Cobleskill
Treehouser
I had a pair of 5 buckle boots with ice studs. Just about like the studs they used to put in snow tires. Loved em even though they weighed about 5 lbs. each.
How'd it go today?
- Thread starter MasterBlaster
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Cobleskill
Treehouser
Tandems float over road roughness so much better too. Singles bounce.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
Back from Vandalia, IL -- bucket truck rolled in about 2 hours behind me. Here's a giveaway clue: the bucket truck's orange. We'll paint it white right away and put it to work. Full story to follow...
Why not just turn the handle heat in your saw on?
Oh, I clean forgot, you guys don't run saws for 8 hours solid every day.
Carry on with your nitrile gloves and whatever.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
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Thanks... we will.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
I think we can just reverse the fan blades to push the exhaust to our fingers??? Oh...that's excavators ain't it??? Or skidders??
Hard to keep all this fancy equipment straight.
Hard to keep all this fancy equipment straight.
squisher
THE CALM ONE!!!!
It's not exhaust Gary, just radiator/engine heated air. 
Burnham
Woods walker
You are right again, Stig. I should have gone that route a long time ago...for saw work.
But let me remind you that I did many times more days of work in the field without a saw in my hands than with; preplant surveys, tree planting, stocking surveys, pre-commercial thinning stand exams, commercial thinning stand exams, and dozens+ other tasks in the woods.
In all these other woods work jobs, you had to keep warm and dry by your own metabolism and the protections you could manage to put in place to keep your body warm and dry.
Tough to do, and my hands suffer more than ever these days from the repeated frost nips.
I know you and your partner and employees have done many of these same tasks for many a year, too. You know the hardships just as well as I.
But let me remind you that I did many times more days of work in the field without a saw in my hands than with; preplant surveys, tree planting, stocking surveys, pre-commercial thinning stand exams, commercial thinning stand exams, and dozens+ other tasks in the woods.
In all these other woods work jobs, you had to keep warm and dry by your own metabolism and the protections you could manage to put in place to keep your body warm and dry.
Tough to do, and my hands suffer more than ever these days from the repeated frost nips.
I know you and your partner and employees have done many of these same tasks for many a year, too. You know the hardships just as well as I.
In 20 years of working outside in Manitoba winters I've never tried or even heard of wearing nitrile gloves as a layer for warmth. Some of the guys will wear a cotton liner under leather ropers but I prefer a heavy winter work glove. Being able to pull your fingers in and make a fist inside the glove is the only thing that thaws my fingers enough to work for a few minutes before they become numb and useless again. We're in a stretch of daytime highs in the low-20 c 's so I'm getting all sorts of practice on how to stay warm. Constant physical strain seems to work the best.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
Winterpeg indeed!
squisher
THE CALM ONE!!!!
You better test it out for us Ryan. I'd be curious of your feedback on the rubber glove thing. I've worked many winters in the mountains logging, granted in southern bc. But still at times very chilly, pulling frozen steel cable around and I always wore heavy winter work gloves too with no rubber gloves underneath. My go to when it was really cold out was to have two or three pairs and jam a extra pair in my armpits or down my pants and rotate them out. Stormin Normans were my preferred glove if I remember correctly.
Hella post, Ryan 
I use unlined all leather work gloves, they work well for me. They are roomy and that helps with warmth in the same way a boot that isn't too tight helps. It was crazy cold and windy one day last week. I had 10 layers on the torso, 3 on the legs, 2 on the neck, and the hands were fine, though when I took gloves off occasionally to do fine manipulation, hands started to get numb in about 10 seconds.
I tried the nitrile glove trick (not sure if mine were actually nitrile, is that key?), wasn't really a fan but appreciated the suggestion
I use unlined all leather work gloves, they work well for me. They are roomy and that helps with warmth in the same way a boot that isn't too tight helps. It was crazy cold and windy one day last week. I had 10 layers on the torso, 3 on the legs, 2 on the neck, and the hands were fine, though when I took gloves off occasionally to do fine manipulation, hands started to get numb in about 10 seconds.
I tried the nitrile glove trick (not sure if mine were actually nitrile, is that key?), wasn't really a fan but appreciated the suggestion
FireFighterZero
Captain Zero!
Youse guys are crazy.
Should be chasing your old lady around the house when it gets that bad.
Should be chasing your old lady around the house when it gets that bad.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #62,341
Or napping!!!
FireFighterZero
Captain Zero!
That works too!
Chain saws, bitter cold weather and multiple layers of clothing makes me very nervous.
Chain saws, bitter cold weather and multiple layers of clothing makes me very nervous.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
The Whole Story
Thursday I was slated to work 1/2 day, then head out to Kansas City to pick up the new drive shaft and run it out to the #2 climber/mechanic who had been camped out in Vandalia, Illinois for the previous 3 days. So I rolled out with the chip truck to the country outside of town where we had existing brush from the property owner who had done some low branch pruning and a few small drops. We cleaned that up, then the log grapple truck showed up and we dismantled a medium Siberian elm. It was a cold & windy day on the open country area, so we were fighting the wind a bit and the tree was over the house roof. I helped winch in most of the leaders after the climber + grapple combo laid them down. We filled up the chip truck pretty fast.
