What if it Snows?

Yes indeed that is so true. The first winter I used wood to heat with I experienced that first hand...

I was cowboying at the time and moved into a trailer house close to the main ranch in early January, so I had no stockpile of wood for the fireplace. I also didn't have a splitter yet... Every single night when I came home I would split wood for half hour to an hour, usually in the dark. It was a particularly bad winter that year, and the trailer wasnt insulated very good... So I went through ALOT of wood.

I can still remember how I would be sweating by time I had enough split to last 24 hours.... But my feet and hands would be numb from the cold. The daytime temps in January and February hovered between 10 and -20 much of the time. I was burning wood clear until mid May for for heat... That was the experience that made me decide to build the LOG DEERE.

I had moved on to a different job that spring so I had a little mire free time. And I spent most of that free time after work and on weekends building that splitter. It took me about 6 weeks to gather all the parts and build it. But once it was finished I went hog wild gathering and splitting wood for the coming winter.

My wife and I were dating at the time... Many of our "Dates" were spent, cutting down trees from people's yards that wanted them removed... Or scouring canal banks for cottonwood and poplar that had blown down. Some good memories there.

By time first snow came I had managed to split and stack a stock pile of nearly 10 chord. It was all trash wood (cottonwood, poplar, spruce, and old telephone poles) but it burned, and that's what was important.

That was also the year I upgraded to the Stihl chainsaw I have now, previously I had been using an old Poland that dated to the early 70s. It was a decent saw, but I couldnt find parts for it, and it was a gas hog... Not to mention it was load cause the muffler didnt have any baffles. These are a few pictures from about that time...

 

@Cattleman84 ...Good choice for a saw. I switched from Macs when they quit making logger's saws. The Stihl line has always been dependable if they get treated half way decent.. My brother is a faller and he won't run anything else.

 

Stihl is a really great saw, I have one, same as the one cattleman posted. Lightweight , yet great rpm's. When I have it sharpened perfectly it drops through rock maple just like going through butter.
This saw is the second one I've owned. Had the first saw for 15 yrs. it sawed many cords of wood, couldn't wear it out. traded it for the one I have now about 4 yrs ago. They are tough.

 

Obviously the cat almost died of covid

 

Glad Stihl is still making good product. Dad and his brothers were in the rental yard business and were always Stihl service and sales.

My first Stihl was a little battery powered unit with Ball chain for a chain. I remember that thing being fun back in the late '60s. Even their toys/promo stuff lasted for years.

 

My family has had Stihls as long as I can remember. I would really like to have a logger saw, but I couldn't afford one at the time I got this saw. Mine is an MS 391, its advertised as the biggest "Farm & Ranch" saw Stihl makes... So its no light weight either, and it does what I need it to do. Maybe my next saw will be an MS 462.

 

Fixed it.

 

I have a 361 with a 24 inch bar that is darn near twenty years old and a 660 with a 42" that is ten years old. The 361 is stock except for a dual port muffler. It's my 'back of the pickup' saw for every day use. I had the 660 ported by a friend of my brother's and if I keep it tuned right it will turn 13 grand without heating. With the port job I can bury the bar in doug fir or redwood and not hurt it. I run square ground chain on both.

 

Oh man, please don't get that argument started. Faller, feller, cutter, chopper, sawyers....like my brother says "You can call me whatever you want as long as you make the payroll every week". He lists "timber faller" on his IRS forms.

 

Get on this site...Arboristsite.com and search "dual port mufflers". You might be able to buy one but converting your own is easy. It will really wake up your saw.