Howdy

[lxskllr]

Greetings all. I'm bored, and feel like writing. I'll put the tl;dr up front for those who don't feel like reading a bunch of nonsense. Thanks to all for the good information that's helped me get started on a project that's an order of magnitude greater than I've done in the past. A special nod to Holmen Tree for his experience. I can't remember all the names of people I've gotten useful information from, but Holmen Tree stands out. Thanks!


And now the main feature...


A bit about me... I've always been a manual tool enthusiast. If it can be reasonably accomplished with human power, that's the route I typically take. Manual drills, saws, bit & brace... I have a wood burning insert, and burn wood as a novelty. If I have a lot, I burn a lot. If not, I save it for nice and cold snowy evenings with a glass of whisky. Previously it had all been hand gathered from job sites and cut using various bow and crosscut saws, splitting as necessary with a maul and wedges. I have a lot of outdoor experience, and have cut many miles of line using a brush hook and machete(I'm a surveyor), but I'm not a proper woodsman.


Fast forward to about six years ago... Had a derecho slam the neighborhood. Did tremendous damage. We even had helicopters flying overhead making news. I had a bunch of wood come down, one of which fell on my Jeep, smashing the windshield. I also lost some major limbs from from the ~300 year old oak in the back yard(more on that later). It was overwhelming for hand tools. I'd have been working forever on that mess. Luckily(?) I have a Walmart less than a mile from my house. I walked up there bought my first ever chainsaw, a Poulan Pro 4218. I had previously had about an hour chainsaw experience helping a friend using his Farm Boss, and maybe another hour using some old junky electric my father had, which chronically threw its chain(it eventually died). Odin smiled on me, and we had fairly cool weather for a couple June days(rare in MD), and I was able to make fairly quick work of the mess. The Poulan performed flawlessly, and I got the job finished with all the parts I was born with. I used the saw a little in the intervening years, but not so much. Maybe a quart of fuel per year. Handy, cause that's what I mixed fuel in. a 1 quart plastic MSR bottle. Then came 2018...


We had some major wind in March, and my beloved oak tree came down. I knew it was sick, but I was hoping it would outlast me. The roots were rotted, and the wind blew it over. Pretty much sheared it off at the ground. No real root ball. That tree held my tree rats, and the last couple years, black vultures would sun themselves in the branches in the winter. That was my favorite thing about this property, but I guess nothing is forever... Odin smiled on me again. The tree fell completely on the property, took no wires down, and missed the house by ~10'. I always wondered how the height/distance from the house correlated. Now I know :^D


So this is what I started with...



 

 
That's a fully extended 6' rule


 

I got the real small stuff with my machete. The medium stuff I got with the Poulan, but the rest was a bit much for my trusty Poulan Pro...

After the machete and Poulan work

 


I needed a bigger saw. I was debating between Stihl and Husqvarna. I have dealers of each fairly close to me, with the Husqvarna shop being next to the property my work's at. After some deliberation, and a couple questions to a generalist online forum, I went to the Husqvarna dealer after checking the store hours on their website. They won by being the closest. Good a way as any to discriminate. Get to the dealer, and they closed 15 minutes prior to me getting there, but 2 hours sooner than the website said. Well... The Stihl dealer was on the way to get socialism-free fuel(no alcohol), so I stopped in there. The interaction went like this...


Can I help you?
I need a chainsaw.
Anything in mind?
I think I need about a 24" bar
That one's specced for a 25", and I can put it on for you
Glance at the price; "That'll work!"
15 minutes later, and $811 lighter(including tax and some files) I was out the door.

Went to get my socialism-free fuel, and realized I didn't get the scrench. Stopped back in on the way by, and got my scrench.


That saw was a MS362CM. Once again the gods smiled on me. For knowing nothing, and going in blind, I lucked into what's probably the best saw for my purposes. It's a bit undersized for doing this size work all the time, but it's sufficient for the job, and not too much saw for long term use. Still a bit scary for my experience level though. That's where you guys came in. Lots of reading, including the entirety of the chainsaw forum(Only the stuff that seemed interesting/relevant), I was as ready as I'd ever be...


I never used hearing protection with my Poulan. 10 minutes with the Stihl, and my head was ringing. I had to go get ear plugs. Went through a tank of fuel, and after moving/splitting/stacking, I was done for the day. I was also concerned about not having any PPE, and didn't like the sawdust in my eyes. The next day I went to TractorSupply, and got some Husqvarna chaps, and the forestry helmet. My main reason for the helmet was to have the screened face shield. I wear glasses, and don't like safety glasses of any kind. They fog up, and are inconvenient. OSHA may not approve of my setup, but that's as good as it'll get. I'm a little ambivalent about the ear muffs. I'm using them, but they make me sweat. I also ordered the Helko Black Forest Woodworker...


https://www.helkonorthamerica.com/store/p8/Black_Forest_Woodworker.html


That was just for fun. I have lots of cutting things, but I've wanted a /nice/ axe for awhile. That's a treat for doing a big job, and one of my few frivolous expenditures. It's a work of art. After using hardware store tools for forever, it's a pleasure to hold something that's had the attention this axe has put into it. There's nothing wrong with hardware store tools. They get the job done, and as long as they're American, they do it competently, but this is on a whole different level. Is it $100 better than an American axe, or $140 better than an old flea market special? Nah, but it's nice :^)

Getting better...




 
This is where I stand today(I still have a little machete work on a small pile of limbs)...





 

Note my solar clothes dryer that got squished when the tree came down. I fixed that with a maple branch and some tie wire  :^D


So... Time to start winding this up. I'm not a writer, and I'm getting tired of it...


