Last Monday we went to our cabin to check on our newly planted basswood and to clean up some of the uncut wood and piles of branches.
It looked like only three of the 25 seedlings had been bitten, but they might not have had the longest branch intact when we planted them.
Our first order of business was to unjam our chipper. We had left it jammed from our visit two weeks ago. I don't like to bend over to work on things, and so we wanted to have it elevated. I had a loading dock that was at a good height for such work, but it had too many rotted boards two years ago. The picnic table that I built seventeen years ago is still usable although we use another table for al fresco dining. It has become a de facto work bench for many tasks.
I hauled our aluminum ramps to the one end of the table and the two of us were able to push, lift, and wriggle the chipper into place for further work. Now it seemed a piece of cake to take off the screen and the input chute and reach next to the flywheel for the jammed piece. Well, the first two were a piece of cake, but even seeing the jammed piece was not.
I pushed in a cheap, long keyhole saw I had bought for this purpose, but its teeth were too fine to really grab the wood. I could saw at the wood, but that was a long, laborious process.
If I pushed the flywheel in the opposite direction that it normally went, I hoped it would push the piece within reach. Unfortunately, pushing it backward jams the handle of the starter rope against the housing very quickly. I had figured out that if one of us pulled out the starter rope first and the other pushed the flywheel in the opposite direction, we could push the flywheel for several rotations.
This worked only once. A very little piece showed itself at the chute opening. I grabbed that piece with pliers and pulled steadily. The whole piece came out shortly and the flywheel turned easily.
The next time we were not so lucky. I had to use the better back saw to get at it and cut or grab. Eventually the piece broke up into smaller piece and the flywheel turned freely. However, there is still some still in there that could cause some other wood to jam.
The problem is one of design. The gap between the blades and the housing is quite large, and so a piece can be pulled in and jam, especially in an area away from the blades. The problem is further compounded by the nuts and bolts in the cutting area that hold the housing to the engine. These are just one more obstruction to cause a jam.
Why, oh why, didn't I buy that Troy-bilt drum chipper when they were still marketed? Supposedly, if it jammed, one inserted a crank into the axle and turned it backward. These are available from time to time on eBay, but they always seem to be in Texas or Pennsylvania or some other locale two or more days driver away.
When I wasn't busy unjamming the chipper, I was cutting up the tree bolts. I had moved my sawhorse close to the pile of the biggest bolts. I only had three problems with this.
The first was getting the biggest bolts onto the sawhorse. There were six to ten inches in diameter. I had to use what I call the "little brother carry". I would stand one on end, squat a bit, put my arms around it about 3/4 the way up, stand up, and stagger over to the sawhorse. I could leverage one end onto the sawhorse, and then walk my hands down and lift up the other.
The second was despite the bolts being on a sawhorse, the saw would still jam. Not seriously, but enough to have to back off. I did manage to make most of the cuts perpendicular and clean. It was amazing how much easier it was to control the saw at waist height than it was bending over a trunk on the ground.
The third problem was probably a result of the second problem. The chain broke! Fortunately for me, it didn't fly off and hit me or anything or anybody else. It just dangled from the saw. I got out another chain, put it on and I was back in business.
I also took a few minutes to split a few rounds. This late in spring, they still split easily when I hit them correctly. Correctly doesn't include being dead on center.
So, we got rid of one pile of bolts and several piles of branches. There is more waiting for our next visit.
Unless something really interesting happens, this will be the last episode of "Adventures of Superwoodsman" for a while. Our next few visits will be more chipping and sawing, then we will widen some paths and do more chipping. I do hope we start spending more time walking around or just sitting around enjoying the outdoors.
If you would like to see some pictures of our place in Brimson and the surrounding area, see my Brimson set on Flickr.
Showing posts with label tree felling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tree felling. Show all posts
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 11
I'm falling behind on keeping up with these little adventures in Brimson, or is it misadventures.
We went to Brimson on midmorning Sunday, May 24, with our 25 basswood seedlings and hopes of planting them all.
We just moved stuff out of the way with numerous breaks to rest, to drink water, or nibble something. I moved bolts and rounds and my wife moved branches. I piled the bolts in sort of neat piles for later cutting, and I threw the rounds on the to-be-split pile. The latter pile is getting so big that I'll have to move it again as I split rounds closer to the stump. My wife trimmed some branches into more manageable pieces and put them in piles along one of our trails for later chipping.
This was a lot more work than we had anticipated. I think we finished around five, or maybe later. We wouldn't be planting that day.
Before or after supper we took our first walk on our main loop in many weeks, probably only the second since the snow melted. It was enjoyable to see all the green, to see the birch volunteers getting more numerous and bigger, and to see that some of the spruce we had planted along the back line had grown faster than in some previous years. It was depressing to see how much work we had to do to keep the trail open.
Before we went to bed I told my wife that the next day we would only plant the seedlings and then return to Duluth. My skin was red and irritated from being anywhere near balsam fir. It took me quite awhile to go to sleep.
After a leisurely breakfast with the unread part of the previous day's Star Tribune we started on a tree planting venture. Poke planting bar in ground. Clunk! A rock! Move a few inches away. Poke! Schlump! Into soft ground it goes! Leverage back and forth to make an hourglass-shaped hole. Oops! There are rocks on either side of the bar! A little more back and forth and I guess the hole will do.
My wife trims the roots of a seedling and sticks into the hole. I poke another hole next to the first hole and make into an "hourglass". If I'm lucky there is no rock. She scrapes some of the loosened dirt into the first hole and then I tramp on the second hole to close up the first and to make a water pocket of the second.
I try to make a random arrangement of holes rather than a grid; my only criterion is to keep the trees two big steps from each other.
Poke, stick, stomp! Twenty-four more times and exactly twenty-four. We didn't get any extras this time which is just fine by us. Our backs were stiff, we were tired, it was time to go back to Duluth.
