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I wrecked 3 brand new chains in less than 15 minutes. Somebody used concrete to fill a hollow in a tree. I moved about 3' each side of the first cut and still didn't find the end of the concrete. I gave up.... 32" bar on the saw.

It doesn't take much dirt to dull a chain, especially if it's a full chisel chain. I've cut trees after actual sunsest when it's been getting dark out and you'd be suprised how many times you see a spark come off the chain even when you think you are cutting in clean wood. Durn squirrels seem to carry sand up the tree and it gets lodged in the bark.

I've gone to semi-chisel chain because it doesn't dull so fast, and I had the last spool cryogenically treated. That seems to help too.

I remember cutting trees out of an old fence row. The fence was long gone but many of the trees had old fence wire buried in their trunks where they had grown around it. Talk about screwing up a chain in a hurry!

Fences in trees aren't fun. I have some here that had barbed wire stapled to the tree many years ago. I ended up cutting about 5' off of the butt of the tree to make sure I missed the wire. Tossed that piece right on the burn pile and didn't even try to mess with it.

I've seen several chains put on backwards. And have also seen more than my share of supposedly locked up chainsaws, brought in by inexperienced operators who never bothered to read that chapter in the owner's manual that talked about the CHAIN BRAKE!

You should see the looks on their faces when I pull the handguard back until it clicks, and hand it back.. "There you go"

Ahhh... Remember the old Jeff Foxworthy joke...You should have said "There ya go and here's your sign!"

Did you hear about the Aggie who bought a new chainsaw, but returned it a couple of days later, claiming that the saw must be defective because he was only able to cut down 2 small trees over the entire weekend?.... The salesman at the hardware store inspected the returned saw, flipped the ignition switch, pulled the rope, and started the engine..... Immediately, the Aggie asked, "What's that noise?"

I use only handsaws. I enjoy the sound of a handsaw sawing through the fiber, the quietness of a handsaw, the feel of sawing through the tree, and the safety advantages of a handsaw over a chainsaw.

As for the time to take down trees of size ... well I also enjoy the great outdoors and mother nature. Some of the pines were of height that kept falling into the pond no matter how much of a wedge I removed simply because 3/4 of the branches were growing toward the water and sunlight (over the pond), so I end up climbing the pines and sawing through the top quarter or third and felling that to the land instead of the pond, work my down another section and felling that to the land, etc.

Recently a rafter of turkeys came through, kicking up the leaves foraging for food when I was hanging 40' in a pine. So I stopped hand sawing and watched for 35 minutes then got back at it. They would have never approached had I used a chainsaw (noise factor).

That does sound like a simple pleasure, basslover. I wish I had the kind of free time that would allow for such an experience. Here, it's a case of get in, get it done, and get on to the next chore.

Just goes to show how different things appeal to different people. You appreciate the quiet serenity of a hand saw, while I re-work my Stihl chainsaws with muffler modifications to increase power, consequently increasing their noise level. I love the sound of an aggressive, crisp saw.

LOL Oh the chore list is large; 4 kids (ages 2, 6, 11, 13), full time work for both, home upkeep, pond work, land work, gardens, etc etc etc. All the usual suspects, right?

We've been pushing away the hustle and bustle over the years in favor of slow down and enjoy. Every day I'm on the land I see the list of things, it's a real mother! The past 2 years I've felled over 100 trees, from small 4 inch diameter to large 3.5 feet diameter. While I am aware a chainsaw could fall the targeted trees in one day's time, I still take the handsaws and go at it. One near 70' pine took me about 1.5 hours of hand sawing, and I believe that would have been maybe 10 minutes on a chainsaw?

Slow and steady, like a turtle, we just keep knocking things off the list. We'll never be "done", because we'll always have to "maintain". But I hope to finish some serious work this year because it would be nice to sit back and enjoy a little more. Having so many half done, quarter done, not even close, and almost done items ... there were over 15 years of neglect on this property and playing catchup takes some time. Power tools and a crew would probably get it done in a week. Hand power and one man band has taken 2 years so far, laboring here and there as time permits, but the reward and satisfaction has been massive.

Enjoy the power. I think one reason I go the other way - my pops borrowed a chainsaw when we were kids. He was supposed to take down a pussy willow tree that was hit by lightning. A couple hours later he essentially clear cut our back yard. Give a man a power tool and watch out! LOL

Looks like Google knew I was closing last friday and updated the image just for me. In now shows the pond and driveway.

wow CrazyJu that is some sweet dense woods!

i love walking thru stuff like that

takes me back to when I was in the Boy Scouts

I appreciate the satisfaction that basslover gets from going one on one with the land and literally carving my notch in the world, yet like sparky, f I can counterbalance a small block supercharged chevy engine with pneumatics, I'll attach it to a super sharp 16" chainsaw, just because I can!

