Who has been cutting trees from the recent NE ice/snow storms?

T

thunderstick

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Jan 15, 2007
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We had snow and then freezing rain last week which created significant amounts of downed trees and power outages here in the NE. I had about a dozen trees that came down that I had to work up since last Wednesday to clear the lane and yard. A number of others are scattered through our wood lot. Two larger ones came down together and hung up on three smaller ones over the lane. In cutting a path out, the tensioned smaller trees kept spitting out the strands of wood as I was sawing and forced the chain off the bar and kinked it rendering my bar/chain useless. It was a new saw so I had not purchased a second chain for it because my previous Husky (burnt up from ethanol fuel) and I had saved that bar and those chains. ... and I don't use ethanol fuel in them any more. I had wrongly assumed they would fit the new saw -- what a time to find out--my bad on that.

I could not get out the lane to get new chains... so I get out my felling axe and D-handle crosscut saw. My wife just looks at me and says "your crazy for trying to get through that mess with hand tools." I can call the neighboring farmer who has a chainsaw." I said I'll be out before they can get here. So I axed and sawed through that jumble till I could push a path out with my tractor. Another neighbor comes over to watch and just shakes his head to think its even possible to do this with hand tools ... or that anyone would even attempt to work with antiquated tools.

I told my wife we cleared the whole continent with axes and saws ... these couple trees won't be that big a deal till I can get chainsaw parts. My wife and daughter worked right beside me taking brush away -- my son had made it out the lane to work at 5:15 am just before they fell, so he got off easy. My wife looked at the pile a short while later and said "I never would have guessed it could be opened that fast -- and you were enjoying yourself the whole time ... and you were determined to prove me wrong." (Where did she get that idea??) I went out and got new chains and a bar and took an axe with me ... and I had to cut my way back in the lane as trees and limbs were still dropping.

The yard and lanes just got all cleaned up last night with all the brush on piles and the firewood cut and on a pile for splitting.

Any other stories out there?

p.s. Keep your axes and saws sharp and handy and your skills honed ... you never know when you may really need them for something other than bushcrafting ...
 
This isn't related the ice storms, but last May a tree came down in the front yard of my mother's place, and I went over to finish it off with axes and a crosscut. Across the street there's a strawberry farm that was in full swing, and I got some very weird looks from people going in and out.

The odd thing is, even folks that looked to have been around before chainsaws became a usual thing looked on in confusion and shook their heads. You would think people that had once used the old ways would still see the virtue of them now? Or at least acknowledge the virtue of the hard work. Perhaps some did. Anyway, it was poplar and cut up nice and easy.
 
It's a nice feeling not to be reliant on gov't and utility company assistance isn't it?
Ethanol does not "wreck" small engines but does make them much more difficult to start when it's cold (ie below 0 F), reduces the shelf-life of fuel to 4-6 months, and degrades seals and gaskets on older engines. Methanol is the real culprit for ruining tubing and rubber but that stuff should not be present in pump gas.
Problem with ice storms here is that the trees and branches that break are usually junk woods like White Pine, Boxelder, Poplar and Willow. During the Ice Storm of 1998 we really got walloped here and my woodpile grew substantially with lovely hardwood that was spirited away (after hi-grading) from neighbouring houses and properties in exchange for helping them out with a truck/trailer/chainsaw and toboggan.
 
Great story! I love reading stuff like this. People have forgotten how well a sharp crosscut saw works or what a man can achieve with a sharp axe and a little sweat.
 
Hiked a 10 mile wilderness circuit in Virginia with axe and crosscut last week. Surprising number of trees down on the trails. Passing hikers usually give sideways glances to the old timey tools until they witness how fast they will cut through a tree. Without the weight of a chainsaw, extra bar and chain, gas and oil, chaps, etc. I can cover more ground and the walking is easier, a real plus at my age. This weekend's logout will be on snowshoe, a rare treat in Virginia.

4' saw in 2' tree. Needed some short stroking, but made the two cuts and rolled out the plug in about 20 minutes.

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This is why I keep an axe in my vehicle(s). I'm often driving up forest service roads to trailheads and I live out in the woods. If I'm trying to get off a mountain and find a tree across the road I wanna be able to get through. Given enough time even a small axe can get you through a big tree. Most cars have a tool tray over the spare that will accommodate a slightly cut down boys axe.
 
trailtime said:
Hiked a 10 mile wilderness circuit in Virginia with axe and crosscut last week. Surprising number of trees down on the trails. Passing hikers usually give sideways glances to the old timey tools until they witness how fast they will cut through a tree. Without the weight of a chainsaw, extra bar and chain, gas and oil, chaps, etc. I can cover more ground and the walking is easier, a real plus at my age. This weekend's logout will be on snowshoe, a rare treat in Virginia.

4' saw in 2' tree. Needed some short stroking, but made the two cuts and rolled out the plug in about 20 minutes.

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I love seeing action pictures of energetic old farts (which would now include me) showing young whipper-snappers just how 'not helpless' things were in the era before gas-powered 'goodies'. That saw of yours is pretty clean and shiny, quite unlike the one my 'old man' was on the other end of when he coached me to pull, and not to push, a very long time ago in the late 1950s.
 
300Six said:
I love seeing action pictures of energetic old farts (which would now include me) showing young whipper-snappers just how 'not helpless' things were in the era before gas-powered 'goodies'. That saw of yours is pretty clean and shiny, quite unlike the one my 'old man' was on the other end of when he coached me to pull, and not to push, a very long time ago in the late 1950s.
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That's a Simonds Royal Chinook felling saw that was cut down to be a topper, probably before I was born. Though meant for softwoods, it fears no oak or locust and is stiff enough to "push" when single bucking and tail when double bucking. I added the D-handle and filed it 12/12. Makes a great trail saw.
 
I like the combination of a D handle with a western handle. You might even add an auxiliary handle on the D handle end. Fine looking saw and is that a double bit cruiser on the right?




As for photos, best I can offer up is one from last year's storm.

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Square_peg said:
I like the combination of a D handle with a western handle. You might even add an auxiliary handle on the D handle end. Fine looking saw and is that a double bit cruiser on the right?
Click to expand...

I removed the helper handle (you can still see the hole) to give me a few more inches of stroke on the log. That's a Plumb rafting axe with a hardened poll for wedge driving, though the only wedges I typically use are plastic or aluminum.

Looks like you get a pretty good turnout for your trail projects.

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I haven't got to any chopping/cutting yet, still waiting for the snow to stop here. I feel like when I DO go out tomorrow it's going to be clad in snow gear.
 
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