We packed up and put everything going back in the truck. Now comes the sad part. No matter how tired we are, no matter how sweaty or bug-bitten or otherwise physically irritated, we are reluctant to leave. The drive to the road through the balsam stand, yes, a balsam stand, is a sign we won't be back to our little paradise for a week or more.
We went to Brimson on midmorning Sunday, May 24, with our 25 basswood seedlings and hopes of planting them all.
We just moved stuff out of the way with numerous breaks to rest, to drink water, or nibble something. I moved bolts and rounds and my wife moved branches. I piled the bolts in sort of neat piles for later cutting, and I threw the rounds on the to-be-split pile. The latter pile is getting so big that I'll have to move it again as I split rounds closer to the stump. My wife trimmed some branches into more manageable pieces and put them in piles along one of our trails for later chipping.
This was a lot more work than we had anticipated. I think we finished around five, or maybe later. We wouldn't be planting that day.
Before or after supper we took our first walk on our main loop in many weeks, probably only the second since the snow melted. It was enjoyable to see all the green, to see the birch volunteers getting more numerous and bigger, and to see that some of the spruce we had planted along the back line had grown faster than in some previous years. It was depressing to see how much work we had to do to keep the trail open.
Before we went to bed I told my wife that the next day we would only plant the seedlings and then return to Duluth. My skin was red and irritated from being anywhere near balsam fir. It took me quite awhile to go to sleep.
After a leisurely breakfast with the unread part of the previous day's Star Tribune we started on a tree planting venture. Poke planting bar in ground. Clunk! A rock! Move a few inches away. Poke! Schlump! Into soft ground it goes! Leverage back and forth to make an hourglass-shaped hole. Oops! There are rocks on either side of the bar! A little more back and forth and I guess the hole will do.
My wife trims the roots of a seedling and sticks into the hole. I poke another hole next to the first hole and make into an "hourglass". If I'm lucky there is no rock. She scrapes some of the loosened dirt into the first hole and then I tramp on the second hole to close up the first and to make a water pocket of the second.
I try to make a random arrangement of holes rather than a grid; my only criterion is to keep the trees two big steps from each other.
Poke, stick, stomp! Twenty-four more times and exactly twenty-four. We didn't get any extras this time which is just fine by us. Our backs were stiff, we were tired, it was time to go back to Duluth.
We packed up and put everything going back in the truck. Now comes the sad part. No matter how tired we are, no matter how sweaty or bug-bitten or otherwise physically irritated, we are reluctant to leave. The drive to the road through the balsam stand, yes, a balsam stand, is a sign we won't be back to our little paradise for a week or more.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 10
Yesterday I went to our cabin to work some more on clearing the area where we wanted to plant new trees. Except for the wind, I couldn't have asked for a nicer day. It was warmer outside than it was in the cabin. Although the wind was keeping the bugs down, I hauled out the screens from the shed, inserted them, and opened the windows.
Before I left Duluth, I stopped Denny's Lawn & Garden to buy a new saw chain to replace those that I thought were too far gone. The darn thing was nearly $20!
As I was leaving, I thought I should ask for advice on what I might be doing wrong to have such bad cuts. I described how I could cut easily at the far end of the saw but not close to the motor. Tom Zemow said it could be the bar is worn out. I replied that could be true because all the paint is worn off. "OK, how much?" "About $46." Well, my checking account is getting low, I better pull out my credit card. Tom couldn't find any for my saee fw on the shelf and raided a new saw for the bar.
Shortly after I arrived at our cabin, I installed the new bar. But I used the same chain as I had used last in Episode 9. Before I put it on the new bar I wiggled it on the old bar; it sure wiggled a lot from side to side. When I put it on the new bar it hardly wiggled at all. I may do some really productive work today.
Off to cut up the next felled tree. Buzz, buzz! It went through the trunk like the proverbial knife in butter. Proof once more that one has to ask the right questions. The new chain would not have cut any better than the old chains.
I delimbed the two trees that had fallen opposite the direction I had wanted but not into the spruce, so I thought. These two had their branches tangled with each other and some of the brush they had fallen into. Cut, toss aside, cut, toss aside.
Bad news! One of the trees had fallen on a smaller spruce that I had not seen in the tangle. It might survive because although it was bent it was not broken; the only damage appears to be some needles scraped off near the top.
With a faster saw, I thought I could go back to cutting rounds, but as I looked around I realized I would not get done by time to go home. So, I cut four-foot bolts or longer, depending on thickness. I'll finish these on a saw horse some other time.
I did pause from sawing to see how easily some of these rounds split in warmer weather. I tried two and although they didn't split with the first whack, they did so with two or three. That is two or three whacks in the same place.
With many pauses for water, one for lunch, and another for some chocolate, I got all the downed trees cut up by about four. Oh yes, I had to refill the gas and oil three times and a couple of times I wondered if the saw would even restart.
Rather than get all the wood out of the way, I decided to cut the stumps flush with the ground. That means lots of work on my haunches which means that the saw is not always cutting in straight line. This work took a lot longer than I had hoped. I think I only got four stumps out of twelve or fourteen cut down before I decided I should pack up and head home.
This means we still have lots of moving of brush and piles of cut wood before we can plant the trees. We can plant around the stumps and cut them later. It's just a nuisance to work around them.
AccuWeather says it will be in the mid-60s and partly cloudy Saturday. I hope they are accurate.
Before I left Duluth, I stopped Denny's Lawn & Garden to buy a new saw chain to replace those that I thought were too far gone. The darn thing was nearly $20!
As I was leaving, I thought I should ask for advice on what I might be doing wrong to have such bad cuts. I described how I could cut easily at the far end of the saw but not close to the motor. Tom Zemow said it could be the bar is worn out. I replied that could be true because all the paint is worn off. "OK, how much?" "About $46." Well, my checking account is getting low, I better pull out my credit card. Tom couldn't find any for my saee fw on the shelf and raided a new saw for the bar.
