Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[turnkey4099]

I don't see what's wrong with that? $70 for a 4'x8' row? Some around here are asking $150 -$195 for that.

I see nothing saying how long the rick/row is.

 

[Lionsfan]

Carhartt ain’t what they used to be and I quit wasting money on them. I haven’t had a pair last over 2 weeks in a few years.

A lot of their stuff looks like it's targeting the micro-brew hipster well manicured beard crowd, but, they still make a damn good hooded sweatshirt.

 

[Cowboy254]

Re the fiskaring vs the maul. Where force = mass x acceleration, it is generally easier to work the acceleration part than the mass part of the equation. What I think of as 'whip' with the wrists and forearms on the downswing is key in getting the speed up. I do virtually all my splitting with the X27 and with enough whip I generally don't need a full monty swing. Generally if I can't split it with the X27 I struggle to split it with the 8lb Hart either and they get the saw. The only time I'll use the 8lber is if the X27 starts an opening but gets caught by knots where the opening is wider than the axe head then the maul can bust it apart where the X27 might need several more hits.

 

[Sierra_rider]

Will a tree like that be reproducing? Are there many redwood saplings growing for the future?

Sorry if I sound ignorant. We see the big old trees but I've never seen a young redwood. I hope that they are thriving, not declining.

Redwoods grow like weeds in their preferred climate...they have a narrow growing range(basically NorCal coast,) but they dominate where they do grow. They're pretty hardy, not unusual to see reds get totally torched by a fire and then grow new foliage in the spring.

There are plenty of young ones, they just usually aren't picture worthy. Even at that, the young ones are often large trees. The pic below was a 36" DBH redwood I climbed/removed, I counted the growth rings and it was only about 50 years old. They are kinda cool trees, they basically create their own "rain" by causing clouds/fog to condenate onto their needles and then drip down into the root system.

They're the tallest trees in the world. I think the superlative examples are almost 400' tall...it's cousin, the giant sequoia, has the most volume of wood in the world. The largest sequoia has a 25' DBH. The Sequoias are in decline, but the coast redwoods are doing just fine. That's why I get irritated when the tree huggers ***** about logging. They are harvesting 2nd growth reds that the average person wouldn't even be able to differentiate from old growth...literally 7' dbh trees that are only 100 or so years old.

Anyway, I'll get off my soap box and stop blathering about trees...I could talk for hours about conifers.

Not my picture, but a really cool pic of a redwood that I found:

 

[Cowboy254]

Well, we're now halfway through November and normally we're done with the fire by now but here we are firing up again.



Also, it is our 20th wedding anniversary today and I not only remembered but got Cowgirl a present too. Not the traditional gift (China) but a nice framed print from our last night on the cruise back in July.



Wish me well, fellas, might have a long night ahead of me

 

[Sierra_rider]

One last redwood thing. Bailey's is remaking/selling these iconic posters, a cool addition to the shop...mine's framed:

 

[JimR]

This was the wood scrounge out of the 29" Ash yesterday. These are all 80" long.

 

[JimR]

This afternoon I had one of my wildlife friends drop in to watch me work. This was a real riot because I have never had a Roughed Grouse come this close to me while working. I'm guessing it is a female by the colors. She came out while I was using my chainsaw on the top end of this Ash. She hung out with me for at least an hour while i trimmed the tree and chipped all the branches. When i finally shut everything down she came within 5 feet of me. I was like damn, somebody must be feeding you.

 

[farmer steve]

I don't bother with wedges either. If my splitter can't split it (which is a very rare occurrence.) It's get noodled into manageable size then split with the splitter.

About the last time I used wedges was when we (dad and I) split locust rails back in the 80's/90's for Gettysburg battlefield. Got my share of pounding them suckers. If I can't noodle it,it's stays where it fell. You getting snow Sean?

 

[Squareground3691]

Redwoods grow like weeds in their preferred climate...they have a narrow growing range(basically NorCal coast,) but they dominate where they do grow. They're pretty hardy, not unusual to see reds get totally torched by a fire and then grow new foliage in the spring.

There are plenty of young ones, they just usually aren't picture worthy. Even at that, the young ones are often large trees. The pic below was a 36" DBH redwood I climbed/removed, I counted the growth rings and it was only about 50 years old. They are kinda cool trees, they basically create their own "rain" by causing clouds/fog to condenate onto their needles and then drip down into the root system.

They're the tallest trees in the world. I think the superlative examples are almost 400' tall...it's cousin, the giant sequoia, has the most volume of wood in the world. The largest sequoia has a 25' DBH. The Sequoias are in decline, but the coast redwoods are doing just fine. That's why I get irritated when the tree huggers ***** about logging. They are harvesting 2nd growth reds that the average person wouldn't even be able to differentiate from old growth...literally 7' dbh trees that are only 100 or so years old.

Anyway, I'll get off my soap box and stop blathering about trees...I could talk for hours about conifers.

