Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Couple of Achers]

I might as well add fuel to the fire. So to speak. Cleaning up a fence line with a Kubota and a Stihl. It don't get any better than this!

 

[4570Man]

Yea, the mechanical thumb sucks, but it is better then no thumb. If the logs are shorter ( maybe 4 feet ) you can pick them up from the end and only have to cut from one side. If I added some teeth on the side of the backhoe bucket it probably would help.

 

[94BULLITT]

Bullitt, is that a HF dual splitter? How did you fabricate the 4 way splitting head?

here is part of this years wood that I split with mine

Yes, it is a HF splitter. The wedge is a slip over wedge so I can take it off when I need a 2 way. I used 1/4 plate for the slip over part. I bent the sides in the press. The wings are 1/2.'' The splitter handles the 4 way very good.

It looks like you have a nice supply of wood.

 

[s219]

With a skinny tree that needs a wedge to help direct the fall have you ever tried making your normal notch cut and then bore straight back thru the center of the notch so the saw tip comes out the back of the tree dead center. It gives a clear path for a wedge thru the hinge. Then drive a wedge in the back slot you just made. Make you back cut in two cuts, one on each side of the tree. On the first side start your cut about 1/2 or 1 inch above the wedge cut with the tip of the saw just over lapping the edge of the wedge cut. As you cut in make sure it over laps all the way to the hinge. Cut straight in to make a half back cut and one side of the hinge. Tighten the wedge. Then cut the other side the same way to finish the back cut and hinge. The tree won't tip back and bind your saw. You want to end up with a narrow strip of solid wood above the wedge and between the two back cuts. Pound in the wedge to fell the tree. The 1" vertical connection between the wedge cut and back cuts will split easy as the wedge goes in and the tree comes down.

gg

I gave this a try today, and it worked like a charm -- I owe you a beer Gordon! For anyone curious, here's a picture of the stump after the tree went over:



I think the cuts would be a little more surgical if I was using a smaller saw/bar (this was with a 20" bar on a Husky 562XP) but it still worked OK. There were a couple real meaty crack sounds as I hammered the wedge in at the end, and then the tree very gently went over.

I like this cut so much I sketched the steps in my logging notebook. The only bad thing about this trick is that I didn't know it sooner!

 

[bcp]

A couple of other variations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ehdfLM1vVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLkgWFh9lDs

Bruce

 

[PSEbowhunter]

No big wood in this picture, but showing off my new bucket grapple with a mouthful of pine branches waiting to get cut into burn able lengths.

 

[Gordon Gould]

A couple of other variations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ehdfLM1vVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLkgWFh9lDs

Bruce

The second one is a good video of the method I described. I might have made my back cuts a little lower though.

gg

 

[Gordon Gould]

I gave this a try today, and it worked like a charm -- I owe you a beer Gordon! For anyone curious, here's a picture of the stump after the tree went over:

View attachment 452313

I think the cuts would be a little more surgical if I was using a smaller saw/bar (this was with a 20" bar on a Husky 562XP) but it still worked OK. There were a couple real meaty crack sounds as I hammered the wedge in at the end, and then the tree very gently went over.

I like this cut so much I sketched the steps in my logging notebook. The only bad thing about this trick is that I didn't know it sooner!

Glad it worked for you. By the looks of your stump you got the hang of it. My woods are full of small diameter tongue & groove stumps.

gg

 

[Green Acres Homestead]

That is a great suggestion Gordon, thanks -- I will give that a try.

this is a great idea. I did the bore cutting for leaning trees so they won't split but never really consider the saw jam benefit. I usually just stick in a wedge on the back side as i cut my conventional cut but I think I will give this a try. Great idea Gordon.

 

[bcp]

Professional logbending machinery

Seems that Europe is serious about loggers and firemen being trained to prevent accidents when cutting wood under tension. Barber chair, leaners, log piles, etc.

Quite a few videos on You Tube showing the simulation machinery and the training.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Spannungssimulator+

Interesting to watch for all of us firewood loggers.

Bruce