Loss of our Tamarack (Eastern Larch)

[doctorb]

I also watched the right shoulder during the video.  You didn't reach much above your head with your right hand, but you used the shoulder well in several maneuvers.

Did you always start your chain saw with your left hand, or is this a result of the right shoulder injury / surgery?

I know that you want a perfect shoulder (who wouldn't), which your not gonna get, but, from my viewpoint, your shoulder looked great in the video.  Are you going to log this whole thing yourself for PT, or are you going to invite Burlkraft to enjoy in the fun?

[Jeff]

I think Burlkraft is running scared from the last time. :D I'd love it if he came back soon though. ;)

I'm starting the saw left handed because I am gun shy of doing it with the right as of yet. I've had pull starts jerk back violently before, (not with the new saw so far) and I don't think that is something I am ready for. You can see in the video where I try to unhook the log from the arch with my right arm, but have to go to the left. I am definitely depending on the left to do the lions share yet, but there are no free rides for the right. It's pretty sore at night, but so far, raring to go with each new day.

[doctorb]

Jeff-

I hate to bore others on a true Forestry thread who already know this stuff, but could you, or anyone else, give me a synopsis of what happens, in a business sense, to those trees you're felling.  Do you keep the lumber and get it cut into boards at a mill?  If so, what's your plan with the lumber?  Do you sell it to somebody who takes it to a larger market to the highest bidder?  Is the value of this lumber lessened by the larch beetle?  Do you haul it away yourself or does a sombody come and pick it up for a cost.  Where's the profit in this, or is it just good forestry practice to thin out these dying or dead trees, regardless of profitability?

[Jeff]

Well, this may turn out to be one of those "dig a hole there."  "Now fill it in" type of scenarios.  

The dead tamarack has no market value. Our goal is to clean the slate so to speak. The standing trees quickly become a hazard. The tops break out and fall without notice. Right now, there is a lot of sound wood out there, but the uses for it are few and far between. This was a fast growing stand. I'll take a ruler out and a camera to show you just how fast, so any lumber is apt to be quite unstable.  What we are planning is to saw out large timbers, 4 by 6 6 by 6 and 6 by 8 to use to build a cabin some where. Why? We don't know. (dig a hole there)  Where? We don't know that either. :D   The small stuff will go to good use. One of our friends up here had a stroke this summer. He has a small sugar bush a few miles from here. All the small stuff will go towards his evaporator's fuel supply this next spring. 

The goal here I guess is to do something, because it can't do anything but make things better.

[SwampDonkey]

Doc, our tamarack out my way tends to get a spiral twist to the grain. You look at the leader and it looks like someone took a wet rag and twisted it. They call that spiral grain. The most I've ever seen tamarack sell for was $70 a cord, most times $50. Aspen is worth more than twice as much. And tamarack will grow fast, even on wetland. I planted some here and it was 6 years younger than spruce that was on better drained soil and it caught up with the height of the spruce already. I planted it for that reason as I hate places to be over taken by non-commercial shrubs like alder and willow and dogwoods. It's a tree that will practically grow on water. In fact actually, I have seen floating mossy islands in shallow lakes get tamarack on them. These islands are real small and usually anchored in shallow spots by heath shrubs like Kalmia and leatherleaf and labrador tea. I have caught a good many trout from the shade of these small islands. ;)

[Norm]

Is it no good for dimensional lumber?

[SwampDonkey]

Nobody here saws it, it goes to pulp and nobody wants a lot of it. Sometimes it's wide open and by next week deliveries could be shut off.

The other larch species, such as western larch is more valuable for dimension lumber and flooring. Any plantations I've seen were European and Japanese larches, and some are 40-50 years old now.

[trapper]

It was used in my fathers barn to support the floor of the haw mow above the cows. just slabbed on 2 sides.  Used a lot as firewood when I was a kid.  Needs to be used in a closed stove and not in a fireplace as it pops a lot when burning.
My mothers cousin wanted a tamarack coffin.  That way he could go thru hell a poppin. ;D

[Jeff]

Here is one of the stumps to give you an idea of how fast the tamarack grew here. Recently, they had slowed right down. I count 40 years on this one.







It's getting pretty sparse out here....
And no Steve, I do bring it in at night.  ;)Do you miss it yet?

Oh, and thecfarm, thats not a stump. Its the butted off end of a log. ;D ;)

[thecfarm]

Sorry. I won't say nothing bad again about what you do. Until next time. ;D  I get a new saw and think I'm an expert.  :D

[Jeff]

I'm just joshin ya with the stumps cause I don't wanna play the grits card. :D

[thecfarm]

I remember now, thecfarm brand grits.  ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I know what handling brush is like, one mild fall I cut and burnt old orchard trees and any nuisance shrubs. I would have 2 or 3 bomb fires on the go. The old trees were half dead and a lot of dry limbs. Then I planted yellow birch, while cherry also took root from seed. And I released a fare bit of spruce and fir on half the clearings.

