When will the fog lift?

[Tormahto]

And, I'm not talking the weather, I'm talking my brain.

The weather was very warm yesterday, the back felt fine, and I slept for 9 hours. Perhaps I am getting back to normal.

But the day before...I recently bought a new chainsaw, and reading up on it, there is one minor design flaw where sawdust can bypass the air filter and get into the carb. A perfect fix is just getting a few correctly-sized o-rings to seal the air filter's fittings.

So, with the air filter in bag and in hand, I went to Home Depot looking for o-rings, and just generally looking around for other small soon to be needed items. I must have gone up and down half of the aisles in the store stopping maybe 50 times, setting the bag down, and sometimes taking the air filter out, to explain to a few of the workers what I'm trying to accomplish.

You know where this is going, as I got home with an empty bag.

[Paulf]

I haven't the foggiest what you are looking for.

[Setec Astronomy]

I'm glad I have an electric chain saw, no carb. Short-circuits your whole chain of events.

(How about that last sentence, two electric chainsaw puns in just 7 words...and it wasn't even on purpose).

[GoDawgs]

Geez! That sounds like something I might do. Heavy sigh.....

Next time bypass HD and go to a hardware store, a mom and pop if there are any still left on the planet. We're lucky to have a good Ace Hardware who have people that will spend ten minutes helping me find the exact sized nut and bolt combination to match what I brought in OR a suitable substitute. That's rare customer service!

Pssst......... the fog....... it ain't goin' away...... trust me. I make more reminder notes to myself now than I ever used to.

[karstopography]

Places like HD or Lowe’s tend to induce a brain fog. About half the time I find myself in one of those, all I leave with is frustration at not being able to locate what I need.

We have Lake Hardware where someone at the door that knows their stuff will take you to exactly what you need in an instant. My son in Austin has Breed and Co. hardware right down the street, another show you the way and help you figure it out place. When I lived in Houston, it was Southland hardware down the block. Every town of any size should have at least one good independent hardware store, Ace, True Value, those count too.

For chainsaws here, we go to Honda Power Equipment which oddly enough sell and service Stihl brand chainsaws. I only pull out the 2 cycle gasoline powered chainsaws for the big stuff, otherwise, my Stihl Lithium Ion battery powered saw melts through wood like warm butter, providing the saw is sharp.

Having cleaned up acres of forest after 3 hurricanes and countless lesser storms, I’m pretty familiar with using chainsaws. Keep the blade out of the dirt as that’ll really dull the blade fast. Never, ever lend a chainsaw as it won’t come back in the same condition.

[Tormahto]

Places like HD or Lowe’s tend to induce a brain fog. About half the time I find myself in one of those, all I leave with is frustration at not being able to locate what I need.

We have Lake Hardware where someone at the door that knows their stuff will take you to exactly what you need in an instant. My son in Austin has Breed and Co. hardware right down the street, another show you the way and help you figure it out place. When I lived in Houston, it was Southland hardware down the block. Every town of any size should have at least one good independent hardware store, Ace, True Value, those count too.

For chainsaws here, we go to Honda Power Equipment which oddly enough sell and service Stihl brand chainsaws. I only pull out the 2 cycle gasoline powered chainsaws for the big stuff, otherwise, my Stihl Lithium Ion battery powered saw melts through wood like warm butter, providing the saw is sharp.

Having cleaned up acres of forest after 3 hurricanes and countless lesser storms, I’m pretty familiar with using chainsaws. Keep the blade out of the dirt as that’ll really dull the blade fast. Never, ever lend a chainsaw as it won’t come back in the same condition.

I knew that I should have gone to the local hardware store for the o-rings, first, as they have endless parts bins, where you can buy just one of anything. But, I needed several things for this spring, so it was Home Depot one stop shopping, for them.

