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Exploits collecting "free" wood

26K views 122 replies 62 participants last post by  1965scooper 
#1 ·
What am I doing here

For those of you that feel like grabbing a chainsaw and go cut some trees to make things out of, this blog is for you.

Today started yesterday afternoon. Hook up the trailer, sharpen both saes, make sure you have gas and oil, spare chains and filters. Tinker in the shop for a couple hours and go to bed early.

The alarm goes off at 12:45 am. Everything is loaded so it is just a matter of hopping in and going. I am heading 322 miles away. To here ;



It looks like a autumn forest that has shed its leaves. However, it's a burned forest. Not much life here.. This is a salvage operation. Picture last July, it's 110 degrees with a 30 mph wind.many miles SW of here a lightning strike starts a prairie fire. 4 days, 80,000 acre and numerous farms and homes lost. No lives lost, just memories. I know a couple of the farmers involved. They lost all of their buildings and equipment. The insurance will rebuild buildings and replace equipment, but not the memories. As a note, the one thing that virtually none of the farmers had insured was the fences. You don't think much about it, a lot of us have had to repair a fencon our property. Now multiply that times miles of fences. Of course insurance companies being who they are, the fences weren't listed so they don't pay for them. This couple figured the fence would cost about $50,000 to replace.this is a young couple with a baby girl about a year old. Most of her stuff was lost in the house. But the insurance money will buy her new stuff and she'll have a new room to grow up in and that's cool. Her mom knows, she grew up in the old one. They will get new dining room furniture and dishes, that's cool. But her grandmother can't give them as a wedding present. As I said, no humans lost their lives. The family dog is missing,fate and whereabouts unknown. But in the spring they will get a new puppy for their daughter to grow up with. That's always cool. Dad knows, he grew up with the old one. I didn't take many pictures, not sure why. Although it's a scene I will forever see.

The farm had many acres of aromatic red cedar. That's what I came for. I left with a trailer load. I would guess about 400-500 board feet. Was that much wood really worth the trip? In this case yes. In the future, when they say only a few people were affected, remember that those few were really affected. I left for home about 1:00 pm. I'll go back for more trees and take them something that I make out of these.

Future blogs on this topic probably won't be this long, I just felt this one needed its story told.

No live trees were harmed during this adventure. However the saw operator was left with multiple cuts and bruises.

Thanks for letting me take your time.
 
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#2 ·
yes, this is a story to be told, and im glad they had insurance for most things, yea i don't think i would have thought of the fence myself…shesh…that's a bunch of money for fence…but, on a farm, its like having or not having a tractor…im glad you were able to salvage some cedar from this, maybe a cedar chest for there winter blankets…..sad story, but no lives were lost, except the dog, if he were alive he would have showed up..but a new puppy will help with new memories…show us some of this wood when you get it milled..
 
#3 ·
Thanks Monte! Here in Texas we are dealing with a 4-5 year drought and the associated fires that have occurred. The Bastrop area south of us lost thousands of acres and hundreds of farms and homes.

Our area was lucky I guess, we are only losing trees due to insect infestation and disease caused from trees weakened by a lack of water.

Every day we see more trees that have fallen because the roots are gone and the ground is so dry. I wish I could harvest all of it, but I can only put so much weight in my shop because it's on pier and beam foundation.
 
#4 ·
I concur with Dallas, as I live next door to Bastrop in Austin Tx and saw first had what a wild fire can do and as mentioned in your story Monte, it was started by way of electricity only not by nature it was man made power line that sparked the fire.
 
#5 ·
You are what I call a rough tough cream puff. Its people like you who walk the walk that make life worth living. Whatever you make these people I am sure it will be nice. All your projects are!
 
#6 ·
I started this morning thinking this would be humorous. So let me add this,

These were burned trees. So I am covered in black soot. I took a branch up side the head and have dried blood all over my shirt. I didn't drink enough water today and have been having muscle cramps in my arms driving home. But I have a trailer full of red cedar so I am happy!
 
#7 ·
Monte, I've been following your work for several months now, and eagerly await your next post. But this one really grabbed me. I know one thing for sure-- when you get old and decrepit like me and just can't quite hobble out to your shop every day, you have one skill that no one has probably commented on, but please don't neglect it. That skill is that you can write, Man! This story reminded me of John Steinbeck's works. I could feel the compassion for this family.
Thanks much for the blog.
Have a good'un
Joe
 
#8 ·
Monte, You wrote a great report on this trip! My heart really goes out to fire victoms. Glad you were able to get some more wood for your stash. Now try to heal up before your next adventure! And looking forward to seeing you mill this with your new mill.
 