Shortly after I arrived at our cabin, I installed the new bar. But I used the same chain as I had used last in Episode 9. Before I put it on the new bar I wiggled it on the old bar; it sure wiggled a lot from side to side. When I put it on the new bar it hardly wiggled at all. I may do some really productive work today.
Off to cut up the next felled tree. Buzz, buzz! It went through the trunk like the proverbial knife in butter. Proof once more that one has to ask the right questions. The new chain would not have cut any better than the old chains.
I delimbed the two trees that had fallen opposite the direction I had wanted but not into the spruce, so I thought. These two had their branches tangled with each other and some of the brush they had fallen into. Cut, toss aside, cut, toss aside.
Bad news! One of the trees had fallen on a smaller spruce that I had not seen in the tangle. It might survive because although it was bent it was not broken; the only damage appears to be some needles scraped off near the top.
With a faster saw, I thought I could go back to cutting rounds, but as I looked around I realized I would not get done by time to go home. So, I cut four-foot bolts or longer, depending on thickness. I'll finish these on a saw horse some other time.
I did pause from sawing to see how easily some of these rounds split in warmer weather. I tried two and although they didn't split with the first whack, they did so with two or three. That is two or three whacks in the same place.
With many pauses for water, one for lunch, and another for some chocolate, I got all the downed trees cut up by about four. Oh yes, I had to refill the gas and oil three times and a couple of times I wondered if the saw would even restart.
Rather than get all the wood out of the way, I decided to cut the stumps flush with the ground. That means lots of work on my haunches which means that the saw is not always cutting in straight line. This work took a lot longer than I had hoped. I think I only got four stumps out of twelve or fourteen cut down before I decided I should pack up and head home.
This means we still have lots of moving of brush and piles of cut wood before we can plant the trees. We can plant around the stumps and cut them later. It's just a nuisance to work around them.
AccuWeather says it will be in the mid-60s and partly cloudy Saturday. I hope they are accurate.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 9
This weekend was to be the weekend of our annual tree planting, but the trees are now in our cool basement waiting for us to try again.
On Friday morning we picked up 25 basswood seedlings from the annual soil and water conservation district sale. Late in the afternoon we headed to our cabin with intermittent rain and arrived in time for supper. It was really windy and cool. Some of the water we had left out had ice in it.
When we had cut the trees down last week, they had few if any buds. This week the downed trees have small green leaves. Amazing how long and slow the flow of sap up a tree is.
During the night there were some real doozies of thunderstorms and some very hard rain. When we got up it was gray but not raining much. In fact, the rain gauge had only 3/4 inches of water in it. But my wife heard a radio report that Saturday night would have a low of 28; that decided against trying to plant any seedlings that weekend.
Anyway, we still had lots of cleanup to do on the planting site. I gassed up the chipper-shredder and started it for my wife. She preceded to work on one of the many piles of brush and branches we have.
I went off to put one of the newly sharpened chains in the chain saw. I also noted that we didn't have much gas for either the chain saw or the chipper-shredder; three tanks each at the most.
Before I was ready with the chain saw, I heard the chipper-shredder stop. A piece had jammed between the flywheel and the housing. Undo nuts on chute which is not an easy process. I have to use a socket wrench with an extension to get at the nuts. The nut on the engine side of the chute is positioned so the socket wrench is not straight. When I get a nut loose enough, the ratchet on the wrench no longer holds on the back stroke. I have to twist the shaft of the extension with my fingers and I can't always get a good grip, especially with gloves on. Then I have to use a magnetic wand to get the washers off and not drop them. Once I had the chute off, I was able to simply pull out the stuck wood, which is not always the case.
Then I reverse the process. First put on the outside and lower washers and nuts so the chute stays in place. Use the magnetic wand to get the washers on the engine side bolt. This takes lots of maneuvering to get the holes in the washers centered over the bolt; they always try to go on the side of the bolt instead.
I get back to the chain saw and am ready to cut. I had originally planned to cut four-foot bolts instead to sixteen-inch rounds to save time. Since we weren't going to plant trees that day, I went back to cutting sixteen-inch rounds. Delimbing the first tree goes OK, then I start on rounds.
The saw doesn't rock down easily. That is, when I cut the log more on the engine side, the chain doesn't cut much. It does so-so when I push the tip down on the far side. Also I'm not getting very big chips. I'm not the world's best saw operator, but the frequency of curved cuts instead of perpendicular cuts is ridiculous. Almost every time!! The curved cuts also reduce cutting efficiency. After I get half the first tree cut into rounds, I go back to cutting it into bolts to save time.
Let's try the second newly-sharpened chain. Like the first, this one has been sharpened many time. It feels sharp to the touch, but I'm not confident. Sure enough more curved cuts and slow cutting. Generally it blasts through branches, but once I want to cut over three inches, things don't go well. I get through another tree and it's time for lunch.
At least I think it was time for lunch. The day became a blur. I could hardly pick up my food and get it into my mouth; I had little interest in reading the paper. I think after lunch I lay down on the floor and tried to take a nap.
The chipper-shredder jammed again. Neither of us could dislodge the piece. My wife said she could see it, but I couldn't. With a keyhole saw she could feel the piece of wood, but it wouldn't grab. I said that was enough chipping for the day; I had to get back to work on the trees.
Last week I had left one tree standing in the clump I intended to cut; one that was bent completely in the wrong way. I got a rope around it about eight feet up, pulled it around a stump in the direction I wanted it to fall and then off to another stump. I tied it off with a tautline hitch. I pulled the rope and my wife slipped the knot - pull, slip, pull, slip, ... and finally my said she couldn't slip the knot anymore. Let's hope we have enough tension to pull the tree the direction we want.
