I've got my 3 year plan going and need zero more wood this fall. I also have plenty of wood on my lot so that I don't have to scrounge. This past fall, I've been working on clearing down the hill behind the house to get a bit of a view. Tons of nice easy young beech to work through and I get a view to boot. So, what did I do today? I texted my neighbor. Every time I drive by his place on the way home I see where he dropped a rather large red oak when he was building in 2018. It was in the way of the power lines coming in from the pole. He must have cut up the small stuff for his open fireplace and left the trunk as it was too big for him to hand split. Anyways, he says take it, it'll rot if you don't... So, I head over with the ATV, trailer and 500i this morning.... Man, there was more than I thought... and it was bigger than I thought... and it was on top of a rock pile which made it tough to roll the large rounds and tough to cut without banging your chain off the rocks. I got it bucked, rolled down to the road, split into quarters so I could lift it, and brought home to my processing area. Three maxed out trailer loads. MAN was I spoiled by 6-12" beech. This thing took all of my 28" bar to get through. Oh, and about that... I don't use it much so I'm not accustomed to how far it protrudes on the other side when doing smaller stuff. Yep, you guessed it... my nice 28" RS chain found a rock. Ah well, it's not destroyed and nothing a good sharpening won't cure. I took some pics but they don't do it justice... I'll grab another pic after I split and stack it the beginning of next week. I was too cooked today and it was cold and starting to spit snow a bit. Nap time now...LOL
I don't blame you, I have 13 cords sitting in the yard to cut and split, I have over a cord of dry split oak at my parents to bring home, plus a TON of dead and down trees there to cut and hual. And I just noticed a down oak tree at work that i want to ask to cut but I already have no time... But I will probably still cut it up otherwise the boss will probably have me take the loader out cut it into a few chunks and push it out into the swamp and I just can't do that to probably a cord of oak.
You still need wood to refill the wood stacks, as you empty them over the next few months. Nice hoarding!
It's a three part shuffle Mike but yes, in the spring I have to fill the stacks behind the shed again...
Hahaha! Yep, I feel your addiction. I've got 50ish cord around here & got a call today. Hey, you want some Maple? Yep, you guessed it, I'm gonna go grab it in the morning. Only about cord and a half, but it's close & limbed up already. I don't have a problem, I can quit anytime.
I'm feeling it tonight boys. Wet red oak from 25-30" thick in 24" lengths is heavy as... well, you know... I had to roll it down over the old half buried stone wall so I could quarter and load them on the side of the road. I earned my advil for sure tonight... Well, that and some adult beverages...
Ha, yep, I bought tractors & equipment to save on the Advil & Chiro bills. I ain't gettin any younger.
Oak indeed can be very heavy. Here is some we cut a few years ago. This was cut using a Stihl 290 with a 16" bar. As long as you keep the chain sharp it does very well. Loading and moving it will tax you a bit but my wife was a big help. She would roll the logs to the trailer and watch while I loaded them. This is where a low trailer is worth much!
Backwoods Savage a car ramp for oil changes gets you up at least a foot and nice resting spot on top. You probably know this
Ive cut on rocky conditions like that and a PITA for sure. I hear you on the longer bar too. Have to be very mindful of the tip when it protrudes a lot. I managed to nick an old shovel handle cutting yesterday Just had to run the saw for a few cuts at a friends house. 18" RS chain on the 361
Yes and that car ramp is either the same height or lower than the trailer. In addition, the trailer also tilts with a pull of a pin.
Got it split, stacked and covered today. That's it for the season as the temps drop tomorrow and I really have done enough for the year. Here are a few shots of my area behind the barn where I split and stack and eventually move the stacks into the wood shed. It gets a lot of wind as it's at the end of my property where wind blows up the hill. It also gets a good deal of afternoon sun. I have about 6.5 cords in the shed and there must be more than that waiting behind it now too. That along with this season's supply already being in the basement... The red oak from this hoard was ripe for splitting. Bark was falling off about 50% of it and the splitter was short cycling as they popped with very little resistance. Good stuff. It will come into the basement the spring of 2023 and start burning the winter of 23-24...
Looking real good there Rod! Nice shed and nice stacks too! But what will you do if a good wood score comes your way? Once the saws hibernate they dont like to be woken up.
I suppose I could come out of temporary retirement if need be Brad... LOL... I always say I'm done after a big project. Then after a couple days recovery, anything seems possible again...
