Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

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I've had some bad ones on the dirt, and some long painful ones on the street. It sucks when all you can do is just surf it out until it eventually catches and sends you tumbling, then you get to look at your bike still sliding/tumbling when you finally stop :cry: .
The last one on the road I called my wife to pick me up, being the awesome woman she is she asked me if I wanted her to bring the trailer 😍, I said no, just hurry. When she got there and asked why I didn't want the trailer, I explained that I only had so much time before the adrenaline ran out and I needed to scrub out my wounds lol. She asked me not to ride not long after that one, it was the third time going down that summer and our son was 1, not sure why me doing wheelies past the van at 70+ was a problem, maybe it was when they didn't go so well :laugh:.
A friend from school and his father are both paralyzed waist down from dirt bike accidents :oops:.
He's a real go getter though, you should see his off-road wheelchair, looks like this one except better quality/ more H/D.
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I'm a little more mellow on the street...I mean the average motorist probably things I'm riding like a hooligan, but I leave a safety margin with my street riding. That also doesn't mean that I ride recklessly in the dirt, it's just that I'm usually closer to the "edge" when dirt riding.

It's probably a good thing I don't have quite the same confidence on the street like I do in the dirt. I can still rip around pretty well on a street bike, but I'm constantly thinking about all my rider inputs when I'm riding hard. On the dirt, it's all second nature and I just feel in the "zone."

My big wreck a couple years ago was when I was leading a couple of the local fast high school kids on a "trail ride" out in the desert. Like trail rides often do, it evolved into more of an unofficial race. My own stupid pride wouldn't allow some kids to be faster than me, so I really started dialing the pace up...it was working until I stuffed the front in some deep sand whoops and lawn-darted myself into one of the whoop faces.

One of the kid's dads thanked me later on lol...said his kid slowed it down after watching my incident. It didn't last long, as he still rips on a dirt bike and is now trying to turn pro, racing mountain bikes. 🤷‍♂️
I spent most of my youth racing MX and Enduros and did OK with injuries except for one. Never owned a street bike but I was a motorcycle mechanic and got my fill of street riding testing the bikes I worked on, especially intermittent problems.
In MX I broke or cracked something in my left shoulder. Enduro in the Jersey Pine Barrons I broke a bone in my hand hitting a tree. Super tight trail and we would put 26" wide bars on the bikes for Jersey.
Enduro in North PA I came across a rider down with severe hip pain. Not much I could do and eventually others stopped to help including a trail sweeper. So I take off and start riding over my head to make up time. Hit a rock which shoots me into the woods where I hit a tree. So now I'm on the ground squirming with severe hip pain. This happened on top of a mountain and it took the ambulance crew over an hour to hike up to me. The trip back down in a basket was horrible even with morphine. I get wheeled into my room at the little hospital and laying in the other bed was the guy I stopped for, also with a broken hip. The doctor on call was an equestrian who hated dirt bikes. He was out riding his horse and had to be called into the hospital. I swear he was pushing and pulling on us just to create pain and being verbally abusive. :dumb:

A better day.
Grand Champion Pa.jpg
 
I spent most of my youth racing MX and Enduros and did OK with injuries except for one. Never owned a street bike but I was a motorcycle mechanic and got my fill of street riding testing the bikes I worked on, especially intermittent problems.
In MX I broke or cracked something in my left shoulder. Enduro in the Jersey Pine Barrons I broke a bone in my hand hitting a tree. Super tight trail and we would put 26" wide bars on the bikes for Jersey.
Enduro in North PA I came across a rider down with severe hip pain. Not much I could do and eventually others stopped to help including a trail sweeper. So I take off and start riding over my head to make up time. Hit a rock which shoots me into the woods where I hit a tree. So now I'm on the ground squirming with severe hip pain. This happened on top of a mountain and it took the ambulance crew over an hour to hike up to me. The trip back down in a basket was horrible even with morphine. I get wheeled into my room at the little hospital and laying in the other bed was the guy I stopped for, also with a broken hip. The doctor on call was an equestrian who hated dirt bikes. He was out riding his horse and had to be called into the hospital. I swear he was pushing and pulling on us just to create pain and being verbally abusive. :dumb:

A better day.
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That's awesome, not the accident/ hospital part ;).
I figured such with your username :p.
Back in the late 70s iirc (maybe early 80s), my buddies dad won a lot of woods races on a 490 Maico. One time we were Messing around with it and tipped it over, it was everything we could do to stand it back up 😆.
 