On sale, at about $400, I got an Echo CS-590 Timber Wolf (60 cc) with a 24 inch bar. Many agree that it is by far the best value in a near professional level saw. It is a bit intimidating as I'm now 60 + YO, and I'll possibly be felling some red oaks with diameters just over the bar's length. I have a friend that is an expert, but haven't seen him in a few years, so I don't know if he still lives in the area. Bucking logs is no problem, for me.

The 24" bar really throws off the balance (tip heavy). I may contact an aftermarket manufacturer explaining my situation. In return for my idea on improving the handle geometry and possibly increasing sales for them. I would accept being a tester for them, by receiving a free experimental handle. The stock handle, plastic, keeps the price down. I've read that people breaking the handle, after wedging the bar in a trunk and jerking on the handle, is by far the single biggest problem that repair mechanics see.

Previously, I did enough cutting in my late 30s early 40s with about a 40 cc 16 inch bar saw, felling and bucking 10-12 inch white pine. I'll break the new saw in with cutting some 6 to 12 inch trees, before tackling the oaks. Besides, I have a lot vines and brush to clear around the oaks. I likely won't get to the big stuff until the fall.

[worth1]

I remember Lake Hardware.
They had all manner of things.
That area also has several tool places you can get now hard to find stuff like finish cut files.
Where I live now has been taken over by the big 2 stores.
HD and Lowes.
One Auto parts store is still good for odds and ends.
But I can't find an 8-32 tap and die to save my life.

[bower]

Do the smart thing, @Tormato and just pay a professional to take down the big oaks.
I have a foot injury that stays with me to this day, for taking on a big spruce snag by myself when I was in my 30's. Underestimating both the sheer weight of the green tree and the tension it was under. And spruce is a softwood, so I know very well, hardwoods are even heavier.
An accident felling trees is not apt to be trivial. You could end up with permanent disability or even dead. Think about the risk, and let someone who is a pro, and fully insured, take on the dangerous job.
I also have lots of experience using a chain saw, I heated my home with wood for almost two decades.
I also recognize that I am not in the same shape now that I once was, therefore the risk of tackling those jobs by myself is also higher, as well as being more difficult just to pump out the physical work involved.
Yes I hired a pro to cut the big logs that had overgrown and become menacing next to the house. I negotiated a price, and he didn't disappoint. People who do the work every day as a profession, these are the people to handle your big jobs. Yes it was a pleasure to watch him making it look easy. I know better though.

[karstopography]

Cutting up already on the ground trees is way less risky than felling large standing timber. I don’t try to tackle large standing trees with chainsaws and like @Bower said would hire it done simply to preserve life and limb, my own.

[Tormahto]

Cutting up already on the ground trees is way less risky than felling large standing timber. I don’t try to tackle large standing trees with chainsaws and like @Bower said would hire it done simply to preserve life and limb, my own.

I've taken down a 42" diameter hickory with an axe. The right kind of tree in the right kind of situation is not difficult. The ones I'll be taking down have open space to fall, tight canopies, and a good lean to them.

I've also chopped down a 12" white pine, on a bet, in under one hour. The club of choice was an old bladed golf putter.

The big oak in the yard is over 3 1/2 feet in diameter, with a massive canopy, and it leans just slightly toward the overhead power lines, only about 25 feet from the trunk. I'm not felling that one. That one will have to come down in several sections.

After this, it'll most likely be the last of my felling any large trees. Cutting cord wood is more to my liking.

[Setec Astronomy]

All this talk is reminding me of that YouTube video compilation of tree-toppling misadventures.

