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I hear you. With the tractor (modified with limb risers, belly pan, grill guard and falling object protection), logging winch, forestry grapple, Metavic forwarding trailer, dump trailer, multiple chainsaws and probably some other toys tools I'm forgetting. I gave up pretending this was about...

Not a chance. For me harvesting and getting them out of the woods without damaging the residual stand is the fun/challenging/interesting part. The further along in the processing of firewood I get, the less I'm interested in it. I really dislike stacking it I need a neighbor like you so I can...

You mentioned a grapple. You can't use that to set the logs in over the side of your trailer? I've used my forestry grapple to load a lot of wood on trailers that way.

Mike - why not start a new thread about it? I'm sure @ning isn't the only one interested. Maybe in the "Rural Living" section?

What Gordon described is known as "Cut Stump Treatment". You cut the stem then brush concentrated glyphosate (or other herbicide) directly on the cut stump. Best to follow the instructions on the herbicide container for this, including any required personal protective equipment. I've only used...

Poison Hemlock and Water Hemlock are two different plants. Though I believe they are related, and I think have similar toxins. (And people sometimes refer to them both as Poison Hemlock.) We found a bit of Water Hemlock in a park/natural area in our town while a group of community volunteers...

Be careful with that stuff, Gordon. If that is Cicuta maculata (Water Hemlock or "Spotted Water Hemlock), it is extremely toxic. It is thought to be the most toxic plant in North America, and is found throughout the US and Canada. Ingestion of even small amounts in humans can be fatal. From the...

When cutting logs on the ground, I still keep an axe with me, since it's handy when using the wedge to lift a log off the ground, as described about 4 posts up. Normally, I'll roll the log, but occasionally, it's easier to drive the wedge in to lift it than it is to roll it.

I carry an axe in a holster on my tool belt for pounding wedges. The longer handle allows for easier pounding than a shorter, heavier hammer. Axe head sits in the holster on the back of the belt, with the handle pointing up. (I can't stand the handle dangling down by my legs.) You can actually...

There is a whole thread on it in the attachments section: https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/anyone-have-a-mechmaxx-3-pt-stump-grinder.478049/ Beware of the scam website that looks just like their real one. mechmaxusa is the scam site currently listing it at $990 mechmaxx.com is the...

If I'm leaving the tops on, I do so until the leaves on it turn brown. Beyond that point, they are not pulling out much moisture.

I was doing some pretty serious pulling to get the vines down over a few hours. My hands were fairly raw and scraped up by the time I got done, so that's probably part of it.

From personal experience, I known that it is possible to get it on the palms of your hands. Years ago, I was pulling grape vines out of some of our trees. It was in the middle of winter, but during an unusual warm spell, so I was not wearing gloves. I was not paying attention and pulled a few...

The RoundUp Poison Ivy Formulation does contain Triclopyr.

I have enough room for a season’s worth of firewood under the lean-to off the back of my garage/barn. The rest goes on pallets. One end of the stacks leans against the wall, the other end rest against a 2x4 running from a sill plate the ground I tried the cross-cross method of stacking on the...

You must have better ground condition that I: T posts will not hold a 4 foot high stack of split wood in my ground - at least not for the long term. I started with at 11-12 foot row of pallets with T posts on either end of the two rows I stacked on them. The posts started spreading within a...

If you are stacking it in (not just tossing it) and if @Windblown estimate of 1/3 cord is correct then you could easily be looking at 2000# for green, premium firewood species such as Oak or Hickory. If you are just tossing it in, I generally figure of fitting 80% of what I can get compared to...

We have a frost warning here in the Champlain Valley of Vermont for tonight and into Thursday. Perfect weather for working in the woods. Unfortunately I’m all booked up with other commitments

It won't do much drying when it's in long log form. Getting it bucked will help it start drying more quickly, even if you don't split it yet.

That's quite a set-up. Looks like a serious commercial-duty splitter. I've not seen anything like it for sale in the US. I like the foot pedal controls. Very convenient. Meanwhile, here in the US, some splitters come with a set up that requires you to use two hands to operate the controls - an...

A single stage pump is great, if you have the HP to drive it. The reason for a two-stage pump is to give good speed when the load is light, but still have the muscle to drive through when the load is heavy, without have to go to a huge engine. For a tractor powered splitter (whether PTO pump or...

I hear that! At 63, I'm not carrying those chains anywhere unless I have to. I used to keep them in the wooden box they shipped in. Then changed to hanging them on a peg on the wall. I'm a bit slow at times, so it took me a couple of years to realize that lifting them to hang on a peg was more...

No need to hoist the chains on if you drive them on. @LouNY started a thread here some years ago describing the technique (which is also the recommended installation procedure that came with my OFA EKO chains.) If I can find the thread, I'll edit this to post a link. EDIT: Here is the link to...

Gordon - now that you have been using that boom/winch setup a while, how are you liking it? A local friend is debating doing something similar. Is there anything you would do differently if you were making a new one? Tips or things to watch out for when operating it? My father-in-law has a...