That's awesome, not the accident/ hospital part ;).
I figured such with your username :p.
Back in the late 70s iirc (maybe early 80s), my buddies dad won a lot of woods races on a 490 Maico. One time we were Messing around with it and tipped it over, it was everything we could do to stand it back up 😆.
I can imagine what was going through your minds. :innocent: One of my MX bikes was a radial fin 400 Maico. Back then Maico was known for awesome suspension and handling. Also "Maico Breako" comes to mind, but I didn't have too many problems with mine. :)
 
came across a couple nails I managed to miss with the saws. Loaded the trailer stacked rather than just tossed in and it's definitely heavier. Poor little Kubota did quite a wheelie moving it from the split pile to where I stack. Super hot out so I'm quitting for the day View attachment 998493
Yes, it's hot! I've been stacking the camp wood from the yard pine I recently took down. Won't get it all done.

I like your trailer. Wish I had one like that.
 
For firewood I see no benefit with either, except what you mentioned, it's easier to source .050. I usually find better deals on the other sizes as they are more the odd ball, but with the x-cut chain being so new I think they are keeping the price up as it's "specialty" chain for husky.
The .063 is supposed to carry more oil for milling and long bar setups, I've never noticed a difference in my cutting. I sell everything .058/.063 and keep the .050 stuff for myself, but even so I still have a lot that isn't .050.
I will say that the x-cut chain is some of the best I've used, I believe that if the stihl RS fan boys gave it a chance they would switch, it's much smoother, holds and edge great (probably as hard as RS) and cuts just as fast as RS in hardwood.
Definatly agree, it's every bit as good as stihl rs and a good but cheaper right now. I've never noticed a difference in oiling longer bars, but my 36" bar is .063" mire so because I got the bar cheap and 6 or so chains to go with it. I so rarely use it and don't hardly get the Alaskan mill out they will last me a long, long time.
 
Now that we have this ginormous battery, it's only a matter of time before the DeWalt chainsaw shows up around here
I have a little 12" dewalt... I'm kinda ashamed its become my go to lazy saw for small stuff around the house. 5ah batteries don't do too bad in it, does ok in hardwood, doesn't have near the chain speed of a gas saw but does have some grunt. Truth be told it's just easy to use and quiet.
 
View attachment 998490View attachment 998491View attachment 998492came across a couple nails I managed to miss with the saws. Loaded the trailer stacked rather than just tossed in and it's definitely heavier. Poor little Kubota did quite a wheelie moving it from the split pile to where I stack. Super hot out so I'm quitting for the day View attachment 998493
What size kubota? I use my B7510 to move my deck over and equipment trailer without issue when they are loaded.
 
Warmed up quite a bit today. Got 90% of the junk wood cleaned up and burned last night. Was a pretty late night till it stopped flaming and coaled up. I start my night shift rotation tonight so won't be getting much done around the house again. My uncle showed up with 8 yards of mulch this morning, he actually woke me up. Said he was just trying to beat the heat of the day. Can't blame him, and till I get home it should hopefully be cooled off enough to move the mulch around for the wife.
I did have to chew on him, guess it's been a while since he's greased the dump trailer and the hinges were squealing as it went up. Unfortunately I didn't have time to grease it ad I had to get the kids ready to be dropped off and head for work.... I should only have 2 more summers of the late shift, then I'll have enough new guys under me to switch back to morning shift. These stupid hours don't let much time to get things done. I'll wake everyone up if I start anything after work, and if I get up early I'll wake everyone up too. Not ideal....
 
For firewood I see no benefit with either, except what you mentioned, it's easier to source .050. I usually find better deals on the other sizes as they are more the odd ball, but with the x-cut chain being so new I think they are keeping the price up as it's "specialty" chain for husky.
The .063 is supposed to carry more oil .....
I guess I should just stick with what I've got 0.063. At times, my bar appears to get hot despite the oiler working properly and the oil hole/path being clear. Probably due to dull/improperly sharpened chain, but that's for another day. I've seen mentioned a heavy duty oiler can be installed but I don't know about the availability for the 038.
 
I guess I should just stick with what I've got 0.063. At times, my bar appears to get hot despite the oiler working properly and the oil hole/path being clear. Probably due to dull/improperly sharpened chain, but that's for another day. I've seen mentioned a heavy duty oiler can be installed but I don't know about the availability for the 038.
Possibly the chain being dull or the rakers not set properly for the cutters. Sometimes opening up the hole in the bar will give enough to help on certain models, but I don't recall anyone having that problem with an 038.
Yep, if you already have .063, I see no immediate benefit to switching if your bar doesn't need replacing; but when it does, I'd consider .050.
 
