Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[CalG]

Had a kickback event with my top handle saw, yesterday. Ate my Deere ball cap, and just scratched my scalp. I was relatively lucky.

You always hear folks say they can’t imagine how this happens, until it happens to them, and I guess I’m in that boat now. I put more hours on chainsaws every year, than most non-pros will in a lifetime, so this didn’t come from lack of experience. More likely a “familiarity breeds complacency” issue, in this case.

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For anyone curious, “Little’s” is our local chain of JD dealerships.

Here’s where all the keyboard Dudly Do-Rights get on their soap box, about using a top-handle saw on the ground.

I've come on to the habit of wearing the hard hat , with muffs and face shield/ I've had a couple of "jumps" that steered me this way.
The hat hangs on a peg right above the saw, so it's just natural to put it on!

 

[John_Mc]

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 not wiling to wear chaps, a helmet, and eye & hearing protection, they are simply not allowed to operate a chainsaw for that event.

If it's an event I'm not in charge of, and people are not wiling to wear the appropriate PPE, I'll just pack up and leave. (I'm usually the one with a tractor with grapple and logging winch, and possibly my forwarding trailer. If I leave that tends to put a bit of a damper on the operation.)

I also have no patience anymore for the macho attitude of someone who thinks that real men who know what they are doing don't need PPE. No one PLANS to have an accident, and it can happen to the best of us, regardless of your skills, training, or years of experience.

My attitude toward this shifted when I had kids, and realized that wearing appropriate PPE was a minor inconvenience. I wanted to be around to see my kids grow up, get married, and have grandkids, and have full use of all my limbs and mental faculties while doing so.

 

[Jstpssng]

Don't be like me - started wearing hearing protection after I was deaf.

gg

I believe that's SOP. I now wear plugs AND muffs if I'm going to be cutting all day. If I wear just one, I will listen to the saw running all night

 

[Hoobie]

Some years back while limbing in awkward bushy place I fell and almost bellied on my spinning saw chain. I now run a Stihl 362 with a special feature. For the chain to move the handle must be gripped. So if I am running the saw wide open and let go of my right hand throttle grip the chain brake activates immediately.
A local pro was killed 20 years ago when he fell backwards and the running saw landed in his groin and he bled out. This saw I now have would have saved him.
When I bought the saw I ordered one with this feature. $100 extra. Dealer said it is the only one he ever sold.

 

[shooterdon]

People don't plan. I have a small firewood business. I had very few orders in October (8 face cords). This week I have 9 face cords to deliver and opening day is the 15th. I also have a broken finger to deal with.

The good news is I had 40 loggers cords delivered yesterday and another 20 ordered. The logs are being harvested from a property less than 5 miles from me. Getting a good price on those logs. Really nice logs of mostly red oak and a bit of hard maple. May decide to order more logs if the next load is as good as the last two.

I stopped harvesting wood about 8 years ago. "Free" wood is not cheap...LOL. When my mentally challenged boy was spending more time with me, it was a good way to spend time together and make him feel productive. He loved driving the Ranger into the woods to harvest wood after the loggers left the short stuff they could not sell. He would help me run the splitter but I did not let him run the saw.

My business model is to work alone, pay off my processor, and get some exercise. Lost 25 lbs this year and processed 95 face cords YTD.

 

[WinterDeere]

People don't plan.

That sums it up! If buying oak, I hope they don't plan to burn it until at least fall of 2027. It usually takes 3 summers split and stacked, to get oak below 20% MC, in our climate. I believe MI is very much the same.

The oak and hickory I'm burning right now was split fall of 2020, so 4 summers on it, stacked under roof in sheds with no walls. It's burning real nice, even at the lowest settings of my catalytic stoves, no stalls. I swept the chimneys on both stoves yesterday, and got enough creo out of each to barely fill a 6 oz. Chobani yogurt cup, after 10 cords burned between the pair. Those burning wet wood can fill multiple coffee cans after just 2 - 4 cords.

When first starting to build up my current cache, 15 years ago, I was faced with having to burn wood that didn't have that sort of drying time on it. I found that Ash and Walnut actually do okay after just one full summer (if you can get it put up in March). It's not ideal, but it's manageable. But with oak, even 2 summers leaves it hissing and wet. Oak and hickory are the best local woods for those of us who have time to dry it, but the worst woods for those who are trying to burn it soon after splitting.

Awesome that you got to spend time with your son, processing firewood. My own kids lost interest in it before they were old enough to be able to run the equipment. Now as teens, they're too busy with other activities to ever help with these sorts of chores.

 

[deezler]

My business model is to work alone, pay off my processor, and get some exercise. Lost 25 lbs this year and processed 95 face cords YTD.

Wow, Don! nice work. So wait, did you buy a processor? I thought you were renting one periodically.

 

[Gordon Gould]

^^^^^ I agree. Go to watch your progress and success the last couple years.

gg

 

[shooterdon]

Wow, Don! nice work. So wait, did you buy a processor? I thought you were renting one periodically.

I bought it last year. Had a rough start. Had a machine failure that took 5 weeks to resolve, then got Covid and Lyme disease. This is the first year of full use.

You are correct. I stated by renting a Dyna and we produced two years of firewood for our use in two days. Went to rent it again and cost had almost doubled. It no longer made sense to rent, so started looking at purchasing a smaller processor. It penciled out that I could pay for one in about 5 years if I sold 125-150 face cords a year. Ended up purchasing a Red Runner Deluxe with a live deck.

This launched my little side business…Woodbusters.

 

[BackRoad]

Where is Mr. ShooterDon and his processor when you need him?!!

Most of this pile is from trees cut and stacked over the last year while clearing 40 year old pasture. They're not huge, but couldn't find time to process while we were finishing the house build.

But now the first round of bucking is done...time to split and stack for next year.

The next batch will be cut and piled on my trailer like Mr. Sawyer Rob does to make it more efficient to feed the splitter!

To be continued!