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[fish]

Stretch

Wood

i used a wood splitter many years ago for a couple of days with a helper.

we had fun.

his job was to sit on a stool and move the lever up and down while i set up the rounds, then the portions of rounds for splitting and then cleared the area for the next round,

the contest was to see if we (I) could get it done fast enough so that the splitter blade never stopped moving.

i'm a lot older now, and working alone, although NC is doing lots of the stacking, which is a great help.

anyway

i'm learning lots of tips and tricks.

pulp hooks are indispensable.

i've made an apron around the base plate of the splitter which makes thing easier when working with big rounds.

i'm using bricks, but i'm thinking of making a wooden jig instead.  

it would look like a boot jack.

anyway

felt a twinge in the lower back, so calling it earlier today.

[fish]

stretch

wood

had to get the chain saw out.

some rounds are too long for our stove when split, 24 " or so.

other rounds are not completely cut through.

after some cuts, realized i really have to sharpen the chain,

or replace it.

[fish]

stretch

yet another "intraviteral injection"

these are unpleasant, but thank God they are available.

not so many years ago there was nothing they could do about it. One went blind.

i now am experiencing a weird after effect.

perfectly round floater.

black rim

going to grey to a concentric smaller circle.

which is clear, but magnifies if i look directly through it.

and it floats.

face parallel to ground centers it.

face up, circle down

face down, circle up.

weird, but very cool.

i assume it is the injected fluid.

if it does not disappear in a few days, i'll be concerned, although it's fun to play with for the time being.

getting old is interesting.

wood

10 carts of splits from the splitter to the stack.

[Smoke]

I guess as we get older our fascinations change, as a baby it’s chewing on our toes..( probably because we can.) now your into floater stage.

I hope they clear up for you.

[fish]

floater is gone.

wood both days

the guys who cut the rounds were less than consistent, but who's complaining ?

from 8 inches to about 24 inches.

i am cutting the 24s into 2 12s.

anyway

it does make stacking a little more interesting.

these piles are 4 feet high.

they have to stand for a couple of years.

i go out every once in a while with a 3 pound hammer to bang everything back into balance.

the different lengths makes it difficult to gauge the center of gravity.

[fish]

one day off

other days wood.

stretching

i think a little more than half way done.

it's my son's splitter, or i'd take more time.

[fish]

Wood.

the tree guys cut the rounds into different lengths.

and threw the different length rounds into a giant random pile.

which makes moving the rounds from the giant random pile kinda, well, random.

so the splits are 8" to 20 ".

which makes stacking difficult.

a 4 foot high stack running 24 feet has to stand for about 1.5 years.

and the stacks move, and i go out with a 2.5 lb maul to true the stacks.

easier if the splits are the same length.

i'm going to send you a picture of the wood so you can see what this is about.

today, 9 rounds.

stretch.

[fish]

wood

many years ago i used cinderblocks and 2"x3"x8' studs to keep the firewood off the ground.

then i went to pallets.

truck is down and possibly out, and i've run out of pallets, so it's back to the studs and blocks.

guessing that there is over two cord of wood left.

hard work, but good exercise.

[fish]

wood

breaking out the various movements would be tedious.

suffice it to say that as i map the muscle involvement in the repetitive tasks it's pretty much a total workout.

have to be aware of the moves that increase potential for injury.

thank the Lord for so called "pulp hooks".

more than half done.

moving some really big stuff now.

as they took the trees down, they went from top to bottom, so the wood pile has the smaller stuff covered by the big pieces.

a puzzle taking it the piles apart.

one might take an injury if one of the bigger rounds gets out of control.

[fish]

my niece was in with her two sons.

beach was very nice.

wood

nc says i'm always bleeding somewhere.

using the splitter in the vertical.

as the blade goes through, the near side split can do a number of unexpected things.

nc says i should go and buy some shin guards.

what am i, a sissy ?

i must admit, though, my shins and ankles are a mess.

big band aids keep the bed sheets from getting blood stained.

[fish]

wood

almost all the piles are un-piled.

trying to do the splitting by depth of the rounds so that the stacking will be more consistent.

the stacks have to stand for the better part of two years.

of course, i use the 2.5 lb maul to true the stacks as they go up and from time to time over the year.

one of these days one of those stacks will fall down, and maybe tip the others like dominoes.

lovely weather.

[fish]

wood

my shins and ankles are a bruised and bloody mess.

i've got the splitter vertical, and i sit on a low stool to feed and clear the the splits.

split comes off left or right, and since i'm doing hundreds a day, some make it past my guard and hit me below either knee.

next time, baseball catcher's shin guards.

[Smoke]

Yea, last thing you would need would be some sort of infection!

[fish]

rain, so took the day off from wood.

did the old routine

Stretch

NT

AD

mat

ball

cane

[fish]

wood

the variation in the wood is very interesting.

in some the grain is straight, in others, not.

in some, knots

in some, dry rot

i am splitting it almost into stove wood.

easier for NC to handle, if it comes to that.