Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

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It looks like will be a pretty miserable time for scrounging.
Usually this time of the year there's always a lot to of free stuff to cut but this year nothing. I know where there's some free English walnut but I honestly don't like burning the stuff and to make matters worse it's piled straight on the ground, so who knows how much it's rotten. I had been promised a lot of Black locust and some Downy oak in return for taking the trees down but apparently the owner changed his mind and will keep the trees.
So I am basically stuck here with a dwindling supply of firewood.
My mother told me of a pile of abandoned ash and poplar trunks I could salvage, but as I cannot even find whom the land they are on belongs to I don't trust taking them.
With the woods straight behind me having become so hard to access (despite their communal status... yes, there's a pending lawsuit) I'll need to get inventive here... maybe become some sort of tree-stealing ninja. :laugh:
 
View attachment 631757 @rarefish383 not a great picture but here's the Dart in hibernation. Dad keeps the main door locked down with a Master lock so no pics of the business end.
That looks nice just sittin there. That's the same color and black vinyl top one of my high school Darts had. But, it had the hood and stripe delete, so it had a flat hood and no stripe. It was a 340 Swinger. Do you know a good Mopar body guy? I'd like to get to work on my 68. It's completely disassembled and media blasted, Joe.
 
...(despite their communal status... yes, there's a pending lawsuit) I'll need to get inventive here... maybe become some sort of tree-stealing ninja. :laugh:

Well now you've got me curious about the lawsuit. And I'm imagining your neighbor waking up one morning and noticing all his trees are gone while your firewood piles have substantially grown!
 
It looks like will be a pretty miserable time for scrounging.
Usually this time of the year there's always a lot to of free stuff to cut but this year nothing. I know where there's some free English walnut but I honestly don't like burning the stuff and to make matters worse it's piled straight on the ground, so who knows how much it's rotten. I had been promised a lot of Black locust and some Downy oak in return for taking the trees down but apparently the owner changed his mind and will keep the trees.
So I am basically stuck here with a dwindling supply of firewood.
My mother told me of a pile of abandoned ash and poplar trunks I could salvage, but as I cannot even find whom the land they are on belongs to I don't trust taking them.
With the woods straight behind me having become so hard to access (despite their communal status... yes, there's a pending lawsuit) I'll need to get inventive here... maybe become some sort of tree-stealing ninja. :laugh:

Visit your county tax assessor's office. By law they ahve to tell who is paying the taxes on any property you can point out on a map. I have made some great Black Locust scores that way.
 
With the woods straight behind me having become so hard to access (despite their communal status... yes, there's a pending lawsuit) I'll need to get inventive here... maybe become some sort of tree-stealing ninja. :laugh:

So you would normally be able to pop out the back and take stuff that's lying down? What's the lawsuit about, people dropping trees maybe?

Over here it is not legal to just go up into the bush and cut wood any more (not that that stops many people) but there are designated areas where people can cut wood that is already on the ground for personal firewood purposes. They rotate the areas a bit. It was a government attempt to lock up more bushland for more of the time while throwing a bone to the locals. You can cut a maximum of 16 cubes or a bit over 4 cord a year but it's normally slim pickins after several hundred people have gone through like locusts. Last year when I came across this one is a designated firewood collection area (in the end, we settled on red box as the most likely candidate @Jeffkrib)

16th Oct 4.jpg

There was an area there where people had dropped every tree in a 50m radius. Get caught doing that and you get 5 figure fines and they take all your stuff. One bloke got pinched cutting large amounts and selling it. Others go and cut a single trailer load then sell it and go back and get another which is difficult for the forestry police to stop. I got lucky with this tree since it had fallen less than a month or so prior, was green as grass and since it was October (heading towards summer) no-one was looking for wood so it was untouched. I have to head past that area again soon so I'll take the trailer and see if it is still there. You're not allowed to cut in these areas in the summer or winter months so it may well be. Red box is right up there on the density charts so it's worthwhile if I already have to go that way.
 
Here is my little elm pile. Might have a 1/2 a load left to haul home. Doesn't look like much but all would have gone on the brush pile if I hadn't taken it.

Will cut most with the saw rig. Little to no splitting here.



Looks good! Also looks like you're channeling @dancan albeit without the spruce.
 
Elm burns decent. I will get an enormous red oak from the same place. Sort of payment for helping clear the fence line.

We have 2 large hairy to take down (small shed they grew next to) box elders left to do. Then I will post a pic of the pile of boxies we saved for the furnace in their shop.

Burns fast but doesn't matter there.
 
What 2 might those be.
A Poulan 3314 and a Craftsman 5020. Both with cases. 3 chains with the Poulan. 2 chains with the craftsman. New bar on the craftsman. $100 for both but I wont ship.
 

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#@$% %$# 55 chainsaw. I have had this 55 saw setting on my bench for a year just waiting for me to put it together. Loss/misplaced all the bolts, broke the new ring installing the cyl. Things just keep getting worse. Did a little horse tradeing for a 51 to rob screws out of, but fixed it and traded it to my brother for his old worn out 50. Started last night taking the 50 apart and noticed right off the screws where different. Instead of allen head they where hex head. OK, as long as they will work they should be fine. Put cyl on the 55 and start to put the bolts in and the flange under the hex head wont drop thru the holes in the cyl. While going thru all my parts boxes I find enough head bolts to bolt head on. Time for flywheel. Took nut off 50 flywheel to put on the 55. started it and hit with with my 1/4impact and the nut didnt want to run up. Holding the flywheel with my hand and a little more tat tat tat and crank shaft starts spinning. Cut the keyway out of the flywheel. Well %&^$, Reverse impact and Nut comes off but looks like it pulled the threads off the crank. A 55 has a different thread pitch than a 50, who would have thought. Knock the flywheel off the 50 and another surprise. A 50 has a half moon keyway in the crank, and it wont work in a 55. Now I am competely Pissed. Decide to just pull the top end back off the 55 and bolt it to the 50 and make a 55 out of the 50. No go, the cyl has the same bolt pattern, but it wont fit down in the block of the 50. OK, now I have a torn down 50 on the bench and a partial 55 with new bearings and seals and a buggered crankshaft threads, and I still dont have enough parts too build a chainsaw. I think now the plans are to find another 55 or 51 for a parts saw and order a 44mm ring and change out the carb and choke on the 50. Saws might just set for another year, but they are coming off the bench. Will put in a box in the darkest corner of the shop and try to forget about them.
 
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