What about this pine? and...how to cut it?

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Intheswamp

New Member
Jun 25, 2010
819
South Central Alabama
I've been looking for something fast drying that I might can burn this winter. I've got about a fourth of a cord of seasoned oak but I figure I'm going to need more than that. I haven't stumbled upon any ash, mostly "just" oak. My option for fast drying wood appears to be pine. As for pine burning...I'm not really keen on the smell of what I am accustomed to as being pine smoke. My experience is of folks burning off plantation pines (mostly pine straw and brush burning) or either burning windrows from where clear-cutting or thinning has been done. I don't think burning in the wood stove will give as strong of a smell as these scenarios so should I still be worried about the smell? Or will it be a much more pleasant smell than the smell of the pine land being burned off?

Below are some pics of a pine I mentioned earlier in another thread. It's on a friend's property and was cut about 3-4 months ago by the power company when they ran a new line to a nearby dwelling. I placed an empty coca-cola 12-pack carton in the picture to give some idea of size. The carton measures roughly 5"x15" on each side. Where the drink carton is laying on the tree the tree is roughly mid-chest high.

Anybody want to give some pointers on how to attack this tree? I'm figuring on starting from the top-end at about 10" thickness, limb down several feet, buck that section, and repeat. Cutting compression side of limbs first. I'm a bit concerned with the tree shifting so I'm thinking of anchoring it to my Cherokee with a chain and cut on the opposite side from the vehicle. I haven't cut anything that's standing off the ground like this one so any suggestions are appreciated.

I'm hoping to get on it in the morning before the blast-furnace cranks up.
Ed

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I cant answer your question but I would cut it up and split it right away regardless, its already down and waiting, go for it.
 
I recently cut up a big oak that was on its side like that, supported by big limbs. Mine was a bit different situation because one of the top limbs was snagged on the adjacent tree. But in your case I would work from the top down. Remove the top and side limbs and any lower limbs that are not supporting the weight of the tree. Then buck one round at a time from the top working down toward the base. Once you get into the center section where most of the weight it being supported, start bucking rounds off the butt end and work up toward the middle. Now you've got a great deal of weight off those 'legs.' Slice one supporting limb at a time. I don't think I would cut all the way through them. Just weaken a few and see what the tree does. Maybe you could tie it off the the Jeep before you start slicing the supporting limbs, then after you weaken a few by slicing into them, if it doesn't fall on its own you can give it a tug with the car. Once the center section is on the ground, you've got it made.
Just be careful as you start cutting those supporting legs and always have a clear exit path.
 
Just picked up my last load (2 truckloads and 1 trailer load ) of Pine. It had branches every 3 inches. Seemed like it would be a nightmare. But I gotta say, my little 21 ton MTD knocked it outta the park. Get it C/S/S now. I did a load almost a month ago. Its drying pretty nice. Im gonna be burning Pine myself. After this year. No worries. Tried to Post a pic.. Try again later. Wife is calling.
 
I start by cutting branches, and although I am usually itching to get to work on the trunk, I try to take my time and cut the accessible branches to stove length while the are still attached to the tree if possible. This is a lot quicker than having to find a way to hold the branch after it is removed from the tree. In general I'd do it the way you descreibe- cut from the top down. being careful to identify branches that are holding weight and leaving those at first. Eventuall all that is left is the trunk and a few larger branches holding it up. No magic here, just be careful not to get you or the saw pinched if the tree settles and watch for branches spring up when cut.

I don't think you need to worry about the smell of burning pine. You really shouldn't smell smoke in the house except for a few whiffs when you reload. If the house smells like smoke I think there is a problem with the installation of the stove. Besides, I don't think smoke from the pine wood will smell as piney as a pile of pine brush burned in a pile.
 
Your strategy of starting at the top and limbing then bucking is good I think. Its been sitting for awhile and I'm skeptical you've got anything that going to suddenly let go on you, but its best to use caution and be safe, anchoring it to the truck or another tree will keep it from rolling on you.

Watch your bar on the bottom branches, those things will bind right up on you and squeeze right down on the bar. Make sure you have a spare bar and chain, backup saw or at least a good sharp axe or bow saw.
 
I do this as my job. This case I would star at the base and get some weight off in rounds. Then as you get to the branches cut as much as you can to stove size. Be careful to look for the tree moving or rolling and those branches under the trunk as they are spring loaded.
 
