Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Rustyiron]

Spend a little time dragging out wood and it becomes clear.

 

[BackRoad]

Interesting observation that I never made till the post by Mr. Gordon about dragging a hitch.

All of my work has been focused on felling trees for clearing land and reclaiming pasture.

That creates a need to effectively cut "everything"...rather than selective cutting and dragging a hitch out of the woods for the mill.

My greatest objective has been getting everything down and limbed...and getting the slash into brush piles, with the benefit of gaining some firewood from the trunks, rather than trying to determine which tree is best suited to take to the mill.

I hadn't really identified the differences in objectives before...and I have new appreciation for you guys selectively felling "real" timber for commercial use.

 

[Williy]

What ever you use to drag a tree out of the
woods if you can lift the tree and attach to
tractor etc will give you some weight for traction
and have less on the ground to drag

willy

 

[Loaderman22]

What ever you use to drag a tree out of the
woods if you can lift the tree and attach to
tractor etc will give you some weight for traction
and have less on the ground to drag

willy

I typically use a log arch, it gets at least one end off the ground keeping the wood cleaner, & reducing friction (vs dragging entire hitch on ground.). This doesn't put much weight on 4 wheeler though, the arch pics up the weight instead.

 

[Jstpssng]

I typically use a log arch, it gets at least one end off the ground keeping the wood cleaner, & reducing friction (vs dragging entire hitch on ground.). This doesn't put much weight on 4 wheeler though, the arch pics up the weight instead.

I know a couple of people who have cut 8 cord truck loads of tree length pulpwood using ATVs. You just need to understand the limitations of your machine.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Actual cold weather here is 3-4 months. I have a heat pump. No cutting, working on saws, no ashes to clean up, no smoke on the walls and ceiling. Seriously, I don’t spend enough on electricity to make all that work pay off.

 

[Jstpssng]

It's something that you have to enjoy. I grew up helping put in firewood, and at times when I didn't have a woodstove of my own I often would do it for somebody else. Putting up wood is good exercise and I really enjoy splitting it. In fall as I'm headed out to go deer hunting, seeing the year's wood put up is like looking at money in the bank. I like the steady heat which it gives, and the glow of the fire reflected on the wall after going to bed at night.

On the other hand I'll bet that you've never gotten up at 3:30 AM to throw another stick of electricity into your heat pump, yet still get up to a warm house in the morning. Before I installed a small electric heater, it wasn't uncommon to wake up in the AM and the house would be <40 degrees.

 

[shooterdon]

It's something that you have to enjoy. I grew up helping put in firewood, and at times when I didn't have a woodstove of my own I often would do it for somebody else. Putting up wood is good exercise and I really enjoy splitting it. In fall as I'm headed out to go deer hunting, seeing the year's wood put up is like looking at money in the bank. I like the steady heat which it gives, and the glow of the fire reflected on the wall after going to bed at night.

On the other hand I'll bet that you've never gotten up at 3:30 AM to throw another stick of electricity into your heat pump, yet still get up to a warm house in the morning. Before I installed a small electric heater, it wasn't uncommon to wake up in the AM and the house would be <40 degrees.

I am another "idiot" who enjoys a fire and wood heat. And now, with energy costs escalating, I save a bit more money. I stopped trying to get "free" wood and buy logs.

Cutting down trees is one of the most dangerous tasks for most of us. So buying logs reduces the risk significantly. But I still take advantage of trees down from storm damage.

I know two guys who nearly died cutting down trees. Neither was a dummy and one is very experienced. Stuff happens especially if you are tired and/or over confident.

 

[Molalla1]

I am another "idiot" who enjoys a fire and wood heat. And now, with energy costs escalating, I save a bit more money. I stopped trying to get "free" wood and buy logs.

Cutting down trees is one of the most dangerous tasks for most of us. So buying logs reduces the risk significantly. But I still take advantage of trees down from storm damage.

I know two guys who nearly died cutting down trees. Neither was a dummy and one is very experienced. Stuff happens especially if you are tired and/or over confident.

I would add another one . . . old.

 

[ericm979]

I burn wood in order to get rid of it. I have to deal with dead trees near buildings and roads, trees that fall down on roads, trees that PG&E takes down and leaves, trees that we take down for safety or fire clearing or forest improvement. The forest is productive and overgrown so it generates a lot of wood.

I have given wood away but even to do that I have to fell, buck and stage the wood and help load it. Otherwise no one will take it. There's just too much wood available in the area already and a lot of locals just buy wood that's already split. To turn it into fire wood I can burn, my only additional labor is splitting and stacking.

With the current cost of propane and taking the furnace and stove's efficiencies into account, a cord of firewood saves me about $900 worth of propane. While that's not the main goal it's a nice side effect.

I like spitting wood. I got bluetooth ear muffs and that makes it even more enjoyable. I can go behind the barn and split wood for a couple albums. It's comforting in a primal way to have a couple year's worth of firewood stacked and drying.