Maggie’s The Woodchuck and Firewood Hoarders Thread

[Decoy]

Sad wood pile story

Saw a squirrel last year trying to steal wood out of my wood shed so I shot him with my model 41 through the door. It pegged him up against the corner of the pile.

Anyway it dropped to like 10 degrees that night and he froze standing up in the corner. I left him there and told him jokes and stories every night while I would split wood. He was my only friend and a great listener.

Tragedy happened and in the early spring something came in at night and decided to have a squirrelsickle.

I am sad that my friend is gone every time I go in the shed.

 

[tea&jam]

Picked up a fuelwood permit and tags for 4 cords yesterday, and today found this Husky 550XP on eBay for $330. It arrives in a week, might be a lemon, might not...

 

[bogeybrown]

Picked up a fuelwood permit and tags for 4 cords yesterday, and today found this Husky 550XP on eBay for $330. It arrives in a week, might be a lemon, might not...

View attachment 6933987

Very cool, when it arrives a few simple things will tell you what condition it's in: pull the muffler and look in the case to see if the piston is scored, and put a compression meter on it.

What liberal hellhole requires a permit and tags to harvest firewood?

 

[tea&jam]

Lol, Forest Service in Idaho. $20 for 4, 12 cord limit per year (per person?)

Thanks for the sound advice

 

[Geno C.]

Wisconsin is the same way for dnr land. And the wood has to be downed already and no vehicles can be used to haul it out... the Amish have the system licked though

 

[tnichols]

Wisconsin is the same way for dnr land. And the wood has to be downed already and no vehicles can be used to haul it out... the Amish have the system licked though

I’m sure they do ?

 

[Mike Casselton]

South Dakota also has the permit system. Dead trees only.
Good luck finding anything other than ponderosa pine.

 

[Mr. Z]

Someone needs to come out with about a 120v battery saw so you can run silent and deep in cesspools where the tax man tries to steal your money to bust your ass for firewood.

 

[bogeybrown]

Someone needs to come out with about a 120v battery saw so you can run silent and deep in cesspools where the tax man tries to steal your money to bust your ass for firewood.

2 guys with an old "push to you, pull to me" crosscut saw could do it quietly, minus all the cursing

 

[Geno C.]

The trick is getting a decent amount out of the woods. The cutting is the easy part.

 

[Mr. Z]

Badger steam and gas show flea market yesterday:
Rusty single bit Plumb axe head $20
Polishing wheels, course and fine $6
Amish oiled hickory axe handle $8

Went to the truck for 30 min, came back and sold for $225 to some skinny jean wearing idiot. Used extra $ to buy an area 419 hellfire today.

 

[tnichols]

The trick is getting a decent amount out of the woods. The cutting is the easy part.

Couldn't agree more. Every swingin' dick wants to run saw, but then they all disappear when it comes time to load out and process.

 

[Tucker301]

 

[oneshot86]

Sad wood pile story

Saw a squirrel last year trying to steal wood out of my wood shed so I shot him with my model 41 through the door. It pegged him up against the corner of the pile.

Anyway it dropped to like 10 degrees that night and he froze standing up in the corner. I left him there and told him jokes and stories every night while I would split wood. He was my only friend and a great listener.

Tragedy happened and in the early spring something came in at night and decided to have a squirrelsickle.

I am sad that my friend is gone every time I go in the shed.

i have a sad story about squirrels, not as sad as yours, losing your frozen dead friend like you had to.
well, maybe mine is more motivating and not really sad in my me me me world, real sad for that bastard and his mate.
it always starts off with the squirrels getting into the bird feeder and making a mess and chasing off the birds...
so they get shot, you know how it goes. anywho, 22ed homeboy and i didnt drop him right away, he still was on the trunk of the tree.
his lady came down to him, and i fucking, super fucking mean it when i say that the female squirrel patted him down like any of us would do to a human...

shes all pat him down looking for the wound, yea yea yea, they lined up and...
i got a two fer

 

[dallas34]

Mother nature takes a good one. 150 year old white oak taken by the wind. The worst part is there is no real saw timber in it. I got a 9' section out of the trunk but even that is full of limbs. The rest is all cut, split and stack. The only "good" piece is sitting on top of the load. Ignore the yellow pine on the bottom.

