Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Gordon Gould]

Everyone works out a system they like best based on their equipment and wood. My splitter is a 22 ton Husky and I doubt it would push a 4-way wedge reliably so I have to make multiple splits on the same round. For me it is a lot easier to have the wedge move and the round stationary so that on multiple splits I can stand in one place and not have to keep pulling back the round to make the next split. For big rounds I put the splitter vertical and break the rounds down to handling size. Working off my carry-all is convenient. Then I go horizontal using the loader as a lift table as I do on normal sized rounds. Again stand in one place, grab a round and make as many splits as it takes throwing the splits into a trailer or a rough pile for air drying.

gg

 

[arrow]

... and I know I could split them with a chainsaw,

Minimal effort. Two chainsaw notches at opposite edges (about 10 seconds worth), insert wedges in notches, split wood.

 

[arrow]

Everyone works out a system they like best based on their equipment and wood. My splitter is a 22 ton Husky and I doubt it would push a 4-way wedge reliably so I have to make multiple splits on the same round. For me it is a lot easier to have the wedge move and the round stationary so that on multiple splits I can stand in one place and not have to keep pulling back the round to make the next split. For big rounds I put the splitter vertical and break the rounds down to handling size. Working off my carry-all is convenient. Then I go horizontal using the loader as a lift table as I do on normal sized rounds. Again stand in one place, grab a round and make as many splits as it takes throwing the splits into a trailer or a rough pile for air drying.

View attachment 721124


View attachment 721125

gg

Now the trick is not to lift the splits from the bucket but to just sort of slide them over w/o lifting. With my back currently, this is what I have to invent.

 

[John_Mc]

Minimal effort. Two chainsaw notches at opposite edges (about 10 seconds worth), insert wedges in notches, split wood.

Not really minimal effort, just minimal chainsawing. You still have to cut the rounds to appropriate length, get them to where you are processing and set them up for the cut.

As I believe I indicated elsewhere, I do know how to do this, and do some of it when it's convenient. I just choose not to most of the time. I need more coarse woody debris on my forest floor for wildlife habitat anyway. So I'm choosing to leave the stuff I'd rather not mess with. I don't have a whole lot that is over 24" anyway, and what trees that I do that are still standing I tend to leave alone unless I have a better use for them than just firewood.

 

[arrow]

Not really minimal effort, just minimal chainsawing. You still have to cut the rounds to appropriate length, get them to where you are processing and set them up for the cut.

As I believe I indicated elsewhere, I do know how to do this, and do some of it when it's convenient. I just choose not to most of the time. I need more coarse woody debris on my forest floor for wildlife habitat anyway. So I'm choosing to leave the stuff I'd rather not mess with. I don't have a whole lot that is over 24" anyway, and what trees that I do that are still standing I tend to leave alone unless I have a better use for them than just firewood.

I still have too much Don Quixote in me and like Alonso, I may have lost my mind to the wood.

 

[ning]

Yes, I'm tired of replacing those cracked bulbs!

I just noticed the bulb on my limbing saw (Echo CS-305) is cracked. Got a replacement but haven't installed it yet... it doesn't really need it, but the saw stinks with the crack so I guess I'll pull it apart and do it

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I guess I'm just lucky, since I quit using E fuel several years ago, I haven't had any fuel related problems.

I've not had to replace even one "bulb" on any of my Husqvarna saws...

SR

 

[ning]

I guess I'm just lucky, since I quit using E fuel several years ago, I haven't had any fuel related problems.

I've not had to replace even one "bulb" on any of my Husqvarna saws...

SR

This is the first I've had to do anything other than fuel filter / air filter / spark plug for this saw; it's at least 16 years old, so I suppose that's a decent run for that purge bulb (pump gas always).

 

[goeduck]

I cheated on my elevated cuts today and cradled the cuts. These are all going as stump burning re-fuel. Meanwhile, when I made it back to the barn to put the tractor away at sun down there were few vacancies for late arriving birds.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I wouldn't call that cheating. Seems smart to me

gg

 

[Gordon Gould]

A lot safer too !

gg

 

[Smokeydog]

Everyone works out a system they like best based on their equipment and wood. My splitter is a 22 ton Husky and I doubt it would push a 4-way wedge reliably so I have to make multiple splits on the same round. For me it is a lot easier to have the wedge move and the round stationary so that on multiple splits I can stand in one place and not have to keep pulling back the round to make the next split. For big rounds I put the splitter vertical and break the rounds down to handling size. Working off my carry-all is convenient. Then I go horizontal using the loader as a lift table as I do on normal sized rounds. Again stand in one place, grab a round and make as many splits as it takes throwing the splits into a trailer or a rough pile for air drying.

