14[sup]o[/sup] this morning, but no wind and sunshine predicted so I thought it would be a good day to get started on a maple I felled last March, but never got around to bucking. First thing I had to do was get through the snow to the shed where I keep the little trailer used for hauling all my gear back into the woodlot. That went mostly uneventful.
Next I needed to get through even more snow, while pulling the loaded trailer, back into the woodlot. Only got stuck once, and by just simply backing up I got there.
I’ll tell you what… this old Sugar Maple has to be the hardest darn wood I ever remember cutting. Not sure if it’s because I left it lay for 11 months, or because it’s frozen… but oh man is it hard on chains. Started with the 16-inch bar and a chain that was getting a bit short-toothed… promptly busted several cutters off that chain. So I swapped out the chain and made a few cuts… the tree shifted a bit and pinched the bar tight. Here’s what that looks like.
I could not free it with wedges to save my sole… so I removed the power head and installed the 20-inch bar. Once I retrieved the 16-inch bar and chain I went to work on the main trunk… WOW, this thing is hard on chains. Anyway, I got a good start on it.
Next I needed to get through even more snow, while pulling the loaded trailer, back into the woodlot. Only got stuck once, and by just simply backing up I got there.
I’ll tell you what… this old Sugar Maple has to be the hardest darn wood I ever remember cutting. Not sure if it’s because I left it lay for 11 months, or because it’s frozen… but oh man is it hard on chains. Started with the 16-inch bar and a chain that was getting a bit short-toothed… promptly busted several cutters off that chain. So I swapped out the chain and made a few cuts… the tree shifted a bit and pinched the bar tight. Here’s what that looks like.
I could not free it with wedges to save my sole… so I removed the power head and installed the 20-inch bar. Once I retrieved the 16-inch bar and chain I went to work on the main trunk… WOW, this thing is hard on chains. Anyway, I got a good start on it.