Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Sawdust Man]

A neighbor stopped by and said "Erik! You have a splitter be hind your shop fir that! Why aren't you using Hydraulics"?
I said, "because it has a leaky tire and needs air, but Im to lazy to run a hose and air it up"!
He scratched his head and said. "Your to lazy to run an air hose but not to lazy to split a stack of wood by hand?" Then he just shook his head and road of on his 4wheeler mumbling something or another.

Then I thought to myself. "Erik! You surely must be STUPID"!!!

Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!

I would have done the same thing.... it's way more fun swinging an axe than messing around with flat tires....I guess I'm stupid too....

Beautiful snow pics! makes me miss the PNW just a little bit....

 

[Sierra_rider]

I'm using a cheap 8lb Kobalt maul I got from Lowes...it's a heavy sucker, but I've got enough core strength to swing it with some speed.

Everything else, I generally go for lightweight. My framing hammer is a 14oz Stiletto. Kodiak might call me a sissy, but even my falling axe only has a 4lb head. Some of my coworkers carry 5lb axes and have all sorts of derisive names for my axe.

 

[Sierra_rider]

It's not the biggest scrounge ever, but picked up some valley oak today. It's sopping wet, and this small load nearly has my 2500 on the overloads. The bigger rounds are hidden in the front of the bed, basically it was a large limb that was in the way of a road that a local rancher friend was putting in. He didn't want the whole tree gone, so I shimmied up into the crotch of the tree to cut it.

The valley oak is a much nicer species of oak than the black oak that I usually get. This stuff is solid, but the black oak that I've been whittling on, some of the rounds are 36" across...but only have about 6" of burnable wood on the edges.

 

[Sierra_rider]

We got our first decent snow day before yesterday.
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I didn't stack and cover my last couple loads of quarters I hauled out of the woods, so I had to pay the piper by playing the sweep and tarp game.
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Almost had to lock in the hubs on Big Bob!
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Being a little meticulous. It took about a hour total to split and stack. We got'er done though.
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A neighbor stopped by and said "Erik! You have a splitter be hind your shop fir that! Why aren't you using Hydraulics"?
I said, "because it has a leaky tire and needs air, but Im to lazy to run a hose and air it up"!
He scratched his head and said. "Your to lazy to run an air hose but not to lazy to split a stack of wood by hand?" Then he just shook his head and road of on his 4wheeler mumbling something or another.

Then I thought to myself. "Erik! You surely must be STUPID"!!!

Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!

This reminds me that I need to get out and tarp a bunch of my random wood piles tomorrow, ahead of our snow that's coming in on thursday...one of these days I'll build a wood shed.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Like the paint work on your atv cart. Got kind of a nazi tank vibe going on.

Roger, I was actually going for one of the Skandinavian Military's camo look. Its probably the only camo pattern that has actual "CAT yellow" Caterpillar brand paint! My neighbors seven year old daughter calls it "jelly bean camo!"

 

[WoodAbuser]

Kodiak might call me a sissy, but even my falling axe only has a 4lb head. Some of my coworkers carry 5lb axes and have all sorts of derisive names for my axe.

Just paint 5lbs on the side of it. There fixed that.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

I'm using a cheap 8lb Kobalt maul I got from Lowes...it's a heavy sucker, but I've got enough core strength to swing it with some speed.

Everything else, I generally go for lightweight. My framing hammer is a 14oz Stiletto. Kodiak might call me a sissy, but even my falling axe only has a 4lb head. Some of my coworkers carry 5lb axes and have all sorts of derisive names for my axe.

Actually, Council's four pounder with a 28" handle is my favorite felling axe fir lifting trees with wedges! However, On bigger heavier leaning timber. Its hard to beat a 5lb Council with a 30" or 32" handle. But I cant always just put down the 4lb and run a half mile or more to the Crummy fir the 5lb. So I normally use the 4lb 95%of the time.

As far as splitting wood by hand? I sometimes use steel wedges snd a 12lb sledge, or an eight pound maul, or a six pound maul, or a six pound Counsil Axe with a 36" handle. It all depends on the size of rounds and type of wood. Today I strictly used my eight pound maul and nothing else. Except my hook-a-roon for moving quarters on to the block.

Witch reminds me. I weighed all the quarters in my last four round load. Each round averaged 220 lbs and were about 36" to 38" in diameter.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

This reminds me that I need to get out and tarp a bunch of my random wood piles tomorrow, ahead of our snow that's coming in on thursday...one of these days I'll build a wood shed.

I had a wood shed but my Squaw took it from me and turned it into her gardening shed! Now I just use pallets and tarps too! Well, sometimes. When I get a tractor, skid steer or loader? Witch ever I decide on. I'm going to plan on a mill and build a barn with pole stile wings on each side. One fir covered firewood storage, and one fir covered lumber storage. Big Plans! However, IMOP. Owning and improving property is a lifelong project. My Squaw is often asking me. "When are we going to build a new house?" I always tell her. I've STIHL gotta build a bigger work shop, a barn, a boat house, an exclusive Dirt Bike Only shop, and a saw shop first! I'm probably just going to wait until this dump falls down until I decide on a new house."
I cant use the words she used in her reply to that on a public forum!