That sounds about right. I can fit 1/4 cord loosely thrown in the bed of my Tacoma pickup. I've only loaded a tote once (I don't use them, but was loading for a friend), but what was in my pickup filled it nicely.

In addition to overall size, a major factor in this is how far you can spread your fingers/thumb. My hands are far less flexible than they were when I was younger, so I suspect the distance of the spread has changed. My son wears a size smaller glove than I do, and his fingers are a little...

My favorite measuring stick: If I put my hand out flat and just let my thumb stick out to the side in a relaxed manner (not stretching) the distance from the end of my thumb to the far edge of my palm is 6". I generally don't use this when measuring for cutting firewood.

I ended up getting a set of magnetic trailer alignment balls from Harbor Freight. Connecting trailers with most of our modern vehicles is a breeze with their backup cameras, but it's a pain in the butt with my antique truck. I can't even see most of my trailers out the back window, and the...

I always thought a twitch referred to what you pulled out of the woods to your tractor using a winch, and a hitch meant what you hooked on to and skidded out to the landing. I'll admit I never really paid much attention to the distinction, however, so perhaps I've just misunderstood it all these...

It looks very similar to the APM block I own (which has held up very well, after a simple modification I made to it). Te only difference I see right off the bat is that the APM block has a pipe or bushing around the pin/bolt the strap connects to, and the release trigger on the APM...

We've had some discussions of Self-releasing snatch blocks in this thread. I find them one of the handiest accessories to have with my logging winch. They tend to be expensive (in the $300 to $400 range). I just stumbled across one of the better deals I've seen on one in quite some time...

Even in my NH TC33D (relatively undersized for logging) traction has not been a problem unless I have heavy, dense snow piled up enough to bottom out with the belly pan. If it gets away from me, I can just push through the light stuff. The big, heavy snow piled deep can slow me down too much to...

I remember it because K is the abbreviation for the Kelvin scale: a temperature scale in which 0˚ is absolute zero, the lowest temperature possible (there is no such thing as "below zero" on the Kelvin scale. 0˚K = -273˚C/-460˚F)

BTW, you can get the degree symbol (as in -30˚C) by typing Alt-K (or on a Mac it's Option-K)

I don't bother to burn large logs. If they are not bartered to a friend with a sawmill or used for firewood, they either stay in the woods to rot, creating wildlife habitat while they return nutrients to the soil, or I use them to make brush piles for wildlife habitat. Occasionally, I use...

If Philadelphia is "west", I guess you didn't move very far?

I can't think of a single photo I have seen on here that needed anywhere close to 50 megapixel resolution to be useful for this group's purpose. Yes, it would be nice if the server automatically resized them, but I have no complaints dealing with that on the site I use with a 250K limit. I'm...

No problem here, either.

You know that if your phone does not already include the ability to resize pictures, you can get a smartphone app for that.

What Gordon is describing is basically the technique I was shown in one of the Game of Logging classes for overcoming back lean in trees where the diameter is too small to drive a wedge without having it bottom out against the back of the hinge before it has provided enough lift to tip the tree...

I just could not get away with that type of hitch for my forwarding trailer. It does not have a hinge on the tongue, but even if it did, that would not prevent the binding I was getting as I drove through ditches or waterbars. When the tongue is pointing down to the bottom of the ditch, but the...

You were nice enough to send me pictures a few years ago of that extra pivot. I copied it for the hitch on my forwarding trailer, which was getting some damage from driving through ditches and over rough terrain. Mine did not come out as good as yours, but it does work: no more binding.

What trailer is that? or did you make it yourself?

What are you protecting in that little circular fence?

Interesting that Cherry fetches such a premium. I've never understood the fascination with Black Cherry as a firewood. It does split and dry relatively easily (though not as easily as Ash). However, it only has about 90% of the BTUs of White Ash. I could understand a slight premium for low-ash...

American Beech is one of my favorites. It packs a lot of BTUs (a bit higher than Red Oak, similar to Sugar Maple, not qite as high as White Oak). It's also easy drying: second only to Ash as far as how little excess moisture it holds when freshly cut.

If I split and stack my Oak in single rows exposed to the sun and wind, I can get it ready to burn (under 20% moisture content - usually around 15% or so) after two summers of drying. Most other species I can get there on one good summer: split and stack in the spring, and it's ready to go in...

Welcome to "Weekend Warrior Syndrome", @WinterDeere. I've been known to suffer from that myself. I try to make a point of not calculating my actual expenses for the firewood we heat our home with. But if I did, I'd have to add in the cost of the visits to the chiropractor.

I have the same issue when I have the forestry grapple on the tractor: I lose my spot for carrying gear. I need a better way to haul the stuff around when the grapple is on, and I'm towing something with the tractor. It's less of an issue if I'm out with the SxS: the gear goes in the bed, and...

I’m curious why you don’t attach the ball directly to the drawbar and avoid having wood in the towing connection.

