Don't know as I'll do this again (Kinda long)

[dblcrl]

My neighbor Earl and I cut wood together and we each heat our homes with free standing wood burners. All radiant heat. I haven't put in LP for the last 3 years. Anyway, got a call from a friend who has a building in town next to his BP station. He had some pro's come in and drop two ash trees in back of the building because they'd lost a couple large branches on top of his building and he didn't want any more problems. So he asks if I want them, they're big he says, so Earl and I take a ride up to check them out. It took us a few minutes to decide but then thought, what the heck, we'll give it a try.

My biggest saw is a 372XP with a 20" bar and Earl's is an old McCullock that still works great. And I'm talking 30 years old. The thickest part of the trunk was about 40" and some of the limbs coming off were around 20-22". By far the biggest trees we've ever taken on. We had a few problems with the bigger sections of the trunk, had to use wedges a lot and ended up noodling up a bunch of the big rounds.

Thank God for Owen who owns the feed store next to where we were cutting. He volunteered his old Ford tractor with a bucket and that saved us. We hauled using my 04 Ram diesel quad cab and pulled a 16ft tandem trailer and it took us 7 trips to get it all home. My wife Annie did almost all of the brush work and threw a lot of the smaller stuff near the end.

I'd never cut ash before and was told that you could burn it right after cutting, so I tried it and it works. Amazing! And we saved all the noodle shavings we could gather up and that sure makes a great fire starter. I don't usually post much here, although I follow this forum every day, but thought some of you might enjoy the project. Thanks for taking a look

 

[audible fart]

Those pics make me instinctively want to grab my maul& wedges.

 

[Stihl Rules]

pretty nice haul there and good to burn wood to.

 

[DSS]

Nice!

 

[zogger]

woo HOO!

cyber high five, serious nice scrounge there! I love ash, heats like oak, splits like pine.

 

[Currently]

Shouldn't have to noodle except where there are joints for the branches. Ash is one of the easiest woods to split and it cures quick.

Nice haul!

You are not going to regret burning that for heat.

Is it white ash or brown ash? Looks like brown ash from the pix.

 

[dblcrl]

Currently....I don't know which kind of ash it is but we couldn't lift the rounds with two of us and the guy kinda wanted it out ASAP. We worked around the weather and it still took over two weeks, 4 to 5 hours each trip. But when we were finished, it was cleaned up so he could start mowing again right away. So we had to noodle to make them manageable. It was a great score though. With what I'd already cut and stacked, way, way more than I'll need for this winter. Nice getting ahead.

 

[PhilD41]

Impressive work!! That should last for a while. I have some down in my woods about that size but I haven't tackled them. From what I can tell they are hickory. I have yet to split or burn ash, but from the sounds of it I will have to keep my eyes open. Thanks for sharing!!

 

[RAMROD48]

So that was the mornings work, what did you do for the rest of the day....


All kidding aside...VERY NICE!!

 

[dblcrl]

Stephen C...........I think I went through about a gallon and a half and Earl, about 2 gallons. All in all, not too bad. It started out bad though when I hit some metal half way through on my very first cut into the trunk. Chewed a brand new chain up. Put on another not new but good chain and on the 4th round, hit some metal again. Bought two new chains and no more problems. We left that bad section of stump until last, put on some old chains and cranked on through the bad areas but no more problems. When I split those pieces I'm going to try and find out just what it was that I hit. Could be anything I guess. Whatever is in there, since it was closer to the middle, has been there for a LONG time.

 

[ktlm]

I know that's alot of work but next winter it will be a fond memory while burning that ash. Good score.

 

[dingeryote]

Man...that's a sweet bunch of clear Ash!!!
Should season up just in time for Mid winter.

Call me jealous!!!


Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[Nosmo]

Great Score

This is certainly a great score. I can see why you guys had to noodle those large sections of the trunk. A 16" section of those trunk pieces probably weighed 300 lbs. or maybe more.

I would love to have gotten my splitter into those pieces after you guys bucked them up.

Keep warm this coming winter.
Nosmo

 

[Rookie1]

Nice job,makes me jealous. Thats the size tree that separates the men from the boys. Ive seen lots of guys say they want it but never follow through when they see the scope of work ahead of them. Compliments to your wife too for her pitchin in.

 

[Blazin]

Nice score! And easy splittin too!

 

[dblcrl]

Thanks everyone for your comments. And Stephen C., I'm no spring chicken either. Earl's 62 and I'm 61 but I think because of all the cutting and hauling and splitting and stacking I do, I feel like I'm only 41. I can't go all day like I use to. 5 or 6 hours, especailly when it's hot, and I'm done. I start getting sloppy and don't want any accidents, so I know it's time to quit for the day. But being retired, what's the hurry anyway? I still enjoy it all.

 

[J.W Younger]

Yep, them old yard trees can be full of supprises. Nice haul tho, and pretty easy wood to process now that you got it into manageable sizes.

 

[Dalmatian90]

Sweet Jesus, that's a nice score!

 

[STLfirewood]

Looks like you guys made a nice haul. In the future when you get this much at once find a local high school kid or 2 to do the loading. The cutting is the easy part. I have found lately I can higher another person when cutting and the money I pay them is almost offset by the amount of fuel they save me. If it saves me one trip to STL and back it can save me $40-60 in fuel. You can still find a few that will work. On the other hand my grandpa use to say "if you have one boy you have a boy and can get some work out of him. If you have 2 boys you have half a boy. If you have 3 boys just go home because nothing is getting done." Ash is nice wood good haul.

Scott

 

[turnkey4099]

Working like that will keep you young. Man was made to sweat and do work. It keeps the heart healthy. I know what you mean about getting tired. When you start stumbling around it is time to step away from the work for a while before somebody gets hurt.

I was in great shape, riding a KTM 525 dirt bike in the woods untill I was 58, then I got some arthrites in my hip and can't get my leg up high enough to get on one any more. It sucks when you can't walk and run without pain. But I am still doing as much as I can, now I run my 36 inch walk behind zero turn mower in first gear instead of third....:hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange::hmm3grin2orange:

I may have to look into a hip replacement to get me back to 100%

Yes! On the hip replacement. If insurance will cover it, do it! I had both mine done back inthe 90s and I don't even know they are replacements. I don't even have any work restrictions and boost 130 lb rounds onto and off the truck.

But. Be sure to follow through on the therapy. People who don't are the ones who complain about having problems.

Harry K