Noodling.

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On occasion, much more as I get older, I have to noodle the few logs I get over 14" or so.
This past week I brought home some logs from across the road. It was logged last fall, and the owners wanted the tops gone. People have been cutting continually since then, all winter as much as they could get in, and gang busters this spring. Pretty well cherry picked and cleaned up. Last week was nice, and as I processed my own wood I could count four trucks, three with trailers, each day, all day.
I walked over and talked with the owner, and a couple of the guys cutting. Some were leaving big stuff, as it was too much work. Some of it is still frozen to the ground.
One Beech at the edge of their yard was limbed and left. Still has the old yard light on it. Noodling that one today or tomorrow.
It is all going in the trailer and stacked in the pretty much empty wood shed.
That Polaris quad has hauled hundreds of tonnes of wood is past decade. One year alone fifty cord of green wood from conveyor piles to wood racks. I'm impressed. The SuperSplit is incredible as well. Really over the top.
 

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Hi, Tobystihl.
Using an ms 661, 25" bar, super chisel.
Don't use it much. Makes quick work of cross cutting and noodling.
Sharp chain and its own 15 pound weight is no effort.
You can see it in the second picture with the log arch. In the background you can see an example of what is left, dozens and dozens of Oak and Beech croches like that. Further back you can see brush piles where they cleaned up very well. Not everyone did that however. Part of the log in that same photo with the arch is still frozen down.
It is 32º today, very windy, scattered flurries, feels like 17º. Full sun predicted late afternoon, and a warmer week ahead.
To windy to go out in the wood lot today.
 
Hi, Tobystihl.
Using an ms 661, 25" bar, super chisel.
Don't use it much. Makes quick work of cross cutting and noodling.
Sharp chain and its own 15 pound weight is no effort.
You can see it in the second picture with the log arch. In the background you can see an example of what is left, dozens and dozens of Oak and Beech croches like that. Further back you can see brush piles where they cleaned up very well. Not everyone did that however. Part of the log in that same photo with the arch is still frozen down.
It is 32º today, very windy, scattered flurries, feels like 17º. Full sun predicted late afternoon, and a warmer week ahead.
To windy to go out in the wood lot today.
Big saw, big bar, big wood, with added sunshine, Sounds like heaven...!
 
On occasion, much more as I get older, I have to noodle the few logs I get over 14" or so.
This past week I brought home some logs from across the road. It was logged last fall, and the owners wanted the tops gone. People have been cutting continually since then, all winter as much as they could get in, and gang busters this spring. Pretty well cherry picked and cleaned up. Last week was nice, and as I processed my own wood I could count four trucks, three with trailers, each day, all day.
I walked over and talked with the owner, and a couple of the guys cutting. Some were leaving big stuff, as it was too much work. Some of it is still frozen to the ground.
One Beech at the edge of their yard was limbed and left. Still has the old yard light on it. Noodling that one today or tomorrow.
It is all going in the trailer and stacked in the pretty much empty wood shed.
That Polaris quad has hauled hundreds of tonnes of wood is past decade. One year alone fifty cord of green wood from conveyor piles to wood racks. I'm impressed. The SuperSplit is incredible as well. Really over the top.
Watch out for metal in the yard logs!
 
I have noodled some as well, but, normally the bigger rounds/logs with lots of knots. I would be wasting my time trying to split them on site where i cut the wood. Would end up adding a lot of time to my wood gathering, so, the 044 comes out and gets with it. I'll cut them just enough to get a good start with the maul, and the 1st or 2nd hit normally busts them open. Usually i bust them in half, then load the halves first then follow it with almost all the rest with hand split wood. That is if its maple, or good straight grained fir then, i'll quarter it then load it up and not even use the splitter at home. that way it makes for faster loading time.
 
I find that pulling the throttle and letting the weight of the saw rest on the bar much less work for a minute or so much less fatiguing than swinging a maul repeatedly

I don't go all the way down most of the time because the number one cause of dull chain is the ground. but a easy swing of my 28 inch ax generally pops that last few inches right apart. a nice blend of effort and chain conservation.

this last big tree I did have knots and curly grain in nearly every round , many of them limbs that probably haven't been in a hundred years I have a half a truck bed full of burls so cutting nearly all the way though was necessary for nearly every round and they were all over 32 inches . lots of noodles.
 
I'm not into heavy lifting anymore, so I let my tractor do the lifting,

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Then if I'm going to rip any of them to make them easier to handle, I rip them right on the wagon,

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As you can see, I leave plenty of sawdust on the wagon, so they can be ripped all the way through without hitting the wagons floor.

SR
 
I'm kind of like Rob. I save all of my noodling for the end of the season and be real careful for the first few blocks, then I've got a good bed of sawdust, and noodle through. Unless it's straight grain Oak, then as in another thread, I noodle most of the way through and have at it with an axe.
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I can't believe I took a pic with no saw. I'm pretty sure I used the 660 with a 25 for that one. Now and then, if I've developed an ear wax problem, I'll put the old Homelite Super 1050 on it. It's so loud the wax vibrates so fast it just melts and runs down your cheek.
 
I still like the bigger logs, but I agree, as I get older I find myself noodling logs that a few years back, I would have just wrestled onto the splitter.
I haven't noodled a thing since I got a V/H splitter 6 or 7 years ago.
 
I have noodled some as well, but, normally the bigger rounds/logs with lots of knots. I would be wasting my time trying to split them on site where i cut the wood. Would end up adding a lot of time to my wood gathering, so, the 044 comes out and gets with it. I'll cut them just enough to get a good start with the maul, and the 1st or 2nd hit normally busts them open. Usually i bust them in half, then load the halves first then follow it with almost all the rest with hand split wood. That is if its maple, or good straight grained fir then, i'll quarter it then load it up and not even use the splitter at home. that way it makes for faster loading time.
 
Rob you didn't post the pictures of slideing those heavys on to the spliter and making little uns out of big uns.
I really like your noodling method

:D Al
Most times I just roll them right on,

standard.jpg


putting your hand on the top piece,

standard.jpg


allows you to roll it over backwards, right back on the beam, and it goes through again,

standard.jpg


You end up with a big pile of splits fast, with those big ones!

standard.jpg


Sometimes I use a 2x plank, from the wagon to the splitter and roll the biggest ones on the beam that way, too.

SR
 
On occasion, much more as I get older, I have to noodle the few logs I get over 14" or so.
This past week I brought home some logs from across the road. It was logged last fall, and the owners wanted the tops gone. People have been cutting continually since then, all winter as much as they could get in, and gang busters this spring. Pretty well cherry picked and cleaned up. Last week was nice, and as I processed my own wood I could count four trucks, three with trailers, each day, all day.
I walked over and talked with the owner, and a couple of the guys cutting. Some were leaving big stuff, as it was too much work. Some of it is still frozen to the ground.
One Beech at the edge of their yard was limbed and left. Still has the old yard light on it. Noodling that one today or tomorrow.
It is all going in the trailer and stacked in the pretty much empty wood shed.
That Polaris quad has hauled hundreds of tonnes of wood is past decade. One year alone fifty cord of green wood from conveyor piles to wood racks. I'm impressed. The SuperSplit is incredible as well. Really over the top.
I got my conveyor done
 

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