I often work with groups of people working up firewood since I help organize our local firewood donation program. I also work together as one of the co-owners of a conserved working forest a few miles from home doing firewood and trail maintenance. If it's an event I'm organizing, and someone is...

I had a nice exchange with that guy years ago, when I contact him for permission to repost that chart. (He was fine with it as long as I included the web link. He also appreciate my asking, since most ignore the copy right and just copy and paste it.)

That chart Sawyer rob posted is one of the best firewood BTU charts I have come across. They made a point of assembling it from sources which stated the moisture content, so they could be sure they were comparing apples to apples. I thought we could attach PDF files in this forum, but I guess...

I've never even seen a 2 stage pump made to fit a tractor PTO. I had no idea they existed. For most applications, a 2 stage pump would not be desirable: Imagine your back working fast until it got under load, and only then slowing down - nudging the swing cylinder into precise position would be...

If you really want to speed up a 3 Pt hitch splitter, run it off a PTO hydraulic pump, rather than off of the tractor hydraulics. Most of those pumps put out FAR more flow than the tractor's rear remotes

The only way one summer works for me is if I stack in single rows well exposed to sun and wind. As long as we don't have a totally rain filled summer it works. If I stack in a block of rows set together, I'll never make it in just one Spring/Fall/Summer.

If your Oak isn't burning well, are you sure it is properly dried? Oak seems to be the one wood I cannot get into the desired 15-20% moisture content range with just one summer's worth of drying. Most other species, if I get it split and stacked out where it is exposed to the sun and wind in...

Well, you a working with the two opposite ends of the spectrum as far as hand-splitting difficulty goes. Ash almost splits itself (we joke that if you look at it too hard, it will split clean in two). Elm is a total pain in the butt to split: that twisted interlocking grain makes it a bit of a...

It's got wood and it's got a tractor - you are more on topic than a lot of posts in this thread.

The flow restrictor is another thing I've been planning to add on both my top and side link - in my case because it is sometimes tough to feather things enough to do fine adjustments. You don't recall what size orifice you used, do you?

Nuts! I can figure out the size and thread type on my cylinder, but that link is the only place I'm finding that offers the whole kit. I was hoping not to have replace the whole hydraulic cylinder with a new one that has the double piloted check valve already installed. Looks as though I'm...

Is the threaded fitting on most hydraulic cylinders the same? I have no idea what's on mine. I have been meaning to look in to this for years, but never gotten around to it. That link just might get me off my butt to get it done.

limiting to 45˚ should greatly reduce the strain on the 3 Pt hitch arms. I was picturing it swung 90˚ out from the tractor. You probably did mention the check valves or a shut off. My memory is getting like swiss cheese lately... to much going on to keep up with. I do second WinterDeere's...

That's a great back-saver without having to spend a fortune on a forwarding trailer with hydraulic loader. It seems you are doing the lifting with your logging winch raised up off the ground. Are you at all concerned about twisting the 3 point linkage, especially when the boom is out at 90˚ to...

I had a hydraulic blow-out while cleaning up storm damage in the woods. I caught one of my loader curl hoses and broke it while using the grapple. The tractor and I got a bit of a hydraulic oil shower. I guessed I had only lost a couple of quarts. Managed to drive it back home with the bucket...

There are definitely two very different schools of thought on this. I do hear from pros who say to look up. I also hear from instructors (who are also professional loggers) in both Vermont's LEAP program (VT Logger Education to Advance Professionalism) and several Game of Logging instructors...

Good advice when dealing with dead Ash. The other things I do when dealing with dead trees (particularly Ash): Don't worry about making your cut down close to the ground. That's great when you are trying to maximize the timber value. However, with a dead tree, bending over like that presents...

If it was “very stringy and tough”, it was probably not Ash. If a hydraulic splitter is one of those that reaches the end of its stroke with the wedge still an inch or two from the anvil/plate, you’ll find Elm still hanging on and often taking quite a bit of effort to separate that last bit...

If you aren’t sure between Ash and Elm, just try to hand split some firewood. That will tell you in an instant: if it splits in two if you look at it too hard, it’s Ash. If it’s a pain to split even with a hydraulic splitter, it’s Elm.

Runner - I can’t see enough in those pictures to tell, especially when viewing on my phone. One thing to check: Ash has opposite branching (two branches sprout off opposite sides of the stem). Maple and dogwood share this trait. If it has alternate branching (a left handed branch, then move up...

I had always heard the "strong winds" theory, but was a bit suspect of it, since I found shake in Hemlock that was very well sheltered from winds. Thanks for the real story.

When I asked, I was told that that would be considered theft since they already had a buyer lined up

Gordon - how did you get the used ties? I tried to get/buy some when some railroad repair was going in near me years ago, but they told me they had all been pre-sold to a bulk buyer. (The just leave them piled and the buyer comes by laterand loads them up and hauls them away.) Unfortunately, no...

Time for a pickup truck thread?