Got the rough opening for the tires to clear cut out today. Also removed some of the decking as I'm going to need to cut some off, and then I'll be cutting the dovetail off. The dovetail will get welded back on once I get everything situated for the flat portion and the back 5' cut at the proper angle. Also I may cut out some diamond shaped pieces to put on the back side to strengthen it at the seam. I'll need some to buy some metal for the filler behind the wheels/tires and also to connect all the pieces of 6" C-channel where I cut out for tire clearance, and also the flat aluminum to make the fenders.
Would have gotten more done, but I let the smoke out of my buddies 50yr old saw:laughing:.
One time I fired it up to help cool it down and it blew out a ball of fire :blob2:.
20220625_152458.jpg20220625_152508.jpg
I was thinking about replacing it with this one, I think it's the exact same one :). He would tell me me not to, but it is a nice loaner. He has good pro grade finish carpentry tools(that dependingon the person he wouldn't lend out), he built all his kitchen cabinets with, they are all hickory.
Screenshot_20220625-191617_Chrome.jpg

20220625_155744.jpg
 
Got the rough opening for the tires to clear cut out today. Also removed some of the decking as I'm going to need to cut some off, and then I'll be cutting the dovetail off. The dovetail will get welded back on once I get everything situated for the flat portion and the back 5' cut at the proper angle. Also I may cut out some diamond shaped pieces to put on the back side to strengthen it at the seam. I'll need some to buy some metal for the filler behind the wheels/tires and also to connect all the pieces of 6" C-channel where I cut out for tire clearance, and also the flat aluminum to make the fenders.
Would have gotten more done, but I let the smoke out of my buddies 50yr old saw:laughing:.
One time I fired it up to help cool it down and it blew out a ball of fire :blob2:.
View attachment 998585View attachment 998587
I was thinking about replacing it with this one, I think it's the exact same one :). He would tell me me not to, but it is a nice loaner. He has good pro grade finish carpentry tools(that dependingon the person he wouldn't lend out), he built all his kitchen cabinets with, they are all hickory.
View attachment 998596

View attachment 998592
I've been thinking about getting a heavier deck over, but this seems like the thing to do. Very good idea. Half the work is done and it should be lighter then a fully steel framed construction. Really like seeing the progress!
 
Bx1870. Littlest one!
Ah I see, stout little machines none the less. Funny thing is they arnt much lighter then the B series weight wise. But for some reason it seems I can do a lot more with the B series when it come to moving heavy things around (using the term heavy loosely here) my neighbor down the lane has a pretty old bx, he's the reason I wanted a B series.
 
I've been thinking about getting a heavier deck over, but this seems like the thing to do. Very good idea. Half the work is done and it should be lighter then a fully steel framed construction. Really like seeing the progress!
Thanks bud.
Not sure you'd have the time for it lol, it took me about 9 months to get back at it :oops:. I'm trying hard to stay focused on getting it finished.
Ah I see, stout little machines none the less. Funny thing is they arnt much lighter then the B series weight wise. But for some reason it seems I can do a lot more with the B series when it come to moving heavy things around (using the term heavy loosely here) my neighbor down the lane has a pretty old bx, he's the reason I wanted a B series.
I really like my B2620, but I want another zero turn, our place has too many obstacles to mow around.
I've ran the BX's and I'd rather have the B series, but the BX is better if you want to use it for mowing an area that has a lot of obstacles.
 
Thanks bud.
Not sure you'd have the time for it lol, it took me about 9 months to get back at it :oops:. I'm trying hard to stay focused on getting it finished.

I really like my B2620, but I want another zero turn, our place has too many obstacles to mow around.
I've ran the BX's and I'd rather have the B series, but the BX is better if you want to use it for mowing an area that has a lot of obstacles.
No with this weird 1 to 9 shift I'm working, and working a lot of weekends I don't have a ton of time. But I'm not in a real hurry either. Neat project though.

I keep one of my old cubs around to mow with, I have a deck for the B but it's always in the way for loader work, and too wide really. 44 inch deck is needed to mow around half my yard. Could get by with a 50 but it would be tight. I'd love to get a another zero turn, but the last one didn't do hills very well. Just a cheap homeowners grade. I did borrow a friend's exmark and it did really well, but came with a $12k new price tag...
 
Yep, if you already have .063, I see no immediate benefit to switching if your bar doesn't need replacing; but when it does, I'd consider .050
If you are concerned about chain prices, and come across a good deal in a different gauge (or DL count), consider buying a second bar to match. Guide bars are a consumable: you’ll need a new one eventually, anyways.

A good chain deal might cover the cost of a new bar. Just keep the different chains sorted out.

Philbert
 

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