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Making it through another year '21-'23

Started by Old Greenhorn, May 17, 2021, 08:06:34 AM

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WV Sawmiller

Tom,

   Looks to me like you better leave the cat alone if that is the cause of the punctures. :D Stay cool. Drink plenty of fluids.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: WV Sawmiller on June 08, 2021, 08:54:38 AM
Tom,

  Looks to me like you better leave the cat alone if that is the cause of the punctures. :D Stay cool. Drink plenty of fluids.
No, that wasn't the cat at all. That was just from brushing up on logs here and there or getting whacked as I cleared brush or whatever. Old skin is really thin. ;D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Old Greenhorn

Well yesterday was a pretty good day, in fact my best so far. I had a helper, an old friend from around town and our years together in the fire department. He is 70, but seems to be in better shape than I am. In fact until yesterday I always had thought he was younger than me. He was using the day as a chance to get outside and away from the day job for some change. He was also curious about this work I am doing. It was VERY nice to have company and he and I work just fine together. I walked through the process on the first tree explaining as I what I was doing, why, and what I was looking for. After that he fell right in and I didn't have to go over anything and he was thinking ahead of me, so that was just great. HE even spotted a couple of trees I had missed. I ran the saw and he loaded logs and cleared brush. We kept moving until we ran out of breath. Temps in the mid 80's, but some clouds helped. It was still hot in those pants.
 Ran into Barge and his mechanic fixing the Timbco and had a short chat, then went back to work. Got back into the woods loading up and my dang phone rings. First I was shocked I had a signal, then I assumed it was another 'your vehicle warranty will expire calls', but I looked at it, and it was Barge! So I answered, turns out he needed to cut some blocking to support the buncher head while they did the pin swap and he was in the wrong truck without a saw. Well we were just loading up so we finished the load and ran out, while my helper loaded the trailer I walked out and cut what was needed and helped set the blocks while he positioned the head. Then I cut a safety pole to stick behind it in case it rolled backwards when it was disconnected. I guess it worked out ok, and we got back in the woods. Barge had left to get another truck and the mechanic was laughing "What kind of logger doesn't have a saw in his truck?!" I just said, 'well it happens when you have so many trucks'. I was just glad I could help.
 I had commented at some point that I didn't have any new holes in my arms yet or blood leakage as usual. 10 minutes later I am dropping a tree and apparently had some chips up inside my face shield so when I looked up at the top for movement a big chip fell right into my eye and held good. That hurt like the dickens and I was blinded with a face cut and most of the back cut in the tree. I could not get that chip out and my partner grabbed a water bottle and I flushed it best I could and got the where I could see but it was still there. So I got the tree down and flushed some more until it felt like it was either gone or parked in a safe spot, but it bothered me the rest of the day. Got a feww small ones in the other eye also.
We got 72 logs on the trailer before I ran out of steam and left the site at 4pm. We each picked up a world famous shake at the Conesville country store for the drive home, which went easy. We hit the rain we were trying to beat getting out of the woods, but it was spotty. Strange weather pattern for our area and hard to predict, we heard thunder off and on during the afternoon.
 I dropped my helper off, and got home pretty exhausted. Got those dang pants off went out and took all the tools out of the back of the truck, removed the bed toolbox and started loading more logs. By 7:30 I had about 120 logs on between the truck and trailer and it is a bit more than I would like, but I ain't doing 2 trips. Rough calculation show about 4500# but I think I am over that a bit.