View attachment 721124


View attachment 721125

gg

Aging is a great incentive to work smarter. I too find the horizontal/vertical moving wedge options on a splitter fits our needs better. Maybe because it’s all I had. 30+ year old Northern Hydraulic splitter only replacing motor and hoses.

 

[goeduck]

A lot safer too !

gg

Exactly. That was my main reason for cradling the cutoffs. Those are decent sized and I was standing on a branch. The main trunk can shake when the cut completes and the last thing I wanted is to be under the cutoff when it came down.

 

[arrow]

Aging is a great incentive to work smarter. I too find the horizontal/vertical moving wedge options on a splitter fits our needs better. Maybe because it’s all I had. 30+ year old Northern Hydraulic splitter only replacing motor and hoses.

I may have a similar one. Horizontal $750 brand-new in 1998. It's replacement is now more like $4500 because Northern no longer makes a simple horizontal splitter and i don't know if I'll live that long to justify that expenditure.

 

[shooterdon]

Yesterday moved nearly 5 cords of firewood into the garage. I have nearly 3 more cords in reserve. And 20 logger cords that need processing. It can be a long cold winter and we will be covered.

Also had my two 500 gal propane tanks filled. I have a contract price of $1.59, which is 33% higher than last year. But there is an escape clause in the contract that nullifies the contract if Line 5 is shut down....so wanted to get them topped up. Primary need for propane would be a long power outage.

 

[goeduck]

Yesterday moved nearly 5 cords of firewood into the garage. I have nearly 3 more cords in reserve. And 20 logger cords that need processing. It can be a long cold winter and we will be covered.

Also had my two 500 gal propane tanks filled. I have a contract price of $1.59, which is 33% higher than last year. But there is an escape clause in the contract that nullifies the contract if Line 5 is shut down....so wanted to get them topped up. Primary need for propane would be a long power outage.

And I thought my 15 cords (ahead) were a lot.

 

[hunt4570]

Yesterday moved nearly 5 cords of firewood into the garage. I have nearly 3 more cords in reserve. And 20 logger cords that need processing. It can be a long cold winter and we will be covered.

Also had my two 500 gal propane tanks filled. I have a contract price of $1.59, which is 33% higher than last year. But there is an escape clause in the contract that nullifies the contract if Line 5 is shut down....so wanted to get them topped up. Primary need for propane would be a long power outage.

Seems wood would be better for a power outage??

 

[hunt4570]

And I thought my 15 cords (ahead) were a lot.

All I need is about 2! ;-)

 

[aeblank]

Yesterday moved nearly 5 cords of firewood into the garage. I have nearly 3 more cords in reserve. And 20 logger cords that need processing. It can be a long cold winter and we will be covered.

Also had my two 500 gal propane tanks filled. I have a contract price of $1.59, which is 33% higher than last year. But there is an escape clause in the contract that nullifies the contract if Line 5 is shut down....so wanted to get them topped up. Primary need for propane would be a long power outage.

I've been over "by you" to curl in Lewiston....
Glad I heat with wood, that's for sure.

 

[John_Mc]

Everyone works out a system they like best based on their equipment and wood. My splitter is a 22 ton Husky and I doubt it would push a 4-way wedge reliably so I have to make multiple splits on the same round. For me it is a lot easier to have the wedge move and the round stationary so that on multiple splits I can stand in one place and not have to keep pulling back the round to make the next split. For big rounds I put the splitter vertical and break the rounds down to handling size. Working off my carry-all is convenient. Then I go horizontal using the loader as a lift table as I do on normal sized rounds. Again stand in one place, grab a round and make as many splits as it takes throwing the splits into a trailer or a rough pile for air drying.

gg

We do all adapt to the equipment available and our own personal preferences. I'll use my loader bucket or the hydraulic lift as a staging table, but for me, throwing the wood causes more problems than pulling it back to resplit. After a couple of bouts with something like tennis elbow from grabbing and throwing logs, I had to shift the way I worked. Tha one hand backhanded toss was killing me. So I went looking for a splitter that would push the logs of the end, and at the right height to feed into directly in to my trailer. Once I found a good one, I sold my old horizontal/vertical splitter. I don't really have to move to pull larger logs back to resplit. The work table on the splitter catches them. For easily manageable sizes, I move maybe a half step to reach them and pull them back. For larger ones, it might be a full step. For me, that far beats picking the split pieces up and throwing them in the trailer.