A real confidence killer

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SawdustSA

SawdustSA

Burning Hunk
Apr 1, 2014
164
Eastern Cape, South Africa
So just when I thought I was done cutting for the next few years, I found some free wood less than a mile away. Lets just call it 'Bluegum from hell'.

It is a fairly old and twisted bluegum which the municipality is cutting down. I have taken 1/3 of the tree so far. I was extremely impressed with my Stihl maul up till now. This stuff doesn't look like much, but simply impossible to split by hand. Even noodling it is taking some time. I will end up using lots of fuel and time to get this down to size.

I even phoned around to try and rent a splitter but no-one has one in my area. There is one shop in my area that sell splitters. They have a 32T for around $1600 if I use the current exchange rate. Not really an option either since after this ordeal I will become more selective, hopefully , with my scrounging.
 

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Careful seaching of the online ads could deliver one to your door for that amount. Granted a lesser tonnage, 15-20 is all you really need to get the job done.
 
Are those pictures from Africa? Did I talk to you before about the Boabab trees? Im like Bluegum...? bluegum? never heard of it. Cutting something to size with a chainsaw is an absolute last resort. But I have a cousin who told me about a saw blade chain called PICO. I have no clue if this narrow kerf blade would be better for ripping or noodling. Im not a saw expert but I do not like the way a chainsaw feels when you are rip cutting. If you have to cut all those rounds down you are gonna have ALOT of shavings. I would look into a PICO chain and I think you might have to purchase a new bar. I want to do this because my cousin told me it was safer for cutting small brush which is mostly what I cut. That wood looks impossible for some reason. Good luck.
 
Oh..the guys did mention a rip chain on here. The saw teeth are angled differently. Since the woodgrain in gum travels every which way it probably is a technicality. But it might help you get that wood done. Maybe post this question in the Gear forum where all the chainsaw people hang out.
 
Ah Bluegum is a Eucalyptus. I looked it up, 51lbs ft3. On par with Hickory. If its being considered for commercial fuelwood in Australia there must be a way to get it apart. Interesting. I cant imagine Pignut hickory with interlocking grain. But apparently it excels as a fuelwood.
 
Build it and they will succumb.:p

Got any metal working/fab type buddies? I had fun building a few splitters in my time.
 
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Time to buy a REAL saw and start noodelling. get a minimum mid 70cc saw and a 20-25" bar and go to town!! You will have it down faster than you could even if you could use a maul. I just pull out the ms650 now when I can't get a log to split.
 
Sounds like you're gonna need a splitter; Noodling all that would be a pain. My 22-ton will handle about anything I come across, Sweetgum and Blackgum included, but this Bluegum might be a different story...
Applesister said:
I have a cousin who told me about a saw blade chain called PICO. I have no clue if this narrow kerf blade would be better for ripping or noodling. Im not a saw expert but I do not like the way a chainsaw feels when you are rip cutting.
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The Stihl Picco is a safety chain with the humped tie strap. Yeah, they are on the small saws so the kerf is narrow. Noodling and ripping are different; Ripping is when you cut down into the end grain. Regular chain seems to work OK for noodling. I don't like to noodle but sometimes you have to.
 
Applesister said:
Are those pictures from Africa? Did I talk to you before about the Boabab trees? Im like Bluegum...? bluegum? never heard of it. Cutting something to size with a chainsaw is an absolute last resort. But I have a cousin who told me about a saw blade chain called PICO. I have no clue if this narrow kerf blade would be better for ripping or noodling. Im not a saw expert but I do not like the way a chainsaw feels when you are rip cutting. If you have to cut all those rounds down you are gonna have ALOT of shavings. I would look into a PICO chain and I think you might have to purchase a new bar. I want to do this because my cousin told me it was safer for cutting small brush which is mostly what I cut. That wood looks impossible for some reason. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Yep I'm in South Africa. We have various types of Eucalyptus here. I have learned, slowly, to avoid this specific one. Over here splitters are very scares. In fact I don't know anyone who owns one.

Wood is my only heat, but we don't need much where I live. The winters are very mild compared to yours.

