A nice day to cut and split some wood!

[Woodsrover]

This red oak has been down for a few years and is at the bottom of our property and on the other side of railroad tracks. Not easy to get to and requires carrying arm loads across the track to the bucket on the tractor. Well, now that I've got this new MS460 I just had to go down and have at it. Put the dual-port muffler on it Friday night and wanted to try her out.

Anyway, the new Stihl made short work of the stuff. It was a bit off the ground and maybe 1" at most was punky.

Had a couple helpers with me as usual!

Too big to carry move whole, I split it in situ. That's a 25" bar on the 460.

Start chipping at the edges and this stuff knocks apart like a dream!

There's a beaver in the river down here and he's be girdling a bunch of large oaks this winter. Looks like I'll be in firewood for a while!

Any other weekend warriors get out in the woods this weekend?

Jim

 

[Rich M]

I started splitting the 10 cord of maple I hauled out of the woods last week, whittling away at the large rounds same as you. Cold and snowing here, great time to be outdoors.

 

[wdchuck]

Woodsrover, that is some very nice oak, would have saved a couple logs for the mill myself, that nice of a tree is rare for me to come across.

 

[Woodsrover]

would have saved a couple logs for the mill myself

Almost impossible, Wdchuck. It's way down at the bottom of my property and on the other side of an elevated railroad track. Not that it runs very often, only once a day, and slowly at that, but I wouldn't want to mess up the tracks dragging a big 'ol chunk across them. It would be a bit much for my little 30hp tractor to drag anyway.

Now, maybe if I floated it down the river. But that's ice floating on the surface in that first picture. A little cold to ride a log downstream!

 

[wdchuck]

No no no, ya mill it on site with yer new 084, and GB CSM. That way yer just carrying a board, looked like an oak bench or picnic table would fit in real nice there, some refreshments with the crew and all.

 

[Woodsrover]

What I would really like is a ripsaw and an 18" planer. Not much of a woodworker but sometimes I do feel bad blocking up stuff this nice. Then again, it's 15 degrees outside and 74 degrees in the house. Haven't run the furnace in 2 years! :biggrinbounce2:

Jim

 

[hornett22]

at least you don't have snow either Woodsrover.

i would have been jealous.nice area there.

 

[grandpatractor]

Nice pictures

Looks like a nice area. Its nice how that oak can lay for so long and still remain good wood. We have alot around here that may lay several years and still be punky just on the outside inch or so. Its always more fun when ya have the help along too:hmm3grin2orange:
J.D.

 

[Jimfound]

Woodsrover - that looks great. Nice helpers too.

Was it easy to identify the downed tree? Since it was down (and I assume had no foliage) did you identify by the bark? I have woods behind my house, but have some trouble identifying the downed tress without their foilage. Thanks.

 

[Woodsrover]

Yeah, it is nice down there. We’re in Cornwall Ct., which is sparsely populated (only 1400 people in 46 square miles) and I’m lucky enough to own 11 acres with 900 feet on the Housatonic River. In the upper right corner of the first picture you can see the bottom tip of an island in the river we own too! That island was never logged for charcoal at the turn of the century like the rest of the northwest corner, and there are some HUGE tulip, white pine and oak trees out on it.

Like I said before, there’s a beaver in the river here and he’s been girdling all the oaks down there. I really wasn’t planning on taking those but since they’re dead now anyway, why not? I’ll let them season on the stump if he doesn’t knock them over himself and take them down as I need them. I hope they stay standing…I’ve got more wood now than I know what to do with!

Jimfound – Most common trees in New England are pretty easy to identify, even after they’re down, especially white and red oak. The bark, the shape, the grain, the color and the smell are all pretty distinctive. Give me some of those exotics you all have in the south and I’m lost though!

Jim

 

[buckwheat]

I spent the weekend chipping a large pile of bark and kindling that had accumulated in the last two years of splitting near the back of our property. A friend loaned me his DRchipper which did a pretty good job with branches, but was tougher with the wider stuff. I liked the fact that you could shoot the mulch into the bed of a pickup.

'was able to clean up 80% of the pile and the rest was so far broken down that it will be compost in another season. Made enough chips to cover all the beds around the house for this year.

Now I just have to tear out the blade, give it a quick sharpening, clean everything up, and get the man his chipper back.