On another note, the waxwings, blue jays and robins have been going after the mountain ash and wild blueberries like crazy.  The woods I have been in working have lots of mountain ash bushes in with the new regeneration. It's a 200 acre block and there will soon be 19 fellas whacking away. There are 10 there now on sections already marked. With 19 fellas they will cut about 60 acres a week. ;)

[WDH]

The Grits Card!

That will surely keep him in line  :D.

[Jeff]

I learned a few things today.

Don't run over small cut off limbs and assume it is safe because they are laying flat. Especially if you have large lugged tires. I threw one straight in the air today, out the side and it turned in mid air and whooped my face shield.  Prior to that I had one tip up and smack me in the arm and about the head. Up until that point, I was causally skidding without my helmet and shield. No such thing as casual skidding. Even with an ATV.

Also, don't try to pull a gnarly top log, or any log for that matter, starting off with a turn, when you have trees or other logs  on top of the skid about to be pulled. That arch flipped in a second, and lifted the back corner of the quad when it did, but let go when the hitch released.  I have a 1 1/8" ball on the bike, and a 2" coupler. Glad for that, as it came apart without hurting anything.

I have a long ways to go at this, and I'm sure I'll be learning more stuff by accident, but I do know I'll have my safety gear on when it happens.







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-vJGXjrwbQ

[beenthere]

Jeff
Glad you are ok. Not a good feeling to see wheels in the air, but at least better if they are not the ATV.

[treefarmer87]

be careful, its never good when any tires come off the ground

[SwampDonkey]

I'm thinking you grappled the log to far back with the arch that had bad sweep. The log flipped the cart by striking on one of the braces as the log went into a rotation spin. And grabbing by a top end ( it doesn't appear to be small end of the log) is like pulling a telephone pole with a single wheel on the but end. It will tend to roll around back there. I remember one guy from forest extension pushing this practice until several fellas spoke of experience of the but rolling around, especially bad if there is sweep in the log. With pronounced sweep in a log it will/can cause the log to rotate. It's not all that casual to just grab any old end of a log and pull, and look straight ahead thinking things can't go wrong. Watch them knarly ones, they have a mind of their own. ;)

[Jeff]

One of the many things we lost with the death of the Tamarack. This photo of the stand that died was taken in the fall of 2005 from the back field

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, the morning sun really brings out the fall colors.  ;D

[Jeff]

As I sit here in my bear blind and awkwardly try to turn my head to look to the west, I'm reminded how thankful I am that I was wearing my hardhat today. This morning I got caught up on all of my skidding, so after a short breather to check on the forestry forum, I went back and began to fell the next area of daed tamarak.  Many of these trees are already shedding top Li.bs and even whole tops.

Anyhow, probably a dozen trees into it, I reached what would be the largest and most difficult tree of the day. I notched it, inserted a couple wedges, then made my back cut. I piclef up my hammer a gave the first wedge a tunk, and then stepped back and watched the tree fall perfectly. I stood and admired the placement for 3 or 4 seconds before the widow maker hit me square on top of the head. It was probably 4 feet long and 2 inches in diameter. I straightened my helmet and went to limbing.

I didn.t give it much more thought until now because of the stiff neck. I would suspect the helmet system saved me from a pretty severe injury or worse.

[SwampDonkey]

Yeah for sure. I was laying a strip line in thinning about 3 weeks ago and it happened to cross through some dead white birch, nothing as big as your forearm. But a top came out of one from about 6 feet up and maybe 2" diameter. It was rotten and half soft, but I felt it for sure. Kinda seated the helmet a little fermer on the head, but no damage. Something like that on a shoulder blade would lay a good bruising for sure. Just the day before I steared clear of some bigger dead birch along the boundary. A lot heavier if a piece would come down.

Be careful in the dead stuff.  ;)

[OneWithWood]

They don't call them widow makers for no reason 

Once again PPE saves another noggin 

[WDH]

A hardhat probably saved my life just like in your case.  Good thing that you were wearing your PPE.  So many times I see pictures of people running chainsaws in shorts with no shirt, shoes, or PPE of any kind.  I have heard that chainsaws are one of the primary causes for emergency room visits.

[HuZzEy]

I learned my lesson I cut my left leg above my knee 10yrs ago with dads 034. I put all my ppe on before I walk out the house now.