Steve's County land firewood adventures (pic intensive)

[Steve NW WI]

how tall'r ya. reason i'm asking is i've been pondering a fiskars. but undecided as to a x25 or the x27. does the 25 seem long enough for ya? or do ya think you could get more umph out of a 27?

I do my splitting on top of another block, so the shorter one works well for me. If I split on the ground it might be more of an issue. I'm 5'10" BTW. As far as oomph, I dunno, would have to have em side by side to tell for sure.

 

[MN Ripper]

So Steve ya going to continue cutting until the snow gets to deep or did your fill your quota already? Nice firewood work & best of luck deer slaying!:msp_thumbup:

 

[howellhandmade]

If you are on the taller side, I would suggest the X27. I am 6'1" and have the X25 and it takes a while to get comfortable with the short handle. I will be buying the X27 soon.

I'm 6'4", have both and prefer the shorter one. It's the Super Splitter, not the X25, if there's a difference.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Dragging this thread back out, as I got back up there last Saturday for a load. A couple of these pics have been posted elsewhere, and I apologize, but some are new.

Pic of the scene when I pulled in, looked the same as when I left it last in November. I guess no one else wants my spot:

I got the last log from the 4 trees in one base cut up, a couple smaller ones that were off to the side (forgot to get pics of them), and now I have a little landing to skid tops out to:

With that top, I had a good load on:

All split up:

I'll get a stacked pic after I finish stacking it, the wind is kinda cold out on the hilltop, and I've got plenty to do inside today.

 

[Beefie]

Thanks for the pics Earl. I hope to be able to get out this weekend and do some cutting myself.

Beefie

 

[MN Ripper]

Dragging this thread back out, as I got back up there last Saturday for a load. A couple of these pics have been posted elsewhere, and I apologize, but some are new.

Pic of the scene when I pulled in, looked the same as when I left it last in November. I guess no one else wants my spot:

Steve no one wants your spot because you scared them all away when you showed up with a truck full of firewood thirsty Dolmars! They knew you meant business-so stay the heck out of this guys way they thought!

 

[Steve NW WI]

Steve no one wants your spot because you scared them all away when you showed up with a truck full of firewood thirsty Dolmars! They knew you meant business-so stay the heck out of this guys way they thought!

Either that, or more likely, saw my truck pulling out and mistakenly thought it went in there in better shape than it was coming out!

I hunted a lot of that area during deer season, and there are plenty of places where firewooders are hard at it. Just a 1/4 mile from where I'm at, there's a lot more down right off a fire lane, and there'd probably been 40 cords or so already taken out of there, with probably twice that still in there.

 

[Steve NW WI]

In the last episode of Steve goes North for firewood, Steve promised a pic of the last haul stacked. I kinda forgot, but here's a pic from today. 1 & almost 2/3 cords.

Now I've got room for skidding up there, and a little bit of snow to keep the wood clean. Here's the pile of tops I got today, truck ready to do some work:

First one drug out. It took some pretty good tugs to get moving, but went pretty easy after that. Each top was a little easier to drag as they weren't tangled together as much.

Here's a poor shot of the load and the brush pile I'm stacking on the quad stumps where it's out of my way (and some good rabbit habitat when I come back hunting!):

Got that corner pretty well cleaned out, there's a couple branches and a small tree still there, but I had my load already (well a little short, but I'd have been pretty heavy if I finished what's there).

I've been keeping tabs on costs, it's about $50/cord more to haul it home from 27 miles away than it does to cut at home, if I value my time at $20/hour. It's about half fuel cost and half my time cost. But, it's nice wood, a nice relaxing trip, and I don't currently have a lot of dead oaks at home to cut, so I'm "saving" my woods. I don't know if I'll get another permit next year, but I'm gonna finish the rest of this permit, and see what opportunities I have locally. I've got about 6 more loads to get home to fill the 5 cord permit I bought.

Side note (atheists and agnostics stop reading here): I was loading up some rounds, took a little break and looked around. The woods are absolutely beautiful on a sunny winter day. A ways off I heard squirrels barking, otherwise it was peace and quiet. The thought crossed my mind, Lord, thanks for a perfect day!

 

[Steve NW WI]

It's been a while since I got up that way to get some wood. Now I'm down to crunch time, my permit expires April 1st, and I still need about 5 more loads. I got a small one today, just doing cleanup on some small stuff. It took 7 or 8 sticks to get a meager load. Tomorrow I'll move up the hill to some bigger stuff and have time for a full load before I go to work. (And before it gets too warm to cut...)

Here's a couple pics. first is the proper use for the much maligned (and normally correctly so) "farmer cut". When it's on the ground but still behind the stump, some angle on it and it slides right off.

The other end of the chain, and today's handy hint. When you're working in brush and other stuff that likes to claw at safety pins on hitches, put the pin in upside down with the safety pin on top. NOTE: This is not a good idea when pulling something on the road, or where bad things can happen if the pin falls out.

Finally, a pic of the slightly meager load. Probably only 1/3 cord on there. At least I don't have much to unload in the morning.

As long as I keep at it, I'll have my quota next week sometime, and just have a pile to split. I've got a fenceline to clean up when I get done with this, and before the planters roll.

 

[Stihlman441]

Nice thread there Steve,thanks for taking the time to share.

 

[Iska3]

You must have been working. Looks like you got some nice wood there.

