A little fun in 92F heat

[Ashful]

A tornado rolled thru our area three weeks ago, and caused enough destruction to keep all our area wood stoves going for many years. Unfortunately, I've been out of town for all three of the beautiful weekends we've had since, so I was left with the 92F heat today to go fetch my first of many trailer loads.

All loaded up for some fun:



Loading logs with the winch, then unloading with the Deere:



The two outer logs are white oak, the three inner are ash.

Only one casualty today. Finally blew apart one of my favorite 5/16" chains, that my father was using before I was born, while lifting one of the white oak logs to stack on a pile:



I had planned to do 2 or 3 loads today, but the heat and humidity was just zapping my energy, and a pretty violent storm rolled thru just as I finished unloading the first trailer load. So, I decided to choose a cooler day to go fetch some more, there is a mind-boggling amount on the ground right now.

The guys in a recent chainsaw thread are going to make me eat my words, but I did almost all of my cutting with the little Stihl 036 today. I made the mistake of setting the beloved 064 down almost on top of a ground bee nest, and didn't realize it until I was running a logging chain to a nearby tree and got stung. I had to wait awhile for the bastards to settle down, before I could go retrieve that saw, but the 036 got the job done.

 

[SpaceBus]

I've seen several headlines about tornadoes in areas that don't usually get them.

 

[Ashful]

I've seen several headlines about tornadoes in areas that don't usually get them.

Yeah, this was not normal for us. The last time we had any tornado activity was about 30 years ago. This one was strong enough to suck asphalt up off parking lots in a few spots.

 

[SpaceBus]

Yeah, this was not normal for us. The last time we had any tornado activity was about 30 years ago. This one was strong enough to suck asphalt up off parking lots in a few spots.

That's pretty intense. I've been lucky enough to never experience something like that.

 

[begreen]

Nice score and nice rig for collecting it too.

 

[Ashful]

Nice score and nice rig for collecting it too.

It just takes a few simple tools to take this job from complete back-breaker to pretty simple. The winch on the trailer was among the best few hundred dollars I’ve ever spent, along with those log tongs. A heavier truck would be nice, but not really worth the investment for me, today.

 

[Ashful]

Woke up intending on church then sailing with my youngest, but the wind forecast increased from a lively 15 mph to 20 mph with blistering gusts to 30 mph, during the course of the morning. So, I headed out after lunch and dropped a very tall but only maybe 14” DBH dead ash in my wood splitting area.

Got it bucked, split, and stacked, and then noticed the wind had let up. Checked the forecast, which had been downgraded to 15 mph, so I grabbed the little one and did some sailing in gusty conditions. A good day.

I dropped the tree into the woods, so I could drag it out 10 feet at a time, buck the truck, and split it. I left everything under 6” diameter in the woods, the rest totaled less than half a cord.

 

[moresnow]

The guys in a recent chainsaw thread are going to make me eat my words, but I did almost all of my cutting with the little Stihl 036 today.

I have a buddy who has a 036. It's his big saw. He has heated his place 24/7 for years. He hasn't a clue what a bigger saw can do. Nor does he care!

 

[Woody Stover]

The guys in a recent chainsaw thread are going to make me eat my words, but I did almost all of my cutting with the little Stihl 036 today...got the job done.

It's hard for those storms to take down the big ones. You'll probably be using the 036 quite a bit, getting the stuff that's available to you now. That thing looks pristine for an old saw! I have an 039, which is a bored-out 029, and that thing is still a lot heavier than my newer 261. I love me a light saw...

I've seen several headlines about tornadoes in areas that don't usually get them.

Nothing is any different with the weather...believe us, and keep burning oil.

lively 15 mph to 20 mph with blistering gusts to 30 mph...I headed out after lunch

I make it a point to stay out of the woods if the wind is blowing. One dead widow-maker limb will end your wood-gathering days for good.

 

[weatherguy]

We had a tornado go through our area in 08, the wood was plentiful for 5-6 years Thank God I had a truck back then.

 

[Ashful]

Bucked and split the first two of those logs today, coincidentally the heat index was the same 92F again. Both logs were 15’ length, one was 20” average diameter white oak and the other was 18” average diameter ash. I sometimes forget how insanely heavy white oak can be, even when compared to red oak or ash, it is truly in a class of its own.



And a demonstration of why you need a fast splitter, or why I almost always need to run the cylinder full-cycle.

 

[Kevin Weis]

Nothing's much fun at 92 degrees except beer and crabs in the shade. Just saying.

 

[Ashful]

Nothing's much fun at 92 degrees except beer and crabs in the shade. Just saying.

Amen! But you gotta make hay when the sun is shining, or more accurately... catch up on a dwindling wood supply when it's dry enough to reach the wood lot. We have had record rain the last two years, more than double our normal annual rainfall, so it has made it very difficult for me to keep up with wood supply.