Also, I'll try the third chain. It doesn't look much better than the other two, even though the teeth feel sharp. Sure enough, the chain doesn't bit well into this five-inch diameter tree. I manage to get a wedge cut out and start back cut. I've cut almost to the wedge and the tree isn't falling. I step back and my wedge cut is not in the intended direction, but my back cut is; there's over an inch before the cuts will meet on the opposite side. I continue the back cut and the cut widens. I step back but the tree doesn't fall. I give it a push in the direction I want it to go and it starts to fall, perpendicular to the direction I intended. At least it didn't hit the spruces.
I cut up another downed tree into bolts and maybe a third into bolts. Time for a banana and chocolate. Maybe this is the time I tried to take a nap, not after lunch.
It is probably after four now. We have to clean up the site a bit, pack up, and drive home. I move the bigger bolts end over end and stack them away from where we want to plant the seedlings. The smaller bolts I can stand on end and pick them up like a bigger sibling picks up a younger sibling. But there is still a whole day's work to finish cutting up the trees and getting the large debris out of the way. My plan is to go back tomorrow. We shall see tomorrow.
A "salt-in-the-wound" postscript. I was flipping through the AARP magazine and saw a picture of a 72-year-old doctor who had climbed Mount Everest. I'm one year younger and I have a hard time climbing into the back of my pickup truck!
On Friday morning we picked up 25 basswood seedlings from the annual soil and water conservation district sale. Late in the afternoon we headed to our cabin with intermittent rain and arrived in time for supper. It was really windy and cool. Some of the water we had left out had ice in it.
When we had cut the trees down last week, they had few if any buds. This week the downed trees have small green leaves. Amazing how long and slow the flow of sap up a tree is.
During the night there were some real doozies of thunderstorms and some very hard rain. When we got up it was gray but not raining much. In fact, the rain gauge had only 3/4 inches of water in it. But my wife heard a radio report that Saturday night would have a low of 28; that decided against trying to plant any seedlings that weekend.
Anyway, we still had lots of cleanup to do on the planting site. I gassed up the chipper-shredder and started it for my wife. She preceded to work on one of the many piles of brush and branches we have.
I went off to put one of the newly sharpened chains in the chain saw. I also noted that we didn't have much gas for either the chain saw or the chipper-shredder; three tanks each at the most.
Before I was ready with the chain saw, I heard the chipper-shredder stop. A piece had jammed between the flywheel and the housing. Undo nuts on chute which is not an easy process. I have to use a socket wrench with an extension to get at the nuts. The nut on the engine side of the chute is positioned so the socket wrench is not straight. When I get a nut loose enough, the ratchet on the wrench no longer holds on the back stroke. I have to twist the shaft of the extension with my fingers and I can't always get a good grip, especially with gloves on. Then I have to use a magnetic wand to get the washers off and not drop them. Once I had the chute off, I was able to simply pull out the stuck wood, which is not always the case.
Then I reverse the process. First put on the outside and lower washers and nuts so the chute stays in place. Use the magnetic wand to get the washers on the engine side bolt. This takes lots of maneuvering to get the holes in the washers centered over the bolt; they always try to go on the side of the bolt instead.
I get back to the chain saw and am ready to cut. I had originally planned to cut four-foot bolts instead to sixteen-inch rounds to save time. Since we weren't going to plant trees that day, I went back to cutting sixteen-inch rounds. Delimbing the first tree goes OK, then I start on rounds.
The saw doesn't rock down easily. That is, when I cut the log more on the engine side, the chain doesn't cut much. It does so-so when I push the tip down on the far side. Also I'm not getting very big chips. I'm not the world's best saw operator, but the frequency of curved cuts instead of perpendicular cuts is ridiculous. Almost every time!! The curved cuts also reduce cutting efficiency. After I get half the first tree cut into rounds, I go back to cutting it into bolts to save time.
Let's try the second newly-sharpened chain. Like the first, this one has been sharpened many time. It feels sharp to the touch, but I'm not confident. Sure enough more curved cuts and slow cutting. Generally it blasts through branches, but once I want to cut over three inches, things don't go well. I get through another tree and it's time for lunch.
At least I think it was time for lunch. The day became a blur. I could hardly pick up my food and get it into my mouth; I had little interest in reading the paper. I think after lunch I lay down on the floor and tried to take a nap.
The chipper-shredder jammed again. Neither of us could dislodge the piece. My wife said she could see it, but I couldn't. With a keyhole saw she could feel the piece of wood, but it wouldn't grab. I said that was enough chipping for the day; I had to get back to work on the trees.
Last week I had left one tree standing in the clump I intended to cut; one that was bent completely in the wrong way. I got a rope around it about eight feet up, pulled it around a stump in the direction I wanted it to fall and then off to another stump. I tied it off with a tautline hitch. I pulled the rope and my wife slipped the knot - pull, slip, pull, slip, ... and finally my said she couldn't slip the knot anymore. Let's hope we have enough tension to pull the tree the direction we want.
Also, I'll try the third chain. It doesn't look much better than the other two, even though the teeth feel sharp. Sure enough, the chain doesn't bit well into this five-inch diameter tree. I manage to get a wedge cut out and start back cut. I've cut almost to the wedge and the tree isn't falling. I step back and my wedge cut is not in the intended direction, but my back cut is; there's over an inch before the cuts will meet on the opposite side. I continue the back cut and the cut widens. I step back but the tree doesn't fall. I give it a push in the direction I want it to go and it starts to fall, perpendicular to the direction I intended. At least it didn't hit the spruces.
I cut up another downed tree into bolts and maybe a third into bolts. Time for a banana and chocolate. Maybe this is the time I tried to take a nap, not after lunch.
It is probably after four now. We have to clean up the site a bit, pack up, and drive home. I move the bigger bolts end over end and stack them away from where we want to plant the seedlings. The smaller bolts I can stand on end and pick them up like a bigger sibling picks up a younger sibling. But there is still a whole day's work to finish cutting up the trees and getting the large debris out of the way. My plan is to go back tomorrow. We shall see tomorrow.
