Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[dfkrug]

Silly question, how do you keep the cookie from checking & cracking. I have a nice 36" diameter maple log that's 20" long or so, 8 want to cut a 3" slice to turn into a side table top, but I figure it will check within hours?

It is nearly impossible to stop the checking. If the air is dry and there's a wind, you can get cracks in just a day.

That said, you can try to dry it uniformly and slowly, as 4570 says. The other cookie that I cut several weeks ago, I coated the end grain of all but the center 12" or so with AnchorSeal. That is expensive goo, used just for that purpose. My goal is to dry the center before the outer parts. When everything shrinks at the same rate, the outer parts have no where to go, so you get a big crack. I don't want to pay for kiln-drying at a shop, so I try to get creative. Also, uniform drying, even at a slow rate, can still result in checking.

Another thing I have done is cut the cookie in half, and reattach after drying. To get creative again, you can use a contrasting wood strip at the juncture of the 2 halves.

 

[dfkrug]

I've been dethrone, before this 52" bar showed my Jonsered 2171 with 36" bar was king. First time me seeing a Husqvarna 2100 CD, old school power.

This is the 2nd 2100 I have had, just purchased on eBay. I posted earlier about my personal 2100 with 36" bar that I have had for more than 5y.

I got this one to replace a friend's blown-up Stihl 084, which just needs too much to fix economically. Too old to get new P&C.

Older saws like this are really nice if you do chainsaw milling cuz they have a supplementary oil pump. They are new enough to have electronic ignition, but you can't really buy new pistons/cylinders.

 

[groundcover]

I have heated up paraffin and turpentine half and half and brushed it on to keep wood from checking. Store the wood in a cool dark place for a year or two, good luck !

 

[goeduck]

I have not added to this thread in a while, so....

I just got this new 52" Forester bar and another Husqvarna 2100CD. I hauled it up one of my trails to cut this fir log, and harvest a cookie. A 47" cookie, about 3.5" thick, and weighing over 100#. I needed every inch of that bar, which has 51" usable after removing the bucking spike.

I needed the tractor to carry the saw up the trail, which is kinda steep and long, and to carry out the cookie. The log, I am leaving there, after moving it with the loader and backhoe.

Nice. What kind of wood is it?

 

[dfkrug]

Nice. What kind of wood is it?

This is a douglas fir, which fell over last year as a result of a neighbor's leaking water line on a 110% slope. It is about 55" diameter at 4'.

I just milled the first cut off this deodar cedar, felled a couple of weeks ago. That was with my Husky 2100/36" and Grandberg mill.

 

[Jstpssng]

Where did you price them? If you go that route let me know, I might be interested.

The price I got was from Dorr's equipment in Bangor. A set of six weights were about a buck per pound, plus the $150 crate fee. I don't remember the exact weight but is was somewhere around 350 lbs.
If you have a good relationship with Union Tractor you may be able to get them to waive that, if they order the weights with another tractor.



This is what they use in log yards to keep ends from checking and prevent staining;
ANCHORSEAL - #1 Wax End Sealer Prevents End Checks - U-C Coatings

And here's a discussion of the same on Woodweb. However both are geared more toward logs, not cookies like what you guys are talking about.

Log End Sealant Cost and Alternatives

 

[John_Mc]

I've got a question. I got a E-mail from Hudson the other day and they had both a double Snatch block and the single Snatch block. Both are self releasing. My question is would the double Snatch block be worth it? it has different places to hook the strap I guess.

To be clear, the Hud-son "double snatch block" has two attachment points, not two blocks. I can't imagine a situation where that feature would be at all helpful. Seems to me like just more weight and more stuff to get in the way.

 

[Citydude]

I've got a question. I got a E-mail from Hudson the other day and they had both a double Snatch block and the single Snatch block. Both are self releasing. My question is would the double Snatch block be worth it? it has different places to hook the strap I guess.

I never knew a double self releasing snatch block existed. More so, how would it work?

 

[Citydude]

To be clear, the Hud-son "double snatch block" has two attachment points, not two blocks. I can't imagine a situation where that feature would be at all helpful. Seems to me like just more weight and more stuff to get in the way.

View attachment 648078

Thanks John!

 

[hunt4570]

Oh I forgot you dont have AGs.

Checked my manual, ag size for this tractor is 12.4-24,13.6-24 or 14.9-24, not sure the correlation between mine and one of these.