Not my picture, but a really cool pic of a redwood that I found:

Biggin lol

 

[LondonNeil]

Re the fiskaring vs the maul. Where force = mass x acceleration, it is generally easier to work the acceleration part than the mass part of the equation. What I think of as 'whip' with the wrists and forearms on the downswing is key in getting the speed up. I do virtually all my splitting with the X27 and with enough whip I generally don't need a full monty swing. Generally if I can't split it with the X27 I struggle to split it with the 8lb Hart either and they get the saw. The only time I'll use the 8lber is if the X27 starts an opening but gets caught by knots where the opening is wider than the axe head then the maul can bust it apart where the X27 might need several more hits.

I find my 8lb stihl maul does stuff that i can't with the x27. I get some gnarly crotches that the x27 just won't get a start in, and generally before i resort to the 'saw I'll take a few swings with the stihl maul. its weight really does make a difference despite the slower swing. it doesn't so much 'split' as 'smash' the wood apart. the result is never pretty, but it is often easier than I expect, the tool is effective when the x27 is beyond its capacity for me.
these days, i guess as I've learnt more and got better at splitting, I'll grab 2 or 3 of the 5or 6 splitting tools and pik up the smallest, lightest tool that I think will work on any given round. if it doesn't go I swap to a bigger tool, sometimes after one hit its obvious I've misjudged and the lighter tool is way out of its depth,sometimes it feels it will go but after 2 or 3 hits it hasn't so time to swap, same happens for the x27 occasionally.

 

[old CB]

a pic of my buddy Michael who helped me load and haul--him standing next to some monster rounds

Uh, I guess what I meant to say was here's Michael standing next to some piddling little ash rounds.

That's near the large end of what we get here in the high desert. Creek-bottom cottonwoods get larger, but I want nothing to do with those.

 

[JimR]

And here's how things are shaping up at the woodshed. Everything inside the shed and under the tarp is ready to burn this season. The uncovered stuff is the beginning of next year's supply. EAB is a *****, but it's sure been good for my woodpile. It's the majority of what I've been hauling lately, along with a lot of honey locust. Elm haul is down this season, which does not hurt my feelings a bit. Elm is good enough but not my favorite fuel. I even have some oak (burr oak)View attachment 1032394 in the mix which normally is hard to come by hereabout.

I'm scrambling to accumulate as much as possible, as I get a new right knee on Friday. Then my scrounging will be put on hold during the season when I normally am hard at it.

BTW, that's a treated canvas tarp from Chicago Canvas--12 or 16' by 24' if I remember right. It's now about 8 or 9 yrs old and has lots of life left. Patched where a bear tore a hole or pack rat chewed. I'll never have another vinyl tarp--that useless crap lasts maybe a season or two and goes to hell fast. The canvas, though it costs more at the outset, will outlast several vinyl tarp lives, and does not litter my yard with strips of nastiness.
View attachment 1032392

Good luck with the knee replacement. I love mine.

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

This afternoon I had one of my wildlife friends drop in to watch me work. This was a real riot because I have never had a Roughed Grouse come this close to me while working. I'm guessing it is a female by the colors. She came out while I was using my chainsaw on the top end of this Ash. She hung out with me for at least an hour while i trimmed the tree and chipped all the branches. When i finally shut everything down she came within 5 feet of me. I was like damn, somebody must be feeding you.

Bird would have been feeding me if it came into my working grounds lol

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

View attachment 1032533

I could post photos all day, but I’ll post the one in proudest of from this last year.

 

[JimR]

Bird would have been feeding me if it came into my working grounds lol

This was a very strange sight to see. I thought watching deer watching me work was pretty cool. This bird took the cake.

 

[sean donato]

About the last time I used wedges was when we (dad and I) split locust rails back in the 80's/90's for Gettysburg battlefield. Got my share of pounding them suckers. If I can't noodle it,it's stays where it fell. You getting snow Sean?

It's a mix of sleet, snow right now. Real big wet flakes for about 2 hours. Pretty much back to rain when I came in before bed.

 

[Captain Bruce]

Well, I didn’t know that those clutch covers would fit. I just replaced the clutch cover on my other 346xp

You still don't. I'd do my homework before buying into this......1 cover adj'r may be better than another, but thats not true between models. Someone prove me wrong.

 

[svk]

Well, we're now halfway through November and normally we're done with the fire by now but here we are firing up again.

View attachment 1032476

Also, it is our 20th wedding anniversary today and I not only remembered but got Cowgirl a present too. Not the traditional gift (China) but a nice framed print from our last night on the cruise back in July.

View attachment 1032478

Wish me well, fellas, might have a long night ahead of me

You can do it! All night long!

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

You still don't. I'd do my homework before buying into this......1 cover adj'r may be better than another, but thats not true between models. Someone prove me wrong.

Well, I happen to have a 460 rancher out in the shed, so I could pull the clutch cover off of it and try it out for awhile.