 

[tnichols]

Mother nature takes a good one. 150 year old white oak taken by the wind. The worst part is there is no real saw timber in it. I got a 9' section out of the trunk but even that is full of limbs. The rest is all cut, split and stack. The only "good" piece is sitting on top of the load. Ignore the yellow pine on the bottom.

At least you’re making good use of it. A lot of trees like that get pushed into a pile and burned as part of the clean up process.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Any time "White Oak" is mentioned,,, all I see/hear/feel is Bourbon Barrels.

 

[tnichols]

My son while small for his age, is mature mentally enough that I figured it was time to put him on the end of a saw with a motor on it. I had my buddy who is an ex Marine, LRP shooter, and has run his own tree service now for 20+ years give him some proper schooling. They spent 2 hours or so “in the classroom”, then another 2 hours actually cutting. We have been enjoying monsoon type rains (enough already) that we did most of it in the barn, but caught a break in the weather to get some cutting in outdoor. Chainsaw 101...

 

[bogeybrown]

My son while small for his age, is mature mentally enough that I figured it was time to put him on the end of a saw with a motor on it. I had my buddy who is an ex Marine, LRP shooter, and has run his own tree service now for 20+ years give him some proper schooling. They spent 2 hours or so “in the classroom”, then another 2 hours actually cutting. We have been enjoying monsoon type rains (enough already) that we did most of it in the barn, but caught a break in the weather to get some cutting in outdoor. Chainsaw 101...
View attachment 6940026View attachment 6940027

THAT is super cool. A lot of us could probably use some hours in the classroom with your buddy. The (poor) substitute for solid formal instruction in the beginning is countless hours learning from dangerous mistakes.

 

[rleonard]

Ready

 

[tnichols]

Ready

Very nice, organized fleet. I like the HD cabinet. ??

 

[oneshot86]

good job guys

 

[tea&jam]

The 550XP off of eBay had a pretty good looking piston, so I didn't take it in to have the compression tested.

The firewood hauling trailer has been out of commission at the ranch, so today was the first time I've used the saw. We need a new gatepost, so I took my tiny car and got a 1/4 cord worth of posts.

Saw started well, but got bogged down and stuttered a few times. Didn't even use a third of a tank, so it's probably too soon to say much.

 

[Barneybdb]

 

[MontanaMarine]

A couple pics from this summer.

Still have some splitting and stacking to do, but we are ready for the cold weather.

 

[tnichols]

A couple pics from this summer.

Still have some splitting and stacking to do, but we are ready for the cold weather.

That is beautiful! Represents a ton of healthy outdoor work. Love it!

 

[1J04]

Ya'll didn't hear it from me, but the Honey Badger is dogging it. Bad water?

 

[Geno C.]

Some guys just can't handle that light beer ?

 

[1J04]

Some guys just can't handle that light beer ?

Fuck'n shamed his ass into getting back in the fight didn't we. Split dat chit home boiiiiiiii

 

[oneshot86]

oh boy the sweat is coming out like molassess...
beer break right now
im kickin ass boys

 

[bogeybrown]

Damn, I asked @oneshot86 if he needed some help down there and said "nah, I've got this, dawg". I'd only slow his badass down.

I posted up in "View" when my buddy and I started his smokehouse but it's better suited here. We're waiting on some money to come in to buy the expanded metal for the actual grates, but we started "seasoning" it yesterday.

H

He mis-remembered how much tin he had, so we've got to get the roof dried in, but with a tiny fire on the floor it belched smoke and held at an average of 250* measured at about 8 different points all the way around it.

Well keep smoking it up and getting a feel for how how it behaves over the next few weeks before it's first true test: 200-300 pork butts.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Bogey, that there puts my smoker to shame, and I've got a good-sized one! Nicely done.

 

[Mr. Z]

Well it was time for a new medium saw and I went with the other orange this time. 550XP, they sure are purdy when they’re new.

 

[tnichols]

Damn, I asked @oneshot86 if he needed some help down there and said "nah, I've got this, dawg". I'd only slow his badass down.

I posted up in "View" when my buddy and I started his smokehouse but it's better suited here. We're waiting on some money to come in to buy the expanded metal for the actual grates, but we started "seasoning" it yesterday.

View attachment 6947615HView attachment 6947616View attachment 6947617

He mis-remembered how much tin he had, so we've got to get the roof dried in, but with a tiny fire on the floor it belched smoke and held at an average of 250* measured at about 8 different points all the way around it.