[bower]

I had a surge of optimism last year, where I felt confident I could build myself up to the kind of work I used to do, and get out and do some maintenance on the lines and where there's deadwood down. I saw a big electric chainsaw on special and made the impulse buy. Got home, out of the box, and I couldn't lift the darn thing! Of course I could lift it, but the effort of carrying it around would be more than the benefit of having it do the cutting, instead of just using the bucksaw. And I thought about that and realized, well the reason you want the electric is because you're now too lazy or out of shape or both, to just tackle it with the buck. So "like you used to do" is not where we're at, and it is just foolish to think you can pull yourself up to thirty something condition when you're over sixty. Make your goals reasonable and you can do something, but get the right tools that will make it easy.
I haven't got the tools I wanted yet, but it's going to be a much lighter electric chainsaw, probably a ten inch or a foot. I want a sawzall to do smaller stuff, especially rails for making fence and trellis. And I'll get someone with a bigger saw to spend an afternoon with me at the bigger stuff, if I can't handle it between the small electric and a big bucksaw.
The sawzall looked like it could be as good or better those smaller one handed chain saw type, for the kind of work where it's useful to grab the material with one hand and saw it with the other. We always worked with axe and bucksaw pretty much, Dad taught me how to fell small trees with the hand axe, which I could still easily do, but you tend to leave these spiky bits which are a PIA to trip over. I have some big pruning shears which are great for smaller trees, you can cut them flush with the ground so nothing to trip on there. But I have mangled two pairs of those so far, due to the temptation to take on bigger stuff.

[Tormahto]

I had a surge of optimism last year, where I felt confident I could build myself up to the kind of work I used to do, and get out and do some maintenance on the lines and where there's deadwood down. I saw a big electric chainsaw on special and made the impulse buy. Got home, out of the box, and I couldn't lift the darn thing! Of course I could lift it, but the effort of carrying it around would be more than the benefit of having it do the cutting, instead of just using the bucksaw. And I thought about that and realized, well the reason you want the electric is because you're now too lazy or out of shape or both, to just tackle it with the buck. So "like you used to do" is not where we're at, and it is just foolish to think you can pull yourself up to thirty something condition when you're over sixty. Make your goals reasonable and you can do something, but get the right tools that will make it easy.
I haven't got the tools I wanted yet, but it's going to be a much lighter electric chainsaw, probably a ten inch or a foot. I want a sawzall to do smaller stuff, especially rails for making fence and trellis. And I'll get someone with a bigger saw to spend an afternoon with me at the bigger stuff, if I can't handle it between the small electric and a big bucksaw.
The sawzall looked like it could be as good or better those smaller one handed chain saw type, for the kind of work where it's useful to grab the material with one hand and saw it with the other. We always worked with axe and bucksaw pretty much, Dad taught me how to fell small trees with the hand axe, which I could still easily do, but you tend to leave these spiky bits which are a PIA to trip over. I have some big pruning shears which are great for smaller trees, you can cut them flush with the ground so nothing to trip on there. But I have mangled two pairs of those so far, due to the temptation to take on bigger stuff.

I know that working with the chainsaw will be in perfect weather, for me, which is about 70 - 80 degrees. I'm in no rush to do everything at once, so perhaps using it about an hour a day would be fine. I'll be looking for the heaviest splitting maul that I can find. I'd use that in 60 - 70 degree weather.

I don't see how holding material with one hand and a sawzall in the other would work.They are reciprocating saws. I've only seen two models, large and larger. It takes my two hands on those saws.

I was in need of a Sawzall, and that's one reason I went shopping for the o-rings at HD. Got the 15 amp Super Sawzall, as I have a large amount of stuff to cut up (like some 6" cast iron drain pipe), along with maybe pruning a few fruit trees. I'll need either a 10 or 12 gauge extension cord, after I measure the distance from the trees to the nearest electric outlet. Plus, the day I get the Sawzall, a neighbor wants me to do some pruning, there. I've got another extension cord measuring job.

[JRinPA]

Dibbs on the seed collection!

[Tormahto]

Dibbs on the seed collection!

Do you know how to remove blood stains?

[bower]

Maybe I should get myself an old golf putter, for those 12 inch softwoods...

Wind is the biggest weather issue here for felling anything. Always windy. My pro turned up before dawn to cut the big logs. There wasn't a puff of a breeze, and he had it all done in an hour. Afterwards he told me, there's usually a lull in the wind around dawn hour. Things you learn....

