Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[WoodAbuser]

I was able to take a little time and mount the outer bumper spike on my MS400.View attachment 994969
Cleaned it up a bit...
View attachment 994970
Put a fresh chain on it, cleaned the bar and reinstalled it. I know, I know the bar is upside down.View attachment 994971
Here's the kit. It comes with the inner and outer spikes. The dealer said it was just a little more than the outer spike alone. I paid $20 for it.
View attachment 994972

That bar is not upside down. It is right side up so you can read it while your cutting. I do it cause i can'ts remembers likes I used to.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

So I got the call to go to work and I'm leaving in a few days. Ive been doing honey do's and putting my cut'n gear and equipment and other stuff together when I can until I get caught and told to go back to honey do's by the Mrs. Besides my work equipment and clothing. It's mostly recreational gear for sport fishing and hunting as well. What else is there for a guy to do on his o e day off a week in a remote Alaskan logging camp?
Im a little short on wedges at the moment. I have Four good twelve's, but only two eights and ten's in ruff shape because I had to bail a neighbor out from a 24" snag that set back on him from way to deep of a sloppy face cut with a full face dutchman. Leaving little room to work wedge and just that much more dangerous. Between me having to stack and move wedges around going back and fourth across the back cut shifting stacks hear moving stacks there! Trying to beat burried singles out to marry with another single to stack for more lift! Then pulling a different stack to split up into singles again! So on and so on!!! Oh god what a nightmare! On top of it! This is all taking forever, due to the fact that I've got to put my head up every single time I smack a wedge, because the Snag has loose sectional bark slab's up the trunk and a not so good stage of decomposition near the top!!! Oh it gets better!!! My 67 year old drunk neighbor that has absolutly no business and knows nothing about felling DEAD TIMBER let alone live timber!!! is just getting in my way and telling me how to do it!!! After he came to get me to bail him out again (Just one more time of a few other mind you) in the first place!!! He's drunk, I'm sober, he's stumbling, I'm screaming at him, he has no hard hat, I'm pour'n sweat and cussing!!! Finally I told him if he doesn't get his drunk ass out of my way a couple tree lengths. That I was going to cut him in half with my saw before he got us both killed!!! After mumbling under his breath and stumbling away in to the safe zone. I finally finessed the heavy leaning snag over without killing my self or my neighbor. Boy was I pissed!!!All my buddies that know me and know my drunk neighbor Were laughing there butts off when I told them that story I'll tell ya! Even though it was not to long ago. I look back and laugh now myself, but I sure wasn't laughing then!

Long story short! I think I completely destroyed five wedges and cut into four others to the point that they will barley fit Into a kerf! All on that one snag that took over an hour to lift over and fall!
Ive got some more already on the way, but until they get here. I had to re tune some of the tens and eights I have.


See That Chipper?!?! Even my rasp throws ribbons! Small ribbons, but ribbons none the less.




Man!!! Is that look'n good or what?!?! The wedge looks good too! Cut safe, stay sharp, be aware!

 

[WoodAbuser]

For those of you that haven't seen the damage caused by Emerald Ash Borers.

 

[WoodAbuser]

Here is the very end of the 35th and largest tree pushed down 4 years ago by the guy that terraced this place. He put in my driveway and pad. Root ball tied back and after it was released. Didnt move much. Way less than I expected.
Lots and lots of firewood came out of those trees. Several neighbors have gotten some. The one that helped me the most has 5 years of wood for heating his dads place. I have enough for campfires for years and years.

 

[farmer steve]

Here is the very end of the 35th and largest tree pushed down 4 years ago by the guy that terraced this place. He put in my driveway and pad. Root ball tied back and after it was released. Didnt move much. Way less than I expected.View attachment 995040View attachment 995041View attachment 995042View attachment 995043
Lots and lots of firewood came out of those trees. Several neighbors have gotten some. The one that helped me the most has 5 years of wood for heating his dads place. I have enough for campfires for years and years.

What type of cut did you use on that?

 

[WoodAbuser]

What type of cut did you use on that?

Chunked it up. Combination of crosscuts and ripping. Oodles and oodles of noodles. Already picked up a 55 gallon bag of them and there is still more than that left on the ground.

 

[Lionsfan]

Congratulations on getting the call to go back to "the show" @Kodiak Kid! I hope/know you'll do well. Just as you always say, be aware and stay safe. Now that I'm retired, I often have friends of mine that used to work for/under me call me to ask me to come give them a hand on this or that side job. I'm hesitant to go back, because I stopped swinging a hammer full-time about 12 years ago, and I don't want to embarrass myself in my friend's eyes, because they know how I used to work, and I'm not in shape to perform at the same level that I used to. I'm 12 years older after all!

I'm so far from the skill set that most of you guys have that it's comical. Well, it would be comical if lack of experience wasn't sometimes dangerous. Not that I'm a rookie by any means, but I have nowhere near the experience or expertise that a lot of you guys have. I'm sure I'll take more from this page and forum than I'll ever give. All of this Dutchman and extra soft Dutchman is Greek to me. But I definitely enjoy watching and learning. I hope to never be arrogant enough that I think I'm too good to learn something.

@Sawyer Rob do you intentionally put your garden in in June, or were you just late getting to it this year? My wife put hers in about a month ago, and unfortunately we DID get one more frost after she planted. The only thing she lost were her tomato plants though, so she bought some more and replanted them.

