My tree cutting, wood splitting, firewood stacking saga

[Al33]

WARNING: This is gonna get kind of long and wordy, but there will be plenty of pic’s and I will do it in parts.

Part 1:

I moved into this little frame home March of 2005. The spring storms kept me concerned about two huge trees in my front yard but which are located on the road right of way. Over the years the power company has kept the limbs trimmed off the road side of the trees which left all the heavy limbs on my side and several of them extended 15” over my roof. In addition to this problem, there was no ground to support the root structure on the much lower road side of the trunks. The soil on my side of the trunks is about 4’ higher. The water runoff from the hill behind me ends up here making the ground more saturated than anywhere else. Naturally, I was very fearful the trees would crush my little home and perhaps with me in it.

I kept telling myself I needed to get the county DOT to do something about it but did not get around to it until July of 2005. The storms spawned here by hurricane Katrina were constant reminders to make the calls. I’ll spare the details about the red tape involved, but the county said it was a city problem and the city said it was a county problem. Both sent out investigators which concluded it was the others jurisdiction. I was also told no one could cut the trees unless they were dead. Anyway, ten months later and untold number of phone calls and emails, the tree cutters showed up.

This pic shows the huge red oak and just beyond it is a double trunk hickory covered in ivy.

 

[Al33]

Tree surgeons definitely earn their keep and I am amazed at how they do what they do. As if the climber didn’t already have many other perils to worry about, he had to work fairly close to very high voltage power lines. He can be seen here giving the lines another good look as he maneuvers around the main trunk of the hickory.

 

[Al33]

The power boom operator was as precise with it as a surgeon is with his scalpel. The climber would secure the boom cable around the large limbs before cutting. The boom operator would then secure and maneuver the huge limbs once cut so they would not hit the climber or something else. Never once did the limbs get into the power lines or hit something they shouldn’t have.

 

[Handgunner]

I bet that guy has some FINE deer stands that no-one else will hunt..

 

[Al33]

The ground crew fed the limbs into a chipper that could chew up logs up to 18” in diameter, and it did it quickly too.


I kept the crew hydrated with plenty of Gatorade and soda’s. I had asked them to leave me some of the wood for firewood, which they agreed to do, but because they needed to get the red oak wood out of the way to get to the hickory, I didn’t get much of it. They took the huge trunk to a sawmill. The large double trunk hickory would be more than enough to keep me busy. The climber had told me the hickory was a pin oak and I just took his word for it, not knowing the difference myself and had never given it any thought. I now wished I had known it was a hickory because I would have asked them to save me some 6’ straight logs and I would have turned them into bow staves. Perhaps because I kept them refreshed with the cold drinks they volunteered to cut the huge logs into workable lengths for me. Good thing too because I would have had to buy a big bar chainsaw to do it myself.

 

[Al33]

This photo doesn’t come close to showing the amount of wood they left, but the guy in the foreground is standing on top of one of the trunk pieces.

 

[littlewolf]

So who ended up footing the bill - the city or the county? I'm only asking cause I have a similar situation...

By the way Al - that little Merc is still running good

 

[Al33]

Part II

The tree cutters left me with an enormous amount of wood. The large trunk pieces were scattered and stacked on top of one another with smaller 6-12” diameter limb pieces mixed in. Almost all of it was heavily covered in ivy. I wanted to give the ivy plenty of time to dry out which would also give me time to study how I was going to manage this mess.
I was feeling a bit foolish at times because I do not even have a fireplace, much less the necessary tools to work it all into firewood. My rationale was that my daughter could use some firewood, the cabin where I hunt always needs wood for the wood heater, and yes, even my ex would like to have some of it. Also, there was the posibility I might sell some of it for a little extra hobby cash, you know, new cammo, more arrows, etc,.

I had never used a power log splitter before, always opting instead to bust up wood with a go-devil, axe, wedges, and simple hand tools. Years ago I bought a tractor trailer load of hardwood logs which I cut and split all by myself using only a chain saw and hand tools. Strange as it may sound, I found pleasure in the tasks. I often joked that my wife and girls kept warm burning the wood while I was at work and I kept warm cutting and splitting it when at home.

While perusing the Swap & Sell Forum one day I noticed a log splitter for sale by Hound Dog. It was priced right so I gave him a call. He very graciously agreed to deliver it to me from the south side of Atlanta and I was very grateful to say the least. Meeting this very nice young man and fellow Woodyite was a bonus.
I knew ahead of time the splitter would not handle the huge trunk pieces, but I reasoned I could bust them up into workable pieces with wedges, and besides, I had plenty of smaller pieces that it would handle and I could get busy with them. In any event, I had to get the smaller pieces out of the way so I could maneuver the larger ones.


Littlewolf, the county ended up taking responsibility for it.

 

[Jody Hawk]

How many turkeys and turkey feather hat pins do you reckon you can carve out of all that wood? Better get busy.

 

[Nicodemus]

Good pics and story Al. I used to do a little tree surgery on the side and those boys earn their money. I like to split wood myself, as long as it`s still green and has straight grain. Shame you couldn`t get that hickory trunk for bow staves.

