Spent the afternoon cutting Oak

Thanks gents. That is a little over half a cord. My Hults Burks helped with some limb work and splitting today. The handle is now loose. So, it
lasted one year from when I put it on. About normal for here. Now I'll have to procure another handle at 15$, a hour to town and back. 2 hours
to rehang it and over night for the epoxy to cure. I like the wood handle but for me they don't hold up. I'm glad I have enough wood to hold me
for a while. DM
 
I have access to a yard where the town public works crews dump all their wood that isn't chipped. I can usually get a pick up load of seasoned no split wood 2-3 times a year. I found it's easier to take a chain and pull it out with the pick up rather clambering around a pile of logs with a chain saw. I try to simplify things as I have gotten a little older.:) --KV
 
This load of wood came from a dirt road that had large dead limbs hanging, broken by drought & winds or Bark Beetles. The land owner didn't
want his road blocked from these falling onto it. So, they were cut via a platform lift on a front end loader of a tractor. Some were 10-12"dia. and after cutting they were drug off to the side. They laid there from September and I had promised him I'd start cutting them. Work and family got in the way but I did get to it. So, I'll keep at it until all are cut up. Thanks, for your comments. DM
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
That's how folks in Europe used to gather firewood, and would even maintain coppices deliberately for the purpose of firewood generation. Saw-cut, split firewood wasn't a "thing" until pretty recently, as odd as it is to imagine.
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well if you think about it, most of the big old trees woulda been pretty much gone at the time they came over, no forest management of the forests and most tools had wooden handles. couple that with the US and most of the trees were old growth. i read one account of a tree lover from the 1790's. he said when h made landfall he saw a 9 foot black oak
 
phantomknives said:
well if you think about it, most of the big old trees woulda been pretty much gone at the time they came over, no forest management of the forests and most tools had wooden handles. couple that with the US and most of the trees were old growth. i read one account of a tree lover from the 1790's. he said when h made landfall he saw a 9 foot black oak
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The practice went back to the medieval period and earlier. It wasn't a lack of big trees--those got used for other stuff. But a lack of modern saws (including crosscut saws) meant that processing large trees for firewood was not only way more labor-intensive than farming coppices or foraging for sticks and saplings, but it was also tremendously wasteful of the raw material, which was better pressed into service for other things. When everything had to be done by hand, especially with relatively primitive tools, it really had a significant impact on your labor economy.
 
We heat our home each winter by burning wood in our wood stove. On a normal winter I need to cut 3 cords of oak to keep our house warm.
Last winter was not as snowy & cold as other winters and I ended up with about a cord in reserve. I now have 2 cords. So, a few more loads
and we'll be at the target amount. DM
 
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Always nice to get a load or two of oak! We have a few around here, but not Emory... not sure what kind it is. Splits way easier than Emory. I have a bit cut up from windfalls a couple years ago, but mostly I have to burn pine as its what's common. I save the oak for really cold nights.

NM plate? I thought you were around Mayer for some reason.
 
We are much higher elevation than Mayer. This oak burns very clean, slower and puts out good heat. When I bring in a arm load of wood
and put it in the rack. We have to watch as the bark beetles will make their way out of it and head for the rug. DM
 
Good to see your work David! Oak is great to heat the house, we have this type stove, I don't know how it is named in English,

cocina_economica_SAJA8.jpg


We use it to heat the water and the radiators too, very recommendable. Sometimes when we have both we use beech when we cook and oak the rest of the time.
Good looking chainsaw , what is your experience with Huskies?
A little point about drying axe handles, if you have the opportunity give a try to taper fit axes, there uses to be less loosing problems with them,


FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades you are quite right, firewood and wood gathering methods varied from place to place but for homesteading smaller wood was used. Here pollarding was in wide use due to prior deforestation.
 