Well keep smoking it up and getting a feel for how how it behaves over the next few weeks before it's first true test: 200-300 pork butts.

I wish I lived just a block downwind of you! Nicely done.

 

[168BTHPM]

 

[Decoy]

My son while small for his age, is mature mentally enough that I figured it was time to put him on the end of a saw with a motor on it. I had my buddy who is an ex Marine, LRP shooter, and has run his own tree service now for 20+ years give him some proper schooling. They spent 2 hours or so “in the classroom”, then another 2 hours actually cutting. We have been enjoying monsoon type rains (enough already) that we did most of it in the barn, but caught a break in the weather to get some cutting in outdoor. Chainsaw 101...
View attachment 6940026View attachment 6940027

Great job getting him some time behind the saw, Its always better learning to use the chain saw from your old man instead of a dirty back alley

He will remember that time forever.

 

[Decoy]

Taught my 11 year old to set the chokers and run the chains this year. Fun in the woods.

 

[MK20]

I have been frantically cutting wood since I got back from overseas. Fortunately, I found a really nice stand of tamarack and red fir right off a forest road that has tons of dead standing in it so that makes things a lot easier. Also, If anyone is looking for a new saw the Echo 620P is a GREAT saw. You can remove the limiters in about 1 minute with a screw and it has an adjustable carb underneath. Cuts like crazy too. That has made this season's wood chores much easier.

 

[Geno C.]

I have been frantically cutting wood since I got back from overseas. Fortunately, I found a really nice stand of tamarack and red fir right off a forest road that has tons of dead standing in it so that makes things a lot easier. Also, If anyone is looking for a new saw the Echo 620P is a GREAT saw. You can remove the limiters in about 1 minute with a screw and it has an adjustable carb underneath. Cuts like crazy too. That has made this season's wood chores much easier.

I run a little echo at home for small stuff. I might just look into one of their bigger saws. I use a 441 magnum for most log cutting now and it works pretty good.

 

[MK20]

You should. I have been really impresses and they have started making them in Japan again which is a really good thing.

 

[Decoy]

I use a Stihl MS 362 for the big stuff, an Husqvarna 450X for medium stuff and a couple of Stihl MS170's for limbing and cutting out vine maple. Did I ever say that I hate vine maple?

 

[tnichols]

Low 30’s here tonight. And so it begins...

 

[MK20]

It got cold over here today as well. Not low 30s though.

 

[Decoy]

Low 30’s here tonight. And so it begins...

View attachment 6949455

you need to move to Washington where its warm! Had the windows open all day.

 

[tnichols]

Got home from the XC meet and put Ty to work on storm damage blow down in the elderly neighbors yard. It was blocking one of their drives and I knew they where out of town, so, thought it would be a good opportunity for him to learn about compression and tension on a downed tree. He was slow, safe, but sure. Two tanks of fuel through the old 250 to limb out the main stem. He cut and I piled brush (role reversal). He’ll sleep well tonight.

 

[powdahound76]

Love that tnichols.

Thats the kind of thing my folks had us doing as kids, we had several older neighbors.
Still makes me happy when a chance like that comes up.

 

[bogeybrown]

Got home from the XC meet and put Ty to work on storm damage blow down in the elderly neighbors yard. It was blocking one of their drives and I knew they where out of town, so, thought it would be a good opportunity for him to learn about compression and tension on a downed tree. He was slow, safe, but sure. Two tanks of fuel through the old 250 to limb out the main stem. He cut and I piled brush (role reversal). He’ll sleep well tonight.

View attachment 6952730

That's awesome man. I'm sure you were a nervous wreck handing off the saw, but he'll remember the day that dad trusted him to do the "man's work" forever. Great on you buddy!

 

[tnichols]

That's awesome man. I'm sure you were a nervous wreck handing off the saw, but he'll remember the day that dad trusted him to do the "man's work" forever. Great on you buddy!

Thanks. He maybe didn't notice, but there was a VERY watchful eye on him at all times. My biggest fear is, I may have lost my job runnin' saw .

 

[Geno C.]

Thanks. He maybe didn't notice, but there was a VERY watchful eye on him at all times. My biggest fear is, I may have lost my job runnin' saw .

You put a 15lb saw in his hands and I bet you get your job back ?

 

[tnichols]

You put a 15lb saw in his hands and I bet you get your job back ?

I thought the same thing . Hand him my 441 and see how long that lasts.