I also understand and admire basslover's approach. I share his appreciation for a job done well, and as I've stated here a few times, I don't think you can call a place your own until you've shed blood, sweat, and tears all over it. I would imagine that BL's penchant for climbing into the treetops with a handsaw has afforded him ample opportunities to dispense all three bodily substances, and maybe a couple of additional ones at that. I salute his efforts, and look forward to watching his progress here on the forum.

I hope to slow down and appreciate the journey a little more, myself.




But I'm not ready to give up my Stihls just yet.

Tony, I'm sure not laughing at those guys. About a month ago, I was gonna drop a pond about 4', and got out my 3" Honda semi trash pump. It wouldn't fire. So, after messing with it, and verifying it had fresh fuel, air, and spark, I called my uncle who has been repairing small engines for going on 60 years. We brainstormed, and still couldn't get it running. So, I stripped the pump housing off that pump, and exchanged it with a 2" Honda pump that is exactly the same other than the pump. It fired right up, and everything was good.

After reassembling the 3" pump, which was now a 2" pump, I decided I'd check the oil. I know you know where this is heading. After two days of messing with pumps, the non-starting pump fired right up after adding no more than a 1/8 quart of oil. Now, it's check for air, spark, fresh fuel, and oil.

Al, you could have the same problem if it's not sitting level too....

That's why I now put a piece of plywood under them if they are on any sort of an incline.

I had dug a flat shelf into the side of a pond bank after I moved it down to be closer to the water. Vibration made the intake side walk into the flat shelf that I dug and it now was tipped to one side and not running. I couldn't figure out why it stopped - it had plenty of gas and oil.

The low oil sensors on Honda engines are very sensitive. They have to be FULL! And level.

Spent yesterday cutting logs and posting no hunting signs. Put about 60 9-10" rainbow trout in. All seemed healthy and swam away. 4 or 5 hours later, they had located the fhm and had them pushed to the top. Im guessing they will wipe them out in a hurry. Feeder went off around 6 and got to see the trout busting the floating food until dark. Got to the property around 8:00 am and had this white stuff all over the ground.

Tractor was delivered Friday I havent been on one since I was a kid, but after a few hours it started to come back. First thing I had to do is test out the backhoe. Pulled out a good sized stump pretty quick. Had more power than I expected.

My brother looking over the controls.



Our first project on the property will be building a barn. It will be 32x24 with a 24x16 overhang. The barn will be about 700 ft down the driveway. This is where we decided to put it.



Starting to clear it.



Matt pushing big rootball out of the way.




Just about cleared and level.



Had a little time to check on the trout. I put 60 9-10" in last Saturday. They were very aggressive. I only made one cast and caught one. Matt made about ten cast, hooked 2 and landed one. I think I may need to feed more. The feeder is putting out about 2 lbs a day now. Not living on the property cant really tell how long its taken them to eat. Any guesses on how much to feed? I have it feeding at sun up and about 30 minutes before sun down.

Good thread. IMHO, geared down diesel power certainly adds to quality of life!
A forum that I follow for tractor aficionados is tractorbynet.com. There are many DIY ideas posted there, suggestions for streamlining work, pics, and general smarts by a good bunch of tractor lovers. The forum approaches PB in wisdom, maturity, humor, comradery. You may like it.
Have lots of fun with that tractor. And keep it up out of the pond. At least one of our members speaks of aquatic tractor removal...

Ive been a member there for a while, mainly just drooling over what i wanted. I think its that inner kid, tonka truck syndrome. Aquatic tractor removal? Sounds like a good investment, where do i sign up?

Ju,
I, to, just put a barn on my newly acquired property. I love the look of your property. Metal barns are less expensive but I'm glad I went with rough cut board & batten. It just kinda blends in with the property/woods better that sheet metal. Just my opinion of course. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

It is going to be board & batton. I am actually tearing down a 45 year old barn on my current property and moving it to the new land.

Think I should add this to the pond? 25lbs of pure fight!

Just one will not do damage and maybe help keep the surface sediments somewhat mixed - aerated. A male and female will create a continuing nightmare.

Did you notice the wound on that fish? Did you get any close up pics of it? I'd like to see that closeup if ya got a pic.