Final push to get the biggest sections all up to the yard before the snow's too mushy. Been a couple weeks since I'd been down. Could skid some with just the front sled… but, the 3 biggest sections had to come out on the skis too. All are now up… tops still to do, and that's it for this year. Plenty. Started the day out with a mandatory "crush test" of the ski sled, while backing up. It passed. Had to roll back over it to get off. (Have no idea how that got hooked onto the back of the machine… ) Giz started snacking on the stump… she was grazing on frozen saw chip piles too… happy hound. Final 2 heaviest pcs, 22" dia. Only 80" long. They were as heavy as the 14' sections of the ash. Rollin off the last one… Glad to have the bulk of the oak ready to parbuckle onto the pile. Think I'm gonna try one of the chains I just got back from Pete, and buck each log after I roll em up. They'll still be up off the ground then, until I split em. Sun and clouds today. 45 degrees. Nice day. Gotta keep tweaking my skiddin gear. Better ways to do it. That's half the fun…
Looks like a great day !! Man..I love those tracks Up my neck of the woods..its officially too muddy !!!
Hey Mr Fuzz. I'm pooped but feel great. Yeah, every time I use the Suz I'm really happy with it. Sure do wish there was some way to help the steering tho. It's as much work steering it as it is doing any of the wood related stuff. At least, that's what my neck and shoulders tell me… Mud's no fun. Tracks are able to do 2 good things on soft ground/mud. They stay on top mostly anyway, but if ruts are made by tires and you want to flatten them back out before it drys up, the tracks are amazing at rolling the edges of ruts flat back down. Did it last year on our lawn, worked good.
Wow That's a lot of wood you have their Stinny! That sure is all nice prime straight logs you have. I know how heavy those oaks are... I'm dealing with some now, but nearly smart as how your doing it.... I will wait for the splitter pics and the split stack shots....
Thanks Fan. Feelin pretty good about the total logs. Should be more than enough for a year's burn. 3 cords maybe. Here's what the splitter deck/small boom looks like… ugh… gonna be a while, and then the ground's gonna be too soft to move it too…
Thanks Ray. The oak my son and I took last year was a little smaller than this one, but we could sure tell the dif between same sized ash vs oak. And both hardwoods…
Just so I have this straight.... You use ropes, pulleys, sleds, winches, booms and levers when your cutting wood... Gotta love it... Great use of basic engineering principles... What was I thinking all these years!
You ought to see me when I get all tied up in a rope rats nest during black fly season. It ain't pretty…
Awesome work stinny! Looks like your best friend gnawed that tree right down to the ground. Awesome pics bro!
Always feels good to get more wood, doesn't it? I just let Giz out and all I did was stare at the wood… ha…
Great job gettin those bigguns out of the woods! Nothin like good old fashion rope and pulleys to get the job done. Great pics of the pup too!
I like your style Stinny. I need to work on getting some more gear like yours. My gear consists of too many saws, 2 arms, 2 legs, a truck and trailer. Oh, and a splitter. Love the splitter!
Yep, I've declared war on gravity. My ole back, like many others, has been used and abused. I used to take a lot of pride in bulling hard into stuff. Can't do it anymore. So, I spend time learning what works now, and what doesn't. I've learned a lot this spring, about the process down in the woods, doing it alone. I'll enjoy making changes. All I know is, I have to keep moving while bending and lifting as little as possible… and this FHC forum has given me a whole new shot of steam that helps to get er done…
Monin Loon. Thanks. Had fun yesterday. Yeah, Giz only stops long enough for a good yak… then, back to chompin. When she finally got back to the deck, she crashed and burned. I'm always surprised when she's not moving…
Nice pictures Should be fun splitting the big ones Looks like nice slow break up for you too. Just about mud season here, possible rain this week end.
Those Max Traxx are sweet Stinny - I can only imagine cranking the handlebars though,,, I feel for you. You might look into one of those skidding plates for pulling logs. I recall seeing something on youtube a few years ago
The steering is enough of a deal that I plan every move ahead of any turn. Just like a truck without power steering, ya gotta be moving. It's also easier to turn back to center by putting it in and out of 4x4 mode… whichever is needed. It does so well on the important workload stuff, that I ignore the steering… until about 2 hrs later… I use that plastic nose sled in one of the pics, up front, to keep the log from digging in. It works well with the skis on back which keeps the log from rolling over on the skid up. Those skidding plates would do the same thing and maybe, because it's steel, keep the log from rolling. I have thought about a skidding nose cone, to help pull logs to the main trail. I've re-learned this spring, that rigging only works if it's simple, simple. KISS… keep it simple stupid…
