Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[chipper1]

but... sort of pales to meeting Harley -

King of Scrounges

[bit long...]

our city is one street after another... full of 'junk out on the curb'. trash and discarded stuff abounds. a mecca for anyone with a bit of a scrounging nature to 'em! ~

yesterday I met 'Harley'. said his name was..., but everyone just called him Harley! little doubt about it, a real true died-in-the-wool King of Scrounges... scrounges come in all sorts of sizes, shapes and colors... lol... but only a few are in the class of King of Scrounges! Harley is right up there at the top!! ~

little doubt about it...

I seen this guy on a bike. pulling a trailer... full of what appeared to be trash. nope, scrounged treasures he told me! lol, my kinda guy!!! pulling it with a Hog, no less. '04 Evo. blue. running and driving kinda a Hog... but barely. he even said, hope it will start! what a sight! what a character!! ... what a mess!!!!

while it was, all in all, an interesting situation... when I stopped to talk to him... I found an upbeat friendly kind of sort. he seemed to have 'his world' together... in every sense, a free spirit... and home? he said... everywhere... he sleeps out under the stars!! I didn't inquire any further.

the interesting thing that caught my attention, besides the uniqueness of it all... was that he was going slow. very slow. and the trailer looked like a bike with square wheels. up n down, up n down... hippety hop! omg!! well, u see... Harley had a flat tire. to say the least!... a totally tore up tire on trailer, barely enough to keep the wheel's steel off the pavement. what a sight! and no $! only a drive to get some metal to sell... so he could get to the tire shop for a tire change. he had 2 14" tires with lots tread on the trash trailer... just had to get some $ and to the tire shop... omg! and hot out. only had 1/2 bottle of juice. and warm at that. he was thirsty... in fact, very thirsty. to me, his prospects did not look too good...

well, I kinda took a shine to ol Harley... a likeable chap, soul if u will. and so I told him I had some change at home... and plenty of cold water, too. I would donate the $$ to his cause, so he could get his tire mounted up. he looked at me!: "really!?" uh-huh..."u don't have to do that!" I know, I said... but u seem to be in a bit of a situation... and if you would be willing to accept my help... [lol] I would be happy to help. besides, u look thirsty. he agreed on both parts! lol. I took off, and he dove back into the pile of junk... left n right... tossing this and that out of his way. scrounging. obviously, an expert!

so I got Harley some cool water. sure liked that! and he smiled big when I handed him some green to get his tire changed out. while I was quite intrigued with this guy's moxie... I felt a bit for him. dilemma. as we talked, and I inquired about his scooter... seems it had seen better days. but was still running... albeit barely. to me, kinda like the newer mower jackshaft... only a few hours away! to me he seemed close to a total meltdown! totally bald tires, front n back! rear side wall split out 360 and rubbing on frame. low, but still holding air! a few whiskey dents a man could get drunk on just by looking at! lol. lots of stuff about to fall of... no mufflers, and... no handle bar twist throttle. oh, it was there... but not connected. pulled the cable by hand to rev up the motor...omg! no tags! no plates! insurance? I did not ask! seemed maybe to be a traffic ticket sooner than later! got the bike at 19,000 miles, it now had just over 42,000. and still running. "well, it needs a few things...", Harley said... Harley is 38! when he got ready to leave, his Hog started right up! and off he went. slow... like a bike with square wheels. up n down, up n down... hippety hop! hippety hop! destination: the tire shop. quite the sight, to say the least...

as they say, one picture is worth a thousand words... I enjoyed meeting him and our short time together... and he said the same! a brief foto essay follows:
View attachment 841167
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[note fromOP: 'ya can't make this kinda stuff up! omg, a Hollywood movie be forthcoming?.... "How I Beat Covid-19! Without A Mask!"]

to tell you the truth... meeting Harley made for me a kinda of day!

That's crazy.
I say choices, he's obviously making his.
Not sure the new tire will make it any safer, that would mean he would go faster .

 

[chipper1]

The second part of your quote answers your question. The bar (saw, chain, etc.) should match the task. Extra length is handy sometimes, but can stick out too far other times. No reason you can't have a few different bar/ chain set ups for a particular saw and get the best of both.

Philbert

I agree with mike and you.
Except I'd add to that last part, no reason you can't have a few different saws with different length bars.
Just like hooked on phonics, it works for me lol.