 

It's gonna be a long 2 hour drive with this load to deliver today. It was a full 13 hour day and that shower felt good. After dinner I sent emails to the clients regarding delivery and at some point rubbed my eye and out came this big 'thing' looked like a mashed up dog tick but with a loop I could see it was a wood chip covered in eye goop. (this morning when I woke up and rubbed my eyes I got another one out, smaller though.) Anyway I was really exhausted and had one beer and was in bed before 9pm. It was a good day and a true pleasure to have a good helper with a second set of eyes and a brain. It took a lot of stress of me watching for bears, etc.
 Today will be another long day to deliver, and then I am staying around here for a few days to recover, rebuild that 350 (the parts came yesterday finally) and get some chores done before heading back out. I am already 90 logs into the next 300 log order.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

aigheadish

72 logs sounds like a great day and all of them are pretty! Sounds like you are finding a nice groove!
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

Old Greenhorn

 Well I was right, it was a long 2 hour drive going down. For those that have been through the southern tier of New York driving truck, you have probably heard or driven up "the Wurtsboro Hill" and with the load I had I was not happy about doing this. Thankfully my shortcut route had me on a secondary road climbing that grade and I got on 17 near the top. I thought that would be the worst of it, but needed to be on 17B and they have construction, which of course I expected. The old saying is "Route 17 will be a GREAT road, if they ever finish it". I am 66 and they have been trying to 'finish it' since before I was born, no joke. Truckers will back me up on this.
 Anyway, the construction I hit they only had one way traffic (single lane). They were holding vehicles for 30 minutes in one direction, then switching directions. I have never seen this, usually 5 -10 minutes, but 30?! There was 3 miles of traffic behind me when they finally let us through and I followed a fully loaded belly dump gravel tractor up and over the hills at 15 to 30 MPH. I surely did not mind that, with my load bobbing and weaving I was happy with the slow speeds and speed zones, better to keep up.
 On the way I called the woman who was getting 50 logs but needed me to drop them at her farm because she could not come to the meeting point and pick them up. She was only 10 minutes further away. She had not responded to any of the planning emails I had sent this week. Apparently she has been too busy to read the 5 emails that went around since Sunday. She had no idea I was coming and could not take time to drive over to pick her logs. I should just drive to her. Directions were sketchy at best, but I have GPS and know how to use it, she was NOW complaining about buying summer cut logs. There was other stuff, but I didn't even listen once she started talking like she was doing me a favor buying from me. I focused on the first drop, and that woman had gone out of her way to give me solid directions contrary to GPS guidance. Her info was on the mark and she flagged her driveway and made room for me to turn the trailer around. Easy peasy and a pleasant experience. She was grateful for the logs and told me I was the closest supplier she could find. She said she had a call form the other woman who was almost ranting "I really didn't want summer cut logs.... Next time I will find my own logger..". and on and on. The gal finally said, "look, he is helping us all out, if you don't like the logs, don't buy from him again, if you think you can find a better supplier, go ahead, it's your business, but I am happy he is working with us and coming all this way." She told me all this and I smiled, I said "Look I don't care. If I get there and she starts complaining I can take my logs and leave. I really don't care, yes I will loose her share of the delivery cost. These logs are already sold and if she doesn't buy them I have another buyer waiting. I don't care. I don't sweat the small stuff. I don't take sass, but on the rare occasions I do, I charge for it." She liked that.
 Anyway It took an hour to unload in the sun with a little bit of help form the client, but she couldn't lift the big logs. I dropped her order which she picked out, then and order for another fella that is away traveling (he paid me yesterday by pre-arrangement). About 70 logs there total. Then I texted the other gal I was headed over. Directions worked fine but I did miss one turn, easy fix. As I am 100' from her driveway I get a long text telling me that if I have an over height or over wide rig I need to take a different route because of bridge construction. I am at her driveway, no mailbox, no house number, pot hole filled crushed stone  and mud road, and only one lane wide. So I am calling her and getting no answer. I need to locate the right house/farm/hovel/thing. Finally she comes walking down her driveway asking if I am 'Tom'. Yup. She says "park it there and walk up and see how you want to do this". So I leave the truck in the middle of this 'road' and walk in. She has a specific spot she wants, and it ain't easy, but I decide to pull in forward.
 From here on it gets complicated, let me just say that we unloaded while she complained that the logs were too small. I mentioned that I had asked several times for her size preferences (along with EVERYONE else who sends me an inquiry) and never got any details from her. She pointed out which logs she considered useless and also made it clear that 'summer cut' were not really any good. I mentioned the science and quoted the research experts I have been talking to weekly as well as some industry folks that have been growing for 20 years, and explained that some of the information that is widely accepted turns out to be anecdotal and not really accurate when they do controlled studies. I gave her some industry experts she could contact to verify. She said she would check them out to see if they were as smart as 'her guy'. :D She also asked in a very accusing manner "how long have these logs been laying around?" I said "Ma'am, less than 24 hours ago that was a tree sitting in the woods minding it's own business when I found it." She decided that was OK then. She said she wanted to have these inoculated tonight.  THAT is the moment I realized she is an 'internet farmer'.
 Getting out of there was another chore that included a 30 point turn and disconnecting the trailer. I was glad to be done with that. After I left I called the first gal and asked if was interested in how the other drop off went.  ;D She said "OH my yes, that is all I have been thinking about, I hope she wasn't as much of a [I can't type that word here] as she sounded like." So I gave her the story and she just said "Well as hard as you work, you don't need customers like that, that's nonsense, you did a great job and these logs are beautiful." For the route home I wanted another path, any path that didn't bring me through that construction and I picked a more northerly route without looking too close. GOS said it was only 10 minutes longer. Turned out I picked the backroad route that brought me up through Grahmsville and up over Sunddown and Peekamoose. That is a long grind and the road is beyond lousy, but I didn't care, never really got over 30 mph, but with an empty trailer it was no concern I took my time and enjoyed the drive. It takes you UP a long valley deep buried in the Catskills and when you get near the top you can hear banjo music out both sides of the truck. ;D Last time I drove through was 20 years ago and I don't remember the road being so bad Today it was horrible, hardly enough room for two vehicles to pass each other safely and the drop off on the right went down 50' with no shoulder at all (I mean the blacktop, where there was any, was flaking off down the hill). Still a nice drive while dead-heading and I just loafed along.
 Got home to more emails about this river transport thing and haven't dug into the details yet. That's the next project. For today, I am tired and need to recover from the last few days. 
Tomorrow is another day and I will worry about it then.
 This is one of the 3 loads I delivered today, all totaled about 120 logs.


