Putting Up Firewood

Varmintmist · Aug 30, 2004

I just dragged a few out of the woods sunday /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Eyes ears and chaps, good job. Now, get her a pair of leather boots, please. A decent heavy boot will give a LOT more traction than sneakers and provide at least a little protection. Personally, I hate hardhats. Eyes, ears, chaps, gloves and boots are worn always. She can get a set of Hermans at Wally World or the like for about 40 bucks.

My wife cuts also, mostly she limbs and cuts the smaller stuff. Hey, I got her a saw for her birthday /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif A husky 136, its small enough for her to handle and its a great saw for limbing. She isn't really up to the larger one and 2 saws are better than one.

A suggestion. Get a chain about 12-15 foot long and pull the logs from the top with the tractor. You can also take the t-bar off the timber jack and use it as a cant hook to roll the logs off. Cutting out of a pile is not safe, ever. You are there trying to relive stress, if you relive more than you want to, you may end up with a leg caught while you are holding a running chainsaw. Chain is cheap, and you dont need a huge one. Another good item to have is a plastic felling wedge. A 5-6 inch one. If you bind the saw, insert the wedge and wack it (wedge) with a hammer, then you can pull your saw out. They are about 4 bucks at a saw shop.

I have a oooold cant hook and it is a invaluble tool. A new cant hook or peavy runs about 50-70 bucks, worth every dime. I cut through about 80% for the lenth of the log, then roll it and finish.

thankfully I dont split very often. If I cant get it in the door of the outdoor wood burner, I'd rather roll it over the hill /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

ducati996 · Aug 31, 2004

( Oh yeah, 55F is what the thermostat is set at. We use the wood stoves to bring it up to a more suitable temp. No need to chip ice of of anything inside the house.

Thanks for your interest in the place. It is unique but we love it. )

If I can offer a product selection that will save you hundreds of dollars in a season. I have relatives in your neck of the woods (white mountain region) and they installed this unit
in their downstairs 2,550 sqft living room area. This unit is amazing because its a 45,000 plus BTU unit that is gravity oil fed. On the medium setting it burns about 20-30 gallons of oil a month in the coldest days of winter. It requires no electric to start, burns a blue flame with no soot....I found the unit by accident down here (LI, NY) where the guy was heating his store for 10 gal a month in oil on a low setting. That was his only heat source. I had them ship a unit up north, but you can find a dealer nearby you I'm sure. It cost <$1,500 and they already got their return on investment....amazing product

Franco belge Convection Oil gravity heater -Normandie

Duc

Wannafish · Aug 31, 2004

I am SO jealous.
I cut/split wood for 3 houses - ours, MIL's, and sons (which is also ours). Wife decided to help when I bought the cut with the FEL. She took up tractor duty...loads the wood in the bucket and dumps it in the trailer.

What a gal. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Boondox · Aug 31, 2004

You said a mouthful, Phil! When we harvest trees for firewood I man the chainsaw and Tamara handles the winch. Then I limb them while she drags the edibles over to the sheep. When we have a gaggle of bare logs I winch them home, then use the FEL chains to lift them to waist height one at a time. Back to the chainsaw to cut them into stove-length rounds with Tamara indicating where to cut. We coordinate so the rounds fall right next to the splitter. I use the splitter to quarter the larger rounds, and when everything is in a size she can handle Tam takes over. She splits into a pile right next to the woodshed, then stacks while I go get more trees.

We work like gangbusters, but at the end of the day everybody is happy. The sheep with their leaves, the dogs licking the salt off our sweaty skin, and us sipping beers and relaxing while dinner is being grilled.

And to think I used to live in a city!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Pete

Youare · Aug 31, 2004

Looking at those pictures makes me want to head out with the chainsaw and tractor to gather a load of fire wood. I have enjoyed 30 years of wood heat and 30 years of gathering it.

My wife's view of fire wood gathering is that it takes too much of my time. Those of you who have spouses who help in the cutting and splitting process are really blessed.

I find that cuting and splitting wood is great thearpy after a long day at work staring at a computer screen.

Randy

PhilNH5 · Sep 1, 2004

Varmintmist,
I have most of the equipment you suggested. Most of my plastic felling wedges have cuts in them from using them to prevent the chain from binding when cutting fireplace size pieces. I was using a chain to pull logs out of the pile in the beginning. In the pic of my wife cutting you can see the back end of the tractor as we had just dragged the log out. I even got to the point where I used the bucket and chain to drag out logs higher on the pile. But then I reached a pont where the pile was "stuck" so I had to make 2 cuts while on the pile. I knew how unsafe it was but took a calculated risk.
Regarding logging boots. I have heard of demos where the chainsaw cuts right through logging safety shoes. This was in a book from Baileys called "The Good wood cutters Guide" I used that as a reason not to spend the money on logging boots. I try to keep my wife as safe as possible /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I think I'll do some web searching to see if things have changed.
Thanks for your concern.

PhilNH5 · Sep 1, 2004

( And to think I used to live in a city!!!
)

Pete, I noticed that in your post on you new truck and dogs riding in the back you said you do not allow it. You used the phrase wicked bad 
I decided then and there you were no longer a transplanted city boy but darn near to beaing a native Vermonter!

This year was our first big time log operation. Not nearly as well co- ordinated as yours and Tamaras'. If I buy logs again I will have to try cutting on the FEL bucket.

If we take down our own trees we cut to lenght in the woods and then haul it out. So I never had a big pile of logs to cut all at once.

Phil

PhilNH5 · Sep 1, 2004

Randy,
( I find that cuting and splitting wood is great thearpy after a long day at work staring at a computer screen.
)

I agree with that. We don't own a splitter for just that reason. But we do rent one as the need arises!

Phil

Varmintmist · Sep 6, 2004

Phil, you are exactly right that a chainsaw will cut a boot in half a heartbeat. The boots WILL provide more traction thus avoiding a slip.

The logger term for boots doesnt mean that they are proof against a saw. they are a a deep lugged climbing boot with normally a steel toe and shank. Most are leather reinforced in the inside toe area to keep wear down from climbing trees. Some are high enough so that your gaffs strap around the boot at the top.

Dont go looking for a climbing/logger boot. Just get a decent work boot with tread.

.....................

To keep the saw from binding, like I said in the other post. Cut about 70-80 % through the log every 18 in or however long you want the peices. Then take your timberjack and use it as a cant hook and roll the log over so you can cut the other side.

Wedges getting cut is normal, thats why they are plastic /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif and cheap /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'm not faulting your style, I know that sometimes there is no choice than cutting from the pile. It was just a general FYI and isnt reccomended. The boots are a must though /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif, please.

I put up a lot of wood for me and family members, just letting you know what works for me.

theonlybull · Sep 6, 2004

the logging boots i use, are not ment to stop the saw, but more like the chaps and saw pants, they are ment to bindup and slow the speed of the chain, therefore reducing the damage done.

also the ones i have, are the rubber boot style, and have very soft soles, which will let you grip a wet log when normal work boots would have you down on your behind.....

for the $100 they cost, i would never use any other kind of foot wear in the woods...

when i started working in the woods, as a logger, i thought work boots were all i needed, but law required saw boots, now that i've used them, i'll never go back.