[TheForge] Woodpile (Was: Scaffold) OT

[Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer]

Bruce Freeman wrote:
> Peter,
> 
> Actually I ALSO got one of those spiral saws.  Piece of shit.  Not
> worth the very cheap price ($6?).
> The "chain" saw is in a different league.
Good
> 
> You can extend the ropes as long as you like, but you're on your own
> attaching the handles to them.  The thing comes with ONE special link
> for grabbing the rope anywhere with the handle.  I sure don't see how
> one is useful when there are two handles!  Anyway, all that is
> trivial.  Attaching the ends to a single stout stick works better than
> using those handles anyway.
Got it
> 
> I don't really know about using the maple for handles.  In a pinch I
> once used a branch as a handle for an adze, but I took no time to
> refine the shape.  I would think you'd want heartwood for handles -
> no? 
For sure.
   That would mean quartering the larger logs and getting the
> handles from the four quarters.
Yup. I think it needs a tough, stringy wood, rather than just hard.
> 
> I'd be no good with a spinning rod, so can't comment.
It makes the fish happy when i misuse fishing tackle.
  I do think it
> worthwhile to toss a smaller rope or twine over the branch and use
> that to pull up the saw rope. 
I've used a rod and reel to place antenna wire high in a tree before, so 
it should work...some problem in that the mountain drops off steeply 
behind the trees and recovering the sinker end is a grunt.
  I didn't do it that way because I could
> mostly just climb up near enough to the limb I was cutting to get the
> rope over the limb.  But no sense trying to saw from up there because
> the angle is all wrong.
Casting sinkers should help with that...the tree guys are expensive.
Thanks Bruce...pf
> 
> Bruce
> 
> On Fri, Jun 19, 2009 at 2:08 PM, Peter Fels & Phoebe
> Palmer<artgawk at thegrid.net> wrote:
>> Thanks Bruce;
>> I was thinking of the old spiral cut wire type saw...this looks much
>> faster and more durable.
>> Is there any reason i can't extend the ropes and go higher?
>> I think a spinning rod would facilitate getting the rope up there.
>> Is the maple too brittle for hammer handles?  pf
>>
>> Bruce Freeman wrote:
>>> Yeah, I'm thinking of holding back several lengths of maple trunk, 8" to 12"
>>> diameter, for uses other than firewood.  Would save me the splitting too,
>>> which is damned near impossible where there are knots or branches.
>>>
>>> I've got a couple old logs from a pruning I did a few years ago, and they've
>>> got heart checks which would make them unfit for fine uses, but still good
>>> for strength.  I may mess around with those and see what they're good for
>>> before I decide what to do with the new logs.
>>>
>>>  But most of the wood is <5" thick and is mostly sapwood, so it's no big
>>> deal turning that into firewood.
>>>
>>> As for the too-short pole saw, here's my alternative:
>>> http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=97092&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=
>>> OR   *http://tinyurl.com/lvfr84
>>> *You can make those ropes as long as you need so you're literally standing
>>> on the ground while sawing off top limbs.  I made my best progress by tying
>>> the two ropes to a single limb (like a 1" dowel) and rocking that back and
>>> forth rather than yanking on those little handles.  The main problem with
>>> this approach is the cutting angle.  If you can't back away from the tree
>>> far enough, then your cut may be mostly downward, rather than crosswise, and
>>> may be twice as much wood to cut as a simple crosswise cut.  A minor problem
>>> is that you have to get the saw over the limb before you can cut it.  They
>>> provide a wimpy little weight to toss  over the limb.  That might work
>>> before the leaves our out, but I ended up getting as close as possible on a
>>> ladder to get the saw over the limb, then I climbed back down to do the
>>> sawing.  A saw like this would be grand if someone could motorize it.  I
>>> figure a  large spring on one end and an air cylinder on the other - or
>>> maybe a gear motor with a large cantilever-mounted wheel.  If I had had a
>>> lot more high stuff to cut, I would have done this.
>>> *
>>> *
>>> On Thu, Jun 18, 2009 at 3:07 PM, Peter Fels & Phoebe Palmer <
>>> artgawk at thegrid.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I spend a lot of time with a pole saw here and it's become too short.
>>>> Maple! Fancy firewood.
>>>>
>>>> Bruce Freeman wrote:
>>>>> I'm not much for "getting high" either.  I just finished topping an old
>>>>> maple tree that was shading my yard too much.  I wanted to leave the
>>>> tree,
>>>>> not cut it down, so I had to prune carefully. The job went pretty well,
>>>> but the really high branches I
>>>>> sawed off from the ground using one of those "chain saws" HF sells - a
>>>>> "bicycle chain" with teeth on one side and ropes on either end.  Worked
>>>>> fairly well - I recommend them.  I've now got a massive pile of wood in
>>>> the
>>>>> backyard, partly from this tree, partly from others, and I spent
>>>> yesterday
>>>>> sawing some down for firewood.  Raining today.
>>>>>
>>>> ______________________________________________________________
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
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