Tuesday, October 20, 2009

An Engineless Tangent

Notes from Tim:

In the last entry, Ruth mentioned our using the chain saw for getting in this year’s wood. I would like to share a bit more of our experiences in engineless firewood gathering.
Around December of last year our chain saw seized up after I didn’t mix enough oil with the gas. I had already been interested in trying to get the wood in using older style large bucksaws. Ruth’s uncle passed on to us two saws that her grandfather had bought, a 6’ two man saw and a 5’one man saw. I purchased “Keeping the Cutting Edge: Setting and Sharpening Hand and Power Saws” by Harold H. Payson, and got the one man saw into working condition. At first I borrowed a saw set and then my uncle passed one on to me that had been my grandfathers’.
So up to this point we probably had about three quarters of a cord of dry wood already cut. I started by getting up about an hour earlier than usual and going out to work on wood for two hours. With the bucksaw, splitting maul, and wedges I got in about two to three days worth of wood in that time. For many days I cut up a fallen elm, first starting with the branches and ending with 30” diameter logs as I worked towards the base of the tree.
So what is it like? Well it is definitely a workout. After two hours, I was usually ready to stop but certainly not exhausted. I could feel myself getting stronger as the days passed which felt good. Getting in the wood without the obnoxious chain saw noise was great. I felt good about not using the fuel, not spewing the ground with gallons of bar oil, and creating less pollution. I was probably getting in about five to seven times less wood than I could have with a chain saw. Also some cuts, especially overhead, were significantly harder. As a very novice saw sharpener, I suspect that the sawing will get somewhat easier as my skills improve. The saw did throw decent sized chips and didn’t bind at all.
So why are we using a chain saw again? Once again we didn’t get any wood in this summer due to a strange combination of being busy and lazy at the same time. In terms of heating, we put our efforts into better insulating the house so we wouldn’t need as much wood. As cold weather rolled in, we felt the need to get ready while having less time due to more outside commitments. A good excuse? No. I think getting the wood in by hand is the superior method for us given our small home, desire for a small ecological footprint, and desire for a simple lifestyle. This is not the first time we’ve tried something new that felt better, then gone back to our old way of doing things. Sometimes we swing back and forth a bit until we find the way we like best. Presently we wash our son’s diapers by hand but do our own laundry in the washing machine then dry them all on the line. One thing I have learned; it is 100% realistic for our small family living in Vermont to get in our winter’s wood without using a chain saw or gas log splitter.

--Tim

2 comments:

Carol Larkin said...

SOUNDS GOOD TO ME ---- NO CHAINSAW ! ! !

White Mountain Llamas said...

Tim - I love your entries alongside Ruth's. Reading both perspectives is great!

I've been having some reflection on time management since graduation and have found that I am generally much better at it since I've cut full-time, formal education out of the picture and am focusing on exactly what I want and need (PIE CHART!!) I'd say its like 50% work & education (which are grouped into one category right now - I get paid for edumacatin' myself!), 10% livestock & hobbies, 10% Gabe, 5% Family right now...I'm feeling pretty good about it. How's your pie chart looking right now? Such a good tool!