 
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

WV Sawmiller

Tom,

   Sorry to hear about your "special" customer. I guess we all need them one of them from time to time to make us really appreciate the good ones like the first lady. I know money is sometimes tight and people may not have a lot of extra cash on hand and watch their pennies but if they will be up front and tell me "I only have this much money to spend" I can watch the work and stay in their budget. The ones who truly appreciate the wood and the work involved make it worthwhile. I had two guys come by Monday and I found them a piece of basswood that was perfect for their project and I got them to help me plane it and I sanded and trimmed the ends and I watched the one guys eyes light up. The other was so near blind he could not see but he could see his partner was excited. I got the same look the next day when I delivered it.

   I think with your lady I'd have just shifted those 50 logs to my next 300 log order. I looked at a new ATV yesterday and called to order it today. I am pretty sure I threw a rod on my old one and it has finally done its due. I have to have a good working dependable machine. I looked at UTVs but I don't think I can get them up my trails and into the places I need to go.

   I have all the siding on my composting toilet and started cutting the roof pieces today and will finish that tomorrow then I just have to do the trimwork. I am not pleased with the window trim and may re-do that.

   My daughter, SIL, 4 y/o GS and 2 y/o Shirley Temple look-alike GD are coming up Saturday for a couple of days. Weather looks threatening but I hope to get the kids out and catch a fish or two. They never have fished. I might build a chipmunk trap with my 4 y/o gs and see if we can't catch a chipmunk or two. I also might get him out and catch some nighcrawlers. Any time spent with him is always time well spent. The GD may be more interested in the fishing, trapping and worming than her brother.
Howard Green
WM LT35HDG25(2015) , 2011 4WD F150 Ford Lariat PU, Kawasaki 650 ATV, Stihl 440 Chainsaw, homemade logging arch (w/custom built rear log dolly), JD 750 w/4' wide Bushhog brand FEL

Dad always said "You can shear a sheep a bunch of times but you can only skin him once

Nebraska

Tom, I have lots of experience with internet farmers, your frustration is understandable.  Sounds good though you made a bit of brass for the pocket.