 

[Al33]

Part III

I fired up the little splitter and put it to work. It didn’t take long before I had a good size pile of firewood ready to season. A friend and neighbor noticed my efforts and stopped by for a chat. He told me he had access to a homemade splitter that would handle the big stuff and would bring it to me. This was Friday afternoon, June 2nd. Late evening Saturday I returned from a trip to north Georgia and found the monster splitter parked in the front yard. It’s a big ugly brute that will split logs vertically or horizontally. It’s powered by a Kabota engine and is electric start. I called my friend to apologize for not being here when he delivered it. He said he would be right up with the battery he had been charging and show me how to operate it. We scooted one of the huge logs onto the platform and fired her up. A small lever works the hydraulic blade with the touch of the finger and on the first pass the log split open like an over ripe watermelon. To say I was impressed would be an understatement. This baby would definitely get-r-done. My friend left me for other matters and I worked this machine until dark and I have used it everyday since. Man, I love power like this.

 

[Al33]

After getting most of the logs split I could man handle, I went about working the big ones that I could only barely budge with my hands. This required a good bit of thought and careful consideration because I had to get them un-stacked without getting pinned by one then get them to the cutters platform. The winch on my 4 wheeler seemed to be a good idea and I managed to get two of them to the cutter but I did not feel comfortable having to sit on the 4 wheeler while the winch strained. This put me in direct line with the taught cable and I had visions of the thing popping loose or breaking. I had to sit on it to hold all brakes down despite having it chocked. I decided I had pushed my luck enough with the two I managed and opted to try something different. I also used a come-a-long to winch them onto the platform and that worked great.

Once all the logs were on the ground I used a long rope wrapping it around a log twice then tip the log over on its side. I could then stand on the ground rope and pull on the top side end rolling the logs fairly easily only using my arms to pull. My biggest problem with this method was trying to turn the logs onto their sides. Later in the week my good friend Butch brought me a log roller and this tool proved to be worth its weight in gold.

 

[Nicodemus]

Al, when you get the winch cable snug on the load, stop and tie two old blankets around the winch cable, one right at the hook or clevis at the load, the other halfway between the winch and the load. This will damper and slow down the cable in case it breaks. It could also be a lifesaver. Be careful, cables are deadly when they break.

 

[Vernon Holt]

Al: we are looking forward to "the rest of the story". Just remember that wood splits better when it is green and hot.

Get er' done and it will be cured out by autumn.

 

[jcarter]

im glad you took a break in your story. all that chopping , cutting, pushing, and pulling wore me out. im going for a glass of ice tea and the recliner.

 

[Al33]

Delton, one thing for sure, the fella ain't skeered of heights so you are prolly right.

Jody, I would imagine there is enough wood to make all the feathers on all the tom's in Georgia, but I ain't interested in carving hickory.

Nick, that is good advice about covering the cable, I'll remember that next time.
Talk about straight grain, those big logs are tough to handle but you can sure get a lot of straight sticks out of 'em. Here's a sampling of some.

Mr. Vernon, that's good news because it has definitely been hot and the wood is green.

jcarter,

 

[Al33]

Part IV

Hickory can be pretty stringy and it didn’t take me long to realize a sharp hatchet would come in handy getting the split pieces completely apart. Once I had all the tools I needed and had figured out howbest to get the logs to the splitter I was in business and making piles of firewood. I had to stop a couple of times to build racks for the wood so it wouldn’t be on the ground. I went the extra mile, so to speak, splitting the wood into smaller than normal pieces. I wanted the wood to cure out well in time for Fall, plus I wanted it easy to handle for what I suspect and hope will be many ladies just wanting a fire for special occasions. I am surrounded by apartments and condo’s with fireplaces and I am convinced most folks have not a clue how to build a fire. Perhaps the thinner sticks of wood will help in this regard combined with fire starter bricks in lieu of kindling. Of course, I left many thick sticks to keep a fire going for a long while and have plenty of kindling if they want it.
Because the tree cutters cut the logs at whim, I ended up with short, medium, long, and extra long pieces. I have pretty much sorted them into long and short piles, plus a scrap pile for pieces with severe knots that did not split well. I figure the short sticks will work better for wood burning stoves and the longer ones for fireplaces or campfires. This pic is of my scrap pile.

 

[Ta-ton-ka chips]

I believe I drive past your house everyday
I'm gonna slow down and look for a stack of wood to be sure

 

[Al33]

I discovered a few interesting things in my logs. Being a woodcarver I am always interested in what a piece of wood has to offer. These knot holes have piqued my interest and although I am not sure what I will make of them yet, I collected a few in the event I get a bright idea or two.

I found a nail deep inside this piece which came from one of the trunk logs. I can count 20 + rings between the bark and the nail. Amazingly, the nail is not too rusty.

Even the vines that engulfed the tree are begging to be turned into some kind of décor piece, just not sure what though. I have an interior decorator friend that is fantastic at making really nice stuff out of junk, so maybe she can use some of these pieces.

TaTonKa, look for stack(S) of wood and don't just slow down, stop and be sociable.

Hope I'm not boring too many folks with all this wood chat.

 

[Al33]

I have one big task left to accomplish then I can finish up with the monster splitter. This is the bottom portion of the double trunk hickory and it rests on the side of a small hill below where I need to get it.

I took this shot from the opposite side looking back where I need to go with it. The two trunks are joined together and of course they are the largest diameter pieces. With double the weight of all the others I have moved, combined with it’s difficult location I am not real sure just yet how I am going to do it or even if I can. You can barely make out the splitter in the background. It's about 15 yards away. I can move the splitter closer, but I am going to have to get the trunk on level ground first and there is no room to do it from the low side.