Harvesting firewood

[Ed of all trades]

Dr Zinj, there is not going to be any resistant pines. The Beatle eats the inner bark and cuts off the food supply. It would be life a person getting resistance to getting their throat cut.

 

[Egon]

Dr Zinj, there is not going to be any resistant pines. The Beatle eats the inner bark and cuts off the food supply. It would be life a person getting resistance to getting their throat cut.

Some plants make themselves unpalatable to predators.

 

[Oldpath05]

Nice pics Gearhead.


I saw this u-tube of a tine bucket picking up firewood. It looked like it worked pretty good to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZjX7L7fYgU

gg

Something like that might work for me, but I would have to add it to my bucket by bolting it on, then when I scoop up the wood I could shake it and all the dirt would fall out on the ground or in the bucket, and then dump the wood in my trailer, in theory anyways. I would estimate the starting cost of this experiment to be at $200.00 with 16 hrs. of labor and right now I don't have ether, maybe by next year I can figure something out.
I guess for this year I have to put a help wanted sign out by the road and offer free OJT on how to pick up firewood, probably have all kinds of school kids stop in for this invaluable lesson.

 

[Oldpath05]

I saw one in action recently on a small Kubota. It was tined top and bottom like you suggest and had a third-function grapple. It picked up the logs pretty good and left a lot of junk on the ground, but still some dirt came with it. Logs just like to get dirty. The open "bucket" was much better than a closed one, obviously.

My latest trick is to pile split wood up near the stacks and wait for the rain to clean it off. This week was real wet, so I got a lot of wood to stack today.

I'm still thinking about adding a grapple to my bucket, but the starting price I looked is around $1000,00, and then I have no idea how to hook it into the hydraulics, before I invest in a bucket grapple, I'd like to see one work, with 8-10 cord of cut up firewood on the ground, I could really use something. You can bet tomorrow as I'm counting sticks I'll be thinking of an easier way to pick up firewood and I'll also be thinking how much easier it was just a few years ago when my kids lived at home, now there all grown up with their busy lives, but my youngest was able to stop in last Monday give me some help.

 

[Oldpath05]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeyHJil9qXQ
Winter time firewood=cleaner wood, fresh air, sunshine, and no bugs.

 

[XMS]

I'm taking a lesson from the Great American Chestnut Blight. Cut them only when they're dead. The ones that are ailing, but still alive, may have some form of resistance to the beetle (or other pathogen) and may be able to pass it on to the next generation. If you clear cut them to try to stop the spread, as they did with the Chestnuts, you'll probably end up making them go extinct because you killed the survivors too.

Great points. I got a few decent looking pine that are old and happy, even surrounded by blighted trees. Most eventually succumb, but I leave them for another day. Generally if they are leaning or looking rough, I have no qualms whacking it down. They tend to fall at odd times, otherwise.

Pine is one of the least plentiful tree I have, but in the areas where we don't have a lot of heavy deciduous they grew well. Those alone number too large for little old me to clearcut. Besides, I honestly like them - especially in the winter where it's pine and holly or gray. Maybe we'll get lucky and end up saving the King Pine that will save them all.

Thanks.