A "salt-in-the-wound" postscript. I was flipping through the AARP magazine and saw a picture of a 72-year-old doctor who had climbed Mount Everest. I'm one year younger and I have a hard time climbing into the back of my pickup truck!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episodes 6, 7, and 8
I have not been writing these little adventures promptly and they are starting to run together.
Two weeks ago Monday we went to our cabin with our daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I don't think I cut any trees down; I just cut the trees from Episode 5 into fireplace lengths and piled them by splitting stumps. Our granddaughter had fun wandering around the cabin area.
That was also the day I took the wild turkey pictures on the way home. See http://magree.blogspot.com/2009/04/now-i-really-understand-turkey-shoot.html
A week ago Monday we went to our cabin to continue felling trees.
First I wanted to clear the brush with the sickle mower that hadn't started before. This time I figured out that the socket wrench was with the chipper/shredder but it wasn't. I thought again and looked harder in a shed and found the little box with parts, wrenches, and a magnetic wand.
I pulled out the plug and it was rather black, but not coated. I tried squirting starter fluid in the carburetor and would get a tentative start. After many, many tries the sickle mower kept going. I ran it to the brush that I wanted to cut and down some went. Then some didn't. I backed off and went at different angle and down they went. Repeat many times moving forward a few clumps at a time. The mower doesn't have much power and I know the blade is dull. Keep going. Then the sickle mower dies and won't start. The route to the shed seems like miles because the mower does not free wheel well. I promise myself to buy a new plug and install the sharper blade next weekend.
Back to the nippers to clear the brush and then cut the trees down. Almost all of them fell the way I wanted them to. However, I saw that one would be going just the opposite direction and could hit some 12-16 feet spruce that we had planted about sixteen years ago. I had to plot this carefully.
I thought I saw the proper direction and it would probably break two smaller aspen that I would be cutting anyway. Make my cuts; there it goes! Smash against one of the small trees breaking off the top third. It keeps coming down right between the two small trees. How lucky can I get?
With all the fooling around with the sickle mower, I have no time left to delimb or cut today's trees up.
Meanwhile, my wife had been busy chipping some of last year's brush and branches and putting the chips on a path. I don't think the chipper jammed at all.
Yesterday we were back at it again. I was armed with a new spark plug for the sickle mower. I replaced the plug and with the aid of starter fluid I got it started. I left it running to use up the gas just in case the gas was too old.
We ate lunch and the sickle mower stopped. When I checked it was still half full of gas. I tried and tried to get it restarted. It just would sputter.
Back to the backbreaking use of nippers.
After that, I change the chain on the saw and refill the gas and oil. Off to saw away. But it doesn't work very fast. Check the teeth. They don't seem very sharp. When I had picked up two chains after sharpening, I was told that one didn't need sharpening. Maybe the shop was wrong. I change the chain again, but I'm not too impressed with the sharpness of the teeth.
I was right. The cutting goes slow. I persist and down comes one tree, two trees, and a third I have to push the right direction.
I tackle a fourth, bigger tree. This looks iffy because it leans the way I want and then some limbs are the way I don't want. Let's give it a go. Slow going to get the notch. Start the back cut. The tree isn't falling. I get a wedge and pound it in with a five-pound maul. The cut hardly widens and the tree doesn't fall. I look at my back cut and it is not level! OK, let's try going a bit further. The tree starts to fall, I step back, and there it goes, right where I wanted it. Whew!
I don't remember if I cut any more after that. I do know I left a small tree that has all of its branches on the wrong side. It would fall right into the spruces.
I'm out of energy and time. No delimbing or cutting into lengths today. Besides, we have to heave the sickle mower into the truck to take to the shop.
When we get to the shop, I show the chains to the manager and he agrees that neither is very sharp and he offers to sharpen them both again and not charge me for the one that should have been sharpened.
We then go out to the truck to unload the sickle mower. He thinks the problem is not old gas but a weak diaphragm in the carburetor. We will find out in a few weeks. Next weekend is clearing the fallen trees and planting the basswood seedlings.
Two weeks ago Monday we went to our cabin with our daughter-in-law and granddaughter. I don't think I cut any trees down; I just cut the trees from Episode 5 into fireplace lengths and piled them by splitting stumps. Our granddaughter had fun wandering around the cabin area.
That was also the day I took the wild turkey pictures on the way home. See http://magree.blogspot.com/2009/04/now-i-really-understand-turkey-shoot.html
A week ago Monday we went to our cabin to continue felling trees.
First I wanted to clear the brush with the sickle mower that hadn't started before. This time I figured out that the socket wrench was with the chipper/shredder but it wasn't. I thought again and looked harder in a shed and found the little box with parts, wrenches, and a magnetic wand.
I pulled out the plug and it was rather black, but not coated. I tried squirting starter fluid in the carburetor and would get a tentative start. After many, many tries the sickle mower kept going. I ran it to the brush that I wanted to cut and down some went. Then some didn't. I backed off and went at different angle and down they went. Repeat many times moving forward a few clumps at a time. The mower doesn't have much power and I know the blade is dull. Keep going. Then the sickle mower dies and won't start. The route to the shed seems like miles because the mower does not free wheel well. I promise myself to buy a new plug and install the sharper blade next weekend.
Back to the nippers to clear the brush and then cut the trees down. Almost all of them fell the way I wanted them to. However, I saw that one would be going just the opposite direction and could hit some 12-16 feet spruce that we had planted about sixteen years ago. I had to plot this carefully.
I thought I saw the proper direction and it would probably break two smaller aspen that I would be cutting anyway. Make my cuts; there it goes! Smash against one of the small trees breaking off the top third. It keeps coming down right between the two small trees. How lucky can I get?
