A local tree service (4 miles away) brings back a lot of larger wood, and they just toss it on a pile and burn it. They said it takes too long to cut up and split for firewood - they like the smaller stuff.

So, after talking with the owner for a bit, he said he would pile any of the larger stuff by the road for me to get.

There was a couple of pieces of Silver Maple by the road on Friday, so a neighbor who wanted some wood agreed to help and we'd split the haul. I told him that we should be done in about 3 hours. We weren't there but 5 minutes and the owner of the company shows up with a dump truck full of wood, and dumps it next to the stuff that we were going to start on. The 3 hr cutting session turned into a 7 hr marathon.

The pics aren't even from some of the largest pieces. The saw has a 32" bar on it.... The pieces were about 7 to 8 feet long, and I cut everything into 16" lengths.




Quite a number of 16" thick pieces had to be noodled down into 4 or 6 pieces just so we could get them light enough to load onto the trailer by hand. I think we each ended up with about 8,000# of wood just from today.

The owner of the tree service said that he will be cutting down 3 large Oak trees and a large Ash tree this week. I told my neighbor to rest up.

Scott,
I'm not sure who got more of a workout... the Dolmar, or the fellows who had to use it. Oak and ash are pretty good wood, if you could get the tree service to bring you some beech also you'd be set!!

At the rate that he's cutting down big trees, I think I'll have plenty of wood to keep the house warm for a LONG time. I've got enough seasoned for this winter, all this "new" wood is for the years ahead. I think one of the projects next year will be building a roofed storage area for the wood. I think we cut and moved about 4 cords yesterday.

I've never burned Beech. Close to the house there aren't any beech trees, but if I go about 15 miles South, they are in abundance. I've seen some that were a good 4' across.

I have a lot of childhood memories cutting and splitting wood with my dad. Some not so good as in when I came in contact with poison ivy that was wrapped around the wood.

My parents tried everything from coal, to wood, to corn (or was it the cobs) that was grown on the property.

Cecil, if you want to re-live some of your childhood memories (minus the poison ivy) you're more than welcome to come over! I have a hydraulic splitter, but I'm sure I can dig up the splitting maul, sledgehammer and wedges for ya.

sprkplug, I did take a couple of advil before I went to bed last night! I'll talk to my neighbor today (who's holding the saw in the pic) and see how he's doing. Yesterday evening he said he could feel muscles that he hasn't used in a while.

Scot,

If I could find the time I would be glad to help you. If you need me I can try.

I spent a couple of hours firewooding yesterday on some post oak trees.

No way I want to tackle any of the stuff you're cutting.

That makes my back hurt just looking at it.

This pic is my 056 Stihl with it's 32" bar sitting on the stump of the last tree I cut this past spring. I feel your pain Esshup. I love big trees, and that wood is more dense than smaller trees too, burns longer. I knocked this one over by myself, had 3 wedges stacked up and still had to cut a wooden wedge to get it to finally topple over. I sat down to think about my sanity when I was done, not to take a break.

http://www.antiquecaterpillar.net/ACF_v2/attachment.php?attachmentid=26572

Joe, I get a "you are not logged in" message when I try and access it, and can't see it.

That would be my fault esshup, it's linked to an antique caterpillar owners club site and apparently you have to be a logged in member to view pictures on it. I have to find a place to post them up. It's a good sized tree in any case.

There's a stickey somewhere here that gives tips for posting pictures. I can't get the hang of it, so I just continue to use my Photobucket account.

I think I have it figured, here goes.....

Well those are links that work anyway. The blocks in the picture called maple mess are actually the limbs of the tree that I dropped first before dropping the main trunk. We called that tree the scary maple, because we had a road that went under the limbs and they were scary to drive under, it looked as though they would fall at any moment. I took the tree down because it was slowly dying. I have another maple to drop and a huge white oak in the same condition, should be next years heat.

Yep, that's about the size of the stump of the tree that we cut up.

I have a sugar maple that was split in half vertically in the last wind storm at 15' in the air, a 12' ratchet strap wouldn't go around the truck to hold on a ladder stand. I had to put 2 together. Now, the tree is leaning towards the pond. The part that is on the ground measures about 100' long. I'm NOT looking forward to dropping the 2nd half. The base of the tree is only about 25' from the pond.

I don't mind dropping trees, but the bigger they are, the more precautions I take, especially if the wind is swirling any. Sort of like a spooked deer - every little out of place noise makes me jump.

You guys can have my share of the big ones. I have a serious yellow streak when I walk up to a big one to drop.

All of my trees are post oak. You can pretty well cook a chain on a big one.

You guys are making me tired and sore just reading this thread.

For most of my life (except for my six years in the Navy, in very warm climates) most of my home heat has been provided by wood and/or a combination of wood and coal -- with a little supplement from gas and electric.

I'll be 63 in a few weeks. Several years ago I gave up the macho image. I got rid of my big chainsaws -- sent them to Katrina cleanup. I quit tilting at trees more than about 20" DBH. I now have three high-speed modern chainsaws (medium, small, and even smaller). Last year I started buying wood from one of my son's friends.

