iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

couple pics... post what your currently cutting

Started by RunningRoot, January 27, 2015, 08:41:27 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.

1270d

Chevy you hound.    Nice to cut pine like that I am sure.  Our current job has little patches of pine here and there.   Maybe a dozen trees at a pop.  I think they were planted by lumberjacks in the past.

barbender

A nice stand of second or third entry pine can sure bring the production numbers up.
Too many irons in the fire

chevytaHOE5674

It really ups your production when you get 10 sticks to the tree. Too bad there was only 8 acres of it and it's all done almost as fast as it began. Decked up about 170 cord mainly of saw blots in two 8-9 hour shifts and never once had to mess with a single bar and only sharpened two chains. That makes for a happy operator.

barbender

A sharp contrast to ratty hardwood, for sure ;)
Too many irons in the fire

Ken

Although we have been able to cut some really nice spruce on this job I wish the white pine was up for grabs.  Had our first major snowfall of the season.  Some glad I don't have to pull cable and run power saw on days like this.

 
Lots of toys for working in the bush

ehp

Ken, we got a huge rain storm and thunder storm, I would sooner had the snow

g_man

Cutting fir - like trying to make a silk purse from a sow's ear  :D



 



 



 

It is time in the woods and that makes it OK !!

gg

dustintheblood

Case 75C, Case 1494, RangeRoad RR10T36, Igland 4001, Hardy 1400ST, WM LT40HD, WM Edger, ICS DH Kiln

g_man


barbender

Some sites, we'll get into 20"+ fir butt logs that are completely solid (that's rare). Other sites, every tree is half rotten, even the 4" ones.
Too many irons in the fire

Clark

barbender - I'm curious if the incidence of hollow/rotten fir increases the further east you are in the state? At least, that's my general perception.

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

thecfarm

Most of my fir looks like that too. But I did have a few acres of some mighty fine looking fir. It was great looking stuff. No rot at all. For the most part it can be scary stuff to cut down. Have to be careful. I had some that was 70 years old. Now when I see one and I am cutting firewood I cut it down and let something else grow. Most times even a 4 inch one will show signs of decay. I have been in some areas of my land,they grow about 3-4 inches across and than break off about knee high due to rot.
Must be something that is not in the soil??
My OWB likes the fir.  ;D
But white pine does great on my land. I had and have some mighty fine looking pine. 
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

barbender

Clark, I would say in general, yes. We cut a big St. Louis county sale for Sappi north of Gnesen, and the balsam on that site was atrocious, not to mention most of it was dead from a budworm infestation. The White spruce was beautiful, however, and the birch was pretty nice too. Most of the nicer big balsam I have seen grows up north of Nashwauk in Balsam township, of all places ;D
Too many irons in the fire

Ken

The quality of the fir in our region is largely dependant on the soil quality.  I've worked in both very good quality and very poor quality stands.  What gets really discouraging is when you cut cookies off the butt to get it "sounded up" and then it turns redder than a fox's behind when you cut the first log off.
Lots of toys for working in the bush

Clark

Thanks, barbender. My sample size from places further west is rather small. My mother's side of the family has land in Roseau county with amazing balsam on it. 16-18" DBH and 6 sticks all day long. It's going downhill fast but that area is too far from any mill. Trying to get any price for it has been difficult.

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

Lumberjohn

Looks like it was scuffed the last time they logged.

barbender

Yes Clark, the softwood pulp market for that part of the state is pretty grim. Potlatch buys Balsam bolts down to 5 1/2" all day long though. It's still a long ways to Bemidji from up there though.
Too many irons in the fire

1270d

Quote from: barbender on December 04, 2016, 09:16:24 PM
Yes Clark, the softwood pulp market for that part of the state is pretty grim. Potlatch buys Balsam bolts down to 5 1/2" all day long though. It's still a long ways to Bemidji from up there though.

If balsam doesn't clean up in the first stick its all you going in the pulp pile.   Too much hassle because like Ken mentioned it will go punky or red in the middle of the tree after showing a clean butt.

   In my opinion it's the worst tree to sort for saw bolts along with aspen.   Not nearly as honest as spruce or red pine.  If they show a clean butt 95% of the time the whole stick is sound.

Gearbox

Barbender today I am moving the small tractor to my BIL place on hwy 2 east of town . Still cleaning up blow down Pine . I don't know if I will take the 6870 or wait till spring to process . In the next few days the skid trails will freeze . You guys running 50/50 blend yet ?I just blended my 9600 ford .
A bunch of chainsaws a BT6870 processer , TC 5 International track skidder and not near enough time

barbender

Whatever offroad they have at Cenex ;) Usually they have straight #1 by this time, and they only have one offroad pump. The boss just had us go straight #1 "don't even mess around trying to blend it". He fugures one day lost to a gelled machine costs more than whatever extra #1 costs him. Watch out in that blowdown, expecially under the snow ;) ;)
Too many irons in the fire

chevytaHOE5674

I don't even attempt to sort out balsam bolts, its all pulp (granted I never cut any bigger than 8" or so). In the time it takes me to try and clean the butt up and decide if its sound enough I can have the whole tree in the pulp pile and be starting in the next. And we get paid just as well for pulp as we do saw bolts.

barbender

We do a lot of sorting with the forwarders. Our softwood pulp can't be hollow, and only 25% rot. Usually if we are sorting bolts out of balsam or spruce, we just take stuff over 8", sometimes 10", so it's not a big deal to sort them with the forwarder. The point I was trying to make to Clark, is that if you had an exceptional stand of balsam and no pulp market, you could shoehorn it into the stud mill ;)
Too many irons in the fire

Clark

Thanks for the response barbender. I get the impression, and it may be more of a fact, that the balsam fir growing in western MN is much nicer than points further east. My father once laid claim to finding the state champion balsam fir. At that time it was 92' tall and 24" DBH. They took a picture of him standing next to it and he claims the trees in the background are in Canada. This is when he was working out of Warroad, MN. Granted, there is no guarantee that his large tree was solid but on this side of the state I can cruise timber for a week and never see a balsam fir larger than 8" DBH. For a variety of reason (I guess) it just doesn't do as well over here.

I've spent some time at the Huron Mountain Club in the upper penninsula and have never seen a balsam fir there that makes me blink. Sure, huge sugar maple but who wants that when you can have bolt-grade balsam?! :D

Clark
SAF Certified Forester

Gearbox

Made 3 drags today cleaning up skid trails . Most of the wood is over mature Jack Pine that broke off in the wind . Mostly safe , take the stem then take the snag . Some Red Pine tipped over those root wads can be a challenge , just carry 2 chainsaws and some times 3 .
A bunch of chainsaws a BT6870 processer , TC 5 International track skidder and not near enough time

reprod

Here are some poles I cut on the tree farm, northwest Oregon.   The longest couple on this load are 105'. 
The log truck in the picture is a little unique.  The back of the trailer has a steering axle underneath.  The driver can steer the trailer from inside the cab. 

Thank You Sponsors!