1) limb the whole thing

2) measure and mark your cuts on the log

3) start cutting at whichever end seems most convenient
 
I'll go a bit against the grain here. I would, like Wood Duck, start cutting the limbs. However, it is extremely rare that I would start cutting at the top! I hate doing that and never found it to be easier either. I'd start cutting the limbs on one side for a bit and then switch to the other side. Of course only you can tell when you get there where the big pressure points are and how it roll or even if it will roll. If you cut it right I highly doubt it would roll. As you cut limbs you will lower the tree little by little and cutting from the bottom up you will have a lot less chance of rolling because those upper limbs will stop it. After trimming, then I would cut from the top down. To do that I cut on the top and especially on the opposite side where I am standing. That makes a weak point that is away from you in case it tries to split and it will go away from you rather than towards you. Most of the cut will be undercutting though.

Take your time Ed and if you have to stop to re-evaluate the situation, that is good! As for burning, pine can smell great when burning as you won't have that other junk in with the wood. It should not split that bad and your splitter will laugh at it.
 
Ok, I got the pine. Ended up with my 5x10 loaded but not packed...there's more limb would I can get. Somewhere between a face cord and 1/2 cord. The good news is that I'm still alive...not from the tree but from the heat. I think I started out overheating myself and from there on it was uphill all the way. It hit 100F yesterday. I'm still hoarse from the heat. <groan> I've decided that unless it's 85F or under I'm not cutting wood...life's too short. If this pine heats me up as much as cutting it up did then it was worth it...I guess. Seriously, I thought the heat had me a couple of times yesterday.

First thing I did was pull the tree off the stump and left the Cherokee hooked to it. I then limbed the topside of the trunk along with any side branches not under stress. I then cut the top off at about 8" diameter. I then cut all remaining limbs back about 5' along the trunk and bucked that length. Then did the same thing again...5' de-limbed and buck that length. Eventually I got it down to the big part of the trunk and cut the remaining stressed limbs underneath...the log settled down nicely and I cut down till I sensed I was nearing a pinch situation. I then rolled the log with my cant hook and finished those cuts the trunk.

The only part of cutting (other than the heat) was cutting up high towards the top end.

The bark peeled off most of the big rounds revealing termites and grubs just under the bark. The wood seems solid. No pine sap to speak of, though. The smaller limb wood and the smaller rounds from the upper part of the tree are holding there bark but it seems mighty dry already.

Did I say I wasn't cutting any more wood in this temperature????? Ed

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Well done! I feel ya about working wood in this heat. I'm about an hour west of Houston. We've been having upper 90s and low 100s for a few weeks. No rain to speak of since January. I just finished working a big water oak at a neighbors. It had come down in a storm a couple of years ago. The lady hired a guy who just pushed it all down her creek bed so I had to haul it up hill from the dry creek. Pulled the main trunk (27 inch diameter - about eight feet long) up out of the creek with a 25 foot chain and my F-150. I quartered the five rounds from the trunk with a sledge and wedges. Cut up the rest of the tree to stove length. I guess I have maybe 3/4 cord, once the main trunk is split. With the heat, I had to pace myself. I'd go down and work for an or two in the morning and go back late afternoon when the area was in the shade. Took frequent breaks for water and to sit in the shade. Sometimes I sat in the pickup with the AC going full blast. A few times I really thought I had overdone it when I tried to be macho and haul up one more log out of the creek, or whack one more round with the maul.
I usually don't work on wood during the summer but I was behind after breaking my ankle last winter and not being able to work as much.

Winter is so much better for cutting and splitting and stacking! Get that pine split and stacked. With the heat and strong winds we've been having in the south, it could well be ready to burn this winter.
 
Go back for the branches. They dry faster and burn fine.
 
I save most branches down to about two inch.
 
Hey, thanks for the encouragement guys. Trust me, even a day later I need it. The old back and elbow really told on me...along with the heat issues. By the time I got that wood in the trailer I was a stumbling zombie.<sigh>

Yelp, the limbs are already pretty much dry and I'm figuring on going back and tidying up the site a bit and probably grab some more limb wood. I've gotta get the load off the trailer first and I'm thinking of splitting it off the trailer to save handling so it might be a week or two as the evenings this week will be hauling kids to Vacation Bible School. Probably Friday evening or Saturday I can get to it.

I'm just not sure how the smaller rounds will burn. As for as that goes I'm curious about burning pine in general...I'm going to post a thread about that next...

Thanks for the feedback,
Ed
 
First thing I did was pull the tree off the stump ...

My comment was going to relate to this. A downed tree with roots still in the ground can be very dangerous and, when bucking from the top down, can cause the entire trunk to suddenly spring from the ground with tremendous and dangerous velocity as top weight is relieved. Even if fully severed from the roots, I always will start from the bottom. That method also leaves the upper branches to support the trunk and there is much less likelihood of the heavy trunk shifting, plus often the branches will support the trunk off the ground and make bucking very easy.

