An hour a day

[MN Ripper]

Sounds like a good plan Steve.

I work an oldtimer that's a classic car nut and his motto is if you go out to the shop and work for a half hour chances are you'll spend more time once you get going and get even more done than you thought. I've found it to be true with firewood. If I start splitting or stacking I'll generally do it for longer than I planned, just because I dragged tools out or the famous"just one more trailer full then I call it quits".

 

[Steve NW WI]

What kind of job did you get? They are hard to come by in northern Wisconsin. I though you farmed.

Would love to farm full time, if I could, but right now I'm just a hobby farmer keeping the old family farm doing something productive. I spend more time helping the guy that rents most of my land than I do myself.

By trade, I'm a punch press setup, setting and running metal stamping presses. I had been working in Anoka, MN - 63 miles one way, now I'm down to 44 miles, and a bud to rideshare with, so it'll be even less mileage on the car. I'm even thinking of GASP buying another "decent" truck.

Found out tonight the new shop is on OT, so there goes my extra time, but I'm still gonna make as much time as I can for 'wooding.

Night all!

 

[johnnylabguy]

Thanks for the good idea Steve! I put it to use this evening by forcing myself to go down in the basement and clean up the wood furnace area. It was probably the longest hour of this week but its clean now! Now if I can focus on the other 90% of the basement that looks like dustbunny armageddon!

 

[Steve NW WI]

Update:

I'm probably close to 50 hours behind due to overtime and other projects that need doing, but I'm starting to catch up a little bit. I have 5 hours in so far on putting a new bed on the wood trailer, and 5-10 more to finish it yet. I'll put some pics up here when it's all done, but if you want to see a blow-by-blow account, check out this thread, many others' cool projects there as well:

Fab work pics thread - page 51

Got a GTG Sat - does that count? Time spent tuning and sharpening saws at least counts, gotta get on that real quicklike. Also going to do some cutting for charity Sunday - that will count for sure.

Hopefully can get the rebuilt trailer to the woods next weekend or before.

 

[CountryBoy19]

I am very blessed with my work schedule. I can go to work anytime I want to between 6-830 am and leave anytime between 330-6 pm. Of course I always go in at 6 and leave at 330. That gives me a pretty good amount of daylight to do firewood work. Just got a truck load of locust last night and there's another 15+ loads where that came from. The next few weeks are going to be pretty busy.

 

[sawkiller]

I find that if I am only working for an hour or two I can really hustle as oposed to being there all day and needing to pace myself.

Our problem is typically the weather and it has been good for firewood this year. But when the heavy rains start there is no getting a truck up the hill to the wood unless you want to chain up which I have done when the weather doesn't cooperate.

I thought I would cheat one year and put a trailer behind the tractor and it climbed the hill no problem but coming down I had to put it in the ditch with the heavy trailer and unhook the trailer after chaining it off to a tree to keep it from pushing me off the hill.

 

[Biker Dude]

Hey Steve, congrats on the new job! I hope it goes well for you. I like your hour a day idea and now that we have had frost overnight twice most of the bugs should be dead which signals the start of my firewood gathering season. I'm going to try to dedicate time every day to firewood starting with cleaning the bench I work on saws on. That should take a few hours, LOL! After that I'll start on this pile that has been waiting for me since spring.

Anyway, keep up the good work and the thread!

 

[Medman]

That is a great idea Steve! Where in NW WI do you live. I'm in Spooner. I like everyone else have toooo much work and not enough time. I am going to try that 1 hr gig and see where it goes.

Tim

 

[H-Ranch]

Losing light in the evenings now it's tougher to get an hour in. Had 20 minutes tonight to stack the oak I've been splitting this week every time I had 20 minutes of free time. It's working though because my 6-7 cords has gradually turned into over 12 cords at last count!

The hour per day is going to have to start being time in the shop.

 

[Iska3]

Congrats on the new job. That drive to Anoka gets to be a PIA with all that traffic but it puts food on the table. You have one thing going for you. You don't need to drive facing the sun both ways. When I worked in the city, my left arm and face was dark brown and my right arm face was white. I sure don't miss that commute every day. When I changed jobs I used that extra hour to split wood and stack it. It was like my excape from the every day stress in life.

 

[Circle B MN]

I try to do all my stacking in the 30 to 45 minutes I have each morning after my little girl gets on the bus and I head to work. I make it a point never to stack when I could be running a saw or splitter that requires light to see or the courtesy of time of day. The coming winter does lessen the amount of work you can get done in a day, but it also gives us the cool air to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

 

[H-Ranch]

I try to do all my stacking in the 30 to 45 minutes I have each morning after my little girl gets on the bus and I head to work. I make it a point never to stack when I could be running a saw or splitter that requires light to see or the courtesy of time of day. The coming winter does lessen the amount of work you can get done in a day, but it also gives us the cool air to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

You're very lucky - I'm usually gone for work before anyone is up and a few times the kids have gone to bed before I'm home (try not to let that happen very often.) I got to put the youngest to bed tonight and she was out just before dark so stacking was the quickest task I could get done. Not that there's any lack of cutting and splitting to be done - I just have to save those tasks for when I have more time.

The cooler air is definitely nicer to work in though!

 

[Steve NW WI]

That is a great idea Steve! Where in NW WI do you live. I'm in Spooner.

Tim

Between Star Prairie and Osceola, southern Polk Co. Will be up not far from ya, Danbury on Sunday for a charity cut for Interfaith Caregivers. Link to thread Here You're welcome to join us if you have the time and inclination.

Losing light in the evenings now it's tougher to get an hour in. ... It's working though because my 6-7 cords has gradually turned into over 12 cords at last count!

Thats one of the few good things about 2nd shift, it's always light when I get up at 9. It's the 2am to 6am turnaround betweent Friday night and Saturday AM if I'm doing wood, field work, or hunting that gets to a guy.

\You don't need to drive facing the sun both ways. When I worked in the city, my left arm and face was dark brown and my right arm face was white.

Ahhh, the trucker's tan. It's more related to the right arm being inside out of direct sunlight than driving direction, but yeah, I know what you mean.

The coming winter does lessen the amount of work you can get done in a day, but it also gives us the cool air to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Y E E - H A W ! I hate sweating. Plus having the fire going gives a little extra incentive to get out and cut.

On topic, I spent about an hour last night sharpening chains, and have another hour or so tonight ahead of me tonight. Can't be showing up at the GTG with dull stuff. I think I also might have cAD (chain acquisition disorder) I have no less than 3 chains for each saw I own, up to 6 for one of em...but a few are almost at end of life, so I keep em around till they're dead.

 

[H-Ranch]

Got an hour in today during the girls' nap! Bucked up the poplar and maple that I've been bringing to the homestead from the sister-in-law's property and the hickory from the father-in-law's. More oak logs to get tomorrow too so I should have 6-8 hours in. Just can't seem to get ahead of the logpile!

My name is Steve and I have Firewood Acquisition Disorder...