First cutting

[hillbillycycles]

Just to post back and let some of you that might remember me know that I took the repaired 028 to the woods yesterday morning and had its first workout since repairs. Ran about two and a half tanks of fuel through it and managed to get a good start on clearing some downed timber. Other than a few minor carb adjustments she seemed to run fine. If only my chain sharpenening skills were a little better.

I didn't even make a dent in the timber, but did get about half a cord of wood out of the deal and got two piles cleaned up. I'll probably go back in a few weeks and tackle it some more. It has become way too apparant why my father always made me clear the brush and load the wood when I was a kid. If I would have had someone doing that for me I could have easily gotten twice as much cut. Oh well, it was time in the woods and good exercise to boot.

 

[West Texas]

Yeah, I call that brush 'frog hair' and sometimes on downed oak it can take longer clearing it off the tree than it does cutting up the tree. And I would love to have a gofer do the loading. The bottom line obviously is guys like you and I like to 'cut wood' but don't like all the other crap that goes with it.

 

[hillbillycycles]

I guess I should add the property belongs to my father in law and I have exclusive hunting rights on the place. I figure the least I can do is help him clean it up and keep it up. He had let it go for the past few years but had a building put up this summer that required a power line right of way. The power crew pushed over and trimmed a great number of oaks and hickory trees so I'm trying to clean up and get the fire wood out of it at the same time. Had a pretty good brush pile burning at times. I would limb the downed stuff, haul the limbs to the fire, and then cut up the wood. Slow going, but I left nothing but clean ground and some sawdust when I was finished in an area.

I'll be back with the saw but also the bush hog in a few weeks. My family and I also like to ride atv's there and I'm trying to clean up the old roads and trails for us to use.

 

[turnkey4099]

I don't mind the brushing out. A half day in the woods is worth the work and the workout beats going to the gym. I am looking forward to starting the cutting season again by a trip out to clean up last years burn piles. Have to wait a bit yet for the ground to dry somemore as I need the PU out in there. Quite a bit of charred chunks, half burned blocks, and the stumps the piles were on top of to cut off near ground level. Only have 9 trees left in the patch I am working and they should make about 10 cord. All big ones that will be giving the 041 a workout. These are willow trees that were killed in a fire several years ago.

Harry K