I drive around, therefore I see

and though it's a lot of work, I think. . . .

People pay to have hard maples taken down, but NO ONE takes the 30"+ trunks. I would bet I could follow around the electric Company, the DOT and the private tree services and have all my wood needs met. I figure the way around the nightmare of making these things manageable is to get them split quickly without having to use a cherry picker to get them on a splitter.

Having meandered down this path, I am curious. . . does anyone know if they still make those screw-type splitters. I never saw one used in person (in fact, we laughed at them back when my back and shoulders were 25 years younger) but IF THEY WORK, seems like they could be used to quarter hard maple while it lays on the ground, then haul it off for final splitting/storage/ BTU extraction. Anyone know if those crazy splitters work?

Jimbo

Hi Jimbo,

Why not make you life a lot easier and tow your vertical gas powered splitter to the log and split the 30+ round vertically in place? Much easier, safer, less handling, etc.

Carpniels

PS. you would waste a lot of time following those crews until they finally have a maple that thick. In that time, just work and pay for having the wood delivered. Cheaper and more efficient use of your time.

You could also call the utility company and let them know you're avialable to do free removal or something.

I saw a large downed tree the other day on my way home form work. I'll be driving home that way today and will leave a note on it offering to remove it for free. I plan on sectioning it with my saw onsite and roll the rounds in the back of my pickup...if necessary I'll section or even quarter it with the saw onsite if the rounds prove to be too much to handle. The thing looked to aboue 24" or more at the base, already limbed, no branches...just the trunk...maybe 12-15' in length.

LOL, well, I rarely split wood any more, and I'm only 40 sumpin' so I ain't ready for no 'splitter' yet. And I can go to at least 5 place right now that have these beasts laying right where they were felled . . . no one wants them. Correct me where I am wrong - having never owned an hyd splitter - you still have to stand the 300lb chunks on end to get them on the splitter, Yes?

On the other hand, a splitter screw that attached say to the front of a skid steer, with provisions for restraining the chunk from spinning and some sort of clutch to keep the RPM's low with the torque high . . .

I shoulda' figured, I missed the boat on this invention too. Looks like they already have an hyd one for a skidsteer that would probably make quick work of these trunks, assuming you could move the chunks around a bit and had room to maneuver.

The biggest problem would probably be the HO complaints about the ripped up sod!

http://dirtworksattachments.com/video/30Ton.wmv

My buddy and I have had this discussion before. We would generally rather wrestle a few big rounds than mess with an equal amount of limb wood. It's less cutting and screwing around. Of course it helps that he's got the dump trailer and tractor / loader with the tongs to pick up the really big stuff. Even without the equipment, one or two guys can usually roll a big round up into a trailer or truck fairly easily.

It also seems like it goes quicker to split the big rounds than moving all the little ones. Two guys load a big round on the splitter and knock it in half, then one guy can "feed" the 1/2 round into the splitter and take off one chunk at a time while the other guy tosses the splits into the pile or stacks. Teamwork is an awesome tool.

Well, yeah . . . but the other half of my team has to be limber for . . .other things. And at 40sumpin' I can only take so much pizza and beer if she's too tired to cook hh:

Any of the 'uglier sex' that I might team up with on a firewood operation would just want to argue about how much of the wood was their share . . . I don't share wood with able bodies, friends or not. I'll help um go get some, but I won't give it to them while they sit inside with the pizza, beer, and women :coolhmm:

I always thought a propane tank delivery trailer would work good for hauling those big trunks home. Back the trailer over the trunk ,winch it up and haul it home.

Or you could get one of these: http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=293320&kwtid=243297

Drive around, see big stump, lift into the bed of your truck, and off you go.


Dean

Heck ya! I follow the Dept Public Works truck when they leave the yard, I keep my distance. When they have a tree down I'm interested in, I just walk up and ask for some wood they usually go ahead chip the brush leave the logs I want in the easment, I just wait till they leave cut up what I ask for. No prpblem yet.

I obtain most of my wood exactly by what you describe: wood laying on its side when I drive around. And around here, we can count on two or three storms per annum to provide a tree-knocking service. On top of that, there are also many fine trees which are downed for construction or maintenance, such as with the utilities or the removal of a sickly tree. I can assure you that property owners are often thankful for someone removing the wood.

I don't know about the screw splitters, but I do know that maple is mostly a straight grain and therefore a nice splitting maul or splitting axe will blast the rounds apart faster than you would expect. I'm not saying that this will work for everyone, because there are people who don't manually split either because of health reasons or personal preference, but if you have any inclination to do so, you'll find that maple is a great wood for manual splitting.

Hey Axeman . . . your soil must do something to the Maple out there . . .

I have a +30 Hard Maple I took down last year, that was binning to get punky in spots. I have had to use a wedge to quarter the chunks, but even some of the quarters require a wedge!!

Jimbo

It could be the growing conditions, or it might be the type of maple, since there are many species of maple.

The wood that requires the greatest wedge usage for me is hickory. Most hickories with which I've dealt of a twisted grain.