Making it through another year, '23-'24

[Old Greenhorn]

Yeah, that weight adds up and white oak is even tougher. I settled in on 40" as my length because 36-48 is what everyone hears and 40" is smack in the middle. I can also get 3 rows of 40" in my trailer (JUST barely). Besides, that 48" length is a bit more difficult to lift if you grab both ends. Some folks cut them shorter as the diameter goes up. I also cut shorter logs when ordered that way for youth classes, etc.
 How big were your diameters? I cut 4-8". 4-6" is the standard, but I go up to 8" because I don't like to waste wood and a lot of my growers are real farmers and can handle them. The bigger the log, the longer they last. 4" is on the small side of having a log that will produce for a while because they dry out.
Sounds like you are off on a new business venture! Get yourself a weight lifting belt, it's helped me a little. Then you just have to get the word out and you have a new income stream.

[Old Greenhorn]

Chet after that last post I did some quick math. The 700 logs I did this past season comers out to roughly 25,000 pounds and you are correct, that's a lot of lifting up and putting down since I handle each log at least two times, and often more. Let's just say that it 'builds character'.
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Well today I didn't get anything special done but I got some stuff out of the way. I had to take the wife up to get her van after inspection, then while I was there and my mechanic friend had some open time we did the inspection on my truck (due last August), and the inspection on the new trailer (due last month). Then I came home, pulled the battery out of the garden tractor which needed replacing last year, and surprisingly still needs replacing. I went to town, did my usual loop, and got a new battery, oil and filter for the truck oil change (due a long time ago).
 I put the new battery in the tractor and mowed the back lawn which was way too high and took way too long. I took a lunch break. Before I could do the front lawn my son and his crew showed up to mow the contract clients across the road and behind me. They ran the front lawn, and recut the back lawn in 1/8 of the time it took me to mow the back lawn the first time. Horsepower wins again.
 I did some sanding on those 4 stool tops the get the glue residue off and flatten the leg nubs off. Next I have to cut the legs level.
 I paid the insurance bill on the Mule, filled out some vendor applications, and did some other little things. Don't feel like I accomplished much, but I was busy all day.
 It felt and looked like rain all day but the big moisture is just now getting here. The radar shows it raining here now, but nothing is coming down yet. The dew point is still pretty low for it to rain, but it sure looks and feels like it. It only topped out at 62° today, cool and damp. I didn't bother with a fire in the shop, it was fine.
 Tomorrow is another day and I have no idea what I am doing. (Then again, even when I think I know what I am doing, as I am doing it, I don't know what I'm doing. Or so it has been said by some.   )

[Old Greenhorn]

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Cut him a bakers dozen at 4 ft. A nice ben franklin in my pocket. Boy they are still heavy!

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I just realized that comes out to $7.70/log! You done good! coming into the market at the high end of the price range. I am the highest priced guy in NYS at $6/log. If I could get your price, I would quit my day job, oh wait.

 I for got to mention earlier, but if you are going to do it regularly, best to get yourself a good chiropractor. I am on my way to see mine in about an hour.

[Peter Drouin]

Do you use a pulp hook?

[Old Greenhorn]

Sometimes I use one Peter, I tried using two, but that is rough on the shoulders. Smaller logs are easy to 
'one hand' them and carry 2 at a  time, but the 8" stuff is heavy and a hook can help on the bottom end. I have not used them at all this season, I don't know why. I am not even sure where I left them.  You do have to be careful and avoid throwing or dropping them, it damages the bark on many species.

[Old Greenhorn]

A pretty lazy day today. I finally got around to changing the oil in the truck (don't ask me when it was due). I didn't have one of those filter wrenches for these baby filter cans, somebody must have needed it more than me. So I ran down to Bill's shop, it was the closest option and borrowed one. I got that done and was supposed to make attempt #3 to meet with Bill and figure out all these chipper blades after he got back from Ballet lessons. I am learning that a blind yet planned run down to his place to get something done with him is a crapshoot. So now I go down with a second purpose, if the first, doesn't happen, I can do the second and not have wasted the 4 mile round trip, which I have done many times.
So plan B was to cut the legs off the 4 stools I am working on. Well, Bill wasn't there, so I returned the wrench and left my waste oil for his burner, then headed to the mill to cut the legs off the 4 stools I am working on (My plan B).
I am new to this West Virginian style of leg trimming and still trying to work out the nuances (do they have those in WV? We have them here.). So on these I thought I would just stick the full length legs in the stools, then trim them off and use the excess in the next stool.. What I didn't think of is just how tall those legs are when I trim off for an 8" stool height. I ran into some interference on the legs just hitting the board return bracket. The other issue was the trimmed off portion being sucked or falling into the blade and damaged. In one case one got sucked into the sawdust chute and pretty well split/chewed in half. So I don't know if I can re-use the trimmed portions that took hits like that..
Anyway, here is the setup today.



That was rock solid, no issues there.

And these are the 16 trimmed pieces. The row on the left is good for more use, the ones in the right row all have scarring from the blade strikes. The one that is vertical is the one that got caught in the chute, or what remains of it.



And here are the 4 stools after sanding the legs. I'll start finishes tomorrow I guess.
Not much else accomplished today, but tomorrow is another one.