So I thought I was done scrounging for a while so I could focus on splitting and other things. However, the power line tree crew dropped off another load of chips yesterday and told me about a red oak they were taking down that the property owner said I could have. A bit over half a mile away but couldn't pass it up. A little punk at the heart but probably about 95%+ good wood. They also took down several smaller red maples so I was able to get those as well. The first two logs were carried home one at a time with the grapple. Then I made two trips with the tractor and trailer carrying a load in the trailer plus one in the grapple. One final trip with the truck/trailer to get the rest. The tree crew was great and cut the trunk into manageable lengths for the grapple. With five trips, loading/unloading, etc., it took close to five hours but that's a lot of good oak so worth it in my book. (Plus it was fun watching tourist's faces when they saw me going down the road with those large logs in the grapple). I have scrounged more wood in a day in years gone by, but this is the largest (diameter) scrounge I can remember. Since most of the trees I get have to be hauled out of the woods by hand (some with a winch), I never get anything close to this size (impractical to move by hand). Just when I thought the 25" bar on the 500i would be more than enough.
Outstanding scrounge Sergeant! I would've been all over that one myself. Judging by the dark stains in the red oak I'd say there's some steel in there, so proceed with caution. Besides that, you made out really well
The tree crew didn't hit any metal (thankfully) however I agree that the markings have me thinking there is the chance for finding some in the tree. Hopefully I will find it with the splitter and not the saw.
Those are the chunks big saws are made for. Sweet score of red oak! The 500 will look good with a 36” stihl light bar
Nope, just eyeball them (although I do measure where the cinder block bases are so they are all in alignment). I have a neighbor that does use a laser level on his stacks and even on his Holz Hausen.
Wow, congratulations! Nice tree crew, to hook you up like that. What do you tell them when they offer you more next week?
Dontcha kinda hate when your done hoarding for a while and a score shows up unexpectedly? Those are some bigguns! Nice to have the grapple to get em. I think your 500i is smiling! Great score. Cant beat having it that close to home either. First wood i bucked with mine was 36" oak. Dont use the 36" bar that often but handy to buck in one swath. With the grapple and forks its a perfect set up for it.
I broke bread with them a couple years ago when they were doing some right of way clearing on my road. They were back in the area last month so I linked up with them again. They've dropped off about ten loads of chips so far for me and hooked me up with a couple decent scores. They still have a bit more to do locally so if they tell me about some more, I won't turn it down!
I would have been hard pressed to get these without the grapple so it has been a good investment. Well now I have to get the 36" bar. It's all buZZsaw BRAD's and Eric Schamell's fault! They made me do it! I have witnesses!
LOL!!! I had purchased a 36" Laser brand bar just to fell a tree back in 2018. For my 046. I ended up using it every now and then and like i said nice to cut in one pass. The one pictured on my saw i just bought used back in the Winter. For some reason i bugged me having an "off brand" bar on the saw. The lightweight ones are nice but i couldnt justify spending the extra money. If i cut often and for long periods of time yes id get them. I found the Laser one on ebay with full skip chain for $125 roughly. How often do you cut big wood like that? Im not a fan of it with all the grunt work involved despite the fact they do make lots of splits.