Then the call came from Kansas City at 1 pm -- the driveshaft was ready (yokes in, welded up). I left the job site for the boys to finish on a medium ash, then headed home to grab some packed supper and two of my children to accompany me. Had the driveshaft in hand and was headed out of the KC metro by 3 pm -- 6 hour drive ahead to cross Missouri and go past St. Louis an hour into Illinois. Uneventful trip, arrived at 9 pm. Picked up the climber from his motel room and we went to the truck. It was at a NAPA service center where he had already installed a new carrier bearing. We crawled under, coldest night of the year at 9 degrees F. Installed one side of the drive shaft, and then the realization set in:
It was too short.
It was exactly 10" too short -- 52 3/4" instead of 62 3/4". Back to his motel room for a quick plan. Best plan: me drive back to the St. Louis area (St. Charles) and get a motel room for the night, since I was still wired up from coffee. Then I could be at the St. Louis branch of the truck part supplier at 7:30 am when they opened and get them to re-do the part. So I boogied back to St. Louis, another 1 1/2 hour drive. Checked in and got into bed by 1 am. Up at 7 Friday morning, over to their place by 7:35. Assistant Manager who had fielded the work was very helpful and got his fab guy on it right away. I went to a grocery store and had breakfast with the children. Ran back to the motel and checked out, back to get the part by 10. No charge for the rework!
Another 1 1/2 hour drive back into Illinois, there by 11:30 am. This time, it was a perfect fit, installed in about 15 minutes. Fired up the truck and watched him drive it back to the motel. He checked out and I followed him onto the interstate and then for about 10 miles, seems as though the truck tops out at 65MPH or so. Then I kicked it into gear and shot ahead for the 6.5 hour trip home. Got home Friday night around 6:30, even passing through KC in Friday traffic at 5:30 pm wasn't bad. Bucket truck rolled into town about 2 hours behind me.
So, back in Kansas with an orange forestry bucket truck, ready to go to work on Monday!
Thursday I was slated to work 1/2 day, then head out to Kansas City to pick up the new drive shaft and run it out to the #2 climber/mechanic who had been camped out in Vandalia, Illinois for the previous 3 days. So I rolled out with the chip truck to the country outside of town where we had existing brush from the property owner who had done some low branch pruning and a few small drops. We cleaned that up, then the log grapple truck showed up and we dismantled a medium Siberian elm. It was a cold & windy day on the open country area, so we were fighting the wind a bit and the tree was over the house roof. I helped winch in most of the leaders after the climber + grapple combo laid them down. We filled up the chip truck pretty fast.
Then the call came from Kansas City at 1 pm -- the driveshaft was ready (yokes in, welded up). I left the job site for the boys to finish on a medium ash, then headed home to grab some packed supper and two of my children to accompany me. Had the driveshaft in hand and was headed out of the KC metro by 3 pm -- 6 hour drive ahead to cross Missouri and go past St. Louis an hour into Illinois. Uneventful trip, arrived at 9 pm. Picked up the climber from his motel room and we went to the truck. It was at a NAPA service center where he had already installed a new carrier bearing. We crawled under, coldest night of the year at 9 degrees F. Installed one side of the drive shaft, and then the realization set in:
It was too short.
It was exactly 10" too short -- 52 3/4" instead of 62 3/4". Back to his motel room for a quick plan. Best plan: me drive back to the St. Louis area (St. Charles) and get a motel room for the night, since I was still wired up from coffee. Then I could be at the St. Louis branch of the truck part supplier at 7:30 am when they opened and get them to re-do the part. So I boogied back to St. Louis, another 1 1/2 hour drive. Checked in and got into bed by 1 am. Up at 7 Friday morning, over to their place by 7:35. Assistant Manager who had fielded the work was very helpful and got his fab guy on it right away. I went to a grocery store and had breakfast with the children. Ran back to the motel and checked out, back to get the part by 10. No charge for the rework!
Another 1 1/2 hour drive back into Illinois, there by 11:30 am. This time, it was a perfect fit, installed in about 15 minutes. Fired up the truck and watched him drive it back to the motel. He checked out and I followed him onto the interstate and then for about 10 miles, seems as though the truck tops out at 65MPH or so. Then I kicked it into gear and shot ahead for the 6.5 hour trip home. Got home Friday night around 6:30, even passing through KC in Friday traffic at 5:30 pm wasn't bad. Bucket truck rolled into town about 2 hours behind me.
So, back in Kansas with an orange forestry bucket truck, ready to go to work on Monday!
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
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Damn! Hella story! At least it all worked out! 
pantheraba
More biners!!!
If you didn't cuss during all that you must be a saint!
FireFighterZero
Captain Zero!
Frog snacks.
Stumpshot
General Purpose
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #62,349
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