#9 ·
Being from the NY city area, thankfully I have never seen a wildfire on that scale or the apocalypse left after the newsmen have moved on to the next news story. The photo grabbed me, but as rejo55 said, the writing gives it meaning. Thank you for the post and best wishes to the families affected.
 
#10 ·
Wow, that's quite a story Monte ! You've really put a human face on it. I am sure the family you speak of will be pleased that you can make them something beautiful out of wood from the devastation around them.
 
#12 ·
Great story, know what you mean about not taking enough pictures, thank God for memories, even if we can
not print them out for sharing. Have cut a few burned trees, so I know what you mean about the soot. You
would think that after a few years we would remember about that liquid intake, but with all those energy
drinks available it is a little easier to ease the cramps, even if we do not like to walk into the store looking
like a disaster victim. A pressure washer might help to make those logs a little easier/cleaner to handle before
you run them through the saw. Thank you for sharing, and hope the family gets settled into the new house
and life soon.
 
#14 ·
Burned Cedar & Box Elder

Here's some pictures of the cedar I got earlier this week,








For the most part the burn only slightly damaged the bark, the actual wood was still plenty good.

Today we went to another ranchers place that was close by. For those who work with Box Elder know that it can be very hit and miss getting quality color in it. We hit the jackpot on the first tree,




I am going to use it for some side rails on a baby crib I have to get done by Christmas. New grandchild due that day.
 
#15 ·
You certainly got some great stuff to work with. We had a fire go through near us a few years ago, and most of the juniper I've worked with died in that fire. Good luck, and keep us posted on how it goes.

TZH
 
#22 ·
Colors of the kill

now that are slow was finally melted I can get back to hauling logs for the winter. Where I had been getting logs from is currently buried with snow. So I went shopping through the hills for trees I could get to. Found a very large patch that was very easy to access.

Sky Water Twig Wood Trunk


Water Sky Plant Twig Wood


It's located near a scenic area

Mirror Cloud Water Sky Plant


Water Cloud Sky Plant Mountain


Although I look for all kinds of trees, beetle kill pine is by far the most common one that I do cut down. Most people think that the only color of beetle kill is blue and white, however it comes in many colors. Today I was pleasantly surprised when I was cutting some trees down and found red spots in the wood. The red fungus is much less common than the blue fungus. I usually expect about 1 out of 10 trees to have red (or pink) streaks in them. I cut 6 today and they all had red spots.

Natural material Wood Trunk Grass Groundcover


Brown Wood Plant Natural material Trunk


When used for projects they look like this

Table Pedestal Wood Natural material Trunk


I will post pictures when I slab these (hopefully this weekend).

Thanks for looking
 

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#23 ·
Colors of the kill

now that are slow was finally melted I can get back to hauling logs for the winter. Where I had been getting logs from is currently buried with snow. So I went shopping through the hills for trees I could get to. Found a very large patch that was very easy to access.

Sky Water Twig Wood Trunk


Water Sky Plant Twig Wood


It's located near a scenic area

Mirror Cloud Water Sky Plant


Water Cloud Sky Plant Mountain


Although I look for all kinds of trees, beetle kill pine is by far the most common one that I do cut down. Most people think that the only color of beetle kill is blue and white, however it comes in many colors. Today I was pleasantly surprised when I was cutting some trees down and found red spots in the wood. The red fungus is much less common than the blue fungus. I usually expect about 1 out of 10 trees to have red (or pink) streaks in them. I cut 6 today and they all had red spots.

Natural material Wood Trunk Grass Groundcover


Brown Wood Plant Natural material Trunk


When used for projects they look like this

Table Pedestal Wood Natural material Trunk


I will post pictures when I slab these (hopefully this weekend).

Thanks for looking
Cool. We had a freak 5 minute snow "storm" here in southern Indiana today. I was at home and heard it going nuts outside. It's way too early for us to have snow here. So the idea of everything being snow covered make me want to go climb in my bed under 5 warm quilts and stay there all night. LOL

Great find. Can't wait to see the pics.
 

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#41 ·
slow load

First I want to show that I stood the trees back up properly

Sky Plant Natural environment Natural landscape Twig


Sky Cloud Water Plant Natural landscape


I was under the delusion that I could hold 10-12 logs. After killing my winch and seeing the trailer squat with these I decided to take half at a time.

Wood Cannon Wheel Tree Logging


Good color though. Running late. But getting them home.

Wood Natural material Trunk Terrestrial plant Logging


Thanks for looking
 

Attachments

#42 ·
slow load

First I want to show that I stood the trees back up properly

Sky Plant Natural environment Natural landscape Twig


Sky Cloud Water Plant Natural landscape


I was under the delusion that I could hold 10-12 logs. After killing my winch and seeing the trailer squat with these I decided to take half at a time.