I had my own plan for negotiating a price. I cleared out all the small stuff and underbrush before he came to see the job. He sized it up and I told him what I thought about it being a very easy job to do as long as there's no wind. He could see that, and he knew he could even do it in the dark!!! I didn't ask him to move anything just bring it down. Why pay experts to do the cleanup. So I was able to get it cleared for the small budget I had. It was money well spent.

[Tormahto]

That's one of the problems, here.

The "pros" (for many it's just a side gig) avoid as much as possible giving a quote for just felling a tree. I don't think that they understand delaying the answer for a long time, is not the best business practice. They should know that someone who immediately asks that question, in the first place, is going to do the rest of the work, and would like a fairly quick quote for just felling a tree.

The big oak will need a full professional team from a true tree service business. And, I'm in no hurry with that one, as it's the other ones that are now beginning to shade too much of the garden.

[Tormahto]

Maybe I should get myself an old golf putter, for those 12 inch softwoods...

Wind is the biggest weather issue here for felling anything. Always windy. My pro turned up before dawn to cut the big logs. There wasn't a puff of a breeze, and he had it all done in an hour. Afterwards he told me, there's usually a lull in the wind around dawn hour. Things you learn....

I had my own plan for negotiating a price. I cleared out all the small stuff and underbrush before he came to see the job. He sized it up and I told him what I thought about it being a very easy job to do as long as there's no wind. He could see that, and he knew he could even do it in the dark!!! I didn't ask him to move anything just bring it down. Why pay experts to do the cleanup. So I was able to get it cleared for the small budget I had. It was money well spent.

The old golf putter was a thin blade type, likely made in the early 60s, with an overbuilt strong steel shaft. I wouldn't trust anything built today.

[bower]

There are some businesses around here that will negotiate to take the wood, if it's hardwood. I know they lopped off some cost for removing cherry and maple at my brother's place, if allowed to take the wood for their own use.
These guys will seal the ends of the logs and season them properly so they can be milled.
Oak is a very pricey wood. Everywhere.

[Tormahto]

There are some businesses around here that will negotiate to take the wood, if it's hardwood. I know they lopped off some cost for removing cherry and maple at my brother's place, if allowed to take the wood for their own use.
These guys will seal the ends of the logs and season them properly so they can be milled.
Oak is a very pricey wood. Everywhere.

My area is dominated by red oak and white pine, probably 90% of the natural trees on homeowner's properties are red oaks, 2 to 3 1/2 feet in diameter. Much more pines in the woods, just a stone's throw away. Some of the pines are 4 to 5 feet in diameter. Every once in a while one gets struck by lightning. A chunk of wood the size of a picnic table top gets blasted 50 feet away.

Then a mile away down by the river is the black walnut grove. There are three huge trees about 4 feet in diameter, each probably worth $25,000+ if they were milled into veneer. About 75 other smaller trees are nearby, where I can fight the black squirrel population over the nuts.

Right by the walnut grove are the remnants of huge river maples. There is one large one left, about 5 1/2 feet in diameter. The rest, bigger ones, are just rotted stumps. The biggest stump that I saw was about 30 feet around, a double header almost at ground level, each trunk 6 to 7 feet in diameter. I missed seeing those trees still alive, by a few years.

That 42 inch hickory was cut down because a friend of a friend, living in Florida, wanted to make a hickory bow, and couldn't find a stave, in order to carve one. After felling, the next day I cut a log to about 8 feet and then split it. A bow needs straight grain. When split, this thing's grain turned 90 degrees, over its 8 foot length. It might have made a good wooden airplane propeller. I didn't think about the wind that this tree took on, over the course of many decades, as it was perched near the top of a hill. It had a huge section of red heartwood, that would have been worth a pretty penny, even back then. There was no way of hauling it out, access was only by foot, not even a quad could make it in there.