It's fairly common here, but it's not a native species. I suspect some farmers planted it generations ago for fence posts, sill plates, etc. I don't often see it in the deep woods, so I'm guessing it is only moderately shade tolerant. We have more cedar on our property than Black Locust, so...

High BTU content: right up there with Oaks and Sugar Maple. Coals well. I've not burned a lot of it, since the better logs I save for when I need some rot resistant wood. My impression is that it's a little harder to get started burning than some other hardwood species, so I tend not to use it...

Husqvarna makes two styles of forestry helmets. I used their "Functional Forest Helmet" for years. It held up well for me. I prefer their wheel ratchet adjusting system to the slightly less expensive slip ratchet adjustment (though if you rarely adjust the size, it probably doesn't make much...

Please do your boy a real favor and buy him some appropriate safety gear. Also: that left thumb should always be wrapped around the handle, not laid along it. It makes for a much more positive grip should something unexpected happen.

The COLD water is a major key. Some people use hot water: BIG mistake. It opens your pores and can drive the stuff deeper. Taking a hot shower after exposure is a mistake a lot of people make.

Similar experience here: the fitting the hosed came apart at was pointed almost straight up. Since I was headed up hill, that aimed the stream slightly backwards, resulting in a nice hydraulic shower for me and for the tractor.

Gordon - are you at all concerned about the stress on the toplink attachment point? I've always heard that Kubotas are better than most in terms of the strength of the toplink mounting point on the tractor, but that is a pretty good-sized lever there.

We all help each other out in this neighborhood, and have a nice trail network that we all share and work on cooperatively.

late last week, I was out clearing blowdown off our trails and on some of the neighbors' properties. I ran out of gas (me, not the tractor) so called it quits and went home. I finally got a chance to get back out today, hoping to pick up where I left off. I got part way out there and ran in to...

I hear so much about diseases and invasive plants brought to North America from overseas for which our native ecosystems have no resistance. I'm sure it must be a two-way street. We must have exported some plants, insects, or diseases which have become problems overseas. Has anyone heard of...

True. not only are lot of BTUs wasted, but the wood burns dirtier as well. However, if you dry your wood properly, the starting moisture content when green is not a factor.

The Blue Beech(A.K.A. "musclewood" or American Hornbeam - not to be confused with Hophornbeam) that is on my property is generally too small for me to mess with for firewood. Though it does seem dense enough that it would burn well if I ever did cut some up.

I've attached another handy thing I ran across years ago was this list of tree species ranked by "excess moisture content". (I've posted it here on TBN before - possibly even somewhere in this thread.) I'm glad I saved the info, since the link no longer works. Their definition: "Excess moisture...

I've seen a bunch of the charts, and have several saved on my computer. one problem with many of them is that they have pulled together data from several sources, not all of which use the same testing methods or conditions. I've attached one of the better charts I've come across. (I received...

I do some flipping back myself, but really want to redesign my work table to allow me to just slide it back. I just recently saw a video of one set up with a "wing" on either side of the ram-mounted pusher plate that rode along with the ram. When the log split, the two halves ended up on the...

The definition of a cord is 128 cubic feet of stacked wood (4'x4'x8'). The definition already includes the allowance for the fact that there is air space in the stack. It does not claim to be 128 cubic feet of solid wood. Some states also include a definition of a "thrown in" pile of wood to...

Exactly. We built a tight house and included a Heat Eecovery Ventilation system (which also works to cool incoming air in the summer if we have been running the AC). In hot, humid southern climates, people may want to consider an Energy Recovery Ventilation system, which also recovers relative...

If we are assuming 16" long pieces, 6 face cords equals 2 full cords. A local friend here in the Champlain Valley of Vermont built himself a super-insulated 1550 sq ft home (not including the 880 sq ft unfinished basement). He heats it with a little over 1 cord of firewood a year. Even in a bad...

I never really thought of Aspen as particularly rot resistant, especially when in ground contact.

I'm not sure what species you have to choose from in your area. Sugar Maple is very good firewood, but I wold not go so far as to say I "pick it over any other species". Around here we have Hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana - tends to be small, but packs a LOT of BTUs), Shagbark Hickory (Carya...

I've seen some great stuff made from "Tap Hole Maple". It adds a lot of character (and you'd be surprised at the premium some people will pay for something made from tap hole Maple as compared to other wood species).

I don’t mind burning Ash. It makes up for its moderate BTU value being incredibly easy to split

Now I have to wonder a bit about Mother Earth News (I used to read it a lot in the late '70s and into the '80s). Poplar is only slightly better than White Pine in terms of BTU content. One of my last choices for firewood. I'd burn it if I had no other choice, but fortunately have have a lot of...

I'll admit I do like a little bit of room behind the front seat, so I have a more secure place to store chainsaws and various other items. However, I'm not a fan of the full four door pickups. The wheel base is too long for work in the woods: they are much more likely to high-center when driving...