Ugaldie, thanks for the video. That oak tree looked like post oak or white oak. Which I have cut in East Texas growing up. It does not have the dense heart that Emory has. Your wood stove is very handsome. It is made for cooking and heating. Ours is a Lopi and is only designed for heating. I have cooked on it, made coffee, soup and baked on it. Because during our snow storms electric power will go out for 1-2 days and
that's all we have. It works. For years during the 90's thru 2005. I cut all our wood by hand tools. 2 axes and a crosscut saw. Now, I use the
Husky model 455 Rancher. It has 2 bars a 18" and 20" and good power. I clean it and change the air & gas filter and spark plug each year.
Make sure the fuel mixture is right and don't leave ethanol fuel in it after cutting season. I've cut w/ it for 10 years. It's been a good tool.
Two tanks of fuel will cut over 1/2 a cord in 2 hours. And I'm not so fast working. DM
 
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David Martin said:
Ugaldie, thanks for the video. That oak tree looked like post oak or white oak. Which I have cut in East Texas growing up. It does not the dense heart that Emory has. Your wood stone is very handsome. It is made for cooking and heating. Ours is a Lopi and is only designed for heating. I have cooked on it, made coffee, soup and baked on it. Because during our snow storms electric power will go out for 1-2 days and
that's all we have. It works. For years during the 90's thru 2005. I cut all our wood by hand tools. 2 axes and a crosscut saw. Now, I use the
Husky model 455 Rancher. It has 2 bars a 18" and 20" and good power. I clean it and change the air & gas filter and spark plug each year.
Make sure the fuel mixture is right and don't leave ethanol fuel in it after cutting season. I've cut w/ it for 10 years. It's been a good tool.
Two tanks of fuel will cut over 1/2 a cord in 2 hours. And I'm not so fast working. DM
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First thing the instructor said when I took a college small engine course 10 years ago: "Ethanol gas has given a huge boost to small engine sales and for the tune-up and repair industry". Ethanol gas deteriorates hoses, gaskets and seals of older engines, it goes skunky within 6 months, and it does not reliably atomize through carburetors when it's cold. Always use premium fuel (in Canada this is the sole gasoline grade that so far contains no ethanol), renew your stock every 3 months, and never leave fuel in seasonal machines (outboards/snowblowers/lawnmowers/leaf blowers/chainsaws etc). If you have to leave gas in an engine (ie there is no fuel shutoff capability) make sure to use a liberal amount of fuel stabilizer.
 
Correct. 'Stable' does work. Different companies make it and using it, -- mine has been good fuel for the next year. Home generators, weed eaters and log splitters should be given attention to use this or drain the tank after use. We have another option that's sold here is Tru-Fuel.
It does not contain ethanol and actually states on the container, 'negates the harmful effects of ethanol'. It's available for 2 cycle and 4 cycle
engines. It works great in my chain saw and weed eater. But it costs 3$ a quart. In March, the end of the season I can find it on sale for 2$ a
quart. So, not for large tank machinery. Thus, I buy premium fuel, use 'Stable' and the oil mix. If I have fuel left over after a year I use it to
start my charcoal fire for cooking. As I hate taking a carburetor apart for cleaning. DM
 
David Martin said:
Correct. 'Stable' does work. Different companies make it and using it, -- mine has been good fuel for the next year. Home generators, weed eaters and log splitters should be given attention to use this or drain the tank after use. We have another option that's sold here is Tru-Fuel.
It does not contain ethanol and actually states on the container, 'negates the harmful effects of ethanol'. It's available for 2 cycle and 4 cycle
engines. It works great in my chain saw and weed eater. But it costs 3$ a quart. In March, the end of the season I can find it on sale for 2$ a
quart. So, not for large tank machinery. Thus, I buy premium fuel, use 'Stable' and the oil mix. If I have fuel left over after a year I use it to
start my charcoal fire for cooking. As I hate taking a carburetor apart for cleaning. DM
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Right on! Easiest is to pour 'stale-dated' fuel into your car or truck before buying new stuff. Even a gallon of 50:1 mix won't mess up a daily-use vehicle that has lots of fresh gas in it.
 
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