Excited for winter

[Crusty Snippets]

Winter

Ride Yami is my plan.
But I might get a used 400 Yami for the worst part of winter.
Unkle Crusty

[Buckmaster79]

79SF running out of things to do on her time for number two!

http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/...psb1dde65e.jpg

[fredintoon]

What is winter?

Hi Sparky,
it's one of the world's longest 4-letter words.

[Jerry]

Jerry, 3 cord thats it?

We donate the wood to an animal rescue group who heats their building with a wood stove through the cold months. They get wood from other sources as well and our donation gives them enough wood to get through the winter.

Here is photo of about one-third of a cord cut and ready to deliver:



I like the Jonsered 2245, nice little saw. It is working out well for my current cutting needs.

[jjz28]

That's very cool to donate wood like that. I have a jonsered weedeater. Man that thing is sweet.

[trbig]

Here is photo of about one-third of a cord cut and ready to deliver:

Back home, everyone sold wood in cord (4' x 4' x 8') but everyone here sells it in ricks... 1/2 a cord.

Cutting wood growing up is how I made spare money. I had an old blue Homelite, and my log splitter was two steel wedges and a shop hammer.





I'd be perfectly happy if I never had to do that again...

[fredintoon]

We donate the wood to an animal rescue group who heats their building with a wood stove through the cold months. They get wood from other sources as well and our donation gives them enough wood to get through the winter. - - -

Hi Jerry,
in Saskatchewan that's a "face cord". 8' x 4' x one log (16") deep.
Not lawful here to advertise wood like that because it's mostly written
faceCORD to fool you about the price.
BTW, we stack the ends criss-crossed so the stack will stay square but those slopy ends look good too.

[Jerry]

For the uninitiated, a cord of wood measures 4 feet wide, 4 feet high, and 8 feet long. (128 cubic feet.) Wood is cut into 16 inch lengths, 3 lengths = 48 inches so 3 rows make up the width of a cord. A face cord is 1 row of wood that is 16 inches wide by 4 feet high and 8 feet long, or 1/3 of a cord. Some dealers advertise a face cord without telling you what you will be getting. Not exactly kosher but not illegal. The term "rick" is not in common use around here or in the mid-west where I grew up although I have heard it.

I used to cut wood for the paper mills when I was in high school and early college years, that was back in Wisconsin in the late '60s and early '70s. Generally got in about 120 cords of wood per year, but not cut into short blocks. The mills prefered the trees in 100 inch lengths. However I did have to peel the bark off the trees, leave them to dry all suumer, then haul / stack on a road where a trucker could get to them. My gear consisted of a tractor, heavy chains for dragging, 2 saws, one for falling and one for limbing, and gear to peel the bark off the trees. Poplar (related to aspen) was the wood of choice. I would contract with farmers to cut on their land then pay them per cord I cut.

When I first lived in Colorado (1977 - 1985) we heated with wood, generally 5 - 6 cords a year. The Forest Service issues permits in 3 or 5 cord amounts and we generally got the 5 cord permit. I built a home-made splitter which helped prep the firewood for burning. Wood was mostly pine and some juniper.

So...I am quite familiar with wood cutting both for comercial purposes and home use. These days I am reduced to building a fire in a fire pit - outdoors - which takes very little wood but is nice to sit around a fire on cool mornings with a hot beverage in hand. Have not burned wood for house heat in many years.

I got into cutting firewood for the rescue agency to have an excuse to go into the woods and work, something I inherited from my Dad who loved being out in the woods.

BTW, we stack the ends criss-crossed so the stack will stay square but those slopy ends look good too.

I didn't bother to stack the ends as this wood was ready to be loaded into my truck and trailer and hauled off the the rescue agency. There we did do a better job of stacking. Point well taken.

[WMarshy]

Everything Jerry noted is correct regarding unit of measure (Cord vs Face Cord) and dimensions. It is commonly advertised and sold by the face cord locally when it is split and ready to burn. Of course you can request the supplier cut it longer, which is still referred to as a face cord, but the price may be adjust accordingly. We typically dont use the term rick but I have heard of it. And to make matters worse I see a lot of people incorrectly advertising the sale of face cord as cord. Or you'll find someone trying to make a buck by selling 12" long pieces as face cord.

I can purchase 6 cord (18 face) of unseasoned (green/wet) logs for $700 and that's enough for one heating season. Fortunately, I support my heating needs by taking wood off mine and my neighbors properties.

I have a 24" firebox so I typically cut my firewood no shorter than 16" but shoot for 18-20". Anything over 20" in length and it seems splitting becomes exponentially harder by hand with my maul.

One thing is for sure about burning firewood, you have to like manual labor. Especially if your splitting everything by hand.

Jerry, you've probably heard the old sayin' firewood heats twice.

I have about 4 face cord of red elm that needs cutting, I'll see if I can get a picture.

[fredintoon]

Update

yeah, winter looms and although it's still unseasonably warm here in Saskatoon I don't see me riding much after Halloween.
Even if the rig can't fall over in the snow the bike tires have zero grip running on frozen roads and I lack the $1,000 to buy the appropriate snowmobile gear.
Big XS11 plans? Push the rig to the back of the garage until spring is about it.
Priority is to make sure the snowblower is running good.
After that, now that I've finally dragged my long neglected XS650 out of the back shed and into the garage, I will get it fixed up to ride again.

OK, now it's 4 days past Halloween and for sure I ain't riding until next spring.
It's minus 5ºC and an inch of snow atop sheet ice on the streets.
Replaced the snowblower's thrower drive belt and it started great. Stupid new belt flew off a few times but after I told the machine that the next time it threw it's belt I'd buy a new snowblower the belt stayed put and the sidewalk & driveway got cleared.
XS11 plan is to get the new front tire installed then mothball the rig until next spring.
XS650 revised plan is to build it a subframe and attach my newly acquired '82 Velorex 562 sidecar onto it.

[IanDMacDonald]

Sucks Fred I plan on riding everyday till snow hits, then the list of projects begins immediately.

[jetmechmarty]

As it stands right now, I'll be riding in the snow.

[WMarshy]

As it stands right now, I'll be riding in the snow.

Me too, but on one if these like this!

http://youtu.be/0sXxuMjXoAY

[Jerry]

In my youth I went up to Hayward many times. That video is not exactly "cross country" though...mostly lake running. The area has a lot of connected lakes. I water skied there as well as fished for sturgeon. Area used to host a major snowmobile race every winter, probably still does.

My old Yamaha Vmax 540L could hit 100+ on long open stretches like that, at least acording to the sled's speedometer. (Sled was not entirely stock.) My current Yamaha Mountain Max 700 is not quite as fast but has a long track more suited for mountain / powder snow travel. The 700 is completely stock.

Some areas in Colorado already open for winter use, but only just so. Top of Vail Pass (10,600 ft) is one place where I've already seen snomobiles out running but even there the snow is marginal. Best riding won't start till January or so.