Muddy logs

[lancer]

Anybody got any advice as to how best buck up logs that have been skidded out and are covered with mud and stuff? I cringe every time I hafta buck up something that's dirty - seems like I can almost watch the chain getting duller with each cut. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Clear the bark with an axe, or have a carbide tooth chain.

Or both.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Lancer, dirty wood can be really problematic, however, carbide chain seems to be the choice of most ponytail log cutters and is about as worthless as the loggers themselves, so simply try to avoid it or plunge your way in them out or just go for it an avoid the bigger stones and rocks.
Or you can subscibe to this method. Hope this help.
John
http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment_16133.php

 

[lancer]

Thanks, John, for the suggestions. I got your attachment but there was nothing in it to view. Dunno if the problem's on my end or yours - maybe if you resend it??

Lance

 

[Lumberjack]

Its a vid.

I think the thing he is showing you is the flying gypo kick. Fells trees without a hitch. (its a joke)


Could you use a pressure washer to clear the mud?

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Lance, it's a video, so depending on your connection speed it may take up to five minutes to down load.
John

 

[Jackman61]

Cool video, that lumber is clean and pristine. Well off the forest floor. Get the tractor! Who was the "helpful" narrator quick to judge the fiber pull? What mix ratio were your running observing the blue haze???

 

[lancer]

John - Your video downloaded completely in about 30 seconds (I've got a broadband cable connection). The real player opened but there was nothing in it to play. Any ideas why not?
Lance

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Lance, try going to this thread. The movie is in one of the posts.
John
http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=16695&highlight=fibre+pull

 

[SawTroll]

I suggest a combination of what MB and Gypo suggested; bore into the log and cut your way out of trough the dirty bark, after first having debarked the log at the spot of entry.

 

[Mange]

Try open it with windows Media player.

 

[redprospector]

Anybody got any advice as to how best buck up logs that have been skidded out and are covered with mud and stuff? I cringe every time I hafta buck up something that's dirty - seems like I can almost watch the chain getting duller with each cut. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Quit cringing, and start cutting.

 

[ontario026]

I agree with Redprospector, Just git'er dun.... I recently cut 14 loaded pickup truck fulls of firewood, ash maple etc, that I had skidded out behind my quad, dragged through 2 mudholes in the process... I dragged the logs (most ~12-16" diameter) and around 12-14 feet long from where they lay to a location reachable by the truck. Any real heavy dirt I gave a quick brush off with my glove, other than that I just diced them all up using 18" full chisel chain (both a stihl RS and oregon LG) on my 044 and my timberjack... For the most part I would only have to file a chain once a day or so (about 4 truckloads or so), except for the one time I got a little too friendly with the steel on my timberjack, I took the RS in for a 'fessional grinding after that lil mess up....

It would have taken me way longer to chip off the bark for each cut that it took to file once or twice a day for sure!

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I gotta be honest, unless it's saturated in mud and sand, and just a big muddy mess, I'd just cut it. If I'm out collecting firewood from DNR property, it's all muddy. I use a Stihl RM chain, and it holds it's edge better than more aggressive chains. There's actually a couple of threads on here about dirty wood. Since I've started working with a gypo, and getting my firewood freshly felled and limbed, it's not a problem anymore, but I've done plenty of dirty cutting.

Jeff

 

[lancer]

Thanks, guys, for the advice and suggestions. I'm already running an RM2 chain on my 260 and have been amazed at how well it holds its edge. I think I'll invest in a timberjackto minimize dirty cutting as much as possible. Again, thanks. BTW: What's a gypo?

Lance

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

BTW: What's a gypo?

Gypo logger. I think I've even seen a guy going by that name on here...

Basically, a gypo logger is a one-man or small compliment logger. Compared to a logging company with a staff of cutters, riggers, and all the guys that go along with getting timber to the mill, a gypo fells the trees, gets them out himself, yards them, and loads them onto the truck-often his own. He's small, mobile, and will often be able to work the smaller properties the bigger guys won't touch. I think the term comes from gypsy, and the nature of the gypo going to where the work is, and not having the big paper companies, and DNR come to him to clear 100 acres in one sitting.

And at your next opportunity, change that RM2 chain for a standard RM. You'll notice a world of difference-for the better!

Jeff

 

[Fireaxman]

I've got to argue with the guys who said "quit cringing" and "just get her done". I am making firewood out of 20 to 30" oak that we had to drag out through the mud. I was having to sharpen the RM2 on my 260 after every cut. I quit "getting her done" long enough to load the 6 to 11 foot logs out to my place, where I could get on them with a pressure washer. Took about an hour to pressure wash 22 trees, and my chain sharpening went down to twice a day. If you have a lot of wood to cut, and you can get to it with a pressure washer, I recomend it.

Cutting out on the dirty side, even if you have to bore in to a clean spot, also works well, and I'm going to try the RM chain as soon as I use up all my RM2's.

 

[lancer]

Thanks, Jeff, for the gypo explanation. There's gotta be a bunch of gypos here in Vermont - most of the jobs are on small chunks of land, smaller scale than out west.What's the difference 'tween RM2 and plain RM?

Fireaxman - As I said, I've been pleasantly surprised at how well the RM2 is holding an edge. I've probably gone through 8-10 tanks of gas and it's only now beginning to show the stress. Gotta admit, though, not every log was dragged through the mud. I don't wanta think about having to sharpen it every hour!

I'm cutting firewood in a sugarbush for next year's maple syrup production so a pressure washer is out of the question. The wood gets stacked in the sugarhouse to cure over the next year and there's no power to the sugarhouse. (I'm assuming a pressure washer needs some kind of a power source). It would be just too much of a pain in the ass to drag the wood out to a power source, wash it, then hafta drag it back into the woods again. But I've learned all kinds of stuff to keep the 260 cutting through the mud, the blood and the gore. Thanks again!

Lance