Not sure where you're at in the UP, but I'm just south of bridge so are frost dates are fairly close to one another. Memorial day weekend is the target date for most folks around here to plant frost sensitive plants like tomatoes and peppers, but you have to watch the weather closely for the next couple weeks. We've had hard frosts here as late as June 12th, and the higher elevation areas around Gaylord can get frost into early July.

 

[Lee192233]

Awwww! Aren't those little puppies cute! Let me know when they are wienned! My little girl wants one!

Now brother, This is a team of Dawgs!
View attachment 995004View attachment 995003

Sorry bud! I'm just taking the piss out of ya a bit! I just had to do it!

Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!

No problem! I laughed my a** of at your post. I don't have the logging cred to run a set of dawgs like you have there!
In all seriousness though there really isn't a reason to with the bark on our trees. At the most it's an inch thick and it's usually pretty hard so the factory spikes have no problem grabbing. Plus big aftermarket spikes would take up valuable length on my baby 20" bar!

Congratulations and good luck on your logging job. Post pics and above all follow your tag line!

 

[501Maico]

I was able to take a little time and mount the outer bumper spike on my MS400.View attachment 994969
Cleaned it up a bit...
View attachment 994970
Put a fresh chain on it, cleaned the bar and reinstalled it. I know, I know the bar is upside down.View attachment 994971
Here's the kit. It comes with the inner and outer spikes. The dealer said it was just a little more than the outer spike alone. I paid $20 for it.
View attachment 994972

I thought it was called a blade. How can a bar cut anything?

 

[Lee192233]

I thought it was called a blade. How can a bar cut anything?

Kinda like calling fishing line "string".

 

[svk]

Morning guys.

Our annual town festival is here this weekend. I’ve stuffed myself with gyros, fried cheese curds, and other goodies.

 

[Logger nate]

Hi

I also use a sledge for driving steel splitting wedges when I'm not using Hydrods. However I may be wrong but I think Nate is referring to his husky axe being hard on plastic felling wedges, because of the narrow poll's small steel foot print. Therefore it sinks into the soft plastic easier than a poll with a wide foot print. Thus over time. It's smashing up and mushrooming felling wedges and waring them out pre maturely. At least I think that's what he's getting at.

Yes sir, that’s it. I haven’t used a splitting wedge for firewood for 20 years, guess I forgot people still do that, lol.

 

[Philbert]

Yes sir, that’s it. I haven’t used a splitting wedge for firewood for 20 years, guess I forgot people still do that, lol.

I thought that’s what you were getting at, but you mentioned ‘splitting axe’, and the photo showed it on a stack of split firewood.

I have heard other guys say that they prefer a 3# sledge / ‘engineer’s hammer’ for driving plastic wedges, although, that may be small for larger timber.

Philbert

 

[Logger nate]

I agree the 4 lb axe with 28” handle is about ideal for driving falling wedges,…but it’s heavy, lol. 3lbs or less is my preferred every day carry. If I was in big timber working the boundary or doing urban logging I’d pack it but the sale we are currently working on trees aren’t that big and 95 % are dead an rotten tops. Some of the white fir the top breaks out just from the wind resistance of the tree falling so I try not to do any wedging. For spitting wood by hand I really like the fiskars x27But I mostly use the hydro anymore Finally got most of the rounds I had laying around split, just need a little more to finish filling the wood shed then start bringing more in for next year.

 

[Logger nate]

I thought that’s what you were getting at, but you mentioned ‘splitting axe’, and the photo showed it on a stack of split firewood.

I have heard other guys say that they prefer a 3# sledge / ‘engineer’s hammer’ for driving plastic wedges, although, that may be small for larger timber.

Philbert

Yeah sorry about that, I’m not too good about filling in the details sometimes, lol.

 

[Philbert]

Yeah sorry about that, I’m not too good about filling in the details sometimes, lol.

All good. How do you like that splitting axe for splitting, compared to a Fiskars?

Philbert

 

[Philbert]

See That Chipper?!?! Even my rasp throws ribbons! Small ribbons, but ribbons none the less.

Man!!! Is that look'n good or what?!?! The wedge looks good too!

A while back I posted on finding some better files for saving plastic wedges: files made for plastic, vs wood or metal.

https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/wedge-renewal.299485/
Especially, posts #30 and 39 in the link above.

Philbert

 

[Logger nate]

All good. How do you like that splitting axe for splitting, compared to a Fiskars?

Philbert

I prefer the fiskars. The splitting axe does pretty good, head design splits good and doesn’t stick bad on unsuccessful attempts but not as good as the fiskars, and I much prefer the long smaller diameter handle for splitting.

 

[svk]

All this talk about Council tools…old @CTYank may rise from the ashes and show up here

Where’s your buddy at @MechanicMatt

 

[JustPlainJeff]

Not sure where you're at in the UP, but I'm just south of bridge so are frost dates are fairly close to one another. Memorial day weekend is the target date for most folks around here to plant frost sensitive plants like tomatoes and peppers, but you have to watch the weather closely for the next couple weeks. We've had hard frosts here as late as June 12th, and the higher elevation areas around Gaylord can get frost into early July.

I'm in Iron River. South central part of the U.P. About 45 minutes West of Iron Mountain. Thanks for the tips on frost times and gardening. The wife will appreciate it.