I learned at least 2 things the other day

[Burvol]

Learning where the tip of your bar is can be learned over time. "Reading bark" in your chips helps too. Keep plugging away at it and you'll be confident in your bucking. Yes, I still hit the dirt on occasion, no one is perfect, but you can bet I learned how to buck because I had to, there is no way to move logs up off the ground when your cutting in your strip. It will come with time, and with your good attitude and saws, anything is possible.

 

[KMB]

Learning where the tip of your bar is can be learned over time. "Reading bark" in your chips helps too. Keep plugging away at it and you'll be confident in your bucking. Yes, I still hit the dirt on occasion, no one is perfect, but you can bet I learned how to buck because I had to, there is no way to move logs up off the ground when your cutting in your strip. It will come with time, and with your good attitude and saws, anything is possible.

A tip I learned here when I first joined AS...might have been a post you made. I was 'reading' the chips and could definitely tell when I was in the bark...but I went a little to far. After the first of the 'bad' cuts, I should have stopped, refueled, filed or changed chains, take a drink of Powerade, take a breather and look over the log good and 'regroup'. But I was in a hurry and not expecting any problems. I's still learnin'...and will be till they put me in the ground.

Thanks man.

Kevin

 

[Ductape]

I think we've all been there. I've certainly had to impovise as much as anyone else. When I started shagging wood, I didn't own any plastic felling wedges...... only splitting wedges. You've heard of 'rocked out' chains...... I've gotten myself into plenty of positions where I pinched my bar and used my steel wedges to get my saw out of the tree. I had several 'wedged out' chains over the years (after catching my wedge with the chain ). On some of the big ones, when I've needed to cut through, and didn't have an easy way to roll em........ I use one of those 20' tug 'em straps used to pull out a stuck vehicle. As long as you can feed one end under the tree somewhere (even if you have to dig), loop it through itself on the far side of the tree. Then, i use a cheap come-along to pull on the strap (or... hook it to your truck in a pinch) which will roll the log over so i can finish my cut.

You done good on the wood though.... gotta be a few cord in that tree.

 

[KMB]

Ductape, I have one of those straps (not sure how long)...and it was in my truck...and I had room to work around the tree...:blush:. I just wasn't thinking. I like to think I'm pretty practical...I guess not practical enough .

I'm terrible at estimating how much wood is in a tree, but I think with the wood that I got from the tree will make about a full cord and a half (?).

Here's the tree as it was. Felled by the farmer before I got there.

The first, quick load one afternoon.

The second better load.

I've already shown what I got the third trip.

Kevin

 

[bayard]

044

that 044 should be plenty saw for wood that size.i have a 044 that i sometimes put a 42 inch blade on it and cut oak and maple etc. a sharp chain should cut 30 to 40 inch log with no problem.my saw is a stock 15 year old saw.kenny

 

[bore_pig]

A tip I learned here when I first joined AS...might have been a post you made. I was 'reading' the chips and could definitely tell when I was in the bark...but I went a little to far. After the first of the 'bad' cuts, I should have stopped, refueled, filed or changed chains, take a drink of Powerade, take a breather and look over the log good and 'regroup'. But I was in a hurry and not expecting any problems. I's still learnin'...and will be till they put me in the ground.

Thanks man.

Kevin

I make the same mistake. It's called "trying to get too much done in one day". If the day hadn't been closing on you, I have no doubt that you would have done exactly what you described above.

 

[J.W Younger]

Keven I've been there, belive me.
Sometimes a boring cut tru the log (if its in compression)and cut carefully just down tru the bark and then cut up and the kerf will open up.
Sometimes logs can be hard to read when they are that size tho and you're loosing daylight and rushing.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I have been thinking about making a big giant steel wedge I can drive under the tree to lift it enough to finish the cut. I have the same problem, although I have a tractor, I can't always get it to the tree.
Those limb butts hanging all over oaks make rolling them a problem. I have tried hooks, but they just don't seem to work.

How about a farm jack?




Nice haul, Kevin!

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I tried out some felling wedges for the first time sunday...I should have bought some extras. :monkey:

Felling wedges are a sawyers friend. They keep the cuts open very nicely when you're bucking a log.