I was done with the splitting before 2pm, and after puttering around with a few other small jobs around the house, I was chilling with the kids at the pool shortly after 5pm. Dinner and drinks served by the pool, before heading home and having some fireworks fun.

Happy 4th, everyone!

 

[heavy hammer]

Nice score Ashful. Last 4th I was splitting wood in the 90+ heat, like you said you need to get it done when the time works out.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Amen! But you gotta make hay when the sun is shining, or more accurately... catch up on a dwindling wood supply when it's dry enough to reach the wood lot. We have had record rain the last two years, more than double our normal annual rainfall, so it has made it very difficult for me to keep up with wood supply.

I was done with the splitting before 2pm, and after puttering around with a few other small jobs around the house, I was chilling with the kids at the pool shortly after 5pm. Dinner and drinks served by the pool, before heading home and having some fireworks fun.

Happy 4th, everyone!

This is one of the reasons i make it a point to do my wood in the dead of winter and early spring. The latest i did it one year was early june and it was warm... never again.. my goal every year in early april.. i do have one advantage.. i have a trac machine. I was gathering wood in a verry wet and swampy area.. got alot of wood and didnt get stuck.. i dont envy you or anyone that has to split in the heat and humidity the way it is right now. I work out in this for a living and it sucks.. i certainly dont want to be going full force in this on my days off

 

[Ashful]

This is one of the reasons i make it a point to do my wood in the dead of winter and early spring. The latest i did it one year was early june and it was warm... never again.. my goal every year in early april.. i do have one advantage.. i have a trac machine. I was gathering wood in a verry wet and swampy area.. got alot of wood and didnt get stuck.. i dont envy you or anyone that has to split in the heat and humidity the way it is right now. I work out in this for a living and it sucks.. i certainly dont want to be going full force in this on my days off

Definitely. But I work in air conditioning for a living, and even my home workshop is air-conditioned. Getting out in a little bit of heat is uncomfortable, and really zaps my energy, but the little bit of physical stress it causes probably does me more good than harm.

We have a highly-manicured property, so I'm so busy in March and April with yard and garden work, that there's no hope of splitting any wood. I try to get most of it done in that Thanksgiving thru February window, but weather doesn't always allow it. End of June thru early August is my other window of the year, when other yard work slows down enough to spare me a few hours for this, unfortunately.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

How much do you process in a year

 

[Ashful]

How much do you process in a year

I process 5 to 15 cords per year. I burn 10 per year pretty consistently, but processing is feast or famine, depending on weather. Yet one more reason to keep a few years ahead.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I process 5 to 15 cords per year. I burn 10 per year pretty consistently, but processing is feast or famine, depending on weather. Yet one more reason to keep a few years ahead.

10 cord is alot... my hats off to you my man..

 

[Ashful]

10 cord is alot... my hats off to you my man..

Thanks, but truthfully... it's too much. I'm toying with the idea of going back to just running one stove, maybe replacing one of my BK's with a pellet stove, someday. I don't know if I'd call it a mid-life crisis, but I'm reaching a point where I'm really starting to wonder how much of my life I want to spend splitting wood and maintaining "stuff", and starting to think about ways to simplify a little.

 

[Diabel]

Time for a smaller house me thinks!

 

[lsucet]

Thanks, but truthfully... it's too much. I'm toying with the idea of going back to just running one stove, maybe replacing one of my BK's with a pellet stove, someday. I don't know if I'd call it a mid-life crisis, but I'm reaching a point where I'm really starting to wonder how much of my life I want to spend splitting wood and maintaining "stuff", and starting to think about ways to simplify a little.

I am with you in this one I am in the same boat. This year I have not been able to work the pile of wood that I have due to being busy with the breeding season, spreading milling around, building the barn that will be shop, alfalfa storage and more indoor stables plus many other projects. Thinking about install mini splits but I hear good and bad about it but still thinking it will be a big help for time to time when I have delays processing the wood or if I get sick or something. Just staying warm with wood only here.
Have plenty for next winter but I need to get to work lol.

 

[SpaceBus]

I'm jealous of the skid steers, especially the track machines.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Are you looking to buy one? A friend I have coffee with Friday mornings bought three from Florida back to MA.

 

[Ashful]

Time for a smaller house me thinks!

If it were me alone, I’d actually be thinking far more drastic, like selling it all and living on a yacht. But with a family in tow, this place ticks all our major boxes for what we want in a house and property, and it took us several years to find it. It was bigger than we desired, but shopping old houses, choices are a bit more limited.

I believe the compromise will be a gradually less DIY, and more hired help, maintaining this old joint. But after spending all my life doing this stuff, it is not in my nature for me to step back and let others do it. I also find that, even when hiring out, I still need to do a ton of prep and finishing work, to get the desired result. Maybe I’ll get better at managing that, with experience.