When is a Chain at End of Life

   / When is a Chain at End of Life #41  
I'm 83 years old today. When is too old to cut wood?
My oldest son is 40 today too... happy birthday!

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I burn 8 cords/yr. Running a hot saw with a sharp chain brings me back to when I was a kid and could handle a screaming 2 stroke motocross bike. I'd kill myself on a moto bike now but feeling those big chips smack my legs make me  feel like a kid again. I'll quit when I cant start the saw!
 
   / When is a Chain at End of Life #42  
My oldest son is 40 today too... happy birthday!

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I burn 8 cords/yr. Running a hot saw with a sharp chain brings me back to when I was a kid and could handle a screaming 2 stroke motocross bike. I'd kill myself on a moto bike now but feeling those big chips smack my legs make me  feel like a kid again. I'll quit when I cant start the saw!
If I could redo my wood management system today, it would look like yours. Good job!

I arrived at was probably the most efficient system that could be had, based on the equipment I owned at the time, namely a tractor without pallet forks. But a heavier tractor with pallet forks really changes up the available options!
 
   / When is a Chain at End of Life #44  
Just get a battery or electric (corded) saw - and cut smaller wood ,😎
That is about what I did 82 years old have several battery saws and I cut about 5 cords a year not all small some up to 24 inches diameter. 95 % with battery saws
 
   / When is a Chain at End of Life #45  
That is about what I did 82 years old have several battery saws and I cut about 5 cords a year not all small some up to 24 inches diameter. 95 % with battery saws
My friend, mentor, and former cutting partner was about 35 years older than me, and had about 30 acres of old-growth PA hardwoods on his property, when I moved into my current house and started heating with wood. He always heated with wood as well, but was getting to an age where doing it all alone was wearing on him.

The relationship worked out perfectly, in that he'd have me come over a few Saturdays each year, and together we'd harvest all the wood we needed for a given year. I'd do the felling, bucking, and arrange the chokers, he'd drive the tractor to skid them out of the woods, and stage the logs in a field for retrieval or processing.

The reason this worked out so well is that together we could do more than twice what either of us could manage alone, and while for me it was free wood, for him it was free labor. I would take all the stupid big stuff, I swear there were a few years when I didn't bring home ANYTHING under 40" diameter, and I'd leave all of the more manageable diameters for him to process. That helped shift the wear and tear those giant rounds put on your body from his old bones, to my then-younger bones.

Point being, at 82, I might be asking friends and family if there are any younger guys who might want some free wood, for the help of getting it out of the forest. Especially in blow-downs, Hurricane Sandy made a huge mess of his woods, a second nimbler partner can be invaluable. If you can manage the division of labor the way we did, you'll probably find you can actually harvest more wood for yourself, even splitting it with another, than is possible on your own.
 
   / When is a Chain at End of Life #46  
Yes indeed, its amazing with something like harvesting wood how much more efficient 2 people can be than each by themselves.
 
   / When is a Chain at End of Life #47  
Just did a 30ft dead by bark beetles Pine tree. Started at 8:30am had it down and cut into 12 -18" pieces and by the road and stacked branches onto the burn pile by 12 noon. Wood was gone by the neighborhood wood pickers in an hour and half. Nice ! And the chain is still sharp. lol
 

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