Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[SS396driver]

I live in a nice suburb.. there is 24 inch 2.5 foot long tree chunks 20 at a time around all summer long.. i have a fireplace but dont use it much.

That's how it starts . I'll just do a couple here and there . And before you know it you have 12 saws, three trucks and 5 trailers.


Hey that's how it happened to me , I swear never touched a chainsaw before joining this site. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I owned 1 saw. ONE! I’ve lost count how many have gone through my hands!! Every brand too. Echo, Shindawa, Dolmar, Stihl, Poulan, Homelite, Husqvarna, Partner
Honestly always wanted a Johnny Red but never found the right one and trying to put together a possible deal on a Efco.....

But the funniest thing, I still have my first! I joined because I burnt it up and joined to learn about the saw and the aftermarket Big Bore kits, then the bug bit me!!

 

[chipper1]

chipper, the two fellas loading me at the yard were shaking their heads too for awhile. Hard to tell in the pics but I took 2 axle stands with me to set the top trailer on. Put the pay loader forks under the top trailer on each side of the wheel, hook chains from top bar of the forks to far side of trailer and hook to the rub rail on each side of opposite wheel. Lift forks, tipping points up as you lift to keep it level. Drive straight ahead and set on the two axle stands and the front jack sitting on the lower trailer. Unhook chains back out, lower the front jack then strap it down. Throw the small stuff inside and hit the road. And unloading with my little tractor and limited reach was a bit harder. Put forks on top against the gate, chain to the right side fork, crank the jack as high as it will go, lift as high as possible, pull the lever to tilt the lower trailer bed. Swival the trailer a bit so that the tires on top trailer miss the bottom trailer wheels, make ( yes make) your wife drive the truck ahead and the trailer pulls out from under the upper trailer. Lower the trailer, apologize for yelling at the wife ( it was nearing supper time and I was hungry not stupid) go park the trailer in an empty spot in the field beside the other 22 trailers you already have. Go into the house and surf auction sites while you eat supper. Seen a couple of eagles giving a crow a hard time near Chesley today during the storm. White out conditions then bright sun in Tobermory. Had a good coal bed in the OWB tonight too. Have to click on the eagle pictures for some reason they are sideways too. Darn Americans.

Countryboy will survive, and he will get a lot packed onto a trailer when he needs to, or into the back of a hatchback a trunk, or even the passengers seat lol.
The good thing about my situation was the bottom trailer was my aluminum trailer that had short sides. I left the wheels on the top trailer behind the wheel wells on the bottom, then loaded the quad onto the front to get the weight up there I needed. I drove it from Toledo back home like that, it rode very well, but man did I get some funny looks and I may have because a meme without even knowing it . I know you know this feeling all too well.

 

[Cowboy254]

I live in a nice suburb.. there is 24 inch 2.5 foot long tree chunks 20 at a time around all summer long.. i have a fireplace but dont use it much.

We're gonna need to see some pics as proof...

 

[Cowboy254]

I have a problem. I bought two saws last week.

Thanks in advance. Buying more Stihls is always the solution.

FIFY

(Cowboy hunkers down in his reinforced and adequately supplied man cave, awaiting a gentle flaming from non-Stihl fans )

 

[crowbuster]

I only use 1 saw...........at a time.

 

[crowbuster]

Reloading Trick: Most of us adjust our full length sizing die to just touch the shoulder, and never adjust it again. Also, many of us don't get neck sizing dies.

I have a large washer that fits between my full size dies and the press and I use it when I want to neck size (w/o using a neck sizing die). This works especially well on long neck cases like the 270 Win.

There is sometimes another benefit to doing this - improved accuracy. Because a short portion of the neck in front of the shoulder will not get sized (the thickness of the washer) it will perfectly align your case in the bore thus improving accuracy. (it is fire formed) Similarly, if I use a neck sizer die, I often adjust it not to size the entire neck.

Most cases have more neck than is necessary for good accuracy. The evidence can be found in short neck cartridges like the 300 Winchester Magnum which was very effective in long range (1,000 yard) matches when it was first introduced.

Happy Reloading!

Im in ur camp mike. Im not an expert, but have loaded a round or 10,000. Have 10-12 loadings on 22-250 brass. Neck sized and trimmed, annealed 2x after necks work hardened. middle of the road loads, if I wanted them hot I would get a swift. full length size semi auto for reliable feeding.

 

[KiwiBro]

Struggling to get an acceptable finish on this table. I'm a muppet when it comes to resin. Finding the vertical surfaces the trickiest to get a good depth.
Will post one more pic, when it finally gets to mates place.

 

[LondonNeil]

That table is a beautiful piece kiwi, top work to be proud of

 

[steved]

If you have custom dies that match your chamber, then full length makes sense, but I will tell you that neck sizing benefits the accuracy of several of my guns, and prolongs the life of my brass.