I'm pretty much done for the season. I hate hot weather, so I'll start working on it again next fall/winter. I've already cut between 4 and 5 cords. I still have the biggest wood yet to do, and have a few ideas for keeping some of it. I'm thinking of cutting a bench into the main trunk, and maybe a cat shelter for the ferals I've been feeding around here. I need to see how it finally ends up laying. The main trunk will likely move as I get some of the big limbs. I have forever to work on it, so no big hurry.


This has been a learning experience, and I've saved a few dollars not having pros come in. Literally a few dollars. I have ~$1.2k into gear so far, and more to surely come. I'd guesstimate it's $2k job for pros, but I'm getting experience, and I'm doing it myself. Hard to put a price on that. Most of all, I'm having fun, and getting exercise. It's not pointless work like mowing the stupid grass. I'm enjoying it so much, I may try to find a side gig working for a tree service; maybe on weekends if possible. I'd like to eventually get into climbing. I have a bad back. It's unpredictable when it'll go out, and I'm getting old, so it's just daydreaming atm, but it might make a decent retirement job for me. I'm tired of surveying, and when my older than me boss gets out of it, I want to quit too. That could be sooner than my money situation allows, hence the tree work...


So far I've had few mishaps. I had a sketchy part where a center limb broke, and crushed down in place. I had a hard time reading it, and my saw position wasn't the best. I wasn't sure how it would fall. I nibbled it out, and cut a wedge into the top, clearing out bits with the axe as I went. It fell straight down, which was perfect. I was afraid it would roll towards me. I also trapped my Stihl 3 times on a limb, and had to rescue it with the Poulan. The Stihl was probably angry with me for putting it in such a shameful position, but I was tired, and probably shouldn't have been cutting. I'm not bad at reading wood, but I do it at a glacial pace. I was tired, and rushed it :shrugs: My chaps have 3 burns from the muffler, but no cuts, and I still have all the parts I was born with :^D I did cut my knee with a hatchet. This wood's terrible to split. Oak splits like a dream when it's straight. That's about 10% of this tree. The rest is a twisted, forked mess, and almost every piece is a puzzle trying to figure out how it'll come apart. I had split a piece, and it was /close/ to being the right size for my stove. I was shaving a bit off the side, hit a knot, and the hatchet went fairly deep just above my knee. Didn't quite need stitches, but it wouldn't have hurt. Everything's fine though. It's a rare week that I don't bleed for some reason or another. Life is pain...


One nifty thing I found was a squirrel nest in a completely sealed hollow limb. I guess it was exposed at some point, and then closed up. Even had an acorn inside. I took a picture, but it doesn't look like anything. I didn't get enough background into the shot :^(


A few thoughts...


I think Poulans are unfairly stigmatized. I love my little saw. I could have thrown it away after the first project, and it would have already paid for itself, but it's still going. For $150, it was probably less than the repair bill on a Stihl. It always starts, and while it doesn't always run optimally, it always runs. I've gotten a lot of work out of that unit.


Things I appreciate about the Poulan Pro...


After running the Stihl, it's a dream to carry. Very light


It sips fuel. My 1 quart bottle was a good size for a day's work with the Poulan if you factor in splitting and moving wood. The Stihl's fuel tank takes most of that bottle, and drinks it fast :^D


It's cheap. I've had the bar buried in mud, and didn't feel too terrible about it. One of the limbs planted itself 1/3 into the ground. I bucked it and bunch of dirt. I wouldn't have liked doing that with the Stihl.


Things I appreciate about the Stihl...


It's a well made machine. You can feel the quality


Little touches like the quick release fuel/oil caps, the side chain adjuster, captive cover nuts... Little things that make life better.


Nice AV. The Poulan numbs my hands after running it awhile. Aside from the weight(and a bit nose heavy with the 25" bar), the Stihl is much nicer to run for extended periods.


It chews through wood fast.


I guess that's it. There's a lot more detail I could add, but you have to stop somewhere. Thanks for reading!


Skål!

[WV Sawmiller]

    We survived the same Derecho here. I think it hit 5 states around us. My power was off 11 days but I had whole house genset hooked to natural gas so we did well, Neighbors brought food to store in our reefer and freezer and would com up and shower and get drinking water. I got my mill a couple years later cut trees up through last year from it.

   I bought several small saws Poulon saws and had problems keeping them maintained as there would be many versions of the same cc saw out there. Now have a Shtil 440 w/20" bar and a 441 with a 24 (Sthil calls it 25 but it is 84 link chain and everyone else sells it as a 24") and my wife has a little easy start 180 that starts on the reverse cycle - no hard or fast pulling required to start it. They have been good for me and easier to maintain, when needed which has been less often.

[samandothers]

Thanks for your story! Be safe.

[btulloh]

Quite a story.  Good job whittling that tree down.  Saving the rest of it for cooler weather sounds like a good idea if you can put it off.  We got a little piece of that Derecho here as well.  It caused some problems around the area, but I was lucky and didn't have much more than a few big limbs down.  And a lot of small ones.

Where in MD are you?

[lxskllr]

Where in MD are you?

I'm in Harford county, about 30 miles north of Baltimore. If you're very familiar with the area, I'm a little outside of Belair. You might have heard of the Husky dealer I went to. That was Jacks Small Engine. I think they're the largest internet seller of small engine parts.

[btulloh]

I've bought some stuff from Jack's.  Seems like a good operation.

[thecfarm]

The gear you bought,you get to use. Spend that on getting the tree removed and all you have is a clean yard to show for the money spent. And you would of never seen that squirrel nest. ;D 
Us Man need tools. :D 

[Howdy]

Great story, well done and first person helped us feel we were right with you all the way.
 Thanks for taking the time to write it down.

[lxskllr]

Great story, well done and first person helped us feel we were right with you all the way.
Thanks for taking the time to write it down.

My thread turned recursive, and is hosting itself!  :^O