#346 

I watch Steve’s small engine repairs regularly, full of very useful tips. 2 days ago I had an Honda engine on a pressure washer, it was running and lumping and I changed the carb twice to no avail, after watching Steve’s informative video about a hidden jet that causes this problem 99.9% of the time I took it out and cleaned it and it runs like a dream, this guy really knows his stuff. And yes those chaps are essential kit, like you I’ve had a couple of mishaps and the Kevlar fibres in them really do fank up the chain to stopping point.

I appreciate the way you analyze the process to work efficiently. cheers.

Greetings Chris from S. E. Ohio. I haven't used either one of these but if I was to choose it would be long handled one to to my back. I've bunt wood for 43 yrs now & it has taken its toll on my back. But I just keep going but a lot slower. Have a wonderful rest of the day!!!

I just went back and looked at some of your mid-100's videos. It's been a fun channel. Thank you!

I primarily use my hookeroon in the woods to carry out to the wagon. I grab one and put it under my arm and hook the second and head to the wagon. Haven’t split yet this year so I don’t know if it’ll be appropriate around the splitter. Good job on all the safety gear. I never have anyone with me so it’s important!

You should look into chainsaw protective pants. They are expensive but it beats wearing jeans and chaps in the summer. I fully recommend the Clogger zero gen 2 ‘s. As a professional arborist. It’s all I wear and I also know the value of some kind of leg protection. If you decide to go the pants route, you’ll thank me in the summer time.

Good morning Irene!! Just want you to know that I love working with my hands or I often use my wood hooks to carry the wood pieces from point A to point B saves my back I would say about 70% compared to with my hands only. Food for thought Chris lol but don’t forget I am Canadian so we are different lol 😂 great work buddy keep it up 👍

Chris - At 20:16 is a good pic for an idea, you ever think of just splitting a cord or cord and a half letting it dump off like how you have it then setting up pallets in line but behind you and stacking it right away so your not tripping over the splits as you keep going?

I don’t think swinging a chainsaw like a brush cutter is a good idea.

Funny Chris, seems to me that every time I fire up the welder or suit up for sandblasting somebody turns the heat up! Great tips for tooling up, I too am a firm believer in warming them up. 'Most of the Time' I'm a PPE wearer... Never without a helmet and generally sport'n ear plugs. I don't care to wear chaps when felling, but I almost always when buck'n. When Drop'n & Flop'n stems I prefer to be Agile, Mobile & Hostile! I've had my boot heel get snagged on a leg strap and that has taken me down fast. That's no time or place to be laying down on the job! As for your logic concerning moving and stretching, I'm right there with ya. On the rare occasion when we go away for a few days, my wife will notice a drop in my adenosine triphosphate levels... Yes, it appears to her that Rigor Mortis is setting in! Movement, not Over-Movement is key to my functionality! Bless'ns to ya, Tedd

Absolutely take the point about using a pickaroon being "slower". I'm not a production firewood guy, I do not have a hydraulic splitter (I use a woodblock and a maul), I do it for my own supply and a few friends and family. I am happy to accept the loss of efficiency in order to get to the end of a day without my back being in spasm. Love my full length pickaroon...🇦🇺💪👍😁

8 hours equals a half a day! Most people don’t get it. I am a farmer and wood cutter and truck driver all my life and routinely have worked 12 to 18 hour days my entire life and love it. I’m 64 years old and feel my best when I am accomplishing something and being productive. I get it. Can’t find kids to help any more. Stay active! Love your channel

Looks great, i like how you analyse what you do and how you do it. I prefere not to grab things on the ground. To scope up the wood with a tractor or something simulare and then either grab them from the tractor or to put all of that wood into pallets and then raise the pallets to a hight where i can reach them. I know its hard to make everything work together, there are always something that limits the work we do :)

it looks to me like the small one needs a little bit more weight to be more effective. looks like you could get a bolt, 2 washers, and three nuts thread one nut on the bolt all the way to the bolt head and then add a washer and push through the hole add second washer and thread last 2 nuts on tight and I bet that would give just enough extra weight to make it perfect

I see you have one now, I have the long handled one, I like it

I have a table built about 3’x7’ that I spend a few minutes with the pickaroon loading the table up with as much as I can which is quite a bit. Then I just turn around grab the log and put it on the splitter and so on. Then I idle the splitter down a bit and load the table again. This helps my back out a lot. And the pick is slower than splitting so it really does speed up both ways. Just a pointer that I like to do.

“A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still”--unknown. Much like you became self-aware that wearing hearing protection is beneficial to preventing further hearing loss, until there is sufficient self awareness of excessive BLT(not bacon, lettuce, tomato but bending, lifting and twisting) to maintain a healthy back as opposed to guarding an injured back, there will be no change. Even if the sappies or the picaroon take a bit longer time, using them will prolong your ability to have a healthy back. Just my professional opinion. Thanks for the video.

How do you use the cable ties for mesuring your cuts? It looks like you sight off the end instead of laying it on the wood.

As any self employed person knows, you only have to work half days in your own business. The best part is you get to choose which 12 hours you work.

You’re a wood eating machine. Another great video!