Old Greenhorn

Yes, Nebraska, she was a piece of work, but I expect her money is as good as any other. I don't expect to hear from her again, but if I do, she will be charged accordingly. ;D The profitability on this venture is not there, but that's my fault and I have learned a lot along the way, but of course you are right, it's good to put some money back in the bank after laying a lot out on expenses.

Howard, glad the outhouse/toilet/bus stop/deer blind is coming along in the new version. Can't wait to see the finished photo spread in Better Homes & Gardens. :) Enjoy the weekend with the kids.

As for me, I didn't sleep well at all last night (family issues) and was up very early so I took the time to read up on this sailing ship taking my logs to Brooklyn or someplace in the City. Finally got the captains name and email and sent him a quick note last evening. This morning I went through the ship's web pages to understand what they are doing.
They have a tracker on the ship and I could see that it is birthed here in Kingston right now. Seems like there is a lot of time and money invested in this man's dream of moving cargo up and down the Hudson river to reduce carbon footprint and they are either using horses or peddle power to deliver the last mile. Interesting project and a nice looking ship. If you are interested, you can read about it here: http://www.schoonerapollonia.com/
I am not sure I will fit the exact bill they want as a supplier, there is no way to get my logs to the ship without using motors, but it paints and interesting picture if you think about it. :D The plan as it stands now is for me to deliver the logs to the Maritime Museum over a couple of weeks, then when they dock they will hand load. They also want 50 logs for a workshop the day of the loading and will make an event out of it. They'd like me to be there to talk to whatever press shows up or the public about the logs and how they are selected and harvested. Sailing date is either the 3rd of 4th week in July. I have to recount the logs I have in the yard and get back to collecting more.
Glad I have an off day today to play catchup. I am sore and tired. I have to update my notes, expenses, and records for the log project to keep it all square for a final accounting. I also have that 350 to rebuild since the parts finally came in. At least its cooler today!
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Nebraska

Now there should be some folks (Amish or otherwise) who could horsepower those logs to the ship for them. We used to have a client that had a wedding buggy. Seems like they had a wagon they used for just training horses to drive. You might suggest they try to find an equine veterinarian. They just might have a client that has a team the could pull that load  down into Kingston. If they want to make this fossil fuel free there are a few teams of horses around....Just a thought.
 

Old Greenhorn

Well we have no Amish folk around here unfortunately. The only route from my place down to the river will put you on a state road at 55MPH with a lot of city and Jersey drivers on it and in a hurry. That would be a 10-12 mile run. But to really keep it 'clean' I would need horses in the woods (and I don't know that there is room to turn a horse around where I am cutting, let alone a wagon (can't drag them) but I guess a good handler could do it), then hauling nearly 70 miles to the river. We would probably pick a dockage further north like Catskill to flatten and shorten the trip to 50 miles. See? I did actually think about this. :D I will say that for some of the other cargo loads they are in fact using horses to bring the goods to the boat. Believe it or not they also have a horse team with a freight wagon in Brooklyn delivering some of this stuff. Go see some of the press articles on their web page, amazing to me. Who'd have thought?
 I just got back from meeting with the Schooner's Captain, she is a fine looking vessel and can take a little over 10 ton in cargo. We went over logistics and details. They make it easy for me and I will probably do my deliveries early in the morning the day after I cut while the sun is still low and so is the human activity. They are going to build bunks for me to stack on and I can back the trailer right up to it. From that staging spot it is a about a 35' roll slightly downhill and directly to where the boat will be tied. They have a jib crane on the boat . He was surprised I knew boats and asked those questions and knew about rigging, knots, tides, navigation, etc. I didn't mention I was raised on a boat and took my first steps as a toddler on the boat. Seems the swaying of the boat made it easier for a wobbly kid to stay upright if the timing was right. ;D Then we found out we have common friends in some musicians that were playing on his river tour boat last night. They are my neighbors and also property improvement clients. Small world, right? Wait, then as we are talking, a fella comes out of the Museum and I recognized him as a long time friend that I have worked with for years at the Woodstock Invitational Luthiers Show. Mark is the co-founder. I had forgotten that he was also involved in this museum. Turns out, he sits on the board of directors. After we chatted and he left, the Captain says to me, "It looks to me like we could not have spec'ed out a better person to bring us logs, seems like you already know everyone, AND you know your knots!".
 So even if I don't make any money, I will at least enjoy this experience and that is just as important to me and one of my main goals. Working with, and for good people has a lot of value to me. YMMV. I am anxious to get back in the woods and get those last 200 logs out. I have 100 exactly here ready to deliver when they get the rack made. They need all the logs by July 23rd and that is quite do-able.
Tomorrow is another day.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Old Greenhorn