I had a splitter with the wedge on the ram and sold it for one that has the pusher on the ram. (The new one also had a hydraulic lifter, since I'm not getting any younger.) I like being able to push the splits out the end and into my trailer when splitting in the woods. When splitting at home, I...

Black Locust is more rot resistant than Honey Locust, though both do well in that regard.

Honey Locust has similar BTUs to White Oak. Higher than Beech or Red Oak. Prime firewood once you get it dried out.

Gordon - the best forecasts for our New England that I have seen are from "New England Weather Guy". He tends to do a better job than any of the weather apps I've tried. You can find him on his Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/newenglandweatherguy

@wolc123 where are you from? For your Ash timeline (over 10 years ago), I'm guessing southern Michigan or NW Ohio?

While Ash will burn when fresh cut, It does burn much better and have higher BTU output if it is properly seasoned. The attached file shows the "excess moisture content" for various species of wood (the amount of moisture above the 20% MC that is commonly accepted as the desirable max for...

White ash is close to Red Oak in terms of BTUs: just a few % lower than RO. However, it doesn't seem to coal as well as Oak does. Black ash has about 80% of the BTU content as Red Oak.

Gordon - Most pieces don't seem to strain any splitter I've used at all. The other factor besides pressure is the size of the cylinder. A 5" diameter cylinder puts 56% more pressure on the log than a 4" cylinder at the same PSI

I had a 2 HP motor on an 16 Ton electric Ramsplitter years ago. I ordered that because it was the biggest I could get and still run off a standard 120V outlet (it did need to be on a 20 amp breaker. 15 amp Breakers would trip occasionally.) I only had one easily accessible 240 volt outlet, but...

My favorite part is probably the felling. Almost all of what I do is more or less a thinning-type operation. (I've been doing a lot of Crop Tree Release on my property.) I enjoy the puzzle of figuring out how to get the trees down in a manner that does not damage the trees I'm keeping: threading...

My two least favorite things about dealing with firewood: clearing the brush out of my way after felling and limbing a tree and stacking. It's always a bonus when I can drop the tree somewhere that I can just leave the limbs where they land. As for stacking: if I have to do much stacking above...

If that is the case, how do you ever get to the older wood? Or did you mean that you burn first what goes in first?

I've seen this a few times now: someone posts a picture, but all I see is the file name (in this case: 1709008234195.png) Clicking on that file name did nothing. It's not until someone quotes it that I can see the picture itself. Is anyone else having this issue? I'm guessing because he posted...

SACRILEGE! Pancakes are just a vehicle for delivering syrup. You can improve the vehicle, but that doesn't change the reason for it's existence. (Actually, waffles are even better, since they hold more syrup. But not those Belgian waffles. They suck.)

Once the days rise above the 40s and/or the nights no longer reach a freezing point, sap production really slows down. You definitely need to remove the taps before the buds open on the trees. Continuing to draw sap after the buds have broken produces a bitter flavor that really ruins the taste...

Pretty much the same results I get here in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. Non-Oak species I can fairly reliably get to 15-17% MC over one summer if I cut/split/stack in the spring. I can get a bit lower if I get it cut and stacked early enough. Mud season sometimes interferes with working...

Oak is one of the few species I can't get to dry enough to burn cleanly in just one summer season of drying here in Vermont. It usually has to go through two summers (and best if it's stacked in single rows out exposed to the sun & wind). Few woods dry in a reasonable amount of time while still...

You are one of the few lucky areas in Vermont (so far). To my knowledge, no one has actually reported EAB here in Monkton, but I'm sure it's here, and we are already considered an infested area. It has been in surrounding towns for years. Often, the real damage doesn't show up in the trees until...

Most of the time when cutting for myself, I eyeball 16". I find where I tend to get messed up is when switching from a small diameter log to a big one (or vice versa): I tend to cut longer on the larger diameter log. So I'll sometimes use the bar as a gauge to recalibrate my eyeballs on the...

I've been enjoying finally being able to get out and work in my woods, now that the ground has finally frozen up. It's been the warmest, wettest year I can remember in my 23 years of owning this property. I do enjoy working in the cooler weather. A few days ago it was around 15˚F (approx -10˚C)...

It's an expensive place to live in general. I suspect the fact that we are midway between Burlington (VT's largest city) and Middlebury (college and hospital town) tends to drive the prices up a bit. Just did a check for updated prices in our area: $495/cord for kiln-dried firewood from two...

Knotty and twisted doesn't really bother me if it's someone else doing the splitting. As far as the other issues: I'd be looking for another firewood supplier if I were not in a position to do it myself. I expect a few shorts here and there (the last cut when they get to the end of a log), but...

A few years ago, Log Ox sent out free samples to a LOT of YouTube channels. It seemed as though they were everywhere I looked.

Not really a fan of the Log Ox hauler myself. I find a pair of handheld tongs (such as those sold by Husqvarna and others) to be much more convenient. They are light weight and fit in a holster on the belt of my chaps, making them easy to bring along in the woods, and the length is more...