Glad everything went well for you. Pine is almost exclusively what I burn, and I never have noticed any objectionable odor in the smoke - rarely any odor at all.
 
RNLA said:
I do this as my job. This case I would star at the base and get some weight off in rounds. Then as you get to the branches cut as much as you can to stove size. Be careful to look for the tree moving or rolling and those branches under the trunk as they are spring loaded.

Just to hopefully add to the discussion, let me second this approach when the main stem is down near the ground. And suggest partial cuts along the stem near the mid-section (after cutting off up-facing branches) just to be able to cut clear of the ground, then release maybe 8-10 feet of stem at a time, after taking out branches below. Then roll and cut through a/r.

A challenge here is guesstimating whether a given cut will spread or pinch, and being ready for surprises. Even with partly dry low-density pine.
 
Jim, thanks for the feedback on cutting the pine. I was aware of the stump standing up issue. Only about 2 miles from where I cut the pine a small child got killed some 50-60 years ago...it was at a church and the men had gathered up to cut up a blown over tree. It was a church affair with families there. They cut the tree until the stump stood up...a little later some one notice that one of the children was missing. I heard my parents speak of it a few times. Dangerous are those tilted stumps!

Well, I guess I cut it backwards but it seemed to me that it was the best way to control the tree. It seemed as I cut from top down that it helped to ease the trunk down slowly. It seemed very much in control. I had a couple of times of almost pinching my saw on some small limbs when cutting them...I always cut compression side first and then the tension side. It worked, thank goodness.

By the time I got down to the bottom of the trunk it had settled down nicely and upon cutting the last stressed limbs it settled down on the ground and I cut the last 3-4 rounds. I'm glad to hear the pine smoke is different from what I'm used to...it's probably the pine straw burning that I smells mighty strong.

Yank, in the situation I was in I had plenty of ground clearance...actually too much which caused me to have to cut in a high position that I wasn't thoroughly comfortable with. I was very careful and took my time. The only time I got close to the ground was the last few rounds after the trunk had settled down...I cut most of the way through then rolled and finished the cut. The only pinch situations I really got into was limbing some of the stressed limbs. The trunk/stem was a non-issue as I simply had roughly a 5' section suspended that I would buck, then delimb and rinse and repeat. It worked out pretty good. I was careful once the butt was on the ground as I did see movement as it wanted to pinch...I stopped when I sensed this and didn't push my luck...I couldn't get by without that cant hook! ;)

Ed
 
I got the pine split up. Even though the bark was falling off the big rounds there was still a lot of sap that squeeze out as I split. What had a knot/limb in it the Huskee simply sheared/smushed off...the nice straight grained stuff was really a pleasure to split. I split in all different sizes but tried to get as many large squared-off splits as I could.

The largest dimensioned side is around six inches...probably 6"x6" is the largest splits. Do you think this size of split will dry by this November? I've still gotta get it stacked. Here's a shot of the pile of splits with the infamous 4-foot level. Ed
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Intheswamp said:
I got the pine split up. Even though the bark was falling off the big rounds there was still a lot of sap that squeeze out as I split. What had a knot/limb in it the Huskee simply sheared/smushed off...the nice straight grained stuff was really a pleasure to split. I split in all different sizes but tried to get as many large squared-off splits as I could.

The largest dimensioned side is around six inches...probably 6"x6" is the largest splits. Do you think this size of split will dry by this November? I've still gotta get it stacked. Here's a shot of the pile of splits with the infamous 4-foot level. Ed
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I would like to have a couple cords myself! Embrace your pineness! :cheese:
 
That pile, when stacked, will shrink dramatically over the course of 2 months. A 5 foot pile will go down to 4 feet. It's quite a thing to behold. I've got mine stacked next to a slat fence. I had the piles stacked 6"-12" above the fence line. Right now, they are even with the fence.
 
joefrompa said:
That pile, when stacked, will shrink dramatically over the course of 2 months. A 5 foot pile will go down to 4 feet. It's quite a thing to behold. I've got mine stacked next to a slat fence. I had the piles stacked 6"-12" above the fence line. Right now, they are even with the fence.
That's a pretty fast change in the wood! Sounds like it'll dry quickly. With the hot dry breezes and heat we're having right now all of the wood ought to be drying fairly fast. Hopefully this week I can get the pine stacked and the rest of the mixed oak, elm, and whatever stacked, too.

Ed
 
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