Nice Pictures.

 

[Steve NW WI]

I got a decent load today - well, maybe a bit more than I planned. Lets just say it was a very smooth ride home.

Here's a shot looking back down on where I had been cutting:

These are the 3 I worked on today. The smaller one on the right I drug out and cut all of it up. The center and left ones, I cut the main beams up. I'll get the tops on the next run. I was tight on time again, and determined to get a full load.

Here's the finished product. Sitting in the road ditch is magnifying the squat a little, but I wasn't too far off the bump stops. I think these things are sucking up what moisture they can through what roots are left. They're wet and h-e-a-v-y! Mostly, I took the pic here to show why I can get around so easy up there. Pure sand!

A couple of tips for today. First, when you can't find your homemade bar cleaner tool, an old credit card (or in this case, a used up gift card) works just fine!

And last but not least, a reminder. Treat every gun as if it's loaded, even paint guns!

4 loads to go and 16 days to get done. I'm feeling better about it than I was on Monday. I doubt I'll get up there tomorrow, but Friday is a possibility. I might get some splitting done in the AM, but it depends how well the ground is drying up by the wood stacks. I don't want to spend all summer mowing across ruts. Made that mistake last spring.

 

[Blazin]

You cut that window? :hmm3grin2orange:

Nice pics Steve!

 

[beerman6]

:biggrinbounce2:

 

[LumberjkChamp]

I'm a life long chevy guy. I love to see the pictures of your old iron still earning its keep. It is an impressive wood hauler. But, the picture in the ditch made me wince. You probably noticed that the frame is racking just a tick more than it should. I hope I am wrong though.

I know someone who had an '89 Chevy half-ton, had a full load of Maple on, he heard a loud bang and felt the truck settle some. Long story short, it had to be loaded on a trailer in two pieces. It was a shame. It was a good old truck, I like to think it could have hauled a few more loads.

 

[Steve NW WI]

You cut that window? :hmm3grin2orange:

Nice pics Steve!

No, but I better get it cleaned off before I start the saws again, or they'll think it's a good idea!

I'm a life long chevy guy. I love to see the pictures of your old iron still earning its keep. It is an impressive wood hauler. But, the picture in the ditch made me wince. You probably noticed that the frame is racking just a tick more than it should. I hope I am wrong though.

I know someone who had an '89 Chevy half-ton, had a full load of Maple on, he heard a loud bang and felt the truck settle some. Long story short, it had to be loaded on a trailer in two pieces. It was a shame. It was a good old truck, I like to think it could have hauled a few more loads.

To quote an annoying line from one of my old bosses, "It is what it is". There's no driveway or even logging trail access to where I'm at, and this was the best spot I found to go in and out. I don't banzai in and out of there, or much of anywhere for that matter. The old girl is 1200 miles shy of 200K, and pretty much spent the last 10 years hauling wood for it's last owner and me. It's tired all around, but I suspect it'll be around a bit longer. The other option is to sell it to some kid that's gonna blow the motor or wrap it around a tree within a week. I think I'm the lesser of two evils

 

[LumberjkChamp]

To quote an annoying line from one of my old bosses, "It is what it is". There's no driveway or even logging trail access to where I'm at, and this was the best spot I found to go in and out. I don't banzai in and out of there, or much of anywhere for that matter. The old girl is 1200 miles shy of 200K, and pretty much spent the last 10 years hauling wood for it's last owner and me. It's tired all around, but I suspect it'll be around a bit longer. The other option is to sell it to some kid that's gonna blow the motor or wrap it around a tree within a week. I think I'm the lesser of two evils

Ha! Yeah, that is a real annoying line. I know someone who says that. "It is what it is" Gets me every time. Heck, you're not even over 200K yet? Shoot, she's got some miles still in 'er. Got a '95 with 215K on it. Runs fine. I'd like to keep it around for a while too.

 

[savageactor7]

Hey as long as this topic got resurrected I waned to chime in how much I liked the very 1st pic you posted Steve. Real nice touch with that Chevy logo...and I'm a big fan of older working trucks too.

 

[Steve NW WI]

Hey as long as this topic got resurrected I waned to chime in how much I liked the very 1st pic you posted Steve. Real nice touch with that Chevy logo...and I'm a big fan of older working trucks too.

Thanks! I made it at the last place I worked. The one thing I miss about that job was the ability to make "government projects" like that. The place I work now is a much bigger outfit and they frown on that kind of stuff.

I'll never have a wood hauler without a headache rack of some sort again. Life is too short to live in fear of a broken window. I throw rounds right at the rack on this truck, and chuckle a bit when they bounce off it. I am easily amused!

 

[Dalmatian90]

The other option is to sell it to some kid that's gonna blow the motor or wrap it around a tree within a week. I think I'm the lesser of two evils

Step father sold is Dodge 3/4 ton to a mutual friend.

We're at Ron's one day, and he has a new (used) pickup. Ed asked what happened to his old one...Ron's face fell.

"Sold it to a guy around the block. Week later his son and a friend took it joyriding...and drove it into a tree."

==========
Anyway...I'm hoping to buy a car in the next few weeks.

The Ranger has a 226,000 miles and counting. It could live for years to come doing firewood & dump runs...but every time I make the weekly 100 mile round trip for work with it I feel like I'm living on seriously borrowed time!