I have one of the older Logrite pickaroons, before they switched to the thinner handle. It's just too darn big for my hand. Some years ago, they downsized the handle diameter a bit. They are much better now, but I don't use it enough to justify buying a new one. (I suspect the Fiskars model is...

I pick a few trees I'm willing to sacrifice and let the wild grape have those.

It's a side view of his forestry grapple

Thanks Gordon. That's helpful. I like the set-up with the shackle lug as you have it better than welding it on the vertical side of the tine. If I end up backing up with a log or something heavy attached, the load will be in-line with the hook, rather than a 90˚ side load. Is that shackle lug...

Gordon - exactly where did you weld your grab hooks on to your grapple? I have a similar grapple and have been trying to decide where to put some.

Try searching for "clamp on forklift receiver"

The leaves on the ground by that stump appear to be Red Oak?

I still stack high. I just suffer for it. Not enough space under my lean-to to stack low. Anything that is not stacked under there stops at about 4 ft.

Using the chainsaw bar is too much bending over/twisting and extending my arms out with the saw for me. If I do too much of that reaching, it aggravates an old college wrestling injury in my neck and upper back, and I end up needng a trip to the chiropractor the next day. (Stacking firewood...

I don't use a grinder at all. I prefer to hand sharpen. It gives me an excuse to take a break and take stock of how I'm doing (I'll notice a dull chain in an instant and stop to deal with it. However, I often don't notice how tired or dehydrated I'm getting until I stop and take a break for a...

OK. I misunderstood. I thought you were referring to the guide in your picture AND a Husqvarna guide. I do also like the Stihl round file guide that clips on to the file (Oregon sells similar guides). I use both. I'm not really a fan of the Stihl depth gauge tool. My eyesight is just not good...

OK. I misunderstood. I thought you were referring to the guide in your picture AND a Husqvarna guide.

That's an interesting take. I'd love to see a side-by side comparison of an Almost new chain sharpened using a progressive depth gauge and one that has been filed back more than half way. There are two main points to a progressive style depth gauge tool: One is that it customizes the depth gauge...

I agree, those are great guides. You mentioned "and another good one is the Husqvarna roller guide." It appears that what you have pictured IS the Husqvarna roller guide, unless someone has started making clones? Husqvarna sells two types of these roller guides: one is just the roller file...

I use Save Edge files. I've been very happy with them.

If you have to use much pressure, it's probably time to replace your file. (One of the quickest ways to dull a file is back-dragging it. Make sure you lift it off the tooth when returning the file for the next stroke.) I'm not really sure how to describe the pressure I use. Much more like...

It's because a good bit of that 128 cu ft is actually air. the 85 cu ft is an estimate of the amount of actual wood in the stack. I've never heard of the different number for softwood. I assume that was because softwood tends to be straighter so packs better?

Loose fill to the top of the rail of my Tacoma (which I think is a 6 ft bed??) amounts to about 1/4 cord. If I mound it up, I might get to 1/3 cord. If I could get what amounts to $640 per cord (4x$160), I might decide to actually sell firewood. (As it is, I only sell the occasional cord or two...

Vermont, for one. New Hampshire as well. Ohio for another (I used to live there). There are a number of other states, but I did not bother to memorize them since they don't directly affect me. It's a rule that is often ignored, and many are not even aware that it is a rule in their state.

Most of the larger sellers in my part of Vermont sell by the cord, but it is widely ignored by smaller sellers ("hobbyist" firewood producers or people who just cleaned up a tree or two and want to get rid of it.)

In some states, selling by any other measure than by the cord (e.g. "pickup truck load" or "pile") is illegal. Though if it's between a willing seller and a willing buyer, I'm not sure who would lodge a complaint that would kick off enforcement action (assuming that the volume has not been...

It is a good deal, if someone is in the market for some chainsaw boots.

That sale is what started this Haix boot tangent to this thread. See post #22313 back on Sept 7. I did not realize it was still going on.

I was fortunate to be able to try some Haix boots on at the Loggers' Expo when they were in my area. They alternate between Bangor, Maine (odd years) and Essex Junction, VT (even years). Haix always has a booth - at least they do at the Vermont one. I did order my brother a pair of their XR200...

I've found the Haix XR200 boots to run exactly true to size. I wear a size 9 medium width, and the 9M XR200 boots fit me perfectly. A shoe store about 30 minutes up the road from me supposedly carries Haix chainsaw boots, but they've never had them in stock when I've been there. I was fortunate...

If the wood in the totes is green, staking them a bit further apart is a good idea. It helps improve air circulation

Are those chainsaw cut protection boots? If so, I'm not familiar with them.

Slightly off topic: Not sure if any of you wear boots with chainsaw cut protection, But Haix is offering $100 off their XR200 Chainsaw boot (European class 1 cut protection, 7" height). They normally sell for $345, but with the discount are now at $245. Go to: HAIX Bootstore and use this Code...

