Funny you mention Mennonites. This charity cut was for missionaries of a Mennonite church, in the middle of Mennonite country in SW MO, and there were Mennonites there cutting and splitting too. I bet the logging outfit was Mennonite as well, but cannot say for sure; it never crossed my mind until your post.
I would make sure of a contract but even without one I would charge them for the trees that were damaged.
Friends mother had her lot logged and they left the tops, but too far into the woods and rocky terrain to retrieve. If you have access all the better. Most of the time, cut off chunks left by log deck and tops in the woods. I hate muddy wood as it destroys chains and the cut offs are mostly crap wood ie gnarly knotty etc. The tops can be a tangled mess as stated and a PITA to work in, but if youre ambitious it can be done.
Not my property and the owners don't seem to care about the mess. They bought the property for the huge house. I don't know if they've ever been past where the grass stops.
Depends, around me it's all hardwood logging and the woods are open enough I can get the kabota to most of the piles. The tractor really is a difference maker as I wouldn't be as ambitious to deal with tops without it. This is what I got out so far and I'll come close to tripling what's there till I'm done and it's all oak and hickory. Some times tops aren't worth it other times you fall into a gold mine.
Most of the wood I cut is from logging sites . At this time I'm cutting on a 60 acre select cut site . lots of white, red oak , hickory and ash, tops. all clean and still solid. If any of you guys are within driving distance to zip code 23040 you are welcome to join me and get all the F R E E wood you can cut and haul. offer good until the heat sets in.
Just my personal experience with a logging site but I tried it once about 12 years ago when I drove past an old site about half an hour from home. I didn't even have a saw in the truck but pulled in and was loading some chunks from a slash pile. Heard screeching brakes on the road and saw a ranger backing up and pulling in. I've just about always had decent interactions with rangers (federal forest service) and conservation officers (state) however this guy was an a**. Went off about how this was an active logging site, and didn't I see it posted? Now in my defense, I had driven past this location many times and I had never seen activity, plus I saw nothing posted. The ranger went over to a tree (facing away from the road) and pulled back a bunch of undergrowth to unveil a worn, faded, and mostly decomposed piece of paper attached to a tree that was the logging permit. It wasn't worth arguing with this individual, so I dumped the chunks from my truck and drove away vowing that logging sites around here (mostly done in the national forest of all places) are not worth it. Wouldn't you know that 12 years later there has never been any additional activity at that location and the slash pile is still there. For my purposes, it's much easier to just get a $10 per cord permit for dead and down and scrounge entire trees, not someone's leftovers.
Those gnarly knotted peices are supposed to be great all nighters though! Sent from my LE2127 using Tapatalk
I can't blame ya for that, that's just asinine of the officer. Out here in indiana though we don't have (I've never heard of such a thing) cord permit and I can get tons of logs from my tree service buddy but sometimes that's too much\oversized stuff some real back breakers even when noodled. Sent from my LE2127 using Tapatalk
Cord permits are a nationwide thing in national forests from the feds. State permits vary of course (here it is $20 per cord from the state to pull dead and down from state parks).
I've fallen into a similar situation with a logging site. A friend with 80 acres sold off several trees, and he called to say I can have all the tops I want. The loggers left the site in great shape, not sure who did the logging, but we have a large Amish community not far away. The tops were all pushed into piles, which so far I can pull out with my truck. But getting to a lot of the piles depends on dry ground, and it's a bad time of year for that. I say go for it, there's great wood to be had.
Just depends on the site and what equipment you have. I have gotten access to a couple sites. After pulling in and looking around, haven't tried them yet. The skidders left some deep and rough ruts, if I get desperate for wood, I might try it.
They are for sure, i just dont like messing with them. When i take them ill noodle them into 4x4 pieces rather than split into uglies. Im a snob ill admit and like "pretty splits"
I still have a woods full of tops from logging four years ago, mostly white and red oak. It's all still in good shape because most of it is up off the ground. I am renting an excavator for a week in late April to do some stone wall building and landscaping and I fully intend to run the machine out into the woods and pile up all those tops so they can be easily retrieved. A mini excavator with a thumb is probably one of the best tools for cleaning up after a logging operation.
I like logging sites if I can get access to them. The biggest thing with working these sites is situational awareness. Chaps are a must if nothing else imo. make sure you watch where you plant your feet and pay attention to where they are as you cut and leave an escape. Sometimes pulling doesn't work so great and you have to get into the thick of it.
I do too, I turned down the uglies, even if they are to length and just heard people on here bragging about them so I'll try em out next year. Sent from my LE2127 using Tapatalk
Lots of times the gnarly trunk wood is nice and tight grained and heavy so denser thus more btus. Ill take them if i really have to.
I cut off the clear cut behind my house, the land owner also tells me to cut the bigger ones that the machine can't get. Got over 15 chord free last fall. There's over 20 chord in the yard right now. 10 left to buck up and all 20 to split. In one of my wood stoves I prefer the smaller wood, seems to burn hotter.
There's plenty of straight stuff left. Like, a life-times supply and it'll rot before you can get it all.
