewood cutting tools. I'm getting this thing and probably the Fiskars cutting axe.

 

[mainewoods]

It's snowing again.

 

[dancan]

Ambull , rope stretches , a lot of cranking before it starts to pull ....
Get a cable come along , no stretch .

 

[mainewoods]

You can do the same thing with a trailer hitch and a tow strap, ambull. I've pulled down many a hanger with nothing more than a front wheel drive car and 2- 20' tow straps.Sometimes it takes less persuasion than you think.

 

[dancan]

The better ones pull on both sides of the spool like this one .
Find you a Tirfor , out pull anything in the same class or the next class up LOL

 

[mainewoods]

A steel cable come-a-long like Dan said, and a couple of tow straps, to give you some distance, will persuade a pretty good size tree.

 

[dancan]

Yup , I watch local ads/flea markets/yard sales for rigging gear and Princess Auto for sales on straps, slings and towropes , you guys have way more access to cheap gear than we have .
Ambull , if you get a rope puller , get some Amsteel for rope , no stretch .

 

[Ambull01]

You can do the same thing with a trailer hitch and a tow strap, ambull. I've pulled down many a hanger with nothing more than a front wheel drive car and 2- 20' tow straps.Sometimes it takes less persuasion than you think.

Well it seems like most of my scrounges will be unreachable via car so I'll be walking in. I need something portable to take care of potentially dangerous trees.

The better ones pull on both sides of the spool like this one .
Find you a Tirfor , out pull anything in the same class or the next class up LOL

I doubt a Tirfor will cost $60 though. Plus, do cables have a tendency to whip when broken?

 

[chucker]

Well it seems like most of my scrounges will be unreachable via car so I'll be walking in. I need something portable to take care of potentially dangerous trees.



I doubt a Tirfor will cost $60 though. Plus, do cables have a tendency to whip when broken?

like a mad dog,s bight, and wont let go!! if you get caught in the slack!!!!!!!

 

[dancan]

Paid 50$ for mine used with a new 25' cable .
I highly doubt you could get a come along to whip a cable .
I have a Maasdam cable puller like I showed in the pic , I'd never buy one that only pulls on one side , after you bend the handle on a single when you need it the most you will understand why .

 

[mainewoods]

Hanging a heavy piece of chain over the cable, when pulling, will dampen it if it snaps.I have used my heavy coat in a pinch.

 

[Ambull01]

Paid 50$ for mine used with a new 25' cable .
I highly doubt you could get a come along to whip a cable .
I have a Maasdam cable puller like I showed in the pic , I'd never buy one that only pulls on one side , after you bend the handle on a single when you need it the most you will understand why .

I'll keep my eyes open for deals. I see what you mean with pulling from two sides. Gives you a sort of back up just in case.

So dual sided cable puller with come along sounds like the thing to buy.

Hanging a heavy piece of chain over the cable, when pulling, will dampen it if it snaps.I have used my heavy coat in a pinch.

Just read about putting something on the far end to lessen the backlash. Thanks for the info/suggestions gentlemen.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I like both the cable and the rope, have both. The trick with the rope ones is to not get cheap rope.
Scrounged another truck load of ash and red oak, poor truck really needs me to address the rear springs. But its what I got so its what I use. I used my kids sleds to transport the wood from my driveway 40 yards around back, worked pretty well. I was able to load the sled with two arm loads and pull. Sure beat the way I did it last time, arm loads.

 

[svk]

On the way to work this mornin' I noticed a couple of fellahs scroungin' some maple on the side the road again. -16 degrees. I felt kinda bad for 'em but I am hoping they were working on next years wood pile. Scrounging never stops up here it seems, even if there is close to 5' of snow on the ground.

What amount of snow on the ground is normal for you?

 

[mainewoods]

Somewhere around 100" for an average snowfall.