With all the fooling around with the sickle mower, I have no time left to delimb or cut today's trees up.
Meanwhile, my wife had been busy chipping some of last year's brush and branches and putting the chips on a path. I don't think the chipper jammed at all.
Yesterday we were back at it again. I was armed with a new spark plug for the sickle mower. I replaced the plug and with the aid of starter fluid I got it started. I left it running to use up the gas just in case the gas was too old.
We ate lunch and the sickle mower stopped. When I checked it was still half full of gas. I tried and tried to get it restarted. It just would sputter.
Back to the backbreaking use of nippers.
After that, I change the chain on the saw and refill the gas and oil. Off to saw away. But it doesn't work very fast. Check the teeth. They don't seem very sharp. When I had picked up two chains after sharpening, I was told that one didn't need sharpening. Maybe the shop was wrong. I change the chain again, but I'm not too impressed with the sharpness of the teeth.
I was right. The cutting goes slow. I persist and down comes one tree, two trees, and a third I have to push the right direction.
I tackle a fourth, bigger tree. This looks iffy because it leans the way I want and then some limbs are the way I don't want. Let's give it a go. Slow going to get the notch. Start the back cut. The tree isn't falling. I get a wedge and pound it in with a five-pound maul. The cut hardly widens and the tree doesn't fall. I look at my back cut and it is not level! OK, let's try going a bit further. The tree starts to fall, I step back, and there it goes, right where I wanted it. Whew!
I don't remember if I cut any more after that. I do know I left a small tree that has all of its branches on the wrong side. It would fall right into the spruces.
I'm out of energy and time. No delimbing or cutting into lengths today. Besides, we have to heave the sickle mower into the truck to take to the shop.
When we get to the shop, I show the chains to the manager and he agrees that neither is very sharp and he offers to sharpen them both again and not charge me for the one that should have been sharpened.
We then go out to the truck to unload the sickle mower. He thinks the problem is not old gas but a weak diaphragm in the carburetor. We will find out in a few weeks. Next weekend is clearing the fallen trees and planting the basswood seedlings.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 5
Today I went to our cabin with the plan of moving pieces of two already felled trees to a splitting stump and then cutting down as many trees as I could. This is part for firewood for next winter and part to make space for 25 basswood seedlings we have on order.
Most of the two felled trees was already cut in rounds, and it was short work to finish the job. The major problem was that I'm back to angled cuts rather than perpendicular. That does make splitting a bit more difficult. Another problem was that there was a big pile of wood right where I wanted to pull the cart. The second time I went around it I realized that I hadn't dumped wood there; it fell there off the stacked pile. As the snow between pieces melted, the pile shifted and plop went about a third of the stacked wood. My wife won't be happy when she restacks it.
Now that most of the snow was gone, I had hoped to use the sickle mower to clear brush around the trees I planned to cut. I pulled it out of the shed, filled it with gasoline, and pulled the starter rope. Nothing at first, then it would cough a bit. One more pull should do it. No such luck, a few more coughs and then no sound. In fact, one time the rope didn't retract. Oh, boy! Pushing a stick on the bigger disk did get it back.
OK, next step is to remove spark plug, pull a few time to unflood the engine, replace plug, and try again. Except, I can't find my small socket wrench. It's not in my tool box. It's not in the chain saw tool box. It's not in a couple of other boxes. Damn! What could I have done with it? I do know it is in a small box with my magnetic wand. That should be the sickle mower parts box. I bet I didn't look past the parts that are on top. Well, I better get on with the brush clearing and worry about it another day.
I take the hand brush axe and whack at some brush. The brush just bends and whaps me in the face. Also swinging the brush axe is a strain on my back. I guess I'll use the big nippers instead. Kneeling down is a strain too, but I start making progress. Later I discover I didn't take the guard off the brush axe blade!
Finally I have the brush cleared and can cut the tree. I look up at it and it doesn't look like its lean will let it go the way I want. OK, I guess it will have to go down a bit more clockwise than I wanted. Cut wedge. As usual, I have to work harder to get the wedge out than a real logger would have done. It's out. Now the back cut. Oh good, I'm only an inch above the bottom of the wedge. The back cut is widening, the tree is falling, step back, crash! Yay! Right where my second choice was.
Take a rest, have some water and chocolate.
Now I'm ready to take the next two trees both of which are smaller. I clear the brush around both and am ready for the bigger of the two. I make the cuts more easily than the last time and the tree starts to topple where I want it. Then it bounces at least two feet in the air. Good thing I had stepped back or I might have had a bruised chest. The tree had hit a stump; a stump I thought of cutting to the ground just to avoid this problem.
On to the third and smallest tree. Roar! Buzz! Roar! Buzz! The tree starts toppling in the opposite direction I want. I set the saw down and try to push the tree the other way. I stop its fall but it seems stuck in the branches of another tree. I try again with both hands and it drops off its stump. I try again and over it goes where I want it. Superman? No. Fool? Maybe. The tree is at most six inches around at the stump and does push easily.
Time for another break. Now I'm ready to tackle the fourth tree for the day. Bend over and cut brush. Hm! This is getting tough! After getting half way around the tree I say enough. I still have to pack up and drive home. Back into the cabin for a nap. What? It's only 3:30! I guess I worked harder and faster than I thought.
Next Saturday will be my next chance to continue.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
Previous episodes include
Skilled woodsman? Hah!
Premonitions revisited and other woodsman stuff
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 3
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 4
Most of the two felled trees was already cut in rounds, and it was short work to finish the job. The major problem was that I'm back to angled cuts rather than perpendicular. That does make splitting a bit more difficult. Another problem was that there was a big pile of wood right where I wanted to pull the cart. The second time I went around it I realized that I hadn't dumped wood there; it fell there off the stacked pile. As the snow between pieces melted, the pile shifted and plop went about a third of the stacked wood. My wife won't be happy when she restacks it.
