Bough Down

What with the snowy weather and end of year festivities I haven't been down to the wood for a while. Happily it seemed to get through the recent snow without any noticeable damage. There was a large oak bough that had come down before the cold weather set in, which needed sorting out so I set it about it with the chainsaw.

Winch Work

My wood contained a particularly tricky tree that I hadn't felt equipped to deal with until now. It was a wind thrown pine that was firmly stuck in a nearby oak and I knew I'd need the right kit before I could tackle it. Apologies for the terrible photo, my phone camera didn't do a great job with the light but here it is!

First up was a slightly longer bar for my chainsaw to help cut the butt from the root base more easily. This worked out but the tree was still firmly stuck. I tried edging the butt backwards using a felling lever but it wasn't going anywhere without a bit more persuasion. I'd recently purchased some rope, pulley and hand winch and was time to put it all to the test. First off I tried roping the base to the winch in a direct line but found that the butt was simply getting pulled into the soft ground as I tried to drag it backwards. I thought this might happen and already had another plan up my sleeve.

Chainsaws-grrrrrr

I've just acquired a shiny new chainsaw, a Husqvarna 346xp. It's a neat bit of kit. I've hopefully struck a nice balance between a quality saw yet not some oversized beast way too large for my needs.

When I bought the woodland I had this quaint notion that I would be managing it just with hand tools. Me, an axe, a saw and the trees. All very frontier like and only missing a raccoon hat. My first winter soon taught me a valuable lesson - it's hard work! It's not the felling. I've only tackled small stuff which is doable with just a bow saw. It's the logging up that is the real drag. It became apparent that if I was going to fit this around work and life that I'd better employ some petrol powered help.
 

Chainsaw Course

I signed up for a one day introduction to chainsaw course at the Woodland Enterprise Centre at Flimwell via Woodnet. It's aimed at private users wanting some instruction and was a very worthwhile day.