Harv
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2000
- Messages
- 3,371
- Tractor
- Kubota L2500DT Standard Transmission
\'Nuther Stupid Rock
Might be more appropriate to name this thread "Stupid Harv", but I prefer to blame the inanimate objects.
Some of you may recall some of my previous encounters with the stupid rocks lurking in the dark recesses of my property, like the one I dubbed and the infamous star of the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=projects&Number=130113&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post130113>Seemed Like Such A Simple Project thread. Well, this time the culprit was too small to qualify for a tractor story, but it managed to bring my project to an untimely halt nonetheless.
I was dutifully trying to improve the fire breaks around the property, and to that end I had decided that a number of small oaks had to go. Heck, they looked like volunteer sprouts anyway, and now they were 10 to 15 tall and just plain getting in the way of a stretch that could otherwise be easily tractored. Didn't want any stumps sticking up, don't have a real backhoe, so my genius plan was to dig down around them with the dreaded oh-my-aching backhoe (pick and shovel) and cut 'em off below ground level. I'd done it before with satisfactory results, but this time I had half a dozen to do and only a few hours to do it in.
The digging went as expected, with the usual ill-placed roots and assortment of rocks to limber up the dark side of my vocabulary, but I had it done within a reasonable amount of time. I cleared an area around the stumps several feet in diameter and maybe 14 to 16 inches below ground level. All I had to do then was to whack 'em off with a hand saw and/or an ax.
Now, it turned out that one pair of trees was sharing a common trunk below ground, like maybe somebody had already done this years ago and these guys were just new offshoots. Fine with me, but now I'm looking at a 12 to 14-inch diameter stump and the clock is ticking. No problemo, I'll just wire brush the outside clean as a whistle and whip out the chainsaw. I'm not fond of working that close to the ground with a chainsaw, but I had created a comfortable amount of work space and I'd be cutting at least 6 inches above the floor of the hole.
Tried it out on a couple of the smaller stumps just to get the feel, and they were done in a matter of seconds. Cool. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif So I start on the big'un and it was like a hot piano wire through butter. About 2/3 of the way through, progress seemed to slow, so I backed off, checked my clearance on all sides, looked for obstacles, made sure the chain was turning freely and re-engaged the cut. Nothing. The saw was definitely not going anywhere. Uh-oh... /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif
Briefly tried cutting a nearby branch that was on my hit list, and yep, barely scratched the bark. Shut the saw off, popped my chainsaw helmet, hearing protectors and safety goggles and put on my up-close glasses. Hmmm... Aren't chainsaws supposed to have teeth?
Lesson learned -- trees, especially that part close to or under the dirt, can grow around stuff. After I finished the cut with wedges and a sledge hammer, I discovered a pocket of dirt and a stupid rock completely embedded within the stump. The rock was quite small, maybe an inch or two in diameter, but it did a real dental number on the chainsaw teeth. Nothing but cavities. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif
The only thing left to do at this point was to take pictures to share with my TBN buds, and pack up for home, where I would simply buy another blade for next time. The attached pictures tell the story, up to and including the shiny new blade.
Stupid rock.
Might be more appropriate to name this thread "Stupid Harv", but I prefer to blame the inanimate objects.
Some of you may recall some of my previous encounters with the stupid rocks lurking in the dark recesses of my property, like the one I dubbed and the infamous star of the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showthreaded.pl?Cat=&Board=projects&Number=130113&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1#Post130113>Seemed Like Such A Simple Project thread. Well, this time the culprit was too small to qualify for a tractor story, but it managed to bring my project to an untimely halt nonetheless.
I was dutifully trying to improve the fire breaks around the property, and to that end I had decided that a number of small oaks had to go. Heck, they looked like volunteer sprouts anyway, and now they were 10 to 15 tall and just plain getting in the way of a stretch that could otherwise be easily tractored. Didn't want any stumps sticking up, don't have a real backhoe, so my genius plan was to dig down around them with the dreaded oh-my-aching backhoe (pick and shovel) and cut 'em off below ground level. I'd done it before with satisfactory results, but this time I had half a dozen to do and only a few hours to do it in.
The digging went as expected, with the usual ill-placed roots and assortment of rocks to limber up the dark side of my vocabulary, but I had it done within a reasonable amount of time. I cleared an area around the stumps several feet in diameter and maybe 14 to 16 inches below ground level. All I had to do then was to whack 'em off with a hand saw and/or an ax.
Now, it turned out that one pair of trees was sharing a common trunk below ground, like maybe somebody had already done this years ago and these guys were just new offshoots. Fine with me, but now I'm looking at a 12 to 14-inch diameter stump and the clock is ticking. No problemo, I'll just wire brush the outside clean as a whistle and whip out the chainsaw. I'm not fond of working that close to the ground with a chainsaw, but I had created a comfortable amount of work space and I'd be cutting at least 6 inches above the floor of the hole.
Tried it out on a couple of the smaller stumps just to get the feel, and they were done in a matter of seconds. Cool. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif So I start on the big'un and it was like a hot piano wire through butter. About 2/3 of the way through, progress seemed to slow, so I backed off, checked my clearance on all sides, looked for obstacles, made sure the chain was turning freely and re-engaged the cut. Nothing. The saw was definitely not going anywhere. Uh-oh... /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif
Briefly tried cutting a nearby branch that was on my hit list, and yep, barely scratched the bark. Shut the saw off, popped my chainsaw helmet, hearing protectors and safety goggles and put on my up-close glasses. Hmmm... Aren't chainsaws supposed to have teeth?
Lesson learned -- trees, especially that part close to or under the dirt, can grow around stuff. After I finished the cut with wedges and a sledge hammer, I discovered a pocket of dirt and a stupid rock completely embedded within the stump. The rock was quite small, maybe an inch or two in diameter, but it did a real dental number on the chainsaw teeth. Nothing but cavities. /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif
The only thing left to do at this point was to take pictures to share with my TBN buds, and pack up for home, where I would simply buy another blade for next time. The attached pictures tell the story, up to and including the shiny new blade.
Stupid rock.
