Who's the oldest wood scrounger out there?

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fire_man

fire_man

Minister of Fire
Feb 6, 2009
2,702
North Eastern MA
I'm 55 and still love scrounging - but I have to admit it's getting harder.

Today it was 90 degrees with humidity and I'm humping a road side scrounge of heavy White Oak up a hill, with poison ivy everywhere, onto the road and into a wheel barrel. I ended up with 2 pickup loads but wow, it sure was easier 10 years ago - or maybe it was just the heat?

There must be some older geezers out there than me doing this crazy stuff?
 
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You've got me beat by a year, and yes it seems to get harder as time passes. But I plan on doing it until I can't anymore, and hope that is a long way off.

I remember years ago my neighbor came over and kind of angrily said to me "are you planning on doing this when you're 50?", and my answer was "I hope so". ;) :)
 
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My scrounging is drop'em in the woods down the hill from my house, buck'em and haul'em up to the house for splitting and stacking.

67 last February. And damned tired of this stuff. I have been swearing since 2007 that this year is the last... <>
 
60 last year had heart attack 27 December 14 and just getting back to cutting and splitting man it's hot
 
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Getting close to 66 been doing it for the last 36 years
Think this will be the last just to much work for this worn out body !

:(:(:(
 
Guess I'm still just a youngin'. Some of you got me beat by a mile.
I keep saying even if heating oil was cheaper than burning scrounged wood, I'd still want to be burning.
Ask me again in a few years !!!!!!
 
I am almost 63 and still enjoy the physical stuff, I jog, love the firewood and am contemplating a 11 square reroof of my workshop. But while the mental game is strong, I AM slowing down physically for sure. Do mostly firewood on me and my neighbor picking and choosing at a fairly slow pace. Really, really, thankful and feel totally blessed to be able to do what I can do and dread the day of being really old and feeble........
 
The guy I cut with is coming up on 75 this fall. He's slowing down a bit, but at the same time, he's out shopping for a new MS-441 Magnum. Hope I'm doing as well, when I hit his age.

Here he is, hauling what I'm cutting.

IMG_4918.JPG
 
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Hickorynut said:
I am almost 63 and still enjoy the physical stuff, I jog, love the firewood and am contemplating a 11 square reroof of my workshop. But while the mental game is strong,
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Yeah, I need to get back into an exercise regimen. Firewood does OK if you do it on a regular basis, but not many do that. Early 60s, did an 11-square re-roof of the house last fall, packing the bundles up the ladder myself... Oooofffff! <> Mental game was never all that strong so I won't even notice the demetia. ;lol
 
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Will be 68 in one month. Just finished putting up all the wood (8 cords c/s/s) for winter of 2016-17. Wood for this winter 2015-16 I put up last summer. No plan to slow down.
 
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Lots of us old farts on here. Jebatty has me by about 3 months but I am still going strong at 67. At 55 I had my triple bypass but 2 months later I had more energy than before the surgery. I'll probably think about slowing down when I just can't move any more.
 
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The heat was bad today, only 54 but after cutting and hauling one cord today and I was hurting, 10 years ago I could have done a cord no problem and still had energy left for the night, not now, Ill be sleeping by 9.
 
91 degrees with 56% humidity today. I think I glanced at the woods before coming back into the air conditioning.
 
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The heat alone doesn't affect me as much as the humidity. Couple years ago I had a big pile of logs in the shade that I started on in July and found that as long I stayed out of the direct sun and the humidity wasn't too oppressive, it wasn't too bad. The heat is good for the joints and muscles, I think.....
 
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That's a pretty dangerous way of pulling logs with a tractor. It won't take much for that tractor to end up on top of him.
The guy has probably been doing it that way longer than I've been alive though.
 
Maxgussam said:
That's a pretty dangerous way of pulling logs with a tractor. It won't take much for that tractor to end up on top of him.
The guy has probably been doing it that way longer than I've been alive though.
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Only if you're under 55 years.

It would be pretty tough to stand that tractor up, given the diameter of that log and the way we have it hitched to the drawbar. The front tires can only come up maybe 12" before the drawbar is on top of the log. Choking short is key.
 
The log is hooked to the 3 point hitch, not the drawbar.
There have been lots of people hurt or killed pulling like that.
I see what you mean though about the tractor not being able to stand up very far.
 
I'm only 28. I've been fixing heavy equipment for 8 years and doing firewood for 4. I know I'll be hurting when I'm in my 60's. I'm starting to feel soar already.
 
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I know it sounds awkward, but the way to stay flexible and not feeble is yoga/swimming. Harvesting wood is not good exercise.
 
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Maxgussam said:
The log is hooked to the 3 point hitch, not the drawbar.
There have been lots of people hurt or killed pulling like that.
I see what you mean though about the tractor not being able to stand up very far.
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Around here, that bar placed between the lower links of the three point is also called a drawbar, just like the one mounted under the rear diff. Might be local terminology. I hear what you say about the danger, and only use that technique on a hydro tractor myself, never gear drive which can walk away quicker than you can reach the clutch. However, as noted, that log is literally choked up under the "drawbar", so they act as wheelie bars, in drag racing parlance.
 
Ashful said:
Around here, that bar placed between the lower links of the three point is also called a drawbar, just like the one mounted under the rear diff. Might be local terminology. I hear what you say about the danger, and only use that technique on a hydro tractor myself, never gear drive which can walk away quicker than you can reach the clutch. However, as noted, that log is literally choked up under the "drawbar", so they act as wheelie bars, in drag racing parlance.
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Understood.
Just putting that out there for anyone else that might want to skid logs like that.
Thanks for the explanation. It might keep someone from getting hurt.
Regards-
Max
 
Maxgussam said:
Understood.
Just putting that out there for anyone else that might want to skid logs like that.
Thanks for the explanation. It might keep someone from getting hurt.
Regards-
Max
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FWIW, I have known 3 guys who did this as a regular practice; it caught up to all three of them, none lived to see their grandkids. It was especially dangerous with the older ford "n" series (8n, 9n, etc) some of which didn't even have a fixed drawbar. From what I understand, with those particular tractors once they started over backwards the tension on the clutch was such that it wouldn't, or couldn't, be released.
 
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Thanks for these posts. A few weeks ago I did a bunch skidding of big'uns with the three point myself and didn't even think of this. From now on it is draw bar all the way.
 
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