Wood Cannon Wheel Tree Logging


Good color though. Running late. But getting them home.

Wood Natural material Trunk Terrestrial plant Logging


Thanks for looking
Looks like a good load of wood, if you could squeeze the moisture out you could probably take all of them.
Now you have something to do tomorrow, nothing like having job security.
 

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#57 ·
This will leave a bruise

Let me start by saying that I was having a really good day. I had to replace my pickup and winch for hauling logs. My old pickup and winch however were undersized for what I was doing. I stumbled on to this pickup

Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive tire Hood


It's ugly but the engine was completely overhauled and a heavy duty transmission had been put in it. It runs great and doesn't even notice that I have a load. I also invested in a much better winch with log tongs. This was a huge improvement.

Automotive tire Vehicle Gas Automotive exterior Building


I got this load on in record time (beetle kill pine)

Wood Natural material Logging Lumber Composite material


At this point in time, I am feeling bullet proof. I tied down the load and moved it to a safe distance so I could drop some more logs and cut them up for the next load. (Always move vehicles before cutting trees). After dropping 3 more trees, I was trimming branches and cutting them to length. I slipped on some pine needles and fell over backwards on top of a log with a branch stub sticking up. This hurt really bad.

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content
Sleeve Knee Thigh Waist Comfort


Wood Scar Finger Thigh Knee


Strictly superficial and I will be fine. But it really spoiled my afternoon. Of course if it had been a little higher it would have been a 911 call. :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for reading.
 

Attachments

#58 ·
This will leave a bruise

Let me start by saying that I was having a really good day. I had to replace my pickup and winch for hauling logs. My old pickup and winch however were undersized for what I was doing. I stumbled on to this pickup

Tire Wheel Vehicle Automotive tire Hood


It's ugly but the engine was completely overhauled and a heavy duty transmission had been put in it. It runs great and doesn't even notice that I have a load. I also invested in a much better winch with log tongs. This was a huge improvement.

Automotive tire Vehicle Gas Automotive exterior Building


I got this load on in record time (beetle kill pine)

Wood Natural material Logging Lumber Composite material


At this point in time, I am feeling bullet proof. I tied down the load and moved it to a safe distance so I could drop some more logs and cut them up for the next load. (Always move vehicles before cutting trees). After dropping 3 more trees, I was trimming branches and cutting them to length. I slipped on some pine needles and fell over backwards on top of a log with a branch stub sticking up. This hurt really bad.

Sensitive content, not recommended for those under 18
Show Content
Sleeve Knee Thigh Waist Comfort


Wood Scar Finger Thigh Knee


Strictly superficial and I will be fine. But it really spoiled my afternoon. Of course if it had been a little higher it would have been a 911 call. :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for reading.
DUDE! Glad you're ok! You're right about if it were any higher. Did you consider the implications for your voice if it had?
 

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#89 ·
A better way to haul logs

Up till now, I have done my own logging. Spend 5-6 hours and come home with 8-10 logs. It was a struggle to keep enough wood on hand and drying to keep up with orders. About 2 weeks ago I run across a logger who said that he could help. A year ago I tried to find a logger to buy from with no luck. Wednesday he rolled in.

Tire Wheel Vehicle Sky Plant


Sky Cloud Natural landscape Wood Logging


Cloud Sky Plant Tree Automotive tire


Sky Plant Tree Wood Natural landscape


They're 16' long. Roughly calculated out to 5200 board feet (Doyle scale). My savings, about 70 hours of labor, no wear and tear on equipment, and not buying fuel. Yes I still have a lot of work to do, but the sawmill is the fun part. I hope to get 4-6 more loads this summer. No stopping now.

Thanks for reading

edit; there was a total of 83 logs in the load.
 

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#90 ·
A better way to haul logs

Up till now, I have done my own logging. Spend 5-6 hours and come home with 8-10 logs. It was a struggle to keep enough wood on hand and drying to keep up with orders. About 2 weeks ago I run across a logger who said that he could help. A year ago I tried to find a logger to buy from with no luck. Wednesday he rolled in.

Tire Wheel Vehicle Sky Plant


Sky Cloud Natural landscape Wood Logging


Cloud Sky Plant Tree Automotive tire


Sky Plant Tree Wood Natural landscape


They're 16' long. Roughly calculated out to 5200 board feet (Doyle scale). My savings, about 70 hours of labor, no wear and tear on equipment, and not buying fuel. Yes I still have a lot of work to do, but the sawmill is the fun part. I hope to get 4-6 more loads this summer. No stopping now.

Thanks for reading

edit; there was a total of 83 logs in the load.
Hi monte,

Nice score!. Was all that wood really free?
 

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