Now that most of the snow was gone, I had hoped to use the sickle mower to clear brush around the trees I planned to cut. I pulled it out of the shed, filled it with gasoline, and pulled the starter rope. Nothing at first, then it would cough a bit. One more pull should do it. No such luck, a few more coughs and then no sound. In fact, one time the rope didn't retract. Oh, boy! Pushing a stick on the bigger disk did get it back.
OK, next step is to remove spark plug, pull a few time to unflood the engine, replace plug, and try again. Except, I can't find my small socket wrench. It's not in my tool box. It's not in the chain saw tool box. It's not in a couple of other boxes. Damn! What could I have done with it? I do know it is in a small box with my magnetic wand. That should be the sickle mower parts box. I bet I didn't look past the parts that are on top. Well, I better get on with the brush clearing and worry about it another day.
I take the hand brush axe and whack at some brush. The brush just bends and whaps me in the face. Also swinging the brush axe is a strain on my back. I guess I'll use the big nippers instead. Kneeling down is a strain too, but I start making progress. Later I discover I didn't take the guard off the brush axe blade!
Finally I have the brush cleared and can cut the tree. I look up at it and it doesn't look like its lean will let it go the way I want. OK, I guess it will have to go down a bit more clockwise than I wanted. Cut wedge. As usual, I have to work harder to get the wedge out than a real logger would have done. It's out. Now the back cut. Oh good, I'm only an inch above the bottom of the wedge. The back cut is widening, the tree is falling, step back, crash! Yay! Right where my second choice was.
Take a rest, have some water and chocolate.
Now I'm ready to take the next two trees both of which are smaller. I clear the brush around both and am ready for the bigger of the two. I make the cuts more easily than the last time and the tree starts to topple where I want it. Then it bounces at least two feet in the air. Good thing I had stepped back or I might have had a bruised chest. The tree had hit a stump; a stump I thought of cutting to the ground just to avoid this problem.
On to the third and smallest tree. Roar! Buzz! Roar! Buzz! The tree starts toppling in the opposite direction I want. I set the saw down and try to push the tree the other way. I stop its fall but it seems stuck in the branches of another tree. I try again with both hands and it drops off its stump. I try again and over it goes where I want it. Superman? No. Fool? Maybe. The tree is at most six inches around at the stump and does push easily.
Time for another break. Now I'm ready to tackle the fourth tree for the day. Bend over and cut brush. Hm! This is getting tough! After getting half way around the tree I say enough. I still have to pack up and drive home. Back into the cabin for a nap. What? It's only 3:30! I guess I worked harder and faster than I thought.
Next Saturday will be my next chance to continue.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
Previous episodes include
Skilled woodsman? Hah!
Premonitions revisited and other woodsman stuff
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 3
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 4
Friday, April 03, 2009
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 3
I thought I had written up this adventure but I can't find it. I guess I just thought about it.
My wife and I went to our cabin Thursday, March 26, to gather more firewood for next season.
I selected a tree to cut down and cleared the brush from around it. I made my wedge cut on the side I wanted it to fall and started the cut on the other side. The tree started to fall in the general direction I wanted and then stopped! It got caught in the top branches of a nearby tree, the tree I should have cut first.
From the bottom I didn't have enough leverage to nudge it. It seemed that almost anything I might try would be dangerous; I had no idea which way the tree would fall. I used a pole pruning saw to get a rope around the tree about 16 feet up and then tied the rope to another tree some distance away.
We could pull on the rope and make both trees sway a lot, but the cut tree wouldn't dislodge. I tried winding the rope bight with a stick. Nada! I thought of using a come-along, but I was sure it was in the truck, which was in the shop. A come-along is a small hand winch.
I did manage to pry the tree off its stump with a five-foot bar. I did see that the problem was that my back cut was not parallel to the wedge cut. So the tree twisted as it started to fall and was a few too many degrees off my intended fall direction.
We left the tree leaning there and I hoped to try again once I had the truck and the come-along. Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
My wife and I went to our cabin Thursday, March 26, to gather more firewood for next season.
I selected a tree to cut down and cleared the brush from around it. I made my wedge cut on the side I wanted it to fall and started the cut on the other side. The tree started to fall in the general direction I wanted and then stopped! It got caught in the top branches of a nearby tree, the tree I should have cut first.
From the bottom I didn't have enough leverage to nudge it. It seemed that almost anything I might try would be dangerous; I had no idea which way the tree would fall. I used a pole pruning saw to get a rope around the tree about 16 feet up and then tied the rope to another tree some distance away.
We could pull on the rope and make both trees sway a lot, but the cut tree wouldn't dislodge. I tried winding the rope bight with a stick. Nada! I thought of using a come-along, but I was sure it was in the truck, which was in the shop. A come-along is a small hand winch.
I did manage to pry the tree off its stump with a five-foot bar. I did see that the problem was that my back cut was not parallel to the wedge cut. So the tree twisted as it started to fall and was a few too many degrees off my intended fall direction.
We left the tree leaning there and I hoped to try again once I had the truck and the come-along. Stay tuned for the next episode of "The Adventures of Superwoodsman".
The Adventures of Superwoodsman, Episode 4
I finally got my truck back on Wednesday and went to the cabin to bring the stuck tree down. As those of you in Duluth know, we had quite a blizzard on Tuesday. I hoped that the winds would have brought the tree down. No such luck, it was still placidly embracing its neighbor.
I pulled the box out of the truck that I thought had the come-along, but the come-along wasn't in it! I looked in all the boxes in one shed and all the little nooks and crannies. No come-along! It can't be in the basement in Duluth. I looked in another shed and there it was in a box in the shadows.
I assembled all my equipment in a toboggan: the come-along, a chain saw, a long piece of rope, a nylon tow cable, and the pole pruning saw and I went to the tree site. I got the rope up as I could over a small branch, swung the pole around, brought it down, and tied the rope. I then brought the rope to a pair of trees that I could take shelter behind.