My 5/16 chokers are all grade 70. I'm sure the 1/4" grade 70 chain chokers would be fine for most of what I deal with her in Vermont. (I think someone mentioned a 1/4" grade 100 as well?) They just feel impossibly light to me... probably because every other chain I deal with is either 5/16" or 3/8"

I use 5/16" choker chains with my 7700# (3.5 metric tons) logging winch. THe 1/4" chain just seems too lightweight to me, and 3/8" is overkill.

Those great Husqvarna combination fuel cans we were talking about a nuber of pages back seem to have completely disappeared from Amazon - at least when searching from the US. I had been checking from time to time, hoping for a price drop (Most of them were coming from Europe or Japan). I can no...

I lost a good brush cutter that way. (Actually let someone use it. Figured it would be OK since I told him to use only my gas and I was working in the same area. He straight gassed it with some fuel for a log splitter someone else was running.)

I had never seen that description before, Gordon. It's a bit different than what Stihl claims in their promotional video. They say that is monitors conditions 33 times per second and adjusts accordingly, controlling ignition timing and fuel metering. MAybe Stihl has update their system since...

I have heard from a couple of guys who did muffler mods (which require a retune on the old carbs) who say the autotune handled it just fine. Also heard from one guy who had his saw ported and said his saw still acted fine and the sparkplug looked normal. So it does seem the autotune is doing a...

BTW, if you do remove the tuning limiters to get a saw's mixture adjusted properly, be aware that on at least some saws, they should be replaced when the adjustments are complete. On some saws, removing the caps and leaving them off will cause the mixture screws to vibrate off of their setting...

I'm no chainsaw mechanic, but what I've read indicates that more oil does make the saw run slightly leaner. For two possible reasons: 1 - as you indicated, less gas in the mix (though none of the reading I've done is clear on what affect the oil itself has: does it offset some or all of the gas...

No, but you should make sure to adjust your saw's carburetor for the fuel you are actually using, as changing the amount of oil will affect how rich/lean the carburetor runs. That was true years ago with some of the early bio-based bar oils. If you run it regularly, it was not much of a...

Yeah. The magazine was a discovery when recovering a car from a ditch.

Surprisingly, a rolled up magazine or newspaper works well also.

Have you guys considered starting a gun thread? I don't mind a bit of topic drift - In fact, I often contribute to it myself. However, there seems to be enough interest in the subject to merit a dedicated thread. It would make things easier to find when trying to search out "who was the member...

Only if the turkey was so big, he needed his tractor to haul it back home

It's been over here in my part of Vermont (the Champlain Valley) for a few weeks now. I was hopeful that another cold snap we had a while back would freeze things up, but the 10" of snow we had just before the temperatures dropped insulated the ground too well.

I like the no spill cans as well. You're right, there is not much of an advantage to the Husqvarna can if you are out there on a tractor or SxS that can carry your gear for you. I'm in the situation where the area where I need to get work done is on the opposite side of my property. It's mainly...

Well, right now that price on amazon has fluctuated right up to $108. If you have a link to where I can get one at $40, please share it. At that price, I'd order one in a heartbeat. [EDIT: I did find one on eBay for $53.90 plus $23.95 shipping = $77.85. Still a bit steep for my needs.] I...

My guess is that it’s a storage space for a coil of steel cable?

Here's a less than 2 minute video that shows using the tongue & groove technique for small back-leaning trees in more detail:

I use wedges for directional felling because it's faster to set up than using my logging winch. The winch gets called into service for that work only in more severe cases, if there is stump rot, or if I want to be extra careful about some high value target near by. I always wonder about idling...

As others have already noted, that's a great video, Gordon. To clarify for those who are not as familiar with the tongue and groove method of dealing with small back-leaners: The tongue and groove is not about steering the three. The hinge is still doing that (you are losing the center part of...

Sounds like something I would do.

Who makes that jug?

I just leave my chains in the box they came in, or in a Ziplock freezer bag (which is a bit heavier duty than their regular bags). A friend uses short lengths of old fire hose to store and carry his in.

I would never live in a place that didn't have "real" winters, including those days well below 0˚F. On the other hand, I could do with a shorter mud season each spring, and skipping deer fly season altogether would be just fine with me.

In that case, I probably won't mess with them. The studded chains do fine for me.

If you have recommendations on a brand and model of snow tires for uses on a garden tractor, I'd love to hear them. Right now I'm running chains (sometimes leave them on year round) I ran turf tires on my garden tractor year round. It's smaller & lighter than the Iseki/Bolens shown in that...

That's a nice set-up, Ernie-32. I've often wondered about making of buying something similar, but my tractor is often tied up running other implements as it is, and so many of the longer logs I use for firewood are larger than I want to pick up by hand. I'm always interested to see what others...

I'm not sure from your statement whether you are missing the distinction between Full Chisel and Square Ground/Filed. You can sharpen a full chisel chain by round filing or square filing (the picture on the right in Geoduck's picture labeled "Square Tooth Square Grind"). I agree that sharpening...

