Here's a "Talk About Anything" thread

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Wow, 5 years out, I feel lucky if I'm cutting next year's wood!!!! I don't have the storage for 5 years worth.

I've been working wood all week. Good for the Soul.

I thin dead and dying trees. Mark them mid Summer when leaves are still on. Then cull them now. I use the RTV a LOT for this task. Let's me get into thick stand areas that I can't get to with the tractor. Hydraulic dump bed rocks!!!!
 
Getting ahead has been relatively lately.

At the back of my land, they clear-cut a 100' wide right-of-way for a gas line.

I had them shred any small trees and the tops and leave the logs in stacks.

Not having to deal with felling the trees and dealing with the tops makes it much faster.

You can see some of the piles in this picture. In all, there's about 70 full cord (210 face cord) sitting there waiting for me.
 

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That will sure be handy Zoom. Do you have one of those outdoor wood heaters like our dear friend the late Muleman ?
 
I think of Muley often. :( He used to sell those outdoor wood burners and we talked about me getting one but it didn't happen.

I have 2 wood stoves (airtight fireplace inserts) in the house. I'll fire up the first once the temps dip a little more and once started, it won't go out until sometime next March. That one will keep the house warm until it gets down to about 10° at which time I kick on the 2nd one. If/when it gets down to -20° we add the furnace into the mix.

Picture below:
For my friends to the North, you may need to wear a sweatshirt on a day like this. :letitsnow:

For my friends to the South, imagine your chest deep freezer on its coldest setting. Then subtract another 15°. Then climb in and stay in there for the same amount of time as it takes to complete your outdoor chores.
 

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I miss that Muley too.. He was a nice friend and so helpful.
That would be hard for me to handle Zoom... I spend a lot of time outdoors with the cows and in the cold winter with high in the teens, we feed 2x a day. I'll keep the 100 plus weather and you can keep that. My fingers get so cold- got to remember to get my hand warmers out.. collie
 
Zoom, not sure where you are located. Here, that wood would rot before it got burned. Nice to have it waiting for you though!!!!!

I cut wood off my neighbor where loggers had worked a few years ago. The third year it wasn't worth cutting anymore..... :(
 
I'm in Pennsylvania

The wood is primarily oak, maple and cherry. Being in stacks helps keep it dry. As much as possible, I grab maple and cherry first as it won't last nearly as long as the oak. Oak can last for a long time...
 
Glad it is working to your benefit!!!! I hate cutting live trees for firewood. Fortunately I have enough timber at my disposable that I can generally keep 3 shop stoves running on dead or dying trees.
 
easy fix for them old air compressors that parts become obsolete.I have a craftsman air compressor and just rebuilt it all but the stupic 3/8 silicone sleve that holds the air line from the head to the tank.If you can find the sleeve they go from 20 to 40 bucks.I searched high and low for something that would work while not melting.I opened a drawer and seen an old spark wire boot and its 3/8 diameter but a bit to thick.I added it on a rod and started to spin it on the grinder to reduce the thickness and when done it slid right in and tightened up good for the compression fitting.Keep this in mind if you loose the stupid silicone sleeve they discontinued a few years back.Saved my ol craftsman compressor and a ton of money...
 
bczoom said:
Getting ahead has been relatively lately.

At the back of my land, they clear-cut a 100' wide right-of-way for a gas line.

I had them shred any small trees and the tops and leave the logs in stacks.

Not having to deal with felling the trees and dealing with the tops makes it much faster.

You can see some of the piles in this picture. In all, there's about 70 full cord (210 face cord) sitting there waiting for me.
Click to expand...

Lucky ass!!!!!!!!where are you that you have snow already??
If been in such bad shape Im only half done cutting wood for the season.
Hell it took me 4 days to replace u joints and fluids on the ol RTV. Old age and the damn MS is taking its toll on me it seems...
 
Mark.Sibole said:
Lucky ass!!!!!!!!where are you that you have snow already??
Click to expand...
That picture is from a couple years ago when they were cutting for the gas line. I used that pic as it's the best I could find of the wood piles. There's probably 3-4x as many piles available but not seen in that pic.
 
Man, that's nice BC. Takes me a month every year to gather my wood, cut it into the correct lengths, split it and haul it up to the outdoor furnace. Better than paying Duke Energy though!
 
Here's what the area looks like about a year ago.

It's planted with oats and clover. It gets baled once or twice a year. If the neighbor doesn't do a 2nd cutting, I go in with the rotary cutter.

I drive the tractor to a pile, lay some logs out in the open then buck them there.

After that, I have 2 choices to get them home.
1. The RTV can be used to bring them back to an area through the woods just off the right side of the picture to be taken down the hill to the house. This is down some steep trails and almost 1/2 mile trip.
2. Depending on the time of year, I can take it through the fields of the farmer behind me. (left side of picture). It's a few miles to get back home but I can take the equivalent of 4 RTV loads.

It may take me a calendar month to get it a year's worth but I think it takes me about 4-5 hours for a cord so about 20 man hours per year. A lot of this is travel time.
 

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My neighbor gave me a wagon running gear. In great shape. I've been using it to haul logs out of the timber. Sure speeds up the process. :)
 

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Nice!
I'd like to get a grapple but don't know if I can justify it at this point. :( I guess I'll just keep using tongs, straps and chains. At least my son is old enough now to hook things up properly so I don't have to get off the tractor anymore. He was helping me split some logs yesterday. They were too heavy to lift so we had to split vertically. I got tired watching him roll those around the take what's been split and toss them in the RTV.
 
A Grapple is an attachment who's value cannot be truly explained until you've used one. I built this one starting with a Bobcat Lo-Pro bucket. I like the bucket concept so I can scoop loose material without having to switch attachments.

Disclaimer: A Grapple will make a lazy man out of you!!!! I'll spend a couple minutes picking up small debris with the Grapple that I could move in seconds by hand. :)
 
Paid if Full

Finally , I got the paperwork ! My Kubota RTV is now, officially, paid in full .She drove even better and the air felt so good hitting me in the face- free and clear. ) I'm going to hold on tight to the former payment and not go into debt with what I feel is coming in the economy.
No more payments....:dancing: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !! (double Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa) !!
bordercollie
 

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WAAHHHHHHH HHOOOOOOOOOO for Judy..........God is goooood......With that old payment put away some storage foods, some barter stuff, and then enjoy life.....Yes, it's so good to be free of that monkey hanging onto your neck. GOOD DEAL FOR YOU
 
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