After much relearning, I was able to pull the come-along cable out to its full length, attach it to the rope and to the tow cable. I cranked and I cranked, but the tree moved only a foot or two. I could pull on the rope and make both trees sway but not separate.
Ah ha! thought I. Why not pull the tree back the way it came? I selected a pair of trees on the other side of the problem tree and reattached everything. I was at less risk because the second tree of the pair was off to the side; the first tree acted as a pulley.
I started cranking. The tree started up from its leaning position. It separated from its neighbor. It started falling in the opposite direction. it went down, down, and hung up on another tree, but way lower than the first time. Now it would be easier to cut a section off, let the tree's new base fall a bit, repeat.
I did have to clear quite a few branches to have a clear work area as I moved up the trunk. I was tugging one branch when it suddenly came loose. I started to fall backward, told myself to relax and go with the fall, then I didn't hit the ground. I hit another stump. OW! OW! OW! Do I have a cracked rib? Am I going to have to lie here all afternoon? No, I'm intact, but I sure had the wind knocked out of me. After I caught my breath, I was able to get up and continue.
Eventually I got the tree cut up and all the wood piled near one stump or another for splitting. I cleaned up the cabin, packed up, and drove home without incident.
How's my back. Last night it wasn't even black and blue. I did lie on a cold pack for awhile. But the real problem is my face. My allergic reaction to balsam or something left my face red and puffy. I'm beginning to think that it may be the chain saw exhaust rather than the balsam; I am also allergic to formaldehyde, a by-product of diesel and gasoline combustion. I'll see next week after I heal a bit and go back to split the wood, leaving the chain saw in the shed.
I pulled the box out of the truck that I thought had the come-along, but the come-along wasn't in it! I looked in all the boxes in one shed and all the little nooks and crannies. No come-along! It can't be in the basement in Duluth. I looked in another shed and there it was in a box in the shadows.
I assembled all my equipment in a toboggan: the come-along, a chain saw, a long piece of rope, a nylon tow cable, and the pole pruning saw and I went to the tree site. I got the rope up as I could over a small branch, swung the pole around, brought it down, and tied the rope. I then brought the rope to a pair of trees that I could take shelter behind.
After much relearning, I was able to pull the come-along cable out to its full length, attach it to the rope and to the tow cable. I cranked and I cranked, but the tree moved only a foot or two. I could pull on the rope and make both trees sway but not separate.
Ah ha! thought I. Why not pull the tree back the way it came? I selected a pair of trees on the other side of the problem tree and reattached everything. I was at less risk because the second tree of the pair was off to the side; the first tree acted as a pulley.
I started cranking. The tree started up from its leaning position. It separated from its neighbor. It started falling in the opposite direction. it went down, down, and hung up on another tree, but way lower than the first time. Now it would be easier to cut a section off, let the tree's new base fall a bit, repeat.
I did have to clear quite a few branches to have a clear work area as I moved up the trunk. I was tugging one branch when it suddenly came loose. I started to fall backward, told myself to relax and go with the fall, then I didn't hit the ground. I hit another stump. OW! OW! OW! Do I have a cracked rib? Am I going to have to lie here all afternoon? No, I'm intact, but I sure had the wind knocked out of me. After I caught my breath, I was able to get up and continue.
Eventually I got the tree cut up and all the wood piled near one stump or another for splitting. I cleaned up the cabin, packed up, and drove home without incident.
How's my back. Last night it wasn't even black and blue. I did lie on a cold pack for awhile. But the real problem is my face. My allergic reaction to balsam or something left my face red and puffy. I'm beginning to think that it may be the chain saw exhaust rather than the balsam; I am also allergic to formaldehyde, a by-product of diesel and gasoline combustion. I'll see next week after I heal a bit and go back to split the wood, leaving the chain saw in the shed.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Premonitions and predictions
A popular tale of a premonition that came true is about the traveler who decided not to board a ship or plane, and then the ship sank or the plane crashed. This seems to verify the strength of premonitions.
But what is rarely considered is the number of people who have premonitions of something happening but nothing happens.
I've been in the latter group many times in my life.
Over ten years ago I woke in the middle of the night feeling certain that a retired minister I knew had died. As far as I know, he is still alive and well.
A few nights ago the phone rang, and I was certain that it was a half-brother calling to say his mother had died. Well, I was partly right. It was my sister-in-law Jean calling to chat. My stepmother's name is also Jean.
Today I had premonitions that cutting down a tree at our cabin would not go well. The tree would fall on me. The tree might bounce and clunk me in the face. I might do something stupid with the chain saw. I would have liked my wife to have taken a movie of the tree falling, but I felt that would be a jinx.
The tree fell within ten degrees of where I wanted it to fall. I delimbed the tree and cut it into rounds suffering only a slightly stiff back from bending over.
But I won't give up on premonitions. I know it will snow in Duluth in the next two weeks.
But what is rarely considered is the number of people who have premonitions of something happening but nothing happens.
I've been in the latter group many times in my life.
Over ten years ago I woke in the middle of the night feeling certain that a retired minister I knew had died. As far as I know, he is still alive and well.
A few nights ago the phone rang, and I was certain that it was a half-brother calling to say his mother had died. Well, I was partly right. It was my sister-in-law Jean calling to chat. My stepmother's name is also Jean.
Today I had premonitions that cutting down a tree at our cabin would not go well. The tree would fall on me. The tree might bounce and clunk me in the face. I might do something stupid with the chain saw. I would have liked my wife to have taken a movie of the tree falling, but I felt that would be a jinx.
The tree fell within ten degrees of where I wanted it to fall. I delimbed the tree and cut it into rounds suffering only a slightly stiff back from bending over.
But I won't give up on premonitions. I know it will snow in Duluth in the next two weeks.
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