Well, as predicted today is another day. Over the weekend among other chores, I hand loaded the trailer with every log I had (100) left in the yard in anticipation of a Monday delivery. Then just let the trailer set there. I put the toolbox back in the truck bed (removed for that last big delivery).
 Yesterday I got the call from the Captain and met him at dockside just as he was setting up the bunks. No problem getting the trailer in there and close for the unloading and the two of us made quick work of it. Getting out with the trailer was another matter and it took me two hits to make the turn through a narrow gate. Glad he was there to spot me for the first trip. So, Off to a good start.



 
If you look closely in that photo you can just make out the Schooner in the background with a black hull. It's moored across the creek.  That's the one these logs will go down on.

I got home and started loading back the tools in the truck. I have been watching the weather and I guess I blew it when I decided not to go up on Sunday, but I had already loaded the trailer, so I was stuck. Plenty of rain Sunday overnight into Monday, about .6" and I am worried about the trail I use the most. It is already squeaky from repeated trips back and forth loaded in one or two bad spots. I won't know until I get there. 
 My buddy down the road called me last night. He made a last minute decision to run up to Woodmizer today and pick up the LT15 he ordered for making long beams. He runs a new LT50, but keeps getting calls for long beams in the 30' range, so he ordered the small mill last August and it has been sitting at WM since April waiting for pickup. So my buddy wanted me to take a ride with him for the day, which I had offered months ago. But I gotta stay on task and had already got everything ready for today's run and the week is already planned. He went on about all the rain we'd get today and my day would be a wash, trying to talk me into it. But I had to stick to the plan, even though it would have been a fun day.
 So I hit the sack early, hoping to get out early this morning, get a load on and be out of the woods before 2 and the predicted heavier rain. Well, that whole conversation about the rain and the trails was on my mind, and having gone to bed early, I woke up at 2:30 and could not get back to sleep. I kept thinking this could be a rough day and working alone, if I get stuck I will be in trouble. Finally gave in and flipped the coffee pot on at 3am. Getting ready to leave now and get to Conesville by around 6, then in the woods before 7, I hope. Maybe I can find another path in but there is a lot of stuff in the way. There is only one way to find out.
 Time to hit the road.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Old Greenhorn