As I get older and wiser (lazier), I have less desire to take down the really big and dangerous ones, even though I have all the equipment. Several years ago, I succumbed to using a tree service to take out some 36- to 40-inch DBH oaks within about four foot of our previous house. The "woodchuckers" had it done in no time at all. They cut the bucks into 18-inch lengths. They mulched the branches and leaves into tiny pieces. I still had to split the wood. But, for about $600, I got the trees cut down, I got about 10 yards of mulch, and I got about four cord of firewood. I thought it was quite a bargain -- and I didn't endanger my house, family, or me.

63??? Is THAT all???

Aww Geeze! Even here!

Not long ago, I complained to my boss that the employees were making fun of me because they thought I was old. I told her that I felt that I worked in a "hostile work environment."

She told me that "You are old."

Today, several of us Navy veterans were in the company lunchroom. I mentioned that I spent four years stationed in Pearl Harbor. One of the younger dudes asked if that was before the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack!

I just can't get no respect anywhere.

Some day, all of you young kids are going to be as old as DD1! Then you'll really be sorry!

Young Ken

Ken, now we know you're either old or in desperate need of a vacation! You told us this story a couple weeks ago. That's what prompted the age comment..hehehe

To make a long story short, I bought tickets to the Bears/Packers game for my Dad and his cousin. The previous weekend a neighbor asked Dad if he was ever to a Bears game. His reply was yes, but not at Soldiers Field, it was when they played at Wrigley Field. The neighbors son asked my dad if the dirt had any grass on it yet.....

As far as the big trees go, I'd surely rather not cut them, but I have to remove them from my forest. I bought this place 15 years ago this coming February and the woods still hasn't been gone thru once by me. I have picked away at it but I have 60 acres of forest on my 130 acres and it's alot for one guy to manage. I also have a very large white ash to cut, a couple cords in it too. When I am 63 I will cut for recreation, now it is out of necessity. I'd rather cut 2 footers than 5 footers any day, so would my back.

I am the same way dropping them large ones Esshup, always looking up and never on a windy day. I always leave a big hinge wood in the center and wedge, wedge, wedge, wedge...even then I get nervous. It's a good feeling to hit the mark though and land one right where you wanted.

JoeG, I'm like you. I don't own nearly that much land, but there are quite a few trees on it. I was told to take out every 3rd tree to open the understory, but I have enough work just keeping up with the ones that die naturally.

I had no plans on ever taking down that large Maple, but Mother Nature changed that. I need to get the 1/2 that's down cleaned up, and then think long and hard about the half that's standing.

Ken, my Dad once told me "Son, only the good die young. You'll be around long enough to regret your youth and wonder where it went." As a contradiction he said "Son, you'll never live to vote. Somebody's going to blow your damn head off."

He died at 62 and in November I'll have outlived him by 6 years.

You are only as old as you let yourself behave...if you live sedentary you will surely die that way.

Esshup I bought this land because I was young and dumb, no idea how much work there was here, but slowly and surely I am creeping up on the vision that put the sparkle in my eye the day I signed the closing papers. The toughest goal I have yet in my life is to teach my boy to love it as much as I do so he can do that for his son someday.

Big timber companies won't touch my woods they say the DBH avg. is too small for harvest, but I'm gonna harvest and manage for deer, not timber.

I agree, it's a lot of work. I bought this place because I can deer hunt right behind the house. I don't have any trees that would make good timber - too many branches close to the ground. (Pin Oak) Some Maple might be O.K., but the property looks like it was almost clear cut about 50-60+ years ago.

Make it wildlife friendly and they will find it!

The pheasants found it this year Esshup, I had a total of 11 in a brood here, down to 8 of them now but they are almost adults, the males have full colors and long tail feathers, easy to tell from their papa as he had no white ring on his neck. They love my 30 acres of standing goldenrod and spend lots of time in my yard too. Will be interesting to see how they winter. This is only the second time I have ever seen them born and raised wild, it's pretty neat.

Nice! Next year, see if you can plant a few (5 or so) rows of corn. Plant it a little closer together than usual. I've seen pheasants utilize the spaces under corn stalks that were tipped over and covered with snow. The pheasants will do better if you can keep the predators under control, especially raccoons. They are really hard on nests and young birds.

I would sooner bet the red tail hawks and bald eagles around here are pretty hard on critters through the winter. I have some tree tops around and brush piles too, along with lots of old equipment that they use to hide. Just a nice addition to the place to see them around.

The raptors are, but the pheasants will get under cover and are protected from the eyes in the sky.

The 4-legged predators do a number on nests & the young 'uns, and on Momma if she doesn't get out of there when they come a calling.

I think both PF and DU did a study and found that control of predators (raccoons, skunks, opossum, fox and coyote) helped the population just as much and sometimes more than good habitat did.

I can believe it with the Yotes, I know they are hard on the little things around here. I have video of one killing a woodchuck and it is not an option for the chuck to escape, he is simply food on the landscape when the coyote showed up.