The reason is simple. Many off the shelf rifles have loose chambers, and many dies have tight chambers, so when you adjust your die for the shoulder to touch, you are reducing the diameter of the case at the neck needlessly, and causing more brass flow than firing the round. You also then get a sloppy fit that is less accurate. This will often result in brass failure near the base, which is dangerous.

You can do what works for you, and I will do what works for me. But I will tell you that when someone out shoots me, they are usually not shooting a hunting rife.

How long your brass lasts often depends on how hot you load it. I have several boxes of 300 Win Mag, that was loaded a bit less than full house, with 9 loadings.

When I start to see neck cracks, I replace the box. I have almost never had brass fail near the base, because I don't over work it.

We only full length rounds if it new-to-us brass...otherwise, it is typically for one particular rifle and neck sizing is plenty. It does play into accuracy if you are only using it in one particular rifle.

We knew someone that would get maybe three to four uses on 30-06 brass before it cracked. We discovered he was using small base dies (for a semi-auto) and was work hardening his brass.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[MustangMike]

I wish I had pics of when I rolled two large Oak rounds into the back of my 1980 Pinto Station Wagon, thought the front wheels were going to come right off the ground!

When I had my first Explorer, I built a wood box out of plywood that would slide in and out and lock in over the wheel wells. Made cleaning up the vehicle after hauling wood much easier, made it easier to load and prevented damage, and protected front seat passengers from shifting wood. Only the front has to be strong, the bottom can be very thin (to keep it light).

It would go under the deck when not in use.

 

[chipper1]

I wish I had pics of when I rolled two large Oak rounds into the back of my 1980 Pinto Station Wagon, thought the front wheels were going to come right off the ground!

So it hooked up good .

 

[SS396driver]

Struggling to get an acceptable finish on this table. I'm a muppet when it comes to resin. Finding the vertical surfaces the trickiest to get a good depth.
Will post one more pic, when it finally gets to mates place.
View attachment 786810

Stand up on one end tape the area, do your pour let it set up do the other side then do the top. Basically doing three pours.

 

[KiwiBro]

That table is a beautiful piece kiwi, top work to be proud of

Thanks but it's actually pretty sh1tty at the mo. Not knowing what I'm doing means probably spending more time to get worse results than anyone experienced with resin finishes. I've done a few in the past but none have needed to be spot on like this one. Am just slowly building up the coats on the vertical surfaces. The top has plenty of resin on it. Then will sand it all flat and go up the grits until it starts looking like a good, flat, even matte/satin finish. Am hoping it'll get there by about 2000g wet sanding without needing any cutting/polishing as I don't have a fancy pants orbital polisher or the pads or the compounds and certainly don't have the experience with all that. But the key I think (but am not sure) is getting a thick enough layer of resin on it so there's enough resinous 'meat'on the bone to not sand through to the wood. Whilst I like learning things, a $4-6k irreplaceable slab of native timber isn't really the best thing to be learning on ;-)

 

[KiwiBro]

Stand up on one end tape the area, do your pour let it set up do the other side then do the top. Basically doing three pours.

Thanks. Thought of that but it's not just pharking heavy but over 9' long (or high if on edge).
In hindsight, more resin on both faces of the slab before it was mitred would have been the go, then just a single coat afterwards before final sanding. If I have no joy with the current thin coats then will have to set this table on edge like you suggest and support the waterfall end and pour from a ladder. At least that will be a one-and-done option to get plenty of resin on that face.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Kiwi, that table is an absolute work of art pal. Good luck with the resin. I was thinking the same thing for your next one. Do it in three pieces and then Assemble for final coat....

Good luck!

 

[MustangMike]

Epoxy is a PITA to work with … I prefer the Spar Urethane.

 

[dancan]

Thanks but it's actually pretty sh1tty at the mo. Not knowing what I'm doing means probably spending more time to get worse results than anyone experienced with resin finishes. I've done a few in the past but none have needed to be spot on like this one. Am just slowly building up the coats on the vertical surfaces. The top has plenty of resin on it. Then will sand it all flat and go up the grits until it starts looking like a good, flat, even matte/satin finish. Am hoping it'll get there by about 2000g wet sanding without needing any cutting/polishing as I don't have a fancy pants orbital polisher or the pads or the compounds and certainly don't have the experience with all that. But the key I think (but am not sure) is getting a thick enough layer of resin on it so there's enough resinous 'meat'on the bone to not sand through to the wood. Whilst I like learning things, a $4-6k irreplaceable slab of native timber isn't really the best thing to be learning on ;-)

Always best to learn on someone else's dime than your own ,,, at least that's what I was told Lol

 

[MustangMike]

I'll quote Henry Ford again (or at least it will be close to what he said): "Failure is the opportunity to begin again with more knowledge"

 

[KiwiBro]

Epoxy is a PITA to work with … I prefer the Spar Urethane.

Almost 3.25 US gallons of it so far