Tell me about summer wood cutting.

[SpiralAcacia]

Wear a good sweatband

:agree2::agree2::agree2:

Priceless!
Sweat in yer eyes is a real hazard, and a real PITA...

SA

 

[RAMROD48]

You guys with bee allergies....have you never heard of an EPIPEN??...

I have one in the glove box....cant be without it....and its the sweet smell in the wood that attracts them...I have however noticed as long as I dont bother them they are pretty docile...

I am very much allergic and keep myself very aware of my surroundings when in the woods...

That being said i do take out all the nests i can find...I just do it very carefully...

 

[mtfallsmikey]

You guys with bee allergies....have you never heard of an EPIPEN??...

I have one in the glove box....cant be without it....and its the sweet smell in the wood that attracts them...I have however noticed as long as I dont bother them they are pretty docile...

I am very much allergic and keep myself very aware of my surroundings when in the woods...

That being said i do take out all the nests i can find...I just do it very carefully...

Ever been hit 11 times with your saw buried in some wood, and you have no clue where they came from?

Yes I have...I have 3 Epi's as a matter of fact, one stays with me at all times. What if you get hit with multiple stings in blood vessells/arteries? Will you have enough time to get to your truck/cell phone to call 911? How long will it take for the squad to find you? ....and an epipen/epenephrine is no guarantee either...Ask me how I know.

 

[CWME]

You guys with bee allergies....have you never heard of an EPIPEN??...

I have one in the glove box....cant be without it....and its the sweet smell in the wood that attracts them...I have however noticed as long as I dont bother them they are pretty docile...

I am very much allergic and keep myself very aware of my surroundings when in the woods...

That being said i do take out all the nests i can find...I just do it very carefully...

I have two EPIPENS on me when outside. Two more in the truck if the first two don't do it. Cell phone is always on me, if I can't get reception I don't go there in the summer months alone. The last reaction started within 15-20 seconds and within the two minute marker I was laying on my back burning/swelling up completely incapacitated. Doc said the next time I get hit might be my last. My dog Gunner stood there and took the brunt of the hits while I was running for the house. Poor boy got hit 10-12 times and may well have saved my life. No joke

 

[beerman6]

Thats gotta suck.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Thats gotta suck.

Especially when your windpipe starts closing up and you can't breathe.

 

[beerman6]

From what I've read here,you need a MS-361 then nothing bad can happen to you.

 

[RAMROD48]

When I was 14 I was stung 250(Dr. estimates) times (yellow jackets) in a barn, while forking a pile of hay chaff to heffers in a lower section...had to be rushed to the hospital....took days to fully recover...I can remeber the first stings and thinking, wow that was weird...then looking down and relizing that my arms were "crawling"...then looked down and my legs were "crawling"

Screamed like a girl I did...

So yes I do know what its like to get hit multiple times...

 

[RAMROD48]

From what I've read here,you need a MS-361 then nothing bad can happen to you.

I heard that, and think there might be some validity to it...

 

[Kingsley]

There is some good advice here, but there are also a lot of reminders of why I don't cut firewood in the summer!

 

[Curlycherry1]

I used to cut all year round. A lot of stuff has been mentioned but there are some benefits and some drawbacks.

Conditions are dry so you will not rip the place up much. Good dry ground is easy to get good traction on compared to slippery snow. Leaves on the trees and underbrush make planning roads a pain. I used to have to drop everything that needed to come down first and then figure out where my roads needed to go. That could be a problem because the leaves on the downed trees often blocked the views to the best roads.

The wood is heavier, but even if you can leave it on the ground, blocked and in the sun for just a few weeks, the water that will leave it will be impressive. That lightens it up a fair amount.

Pouring rain can be your friend. I used to just put on the raingear and block wood to my heart's content when the rain was pouring down. It allowed me to make money when I could not do other things like construction.

 

[CWME]

When I was 14 I was stung 250(Dr. estimates) times (yellow jackets) in a barn, while forking a pile of hay chaff to heffers in a lower section...had to be rushed to the hospital....took days to fully recover...I can remeber the first stings and thinking, wow that was weird...then looking down and relizing that my arms were "crawling"...then looked down and my legs were "crawling"

Screamed like a girl I did...

That is a seriously bad day Ramrod. Not only were you stung but you screamed like a gal. I have "never" done that and definately can not relate... Wink Wink

beerman6 From what I've read here,you need a MS-361 then nothing bad can happen to you.

I just got a MS-460 two days ago, I must be made of Stihl(get it steel haha)

 

[banshee67]

well damn!! 250 stings, i would cry like a girl ! lol

i got stung right in the eyelid last year, another 1/2 inch down and he would have got me right in the eyeball clean.
within 10 mins looked like someone kicked me in the eyes, i hate hornets, beers, wasps, etc. just flattened one with a magazine 5 mins ago

 

[stihl sawing]

I feel for you guys that are allergic to bees. A guy here at work is and he will swell up big time when stung. Weird thing is he just got that way, he didn't use to be allergic to them. I've been stung twice already this year by red wasp.

 

[RAMROD48]

I feel for you guys that are allergic to bees. A guy here at work is and he will swell up big time when stung. Weird thing is he just got that way, he didn't use to be allergic to them. I've been stung twice already this year by red wasp.

Thats actually common and can work in reverse also...

 

[Curlycherry1]

My dad kept honeybees for years and got stung fairly often with never a problem. Then one day he got stung and in <3 minutes he could barely breathe. A rush to the hospital and he was declared dead when he got there but they zapped him and brought him back around. He carried epi for years.

He was not happy when at 10 years of age I decided to take up raising bees.

I witnessed first hand how important an epipen can be. At a Christmas party a peanut hyper allergic kid got some peanuts in a treat and ate them. About 3-4 minutes later she was going down fast and her parents did not have an epi pen with them. Another parent had one and so we used it and it brought the kid around very fast. The paramedics that came said she would not have been alive by the time they got there if it were not for that shot.

Parents got a major dope slap for not being prepared.

 

[TreePointer]

I read (on AS if I recall correctly) about a tree that was dropped with a hornets nest in it. Ever since, I've been keeping an eye out for hanging nests on the tree I'm felling and on other trees that may be struck on the way down.

Essentially, the major difference for me with summer cutting is taking more breaks. Sometimes I'll go out but cut the whole day short because it's just too hot; but most of the time I just wait for cooler days.

 

[CWME]

Thats actually common and can work in reverse also...

Not to continue to hijack the thread but I fall into this category as well. The reactions are getting progresively worse as they happen.

As a safety reminder, if someone you are around is alergic and gets hit, call for help even if they have a Pen. One shot may bring them around for a few mins but it may not last. Get them to medical profesionals as fast as possible.

Feel like a big sissy with running away from little hornet. Little buggers have their place though.

I can't imagine working in an area with poisonous snakes, that has got to get the blood pumping when you run into one of those. Gives me the willies just thinking of it. I am sure good leather boots will help but what about your hands/Arms when picking up a piece of wood?

 

[BigE]

A hat comes in handy, especially out in the sun. You wouldn't wear it while cutting, of course, but when splitting / stacking...

Not a baseball either, a real hat. You'd be amazed how much cooler you feel wearing a good ventilated hat. Those ten gallon hats weren't just for decoration...

 

[Steve NW WI]

Good stuff so far. I'll just add a couple things. Take your time clearing your escape routes when felling. Summer growth can hide stuff that will trip ya when you least need that.

Also, if you have oak wilt in the area, you should avoid cutting oak from spring till mid summer.

I cut when I get a chance, but prefer winter. I think the skeeters up here are addicted to DEET!