Well, yesterday started out rough, but was productive. I knew getting up as early as I did would make for a long day and I was right. I got on the road at 5 and was at the store by a little after 6, but the cook had overslept and all I could get for breakfast was a bagel. So that had to cover me.
 In the woods cutting my first tree by 7 after loading the tools in the Mule. Now that I had the go-ahead to take sugar maple(which I finally got via text at 6:45), it was a little easier to find trees. I had been using just one path to get in and out of the cutting area and with all my heavy loads there began to show two areas totaling about 150' long that were getting really muddy and slick because it was so tight my tires were in the exact same track every time I went through. I mean, the tread pattern even matched up. SO I knew I needed another way in. Somebody had been in there in an atv or something and I could see their tracks through the high grass, so I did some exploring and found another path in as well as another access option if it got worse. In the process of walking lots of dead ends through the fields of cars and such, I found a cute little garden tractor trailer with a 5' long bed and a walking beam suspension. It sure wouldn't take much to pull that box off, put on some bunks, raise the clearance a bit and have a nice little forwarder trailer. But it had been marked for sale already. Bummer. Later in the day, I found another one, with brand new tires and wheels, but that too was sold. Never saw those before so I should get a photo next time and look around. I am noticing now that one of the things that is affecting my turn around cycle in these woods is how many logs I can fit in the Mule. It's not size, it's weight and load on the ground. So a little trailer could help that if I can make all the turns, some are tight. 
 Anyway, it was easier to find trees and fill the Mule. The knee high grass was soaking wet and eventually my pants and boots, then socks were soaked through. The weather was cooler and workable which was the biggest improvement. But it did rain on me and twice I had to take a break, drink water, and wait it out in the Mule. I could get a tiny bit of cell service here and there so I checked the radar and could see these little downpours were going to increase for a few more hours. So I bagged it on the last load, because I need time to empty the tools from the mule to the truck, bind the load, park the mule, and get through the gate.
 I had pulled 63 logs, my best working alone so far and if not for the rain I would have been over 75 but the early wake-up was beginning to wear on me. So I stopped at the Store and ran into Barge who was in the middle of fixing something what broke again. He looked like it was one of 'those' days for him. We chatted briefly for a bit, but he was busy, and I chatted with his Dad a bit too, another really nice fella as you might guess. I got one of those world famous Conesville Country Store Shakes for the ride home. Seriously if you ever pass through, stop in and try one, they are super! Ask what flavors they have before you decide. Yesterday I got a Blueberry Cheesecake one and it was excellent. Then before I left I put on dry socks and shoes for the drive. I had a hard time staying awake for the last 5 miles home and when I got in I flopped on the couch and took an involuntary hour long nap while I was talking to my wife. So just another day. 
 When I was cutting I found this tree growed around a bottom plow and knew the plow was coming out, so I took the tree for mushrooms. I thought it would break away when I cut it off, but apparently not. You may have seen this photo in another thread last night.


 

Nearly every tree I take comes down straight and I have to cut 40" at a time off the butt until eventually it is short enough to fall over. I don't know why I even bother to try to hinge them in the 'best' direction because they only lean 10° in that direction, and never break a hinge. I have to walk everyone down a log at a time. If I did 10 trees yesterday, I walked 9 down.
 Well I am off to deliver logs now and hope to be halfway home by 8am before the traffic builds up. Then off with the wife for the monthly food shopping. Today is another day.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Nebraska

Has somebody bought that salvage stuff already?  Most of that would go for less than weigh up price around here.  A forwarding trailer that you could get for the price of a dozen shroom logs would be a deal...
Sounds like you had a good but long day.

Old Greenhorn

Yeah, it occurred to me that maybe I could make an offer where it sits. I might text Barge and ask, but I don't want to give him another thing to do.
 It was a long day and this morning I delivered those logs with no issues, we got the shopping done, I fueled the truck, picked up beer and cigarettes and am good for another week or so. I just have to mow the lawn, sharpen my saws and get ready to do it again tomorrow. 140 logs to go on this order. ;D 
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Old Greenhorn