Just got the larger cherry rounds off the trailer and cut the logs up, had a 28" bar on the ported 372, it was not what I would recommend cutting with for anyone new to cutting. The saw has very large dogs so that reduces the overall effective length of the bar, but it still lengthens the overall length of the saw which can cause a lot of problems in tight quarters, and increase the level of danger. For me mainly because the saw cuts fast and you can't get the saw out of the cut quick enough and it can bind and kick back(as in the video below), although for most newer cutters I think hitting something with the upper quarter quadrant of the tip on the other side of a log they are cutting is the most common danger with long bars such as cutting off a pile of logs. See :26 seconds in the video below for a little kickback action, this was from last night.

The excursion wanted more.

 

[Philbert]

I agree with mike and you. Except I'd add to that last part, no reason you can't have a few different saws with different length bars.

One of my first saws (Husqvarana 353) came with a 20" bar that I thought was too long. So I bought a 16" bar for it, and kept both.

That let me to my 'socket set' analogy (which I am sure I have posted before):
Most people have 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drive ratchets, with a variety of extensions, and lots of different sockets for different tasks (metric, SAE, deep, spark plug, etc.).

It occurred to me that the same thing could apply to chainsaws:
A lot of guys want a smaller (30 - 40 cc) limbing saw, a mid-range (50 - 60 cc) 'all around' saw, and a heavier (70 cc+) felling saw - these correspond to the ratchets, above.
Each saw, IMO, has a 'sweet spot' combination of powerhead, bar and chain, but sometimes need to be adapted for specific tasks - sometimes a longer or shorter guide bar, which substitutes for the extensions.
The sockets? Chains! Full-chisel, semi-chisel, full-comp, skip-tooth, different angles, stumping chains, race chains, etc., etc., etc.

So if a guy only has one or two saws, or can't bring the whole herd with him, he can still take a few extra bars and chains along for special tasks, and be more versatile.

Philbert

 

[chipper1]

One of my first saws (Husqvarana 353) came with a 20" bar that I thought was too long. So I bought a 16" bar for it, and kept both.

That let me to my 'socket set' analogy (which I am sure I have posted before):
Most people have 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drive ratchets, with a variety of extensions, and lots of different sockets for different tasks (metric, SAE, deep, spark plug, etc.).

It occurred to me that the same thing could apply to chainsaws:
A lot of guys want a smaller (30 - 40 cc) limbing saw, a mid-range (50 - 60 cc) 'all around' saw, and a heavier (70 cc+) felling saw - these correspond to the ratchets, above.
Each saw, IMO, has a 'sweet spot' combination of powerhead, bar and chain, but sometimes need to be adapted for specific tasks - sometimes a longer or shorter guide bar, which substitutes for the extensions.
The sockets? Chains! Full-chisel, semi-chisel, full-comp, skip-tooth, different angles, stumping chains, race chains, etc., etc., etc.

So if a guy only has one or two saws, or can't bring the whole herd with him, he can still take a few extra bars and chains along for special tasks, and be more versatile.

Philbert

Exactly, I have 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 ratchets and impact drivers that are air, battery. So bring your ratchets/impacts and sockets .

 

[Philbert]

Exactly, I have 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 ratchets and impact drivers that are air, battery. So bring your ratchets/impacts and sockets .

OK, if we're gonna' start getting into battery saws . . . . .

Philbert

 

[chipper1]

OK, if we're gonna' start getting into battery saws . . . . .

Philbert

Sounds good to me, and don't forget the top handle saws too .
You know I expect to have one sooner or later, I'm not the guy saying "you'll have to pry this... out of my cold dead hands" .
And as I say, hand me a sharp saw that's full of fluids, and I'll need to add, that's fully charged.

 

[Deleted member 150358]

Barn blew down today. Luckily I had the power disconnected on July 1st!

 

[MustangMike]

My brother got the DeWalt battery powered chain saw and he really likes it … has some long duration batteries for it.

I used it very briefly (just to test after I sharpened the chain for him). Very torquey, and went right through a small hardwood branch.

 

[turnkey4099]

The second part of your quote answers your question. The bar (saw, chain, etc.) should match the task. Extra length is handy sometimes, but can stick out too far other times. No reason you can't have a few different bar/ chain set ups for a particular saw and get the best of both.

Philbert

Or more than one saw with different bar lengths. I usually have a 193T/14, 362/20, and a 441 with a 24 to 32" bar depending on the size of my planned victims.

 

[djg james]

[QUOTE="chipper1, post: 7334837, member: 126071"
......
The excursion wanted more.
View attachment 841189
[/QUOTE]
More Cherry on the trailer? If so, too bad you couldn't get that milled into lumber. Looks nice and straight.

