How'd it go today?

Dontcha hate when other people's lack of planning negatively affects you?


Going to Wegmans tomorrow. I usually like going mid morning so I can have sushi for breakfast, but I think I'll hit them up as they open. I don't want a repeat of my aldi experience.
Plus side is I got breakfast sushi, downside is Wegmans was a clusterfuck at 8am(I woke up later than I wanted). My preferred toiletpaper(paper wrapped 1k roll) was soldout, so I didn't get toiletpaper. Shelves were stripped of canned goods. I wanted spam, but it was all gone aside from some lite shit, and oven roasted turkey whatever the hell that is in a spam context. I got a can of turkey. Maybe it'll be good...

I think I'm done with groceries for awhile. Crowds of stupid people make me homicidal, and I couldn't check my blood pressure cause the higi pressure/weigh station(My medical provider!) was closed due to cooties I presume.

Everyone's infringing on my gig. I was hoarding canned goods before it was cool. People need to get a grip...
 
Yesterday
Well after four years of faithfully beating wedges in my ax decided to give up. The part of the handle inside the head has disintegrated and the wedges won’t stay in anymore. Splinters just falling out. Went and bought a new felling ax from the saw shop. Head design is almost identical. Six swings and the head cracks off. Damn handle was dry rotted. I took it back, wiped it down with Lysol wipes, and placed it on the counter for inspection. None to replace it so they gave me a Friskas splitting ax. It works. I think I’m gonna drop some lead in the handle and fill it with foam.
The boss sent another guy out to help fell. He started off ok but then slowly and steadily declined. His half looks like hung over bed head instead of nearly combed. He lost a decent sized maple 90* and that’s when I made him leave. Also he wasn’t bucking anything. I ended up finishing the last quarter acre by myself which was fine. I then went to another job and sat in the forestry mower for 3 hours. Got enough opened up for the hydro ax to start Monday. Getting 70 hours in 6 days for the last three weeks is wearing me down. Spending the day relaxing and hanging out on the house
 
Yeah that's a lot of hours. Boatloads of cutting like that surely hones your sawing expertise.

Re Fiskars- I just bout a Fiskars "splitting axe" at Depot this morning. $59. My current spitting maul is a Depot special, 8 lbs essentially indestructible yellow fiberglass handle, probably was around $20 ten years ago. I think it is a great maul and I've split a chitload with it. But I was reading a bunch online about how amazing the Fiskars is so I got sucked in. Well we will see.
 
Haven’t actually tried to split with it yet. The firewood forum on AS seems to love them. I prefer hydraulics anymore for that stuff. I’m gonna do a test run on adding weights to make sure it doesn’t affect the balance to much but I will fill the handle with foam since it rides head down in my truck bed. You’ve been warned of the cold shower that awaits if you leave it standing in the rain
 
Mick, machine splitting is all good, can't argue with it. Hand splitting is, well, I heard one hippie call it 'one of my self favorite self care practices" and that sounds about right to me.

Rich, Fiskars probably went nuts trying to make their handle light for more head speed etc etc. And now the 'Merican wants to fill it with lead! ;)
 
Probably. I need a bit more weight for driving wedges though. I think I got the ax17 model. Just a tad light. I have a plethora of over sized split shot fishing weights to do something with anyhow.
 
I've read with interest how amazing the Fiskars axes are, but I'm opposed to plastic handles. Wood has the right feel, slip vs grip, and good shock absorption. My gift to myself for taking care of that tree in my yard(The one from the other thread that started this journey) is a Helko light forestry axe. I use that for banging wedges, and good cutting. I have an old beat up felling axe I use for rough stuff, then a splitting maul I use for easy to split stuff, which is rare for me. My real splitting gear is an 8# maul on a cutoff axe handle(~16" long), and wedges. I've long used short handles for work, and I can swing it one handed while I hold everything in place when necessary.
 
I tried it out. It splits decently enough. Still gonna stick to my hydraulics though
11E184B8-CDC1-4952-B384-C24F864B6FDA.jpeg
I sent this pic to the boss saying I needed him to order more wedges and someone needs more training. There went my spare stash
 
It’s a lot easier to swing that’s for sure. I didn’t mess with it to long though but I think it will do just as well. Mine is the 17. I think the 27 is a bit heavier and has a full handle.
 
Boss said he will order me a dozen of each size right after we figure out if we’re “essential” or not. I’ll be stocked for when we can get back to work.
 
Tree service in CT is apparently deemed essential, under landscaping. Phew.
 
Cleaning up wood in the backyard today, and I was carrying wood to a sunnier location. I think I killed a snake in the process. It was either in the woodpile, or I stepped on it while carrying wood. I feel bad about it. They eat bugs, and anything that eats bugs is my friend.
 
I agree. Seems bizarre if you think of landscaping as planting trees etc. But yeah, if people who pay to have their grass cut, driveways plowed etc couldn't get that service for a month or 3, that would be a problem.

Us Tree guy folks, we're keeping the world safe from dead/dying/dangerous trees ;) Woo hooo!
 
Gettin trees off power n phone lines does indeed make this biz essential, in an extremely fundamental sense.

Some of the scariest work I've done's been for SDG&E n PacTel, at 2 am, under floodlights, with two dozen supervisors watchin.

PacTel will pay big bucks to avoid cuttin one of their trunk lines!

Jomo
 
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