Well yesterday was just another day. I am starting to get that 'time to make the donuts' feeling when I wake up these days and yesterday was the first time I set an alarm in over a year. I knew I wouldn't get up at 4:30 on my own, just too tired. I goofed off longer than usual and didn't hit the road until just before 6, breakfast at the store, then in the woods by 8. It was a slog scouting for trees and I was just hitting one here, one there and it took quite a while and 2 loops to get just 33 logs on the trailer. Too slow. Then I found a small pocket and whacked 3-4 really good trees and got another 23, so 56 logs for the day, raising my overall average, but not near my best day. This leaves 81 logs to finish the current order (2 more trips). I arrived home wiped out again. The routine along with the 3 hours of driving each day is beginning to wear on me and it is starting to feel like 'a job'. It is taking me away from other work for too long and I have clients patiently waiting for my return to their work. I also grow increasingly aware of the hazards I take on by working alone, constantly watching for spring bears and dancing around trees as I take them down 40" at a time and the fall direction changes with every cut. But my skills are improving and it is becoming like a ballet on some trees. The work is heavy but healthy. I am grateful for good (and cooler) weather and the fact that my muscles hold up through the day although near the end they get tired and sometimes wobbly. I need that rest and delivery day in between trips to recover. So when I got home last night I had to jump into fulfilling a promise to a neighbor that I had neglected too long and forming up a proper invoice for the current log order so I might get paid. No telling how long that might take. Dinner, then bed by 8:30.
 This morning I again squandered some daylight and got down to the dock only by 7:30, unloaded and was home by 8:30. I have to replace a tail light on the trailer today because I am tired of folks telling me it is out. Pretty soon it will be a Trooper telling me, so I best get that fixed. ;D
 I think I will take the crane mast off the trailer too because I no longer need it to unload bundles at home, they stay on the trailer until they get delivered so hand loading/unloading is just as fast, but I do have to lift every single log 3 times. Gotta figure something out for that going forward but I think it will be more complicated and expensive.
 While I was at the Museum unloading this morning a boat pushed off from the dock to head out to the river. I haven't looked up the specs on it yet, but interesting to watch them swing that thing around in the creek, then head out to the Hudson for (I assume) a southbound journey. Quite the little runabout that. I also added the log pile at the end of the video. It's still uploading as I type this, but here is the link:
Renegade on the Rounout Creek 6/18/21 7:30am - YouTube
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

aigheadish

That's a pretty nice little boat! I could sit amazed, for hours, watching any big vehicle like that move. It's incredible to see when it goes from backing up to going forward. And, yeah, that turn did look easier than it should have but my guess is that thing has a bit of everything on it. 
New Holland LB75b, Husqvarna 455 Rancher, Husqvarna GTH52XLS, Hammerhead 250, Honda VTX1300 for now and probably for sale (let me know if you are interested!)

Old Greenhorn

Yeah, as soon as I looked up at the sound while I worked, I immediately turned on the camera. I am the same way and it was such a beautiful quiet morning on the creek. If you search for details on this dingy, make sure your put 2 "n"s in Rennegade and put it in quotes. Some specs if you're interested: she is 112' long has a beam 23.4' and is 235 gross tons. She is powered by twin screw diesels totaling about 3,900 HP. It was a nice surprise in an otherwise mundane morning. I was taken by the widescreen TV playing on the afterdeck. We didn't have those when I was casting about over the waters. ;D  :D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

Tacotodd

👍 from Tacotodd

I don't have the skills developed to do that, by ANY shot. But I don't play in/near the water. I'm a woods-n-critter guy!
Trying harder everyday.

Old Greenhorn

Well, I know today is Father's Day, the traditional day for me to hang around the house and "relax" while setting up projects so the kids can 'do things for me'. But I am afraid I disappointed them today and had to use the weather and get back in the woods. Low 80's today and high humidity but I got a good start with the trees I left marked from last time. I had 62 on the trailer by 2pm and it was time to strap them down and head home. I was out of breath and sweat.
 I only need 20 more to finish the order but I will give them some extras. Deliver tomorrow, then rain Tuesday, so I expect to be back up there Wednesday. I have another client that wants 100 but we haven't touched base in a month, so I sent an email today to check in. They wanted only 4" diameter or so and I now know that I can't do that. Just too much waste that gets left in the woods. I won't cut good trees to take just 3 logs from each. As it is, I am foraging further into the woods from the trail and carrying logs further to the mule which takes a lot more time and effort. I am running short on trees I can find now, or rather, they are there but harder to find. Either way, it takes more time. If they don't need logs from me that would be fine. I am ready to get back to other work. 
Tomorrow is another day.
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

