I have a much deeper appreciation for chainsaws now

[Jason Buresh]

My father in law had a pine tree that died and needed to be cut down. I jumped at the opportunity to ask if I could use my axe and old crosscut saw for at least felling it. It took me probably half an hour and a sore back but I got it done. Let's just say I'm happy I got to use the chainsaw for bucking it.

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I couldn't imagine doing this 8 hours or more a day, even with a two man saw and two guys chopping.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

If you like axes, woodcraft, and easy readers, I recommend the book The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen.

[Andrew More]

I couldn't imagine doing this 8 hours or more a day, even with a two man saw and two guys chopping.

FWIW, the few times I've indulged in manual exercise I've found that the body adapts to it. It would be a better comparison to see how you felt after doing this same task for a month or so.
That having been said I think it's pretty telling that there are few, if any, job sites without power tools.

[Edward Weber]

If you like axes, woodcraft, and easy readers, I recommend the book The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen.

Good choice, too many people glamorize the past, but honestly couldn't last a week.
The good old days are only good because of bad memories

[Andrew More]

Good choice, too many people glamorize the past, but honestly couldn't last a week.
The good old days are only good because of bad memories

More like selective memory. I'd love to have access to some of the old growth wood, but I don't think I'd want to trade my shop full of power tools for it!

[Keegan Shields]

And to think, felling the tree is the easy part! Imagine trying to cut it up into lumber by hand?

My father used to give me a list of summer projects when I was a teenager to keep me out of trouble during the summer break.

Having cut down some trees and processed them into firewood by hand I too appreciate chainsaws.

Now I'm waiting for Steven to come tell us life was better before chainsaws.

[Greg Parrish]

He who chops his own firewood, get's warmed twice.



But shoot, even cutting up a few trees with the chainsaw seems to be a workout these days. LOL

[Jim Koepke]

He who chops his own firewood, get's warmed twice.



But shoot, even cutting up a few trees with the chainsaw seems to be a workout these days. LOL

He who chops his own firewood get's warmed more than twice:

When you cut it, when you buck it, when you crack it, when you stack it, when you carry it into the house and finally when you burn it.

Sometimes my chainsaw wears me out more than a large crosscut saw.

jtk

[Jason Buresh]

He who chops his own firewood get's warmed more than twice:

When you cut it, when you buck it, when you crack it, when you stack it, when you carry it into the house and finally when you burn it.

Sometimes my chainsaw wears me out more than a large crosscut saw.

jtk

My chainsaw can wear me out some days. Holding all the weight at the end of your arms is like spending hours at the gym some days. Just more fun and dangerous 😎

[Tom M King]

Kind of like using a shovel. The first day is the worst, but it gets easier quickly. It's called Labor for a reason.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Knowing that things like chainsaws and backhoes exist has to create a physiological disadvantage to enjoying labor. Grand pa could swing a 13 pound post maul and seem to enjoy it. Part of the enjoyment may have been that others could not even pick the post maul up.

I remember thinking Henery David Thoreau was full of doo-doo and telling the English teacher he was a liar. I still don't believe he dug his cellar in two hours.
Thoreau moved 214 pounds per minute for 120 minuets, by the end he was moving it from 7 feet down! What a man.

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[Reed Gray]

It ain't called a shovel, it is a friggin idiot stick. The variety I am most familiar with had a shovel blade on one end and an idiot on the other end. I was a certified idiot stick engineer....

robo hippy

[Edward Weber]

My dad would always say, "fill the back of the shovel, the front will take care of itself"
Easy to say when you're not the one digging.

[Jason Buresh]

Well that saw I was using was sharpened by the previous owner, and the points and rakers feel sharp.

Last night I decided to learn how to sharpen these saws myself. I have another one I picked up cheap and it needs a new handle but I figured it would be good practice. Low and behold a crosscut saw tool I picked up last year is actually the jointer and raker gauge I needed for this saw!

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The saw was first jointed and then the rakers filed to the depth determined by the gauge.

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After that was done I reshaped the rakers the best I could to their original profile.

After that I got busy sharpening the points. I didn't use a jig or a gauge or anything and tried as best I could to keep the original profiles and angle.

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The saw still had set in it so I left that alone. I will have to pick up a set tool in the future should I continue to do this.

Then it was the moment of truth. The saw was hard to start in the 2x10 but once it was started it seemed to cut better than the last one. My father in law has another tree to take down so maybe I will have to fix the handle and give this one a go as comparison. I at least feel good I made the saw better than worse.

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[Maurice Mcmurry]

Jason that saw is a dandy!

The story of Tabitha Babbitt is neat. Thanks to the Moravians, Shakers, and Quakers woodworking can proceed and elbow grease can be preserved.

I am trying to find the favorite version of her story... As she at sat her spinning wheel in 1777 she watched the laborers sawing in a pit and proceeded to invent the sawmill.