So if I'm following you correctly, you don't use any full chisel, round ground? It's either full chisel square ground or semi chisel? I use all full chisel round-ground (or in my case round-filed). I've tried full chisel square ground and really liked it, but I like to hand-sharpen in the woods...

Same here. I have not been able to get out in the woods much with my tractor this winter. Fortunately, we did get enough of a freeze after the Dec 23 windstorm that I was able to get out with it and clear the trails - what a tangled mess. Mostly white pines. Things did get solid enough that I...

Instead of working on my tractor (trouble shooting the block heater), I spent the day today finishing up some Crop Tree Release on the far corner of my property (part of an EQIP cost-sharing grant I applied for a couple of years ago), and cleaned up a bit of storm damage along the way. On the...

Nice load. Did you make that trailer? it sure seems as though it can take a lot.

And I hope I never do.

If you have not already seen it, you really should try the chain mounting method described by @LouNY in this thread: Mounting tire chains From Lou's first post in that thread (his thread includes pictures and a pretty good discussion, so it's worth checking out): I use a slightly different...

I bough my OFA EKO 8 chains at Reed Supply in St Johnsbury, VT Turns out they have a delivery truck that makes its way over to my side of VT on occasion, so delivery to a local lumberyard cost me just $15. My Ladder-style and Duo Grip style chains were purchased at tirechains.com. I would look...

I have OFA EKO 8 chains on the rear tires of my NH TC33D (Which would be the same as what is on your Mahindra 2816, if you have R4 tires on your tractor). They cost me $515 for the pair, but that was back in 2017. I'm sure they are significantly higher than that now. Looking on Tirechain.com, I...

Looks as though I picked the wrong time to break my tractor. It has stalled my work on the crop tree release I'm working on in the far corner of my property. I brought it in to the dealer a week ago. The service guy said they were "not too busy" and should be able to look in to it within a day...

Not knocking the saw itself (I've never used an EGO chainsaw), or battery chainsaws in general (I own a Milwaukee M18), but "lighter weight" is not really an argument for a battery chainsaw, at least with current battery technology. That EGO saw is close to the weight of your 462 (though I'm...

Project Farm has some good reviews, but there have been a lot of changes in the battery chainsaw market since those videos came out. I ended up with a Milwaukee M18 - it got a decent rating, but I mainly got it because I already had a lot of Milwaukee M18 tools already, so I have a good stock...

That one does not look like much fun. Hard to say what I might try without being there to see it in person. A lot would depend on exactly how the top is tangled up in the tree it's hung in. You do have a lot more options, since it's obviously not going to be a saw log. I tend not to go for the...

In much of Vermont, it's a combination of wind and the thin, bony soils in a lot of places. Often, you can walk into a stand and know it's subject to blow-down by the pit and mound topology - remnants of old rootballs from blown over trees.

I have a hydraulic lift on my splitter. I've come to the conclusion over the years that anything too big for my lift to handle just isn't worth the effort to turn in to firewood for me (in fact, as I've gotten older, I'm passing on some logs that are within the size/weight limits of my...

I would bet the answer is no. The splitter has a stationary wedge and the anvil is on the end of the cylinder. If it were turned vertical, there would be no where for the log to go when pushed through the wedge: the log would hit the ground.

I do have some luck with a deeper notch when cutting softwoods. They tend to grow against gravity (i.e. straight up), so more often cutting a deeper notch is enough to avoid having to drive a wedge. Most of the hardwoods I cut are leaning one way or another. Just a couple degrees of lean, and...

A short video of some crop and mast tree release I'm doing on the northwest corner of my property, including a clip of using my logging winch with a self-releasing snatch block. Normally, I'm winching out much longer logs and cutting them down when I get them trailside. In this case, I was just...

That was a good video - although the part near the beginning where he is looking at the forwarding trailer and says "we don;t have anything like this in the states..."? Umm... yes we do. I don't know that anyone is MAKING them in the US, but they are certainly sold here. A couple of good...

How often are you dropping a tree opposite it's direction of lean? Wedging during felling is not about height: it's all about lean. In the crop and mast tree release I am doing now, I can't just let the tree fall where it wants to. I use wedges to make that happen. I find it much faster than...

Smaller pieces definitely burn more efficiently. I'll never be able to find that study now, but I was business partners with a guy who was a wood combustion guru (he had designed some wood combustion systems for commercial wood boilers, but specialized in automated control systems). He was the...

Those forestry grapples are great for handling logs. I don't own a sawmill, but have helped out my neighbor with his, and done a lot of forestry work in my own woods and on other properties in my area. Other styles of grapples may excell at other tsks, but it's hard to beat a forestry grapple...

Reminds me of a story from last summer: I was clearing for a new trail in some 90˚ & humid weather. Ordinarily, I would have just waited for cooler weather, since I'm not doing this work professionally. However, we needed to get the clearing done in time to meet the window in the excavator's...