doc henderson

next time I guess if you get and early start on the season (if that is even possible given the complexity of mushroom logging) you could rack them according to size to organize and accommodate preferences, assuming their are also folk who want medium and larger diameter size shroooom logs.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: doc henderson on June 21, 2021, 02:11:49 AM
next time I guess if you get and early start on the season (if that is even possible given the complexity of mushroom logging) you could rack them according to size to organize and accommodate preferences, assuming their are also folk who want medium and larger diameter size shroooom logs.
That's one of the things I have learned through this season Doc. Most folks don't really know what size they want or need, they know what they 'THINK' they want. I tell each potential client what size I cut as standard (4-6" x 40" long) then I ask them what their preferences are, what is the minimum diameter, and what is the maximum diameter they will accept. Almost nobody answers these questions even after a second request. Then I deliver and they say they only want small ones, or large ones. One gal who asked for just 4 logs, but needed to have them all around 4". When she got here to pick up and I asked how she was growing and offered some other thoughts for her to consider. She wound up leaving with 4 of the largest diameter logs I had in the pile, around 8"+. :D The exception to this is one commercial grower (15 years) who knew exactly what he wanted. "White Oak only, 6-9" diameter x 48" long" period, "nothing else". Well I can't find white oak in any quantity, so that is out, but it was refreshing to talk to someone who is specific and I still have my eyes out for white oak. Out of the 500 logs I have taken so far I have cut exactly 2 puny (4") WO logs and that was a blighted tree that was going to get crushed anyway. The only others I have seen were seedlings.
 Sorting by size sounds good, but that means I would collect through the cutting season and unload in my yard by size, then sell that way, by reloading and delivering. The minimum I handle each log now is 3 times each, already too many, that would add 2 more handlings and a bunch of time (which is expense).
 I have been keeping good notes and put it all in a 4 page spreadsheet so that I can do an analysis at the end. I mentioned this on the mushroom thread the other day. I will be posting the final analysis summary when it is all done for others to get what they might from it down the road. Right now I can say the $ aren't looking too impressive at all, but I am not 'loosing money'. I am also 3 weeks into this exclusively and there is other work waiting that would pay much better on a daily rate than this. Another factor is the physical workload: I can't do it every day straight through, my body won't handle it, so I have a harvest day, and the next day is a delivery, maintenance, and rest day, then repeat, if the weather allows.
 So there are a lot of moving parts and a lot to think about. I'll have more on this when the final numbers are in. It's been an interesting experiment and I have lost some weight and gained more muscle (and bruises) as I have learned my way through. No regrets. I am just an old coot, still learning, and today is another day. :)
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

doc henderson

well I guess you can look at the hours and cost, and if it is not what you need/want you can stop if a price increase negates all the clients.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: doc henderson on June 21, 2021, 09:00:41 AM
well I guess you can look at the hours and cost, and if it is not what you need/want you can stop if a price increase negates all the clients.
It is one of the options under review at this time. ;D ;D
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

doc henderson

I look forward to camping next door to you at the pig roast.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

Old Greenhorn

Quote from: doc henderson on June 21, 2021, 09:16:23 AM
I look forward to camping next door to you at the pig roast.
As am I, its on my mind a lot lately. :) 
Tom Lindtveit, Woodsman Forest Products
Oscar 328 Band Mill, Husky 350, 450, 562, & 372 (Clone), Mule 3010, and too many hand tools. :) Retired and trying to make a living to stay that way. NYLT Certified.
OK, maybe I'm the woodcutter now.
I work with wood, There is a rumor I might be a woodworker.

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