 

[KMB]

that 044 should be plenty saw for wood that size.i have a 044 that i sometimes put a 42 inch blade on it and cut oak and maple etc. a sharp chain should cut 30 to 40 inch log with no problem.my saw is a stock 15 year old saw.kenny

With the chain good and sharp it did alright with the 28" bar...but I guess I'm used to having the 20" bar on it and getting through Oak a lot faster.

I'm trying to start anything with anybody, but I believe that each one of us has our own 'idea' on how fast our saw will go through a cut. What I mean is that what one fella might feel is 'fast' enough in a cut, might be to slow for another fella. I know there's more to it as in cutting technique and if the saw is tuned properly and if the chain is properly sharp and so on. Sometimes I wonder if I'm just getting caught up in the 'CAD' thing and not really needing a bigger saw than my 044.

I've said it before a while back that if I had a bigger saw, I would want bigger wood but without the proper equipment to handle the big wood after it's cut, I might be getting myself in trouble and getting hurt. But there's always 'noodlin' to reduce the big wood to manageable pieces...so that blows all I just said out the door... Ok...I'll shutup now .

Kevin

 

[beerman6]

How about a farm jack?

Good idea,I have a low profile aluminum floor jack(3'tall when closed)that I have used to free a pinched saw....put a small piece of 3/4 plywood under it and jack it up.

 

[StubornDutchman]

I've been thinking about ways to use the farm jack as a means of lifting logs up slightly to make bucking easier. I keep a 3/4 ton chain come-along and extra chain in the truck. Besides using it to get the truck unstuck, it's great for pulling the butt end of leaners safely out of other tree tops. I'm new at this and try to be super cautious.

 

[KMB]

I make the same mistake. It's called "trying to get too much done in one day". If the day hadn't been closing on you, I have no doubt that you would have done exactly what you described above.

Yep, my life seems to go by in a blur sometimes...gotta slow down. I don't see that happening anytime soon...gotta chase my li'l girl around.

Kevin

 

[KMB]

Keven I've been there, belive me.
Sometimes a boring cut tru the log (if its in compression)and cut carefully just down tru the bark and then cut up and the kerf will open up.
Sometimes logs can be hard to read when they are that size tho and you're loosing daylight and rushing.

I've heard of boring in...have yet to try it. Thanks.

Kevin

 

[KD57]

How about a farm jack?

Hmmm...good idea, although they are kinda cumbersome to lug around.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

How about a farm jack?

...

Do you mean a 4 ft tall bumper jack ? affectionately known as a "widow maker" ?

Yeah, they've been known to work well in a pinch to lift a log end out of the dirt. It will lift it up far enough to set it on a few rounds. Helps to stay out of the dirt.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

that 044 should be plenty saw for wood that size.i have a 044 that i sometimes put a 42 inch blade on it and cut oak and maple etc. a sharp chain should cut 30 to 40 inch log with no problem.my saw is a stock 15 year old saw.kenny

Chainsaws don't have "blades".

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Do you mean a 4 ft tall bumper jack ? affectionately known as a "widow maker" ?

Yep. That's the one. Very useful. Very dangerous.

 

[gwiley]

The first, quick load one afternoon.

The second better load.

I've already shown what I got the third trip.

Kevin

Those look like great loads of logs, but they remind me of one easy way to reduce the work you do to move firewood. Cut the limbs down to the point that you can still move them, but not to firewood length pieces. It reduces the number of times you touch each log and so reduces to total time and energy spent per cord. I do that then finish bucking them right at the woodpile.

The same applies to splits - split right at the woodpile - I scatter the rounds along the length of my stacks with the skid steer when I unload a bunch and then just stack as I split.

 

[KMB]

Those look like great loads of logs, but they remind me of one easy way to reduce the work you do to move firewood. Cut the limbs down to the point that you can still move them, but not to firewood length pieces. It reduces the number of times you touch each log and so reduces to total time and energy spent per cord. I do that then finish bucking them right at the woodpile.

The same applies to splits - split right at the woodpile - I scatter the rounds along the length of my stacks with the skid steer when I unload a bunch and then just stack as I split.

Good points, Thanks. I don't know if I have room in my yard to scatter the rounds as you suggest...but it's worth a try. Cutting the limbs to manageable lengths will definitely save time.

Kevin