Back in 1992 we planted a couple of acres with a mix of oaks in this little field, and in 1993 we interplanted black locust to provide nitrogen for our young forest. That has worked out well, speeding the growth of our trees, and resulting in straight, naturally pruned stems. The pretty little walnut in the center of this photo is a volunteer that popped up, and it was just running into the underside of the black locust crowns, so we released it over the weekend. It's a beauty, and in about sixty years it ought to be ready for sale. The black locusts will go in the barn and be ready to provide heat for us next winter. These were easy drops; both with forward weight into the trees, and away from the yard.
7 comments:
I find it humorous when you post video of cutting down trees. It reminds me of when the neighbor behind us hired someone to cut a tree down in their yard and trim a few others.
The tree took him well over an hour to get down. Hubby and I were staring out the window, ready to call 911. The tree was a bit larger in diameter than the one you posted in this video. He did not cut a wedge to direct the fall, instead, he had three ropes; two tied to other trees, the third tied to his truck. He'd saw a little, go tighten his ropes, and repeat. There were many times he got his saw stuck.
Easy firewood. There's a concept. Winter after next's is in the next door neighbor's yard. Long story omitted, but they cut down a number of red oaks, a few hickories, a few tulip trees (poplars around here, even though they really aren't) and some yellow pine. They pushed up all the tops into piles, and we're cutting salvage out of that, pulling them apart with a 4 wheeler and a chain. Fun, fun, fun.
We had a quantity of pine that blew down, and not wanting to be wasteful, we burned it in the stove. It can plug a chimney pretty darn fast. We are sticking to hardwoods now. We burned a big, well seasoned elm this winter, and it did OK, but it is not as easy to fire as oak and hick. Elm makes a twice the ash that oak does.
Around here, burning pine is a fact of life, and easy enough without creosote. The secret is two-fold. First, let it get dry--really dry, as in the bark is falling off dry. Second, let it burn fairly fast.
Never tried elm, but have burned sweet gum before. It leaves a ton of ash as well. And splitting it has given me a true appreciation for hydraulic wood splitters.
I've never seen that technique, using the plunge cut. I always take a good wedge out of the heavy side, then cut slowly from the back into the wedge. I've never had one get out of hand.
The elm around here burns with a horrible odor, so much so that we call it piss-elm. Smells just like someone peed in the fire. And, never be so weak as to burn crepe myrtle indoors. It shoots sparks everywhere. I'd just as soon burn bottle rockets in the fireplace.
Hickory pops pretty hard sometimes, but the wood to avoid is catalpa. It burns great, but boy, does it throw sparks when you open the door. I've converted to setting up nearly every tree this way. It holds still until I'm ready for it to go, and it will stand safely until you release the backstrap. Trees with too much forward weight are likely to barberchair if you don't set them up this way. I will post a photo of a stump with arrows all over it to show the progression.
Western loggers have not moved to this method, and I think the size of their trees is the reason. They have to use long bars, so the chainsaw has a lot of leverage against the faller if a kickback happens. They have to use full skip chains with the long bars, so bore cutting is more likely to kick on them, and they are often in extremely precarious situations, such as standing on a springboard to do the falling cuts.
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