Some of these rounds are rock hard. If you do get a piece to come off, it is in a half moon disc shape, still not useable. Others have a slightly softer core, so the maul simply gets stuck and none of the energy is used to split the round. Very frustrating.

To top it all, I picked up tick bite fever this week, so the weekend will not be very productive either. Noodling is the only way at this stage. I use the shavings in the compost heap.

As far as I know, my saw, the 064, is a 85cc. The bar is a bit short but at least it allows the motor to cope with this difficult wood.
 
Jags said:
Build it and they will succumb.:p

Got any metal working/fab type buddies? I had fun building a few splitters in my time.
Click to expand...

I do a fair amount of metal working myself so I have thought of doing it myself. I have looked at various designs on the net. I need to see where I can source the various parts around here. Doing it myself might be more acceptable to the wife. She thinks I'm loosing it with the wood fetish==c
 
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Well 064 is close to the 650 better saw actually and yes its 84cc
 
Applesister said:
Ah Bluegum is a Eucalyptus. I looked it up, 51lbs ft3. On par with Hickory. If its being considered for commercial fuelwood in Australia there must be a way to get it apart. Interesting. I cant imagine Pignut hickory with interlocking grain. But apparently it excels as a fuelwood.
Click to expand...

I lived in the Oakland Hills in California when they caught on fire in 1991 and the Eucalyptus trees literally exploded when they caught fire.
 
SawdustSA said:
I do a fair amount of metal working myself so I have thought of doing it myself. I have looked at various designs on the net. I need to see where I can source the various parts around here. Doing it myself might be more acceptable to the wife. She thinks I'm loosing it with the wood fetish==c
Click to expand...

Well, a splitter is little more than a hydraulic cylinder attached to a small engine... chances are you can find those lying about.
 
become more selective
Click to expand...
^---- Bingo! Like you I learned to become more selective, if not highly selective.

Have you tried a wedge? For me a wedge can make it through tough splits that I can't get a maul to work.
 
I finally got around to work on the log pile again last night after I began to recover from the tick bite fever. I put on a newly profiled chain and gave it a quick file to remove any burrs. I removed all burrs on the bar too.

Man, I have forgotten how well a properly sharpened chain can cut. I really bites well and I can feel there is a bigger risk of kickback, so I was more careful.
All I can think is that the rakers/depth guages must be lower than what I am used to. Didn't have time to check it since it was getting dark and I was making progress. Noodling has never gone this fast before with bluegum.
 
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I would think in terms of trying to process this wood for the long haul. If its like our version of hickory, only more impossible. What about a bandsaw approach? But designing a machine to cut a specific type of wood would only benefit you if you planned on residing in this place for decades instead of a couple years. And if the wood was very abundant to almost exclusive to your area.
And if using a chainsaw appears the only solution, I would reclaim the shavings and burn that as well. Effort vs return on effort. A byproduct of sorts. Firestarters.
 
danimal1968 said:
I lived in the Oakland Hills in California when they caught on fire in 1991 and the Eucalyptus trees literally exploded when they caught fire.
Click to expand...
I read Bluegum is native to Australia, it was brought to California and used as windbreaks in Orange grove plantations. Where it exceled at being extremely wind resistant. Tazmania, Austalia.
 
Well at least I'm making progress. I only cut for around 1 hour after work. It gets dark real early and I don't want to annoy the neighbours too much. At this rate I should be done by Saturday morning. At least I am bonding with the chainsaw and have improved my chain sharpening skills.:)

I found a quicker way to get the wood to size. I noodle with one cut to around 98% through and then cut the round in half the original length. Some pieces are odd sizes and might make stacking more difficult, but I am low on patience.

I have a few wheelbarrows full of shavings too. This will go to the compost heap.
 
Well slowly does it. I spent every evening last week cutting for around an hour each. Finally got done. Only a few pieces left which is still too large. Will get to them this evening after work. I managed to add just over one row and my ugly stack also increased in size.
 

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I never pass up an ugly. Always gives me warmth in the morning or late at night. So what if they have to hang out together in a separate pile. They all get treated the same when I allow them into my house.
 
I am actually looking forward to using the ugly stack next year. I must just cover them before next winter which is around April next year for us in the southern hemisphere. Lots of various sizes in there, making starting a fire easier too.
 
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