Bluegills and firewood.

[Tony Livingston]

What do they have in common? Probably nothing, except for a random thought or two that I've been mulling around lately, and decided to share with all of you.

In my neck of the woods, many, many people burn firewood during the winter. Naturally, as colder weather makes its presence known, the cutting of said wood becomes a high priority for a great number of people. And like Bluegill fishing, there are a great many nuances involved....some critical to success, while others not so much. Gather around the breakfast table at the local diner and you'll soon be immersed in conversations regarding types of wood, how to properly fall a standing tree, whether it's best to do the splitting in the woods or bring it home first, is it better to stack the wood in the truck or just heave it in there....and most contentious of all......favorite brands of chainsaws.

Much like the topics discussed here at BBG, opinions vary.  After witnessing a few of these firewood cutting discussions, I can't help but wonder what a newcomer to that Diner's breakfast table might think. Maybe he or she has never cut firewood before, and has no idea where to start. By virtue of having listened to the varied opinions put forth by the breakfast "regulars", they may well be convinced that it is such a daunting, and highly particular enterprise that they abandon the idea altogether, and rely on electricity to keep warm....kinda' like fishing for your supper vs. a Filet-o-fish at McDonalds.

Certainly there are techniques that make cutting firewood easier, and more productive. Not the least of which is the location one chooses to cut. If I were to purchase a new pickup truck, hook my woodsplitter to the back of it, throw a brand spanking new top-of-the-line chainsaw in the back, you would think I would be ready to make the sawdust fly....but If I tried to cut firewood in the parking lot at Kohl's, all that equipment would do me very little good.  On the other hand, if I ventured into a virgin forest, a location that had never been timbered or had any trees cut, I would find plenty to keep me and my saw busy. But wait... that brand specific chainsaw that the regulars all assured me was an absolute necessity for cutting firewood would undoubtedly do a fine job, but who's to say the "other" brands might not cut in an acceptable fashion also?

It would appear then, that rather than placing so much emphasis on the brand of saw, it would be to my advantage to choose my cutting location carefully. Certainly I know better than to try and cut firewood in a parking lot somewhere, and while the thought of traveling to a distant forest full of virgin timber has an appeal about it, the fact is there is a whole lot of woods between those two extremes.... along with many ricks of firewood waiting to be cut that isn't too particular about what kind of chainsaw does the work, just as long as I put forth the effort to do so.

I own a half dozen chainsaws, all of them one particular brand. But I service and cut with, many different brands. And what I'm discovering, is that while some may have an advantage in one area or another, they all are quite capable of cutting firewood..after all, it was done with an axe and a crosscut saw for centuries... I believe I get the most firewood cut, not from choosing a particular brand of chainsaw, or traveling to a forest with perfect trees, but from just getting out in the woods and doing it. Along the way I may well discover a way to make it easier, but I darn sure won't keep warm this winter by hanging out all morning at the diner, drinking coffee and talking chainsaws.

 

[John Sheehan]

Ha ha, this is great Tony ! I got skunked trout fishing less than 10 minutes away from my home mid day today but came home with several rounds of precut  Maple wood I was able to lift into the bed of the truck .Should've brought my saw and I would've had more . I will split it , burn it in the stove in the basement where I will keep me and guitar and banjo  students warm this fall/winter .

[Tony Livingston]

Thanks John. I wrote this piece as a gentle nudge to BG anglers everywhere.....the brand of chainsaw one uses, and the location one picks to do their cutting are important alright, but I feel there's plenty of good firewood very close to home for most of us. You just need to head to the woods and get started... that's what puts wood in the shed, not the name on the saw.

 

 

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

Great analogy, Tony, but lets stir this up for fun,just like fisherman have their different views and opinions on selected harvest and catch and release what do  the woodcutters in your area consider how many ricks are in a cord , two or three?         LOFR

[Tony Livingston]

Around here, a rick is considered to be 4' high, by 8' long....the problem lies with the length of the wood.... we always considered 16" sticks as the standard, but not everyone does.

So, going by our standard, a cord will contain three rick of firewood...

Please don't ask me to continue my anology by converting this to Bluegills, as the standards by which anglers measure fish have been known to be rather.......individually interpretive.

[Leo Nguyen]

As an urban jungle dweller, it's rare for me to actually chop woods of any kind, unless it's for the purpose of taking the woods to the beach for a bit of a bonfire, or cooking a meal at the beach. You use the wood to heat the home, where I use natural gas. However, when it comes to chopping the firewood, I'll be doing only 1/2 a rick for the entire day worth of usages..I use my 5lbs double edge axe and go to town in splitting pre-cut branches, 10" to 16" in diameter, 14" to 18" in length. I'll be taking a nap after the chopping of course. Converting to BG, hm..I would say a whole heap full.

However, talking to my cousins, uncles, and aunts who chop woods regularly to cook and to heat the home up in the northern states, they indicated they use hydraulic wood splitter to decrease the cutting time, and nearly double the volume of wood split. The hydraulic splitter can be transported easily in and out of the barn, from home to home, if needed as a hired hand for wood splitting. The initial cost is about the cost of 3 good chainsaws. But as time progresses, its worth is of 10 good chain saws, and saves a lot of clean up time.

[Allen Morgan]

Back in Dec. 2007, we had a MASSIVE Ice Storm hit my part of OK.  We had several limbs come down from the trees on the property.  Our way in to town was blocked.  We had to backtrack for miles to get to supplies.  We were out of power for 9 days.

A couple months after that, I bought a chainsaw.  We didn't have a fireplace, but I do have a smoker, so I figured I could keep us in fuel for the smoker and be able to dispose of any wood that comes down in future ice storms.

We've moved a couple times since then.  One place did have a fireplace, and trust me, that thing got used in the Winter.  I was able to keep us supplied with firewood, thanks to my chainsaw.

We now live in town, so I'm not to worried about things, unless we have a massive ice storm again; but then, most of the trees that will come down, have already either fallen completely, or lost the limbs   We don't have a fireplace here, although I would love to have one.

I need to clean out my chainsaw.  It's gunked up and won't start.

[John Sheehan]

paper clip cleans that bar groove just fine .I have to do that frequently . If it wont start, try taking out the spark plug and dipping it in gas and cleaning off the carbon residue ,that may be the problem.

 

[Lord of the Fly , Rods]

Todays gasoline now rots the plastic fuel lines pretty quick, just replaced mine,if your saw doesn't get gas to the carb , it wont start.      LOFR

[Allen Morgan]

I hunt down gas stations that don't have ethanol in their fuel for my lawn mower and chainsaw.  I'm not even sure if I can get to the spark plug.