 

[Philbert]

Actually, Council's four pounder with a 28" handle is my favorite felling axe fir lifting trees with wedges! However, On bigger heavier leaning timber. Its hard to beat a 5lb Council with a 30" or 32" handle. But I cant always just put down the 4lb and run a half mile or more to the Crummy fir the 5lb. So I normally use the 4lb 95%of the time.

As far as splitting wood by hand? I sometimes use steel wedges snd a 12lb sledge, or an eight pound maul, or a six pound maul, or a six pound Counsil Axe with a 36" handle. It all depends on the size of rounds and type of wood. Today I strictly used my eight pound maul and nothing else. Except my hook-a-roon for moving quarters on to the block.

It’s good to have options.


Philbert

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I managed to get this load of firewood split, but there's NO WAY I'd do it without my splitter. lol

No picts. taken of splitting this time.

SR

 

[JimR]

Circumstances will always dictate what you can and can't do with equipment.
I wouldn't be without ballast, and believe me when I say my back yard turns into a swamp. to the point the cub cadet can't dive through without leaving ruts. It's a give and take. First I don't have any big heavy 3 point attachments, (i borrow most that stuff from dad. But i have a lot of cat 0 stuff, not that any of it is heavy.) although I do have material for a weight box, but I've found that I barely have room to turn the tractor around between the house and wood shed so I've had to rethink how big of a box I can hang off the rear of the tractor, yet keep it tight in the back of the tractor.

Everyone has different needs when it comes to tractor use and the property it is used on. What works for one guy might not work for another. My heaviest attachment is a JD MX6 brush hog.

 

[mountainguyed67]

No picts. taken of splitting this time.

We’ll let you slide this time, don’t let it happen again.

 

[Sierra_rider]

I had a wood shed but my Squaw took it from me and turned it into her gardening shed! Now I just use pallets and tarps too! Well, sometimes. When I get a tractor, skid steer or loader? Witch ever I decide on. I'm going to plan on a mill and build a barn with pole stile wings on each side. One fir covered firewood storage, and one fir covered lumber storage. Big Plans! However, IMOP. Owning and improving property is a lifelong project. My Squaw is often asking me. "When are we going to build a new house?" I always tell her. I've STIHL gotta build a bigger work shop, a barn, a boat house, an exclusive Dirt Bike Only shop, and a saw shop first! I'm probably just going to wait until this dump falls down until I decide on a new house."
I cant use the words she used in her reply to that on a public forum!

Normally my Dodge lives in the shop, but it's sitting outside tonight with all that wood...without a crew-cab, long bed taking up space in my shop, I'm reminded of how much room I have in here.

 

[Sierra_rider]

Actually, Council's four pounder with a 28" handle is my favorite felling axe fir lifting trees with wedges! However, On bigger heavier leaning timber. Its hard to beat a 5lb Council with a 30" or 32" handle. But I cant always just put down the 4lb and run a half mile or more to the Crummy fir the 5lb. So I normally use the 4lb 95%of the time.

As far as splitting wood by hand? I sometimes use steel wedges snd a 12lb sledge, or an eight pound maul, or a six pound maul, or a six pound Counsil Axe with a 36" handle. It all depends on the size of rounds and type of wood. Today I strictly used my eight pound maul and nothing else. Except my hook-a-roon for moving quarters on to the block.

Witch reminds me. I weighed all the quarters in my last four round load. Each round averaged 220 lbs and were about 36" to 38" in diameter.

I forget what head my falling axe is, it's not a council...but I did rehandle it recently with a council 28" handle.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

It’s good to have options.


Philbert

It certainly is! Each tool works better than the others under certain circumstances!

 

[JustJeff]

You should try a Super Split splitter

The kinetic one. I've seen them but never used one. Couple years ago the kids bought me a 25 ton splitter with an auto return detent in the valve. It's got a 14 second cycle time and returns while I'm grabbing another round. It can work faster than I want to!

 

[djg james]

The kinetic one. I've seen them but never used one. Couple years ago the kids bought me a 25 ton splitter with an auto return detent in the valve. It's got a 14 second cycle time and returns while I'm grabbing another round. It can work faster than I want to!

True. The splitter sets my pace and I can't (or don't want to) work any faster. I've got the bottom of the line 22 Ton splitter from the local farm store. Does me fine. Now if you had a helper, maybe you'd want something faster.

Speaking of cycle time, can you shorten the stroke (return) of the cylinder by blocking the back side? I splits 16" and if I don't catch the handle in time, the cylinder stops after returning the full stroke. Hopes that makes sense.

 

[billyboy]

DJG. You can get clips at the store usually 1or 2 inch that slip over the ram to adjust your stop length.

 

[chipper1]

What's up battleship enthusiast's.
Hope everyone is doing well, seems there's plenty of scrounges between the other stuff.
I've been cranking out the hrs driving, so not much scrounging happening here. I have had a few sessions with the battlebarrow hauling scrounged wood in.
Temps are dropping again here, so we'll be burning some hotter fires again. I hate burning these smaller fires with the draft more open to keep everything clean, but I don't hate it as much as a propane bill .
Have a great day guys.

 

[chipper1]

DJG. You can get clips at the store usually 1or 2 inch that slip over the ram to adjust your stop length.

I saw a video a while back where a guy had a real nice splitter he put something like that on, first time it went back it broke the wedge right off the ram . Sounds like a great idea if you have the right setup, wonder why Huskee/Speeco hasn't sold them?