 

[LondonNeil]

chipper, i kind of 'like' those bind up moments.....no where near the danger of a proper tip contact kick, but still ample to remind you of the danger, just incase you were getting too comfortable.

 

[svk]

I've seen some of that. Its just sad that they can't seem to reach out to the good people around them. I'll never understand it

Sent from my CLT-L04 using Tapatalk

Apparently there was more to it than what we originally heard but still people were shocked. As you said, it’s too bad that they didn’t reach out. To anyone. I know if he had called me I would have been there in 5 hours as that’s how far away he lived.

 

[chipper1]

chipper, i kind of 'like' those bind up moments.....no where near the danger of a proper tip contact kick, but still ample to remind you of the danger, just incase you were getting too comfortable.

Yep, especially when you're running a saw without the brake flag on it .

 

[chipper1]

More Cherry on the trailer? If so, too bad you couldn't get that milled into lumber. Looks nice and straight.

I was hoping to get some lumber out of them, but once I looked them over well I saw a good bit of rot from branches that had broken off thru the yrs.
I did get two nice 10.5" white oak sticks down the rd to a friend that I think we can get some nice boards/slabs from.

 

[farmer steve]

View attachment 841231
Barn blew down today. Luckily I had the power disconnected on July 1st!

That's a bummer. Are you going to try and salvage any of the wood? Can't quite tell from your pic if they are hand hewn beams.

 

[Cowboy254]

One of my first saws (Husqvarana 353) came with a 20" bar that I thought was too long. So I bought a 16" bar for it, and kept both.

That let me to my 'socket set' analogy (which I am sure I have posted before):
Most people have 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drive ratchets, with a variety of extensions, and lots of different sockets for different tasks (metric, SAE, deep, spark plug, etc.).

It occurred to me that the same thing could apply to chainsaws:
A lot of guys want a smaller (30 - 40 cc) limbing saw, a mid-range (50 - 60 cc) 'all around' saw, and a heavier (70 cc+) felling saw - these correspond to the ratchets, above.
Each saw, IMO, has a 'sweet spot' combination of powerhead, bar and chain, but sometimes need to be adapted for specific tasks - sometimes a longer or shorter guide bar, which substitutes for the extensions.
The sockets? Chains! Full-chisel, semi-chisel, full-comp, skip-tooth, different angles, stumping chains, race chains, etc., etc., etc.

So if a guy only has one or two saws, or can't bring the whole herd with him, he can still take a few extra bars and chains along for special tasks, and be more versatile.

Philbert

I have some saws with blades on them. The blades have pointy bits that rotate and cut wood. I make them more pointy sometimes with another metal thingy. I also wear PPE, just like I did when I was at university as it protects me from unfortunate problems. Wood heats house. Cowgirl tends to be more likely to get naked if warm. That's the end of my story - not as detailed as yours, but there you go.

 

[Deleted member 150358]

That's a bummer. Are you going to try and salvage any of the wood? Can't quite tell from your pic if they are hand hewn beams.

I think it may have been a kit simular to a Sears or Wards house. Shortly after it was erected it was hit by a tornado leaving it not straight and difficult to maintain.

If there is much salvage I can't say for certain. Some of its layered 1" boards. Going to be focused on getting it emptied first. I was waiting for the auctions to open again because there is some odd stuff yet...

 

[Backyard Lumberjack]

View attachment 841231
Barn blew down today. Luckily I had the power disconnected on July 1st!

sorry to hear six... how old was it? any idea?...

 

[rarefish383]

I'm getting too old for this stuff. Had a mostly dead maple next to my friends farm house, and right over where she parks her car. Prep work took longer than putting the tree on the ground. They have a spigot next to the drive for watering the horses. They were worried the top would hit it and drive it straight down and break it off the black plastic pipe below the frost line. They have a 300 gallon pressure tank and didn't want to take a chance of disrupting the water supply for the other horse field several hundred yards away. So, I went down in the lower field to the old Ash Hole, and cut down a 30" Ash tree. Cut 3, 36" long chunks, took them up to the spigot, stood them on their ends, and ratchet strapped them together. Plus I told them I would be no where near the spigot. Dropped the tree, closest branch was at least 15' away. Sure glad we had the 5420. I ran one tank out of the 660 cutting all of the stuff up to 20" into 6' sections that went to the burn pile. The rest we cut random sizes and dumped them on the wood pile. Had one helper get hot and quit.

 

[LondonNeil]

Looks like excellent work as always Joe