True Blue Sam the Travelin' Man: Susan Is A Pile-It!

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Susan Is A Pile-It!

She has piled firewood from one end of the house to the other. Full frontal firewood!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: Yeah Susan!; January 2, 2026 at 9:39 AM
boron said...: we used to keep our firewood under a tarp abt 70 ft from the house; used a wheelbarrow to make the trek: termites, as well as a hiding/nesting place for other critters; January 2, 2026 at 10:57 AM
Michael said...: Don't have termite or bug issues out your way?

Aside from the ready rack which we cycle in about 2-3 days we keep firewood several steps away from any structure.; January 2, 2026 at 3:31 PM
David aka True Blue Sam said...: The barn where we dry and store wood is 150 yards away, so we make a big pile at the house during winter. Powder post beetles turn hickory into dust by the time it is in the barn a year, so we don't make wood from hickory too far ahead. Black oak and red oak dry down to 20% pretty fast if we split it small. We start with dead wood so there is no sap in it. White oak goes in the barn for at least a year. It dries slow. I put extra cracks into large pieces so they can cure quickly. I love our hydraulic splitter!

We start the winter with a couple months of dry wood from the barn, cut and split dead wood, stacking it at the house, and end winter with a couple month's worth in the barn, on cement, for next winter.

I used to split with a Monster Maul until I was 58. Then my right elbow objected, and we bought a splitter. That was 16 years ago, and it improved our lives!; January 3, 2026 at 2:34 PM
David aka True Blue Sam said...: She does well with two new hips, a new knee and a new shoulder last September. I don't let her pick up big pieces!; January 3, 2026 at 2:35 PM
David aka True Blue Sam said...: Speaking of bugs and fire danger, termites are always on our mind. Leftover wood goes to the barn at the end of winter so mice and bugs don't have a hiding place. We have cement all the way around the house. We clean up the fallen leaves two or three times to eliminate fire danger at the wood pile. I will be scooping up the bark and shredded wood you see this week. We have a big old post oak next to the driveway and it makes a huge pile of light, oily fuel. We deal with that every fall. Backpack leaf blowers are great.; January 3, 2026 at 2:42 PM

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Rules To Live By

Firearms; Col. Jeff Cooper's Rules
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Be sure of your target and what lies beyond it.

Knives
1. Never cut toward yourself.
2. Always cut away from yourself.
3. Never cut yourself.

AND
If you drop a knife or gun, let it fall!

Chainsaws

1. Always wear your safety gear when running your saw: hard hat, eye, face, hearing protection, cut resistant protection for your legs, heavy boots, gloves (depending on work conditions).

2. Safety devices on the saw must be in working order: front hand guard,chain brake, chain catcher, throttle lockout, and right hand guard.

3. Hold the saw on the ground or lock it between your knees for starting. No 'Drop Starts.' Set the chain brake before cranking.

4. The engine must idle reliably without turning the chain.

5. The chain must be sharpened properly, including properly set depth gauges.

6. The chain must be adjusted to remove slack and still run freely.

7. The operator must understand the forces on different parts of the bar as the saw runs: push, pull, kickback and attack.

8. Both hands must always be on the saw when the chain is running. The thumbs must be wrapped around the handles. Both feet should be firmly planted on the ground.

9. The operator must always know where the end of the bar is, and what it's doing.

10. Don't let the upper (kickback) corner of the bar contact anything when the chain is running unless the tip has been buried with the lower corner.

11. Let off of the throttle before pulling out of a pinch on the top part of the bar.

12. Make a plan for every tree you cut. Assess hazards, lean, escape routes, forward cuts, and back cuts. Evaluate the forward or backward lean, and the side lean of every tree you cut. Know your limits.

13. Clear your work area and your escape path of brush, vines, and other hazards that can trip you or catch your saw.

14. Escape from the bullseye when the tree tips. 90% of accidents happen within 12 feet of the stump. Go more than 15 feet, and stay out of the bullseye until things stop falling.

15. Keep spectators away more than twice the height of the tree in the direction it will fall.

16. Don't cut alone.

17. Keep your body and the swamper's out of the line of the bar in case of a kickback.

18. Set the brake when taking over two steps or when moving through tripping hazards. Keep your trigger finger off of the throttle when you are moving.

19. DO NOT operate a chainsaw from a ladder! Operating with your feet off the ground requires special training.

20. Do not cut above your shoulders.

21. Springpoles must be shaved on the inside of the apex between the ascending and descending sides. If the apex is higher than you shoulders, stand under the springpole and cut it low on the descending side. It will release upward, away from you.Leaning and heavily loaded poles that are too small to bore cut for a hinge should be shaved on the compressed side until they fold.

22. Do not cut a tree that is holding up a lodged tree. Do not work under a lodged tree. Think about a mouse trying to steal the cheese out of a trap.

23. Instruct your swampers and helpers to NEVER approach you from behind or the sides to within the reach of your saw when you are cutting. If you pull out of a cut with the chain running, or have a severe kickback, the swamper can be killed if he is coming up behind you!

24!! Quit When You Are Tired!

25!! Pause and review; reflect, when you are being pushed. You may be pushed into danger. Do not let pressure cause you to ignore safety rules!

Cutting dead and rotten trees is extremely risky, and your safety always comes down to basics and following the rules. Build a good hinge, even if there is just a thin shell to work with. Support the back side of the hinge with wedges if the tree is punky or hollow before you cut out the back. Don't fight side lean or back lean when cutting unsound trees. Release it quickly and get away from the stump. Tell your co-workers what your steps are before you crank your saw. You will live long.

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Thursday, January 1, 2026

Susan Is A Pile-It!

6 comments:

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