Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[Oldman47]

I'm not all that smart Ambull but I studied up before building my first tower. I bet I spent at least 2 months just reading before I ordered any of the components. The way prices came down a few years ago, it no longer pays to build your own but it sure did back then. I spent about $1200 for a machine it would have cost me $2000 to buy. The one I have now only cost me about $600 and is an even better machine. Lots of electronics have become so cheap they are almost disposables. I do keep old hard drives because I don't want their contents to become public but I transfer what I can to my new machine so that I don't need to install them all in the new box.
As Cruffler suggested, I just finished copying all of my critical files including family pictures to a 1.5T external drive using a simple USB connection. Now I can store it anywhere secure.

 

[cantoo]

200 ash logs are now 1800 rounds 16" long and ready to be split.
180 poplar logs are now 720 rounds 36" long and ready to split if I ever get time to work on my new splitter. Logs are 1 1/2 years old, starting to go punky fast.
4 gallons of mixed fuel , almost 2 gallons of bar oil, Stihl 660 and 440, sharpened chains maybe 6 times each, 3 gal of diesel in tractor.
About 15 hours of loading, marking, cutting, pushing into piles, sharpening chains and fueling.
Anyone wanna guess at the splitting hours that I'm going to be doing?

PS, my back is killing me.

 

[nmcqueen469]

That ash pile looks delicious!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[svk]

Dang, that's some serious output!

 

[cantoo]

Still have the big stuff left to do yet, some up to 24"x 12' long. And I have 250 logs 8" to 16"x 12' piled up in my back field yet. Couple more pics of the ash rounds.

 

[nomad_archer]

Hey guys, I'm looking at a new to me saw. I started a thread in chainsaws but I'm intersted in your opinions. Take a look and weigh in if you have a minute.


http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/husqvarna-365-x-torq-experience.285624/#post-5530711

I bought one on cl that has a 2012 manufacture date. I haven't really run it yet but I already like it. Mine was in pretty good shape and only $175. Which probably isn't typical. Get it why not.

 

[hardpan]

When you sweep across Upstate NY Letchworth State Park and Watkins Glen are definitely worth seeing, ditto Niagara Falls which is a little more commercial.

Upstate NY is nothing like NYC. We have the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains. And if you are near New Paltz, Minnewaska State Park is also beautiful.

I've talked to a few people from upstate New York and they were quick to say it is greatly different from New York City, more of a reason to take interest in the north. LOL Thanks for the recommendations. I'm taking notes.

 

[nomad_archer]

hardpan - New York City might as well be a different universe from upstate NY. I just vacationed in the finger lakes and it was one of the most beautiful places I have been. I loved it so much I am currently looking for a little cabin up there for hunting/fishing.

The scrounge around me is back to insanely slow as it has been all year. I have the beg for firewood ad up on CL and haven't been getting many bites this year. On the plus side I am nearly back to two years ahead. I will just have to keep trolling and hope for some bites. In the mean time I have been spending 1-2 days on the weekends fishing with my wife and daughter. I think my wife is addicted to fishing. Seriously she has been a "fisher woman" for two weeks now and has already bought a second rod for her and my daughter. I am still in charge of the tackle but now she is boat shopping.

 

[mainewoods]

A Delorme Atlas and Gazeteer of each state you visit is invaluable. It has a section with all the unique natural features of the state and precisely where they are located. You can find every road,trail,path, stream or pond there is. Incredible detail. Just about everyone has one up here, if they spend any time in the outdoors at all.

 

[woodenboater]

...but now she is boat shopping.

sniff, sniff. you are one lucky sumbitch. make sure it's a full console with camper top hopefully she'll let you drive it as well

 

[nomad_archer]

Thanks. She flat out asked me why I didn't get her into fishing earlier. What do you say to that? I think we are going to start out with a newer less than 10 year old used boat 14'-16' fishing boat. In the future possibly upgrade to a 18' ski and fish boat when my daughter gets old enough to want to be pulled behind the boat. Oh she doesn't want to drive she wants to fish.

 

[hardpan]

A Delorme Atlas and Gazeteer of each state you visit is invaluable. It has a section with all the unique natural features of the state and precisely where they are located. You can find every road,trail,path, stream or pond there is. Incredible detail. Just about everyone has one up here, if they spend any time in the outdoors at all.

I use Delorme routinely. You are right. It is a great zoomed-in detailed map with topography. It closely resembles what we used to use around here, Quadrangle Maps.When we narrow down our search I will likely buy ones for the states of greatest interest. They are particularly valuable for hilly or mountainous areas where roads are seldom orientated North-South like your stomping grounds. Thanks.

 

[hardpan]

hardpan - New York City might as well be a different universe from upstate NY. I just vacationed in the finger lakes and it was one of the most beautiful places I have been. I loved it so much I am currently looking for a little cabin up there for hunting/fishing.

The scrounge around me is back to insanely slow as it has been all year. I have the beg for firewood ad up on CL and haven't been getting many bites this year. On the plus side I am nearly back to two years ahead. I will just have to keep trolling and hope for some bites. In the mean time I have been spending 1-2 days on the weekends fishing with my wife and daughter. I think my wife is addicted to fishing. Seriously she has been a "fisher woman" for two weeks now and has already bought a second rod for her and my daughter. I am still in charge of the tackle but now she is boat shopping.

Well, everybody has an a$$ho1e. They all stink. New York state has NYC. LOL

 

[svk]

Well after using @MustangMike 's saws equipped with square filed chain I took the plunge and ordered a loop for each of my main saws. Also got a file and a great deal on a bar for my 2186 from Bailey's. Hope they arrive by Friday so I can test them out at the gtg this weekend.

 

[MustangMike]

Congrats Steve, I figured it was just a matter of time! Hope your stuff comes on time.

Hey, I sharpened Square File chain (w/o being able to try out the result) the day before my first GTG, talk about being nervous! I was thrilled it cut straight!

 

[svk]

Hope I can get the sharpening down fairly quickly. I guess a guy has to start somewhere.

 

[MustangMike]

Just try to feel when that file drops in to the factory angle, keep your stroke straight, and make sure the corners stay lined up ... you'll do just fine!

 

[hardpan]

Just try to feel when that file drops in to the factory angle, keep your stroke straight, and make sure the corners stay lined up ... you'll do just fine!

Is square filing any slower? When round filing I try to keep the file about 20% of the diameter above the tooth. Is square about the same? I think I read that the dimensions of a full chisel chain is the same for round or square file and with extra grinding one can go from round to square on the same chain, true?

 

[svk]

I may be way off base here but Square seems easier than round. With Square, the file seems to lock in at the right angle versus round takes some practice to free file efficiently.

 

[MustangMike]

Square file & Round (full chisel) have the same tooth, but it is ground differently. You can convert round to square, and vice versa, but you had better have a machine grinder, it is a lot of work. A square file is really a six sided file, but is is not a hexagon, and it is not round.

With both round & square you have to pay attention to your filing angles, but with square, you also have to ensure the corner of the file remains in the corner of the tooth, so a proper stroke is very important. Once you get used to square, I think it is as easy as filing round by hand, but a lot of people have trouble getting used to it.

Also, square is generally filed from the outside in, and round generally from the inside out, but I have seen these rules broken both both camps.

Madsen's website has a lot of information on it.