Only 2 minutes in and decided to “like”, simply for the fact that you do stuff right! Idling a cold saw to warm it up, safety protection and awareness of vibration, absolutely spot on 😁👍

I use a pulp hook! The end of a pulp hook is designed to release in a different way and to me it’s faster with more control

So Chris I'm going to be buying a new chainsaw. I have an electric chainsaw with a cord, I've pressed it to the max. It has a 16-in bar and been cutting on a huge tree trunk that is 30 in. I tried to do one cut on it and the blade went dull halfway through. I don't think it's enough saw to be cutting oak. So I went to Lowe's and they only have the 50cc engine husqvarna's. I should get a 70cc correct? I don't want to do the step up gradually chainsaw thing. I want to chainsaw like you got. I believe it's a Husqvarna 572, with a 24 inch bar?? I believe it's like a thousand bucks.? I'm going to be cutting a lot of wood in the future and I just want to buy a saw that's going to work permanently, and make me happy. Should I buy this chain saw?

I noticed that you cut with the tip of your saw a lot when you're cutting logs. Doesn't that wear out that part of the blade more?? Just kidding, I know you need a certain amount of dumb questions to keep you on track. That's a good two day's worth of work. I agree with you on the pickaroons. I use one for reaching stuff I can't get to, but not to pick up wood when splitting.

Je pense que le travail du bois est un boulot merveilleux même si c'est usant !

I've cut up a lot of firewood over the years. From watching your video I saw something new. I will try your technique moving wood with the chainsaw. What is your technique for measuring your cuts? Will the Fiskars's handle fit over the splitter handle? Just thinking if it does you can store it there. Is that a custom built splitter? Thanks!!!

Chris, if you havn't seen it yet, Neil from Messick's Equipment channel has an excellent new vid titled: "Top 10 Equipment Purchase Myths" that you may find beneficial. It's worth the 19 minutes IMHO. Great points on the pick/hook/sappies. I've about came to the same conclusions. I don't use them all the time, but I sure like having them around for certain things when I need them. Thanks for the vids

Man I hated using my Dad's old McCulloch chainsaws... Freaking things vibrated so bad, my hands would tingle forever after cutting, and feel like they'd swole up. I'm sure it didn't help that most of what we cut was rock hard ironwood. On the plus side, I did learn all my best cuss words from listening to him working on them in the garage, trying to get them to run after they'd sat for a long time, lol. They did NOT like to sit for long periods of time- always a real bear to get running then.

That what I like about your Splitter, its Fast and I like that Big run off table. Hey Chris, you should buy a trailer hitch for your John Deere to move your splitter around, I just got one for mine. Nice Job Chris.

Hey Chris, how many times to you sharpen your chain while doing a truck load of wood? Also, I see you don’t measure your wood length for your cuts. Are you within an inch on each log length? Or, if not, do customers mind? Thanks for the vids.

Interesting view on pickeroons vs hand-balling. I have two husqvarna ones (one long, one short) and a pair of log tongs I recently bought. I use all three continuously and hardly ever just bend over to pick up logs. Which ones I use depend on the diameter of the log. I find they make me more efficient - but the way I process the firewood is completely different to your way. My splitter will take a log up to a metre long, so my rounds are up to that length. If it’s a really heavy log I’ll use both pickeroons or a pickeroon and tongs to pick them up. I cut all my firewood to length once it’s split using a bulk log holder (so again, no bending to chainsaw up the rounds) There is definitely a knack to flicking the pickeroon into a log and not having to wiggle it loose - it’s worth persevering with them until you get the knack. I even use mine to load the trailer with firewood. Flick, pick, flick and it’s gone from the floor and into the trailer!

Short pickaroon or those log tongs that you and Mr Fiskars went over to get rounds onto the splitter? Wondering which one will work best for me to reduce fatigue.

I use a pickarone for the ones on the ground , that last 10 " is a killer for me ! Have a great day !

I have a similar long wood handle picaroon. I found that I feel the same way about it not being as fast at the splitter. I do sometimes use it when I’m in the woods loading up rounds into the trailer. 👍🏻👍🏻GNI

Have your tried the LogOx Forestry tool? The Hauler (small cant hook) would eliminate the issue with the pickaroon being hard to remove from the end of the piece as the Logox Hauler would allow you to grab it in the middle of the firewood round.

Good morning Chris!!😀😀 The pickaroons are okay but like you said they are time consuming to remove from the pieces. I prefer to use a pair of bunching tongs because they release instantly once you get used to them. I have 2 different sizes. The main pair that I use will grab up to a 12 inch diameter piece and the larger pair will grab close to a 20 inch piece. Anything much bigger than that gets ripped with the saw or split with my x27 Fiskars before it goes on the splitter. Hope you are staying cool and hydrated today. It's another hot one out there. TTYL!!😀😀👍👍

I was going to send you a picture of my friend’s leg. He was just testing his saw after sharpening the Chain and did not put his chaps on. Needed many staples and skin graphs. Be safe Chris.

cutting them thinner today Chris ? By the way my mother Name was Irene, in September she would have been !00 i miss her so much. Have a great day good afternoon Irene..

I’ve got the long handle fisker pickaroon was thinking about getting the short one in your opinion is the short one worth it or should I just get another long handle one

Morning Chris once again great safety video . I know about lose of nearing in the right ear . Ran chainsaw with out muffler on season it keep on fall off every time I put back on trying different ways to attach it. Keep these great videos coming. Keep the wood flying and the woodchucks stacking . Don

I agree with you Chris with all the cons of using a log pick. A log pick should be used for pulling rounds, in my case, used for pulling the rounds broadside making them roll to where you want them, another reason to use a log pick is to pull or rearrange logs on a log pile for cutting. A short handled log pick, sappie, can be used around your log splitter, whether on the table or near the splitter. To me, constantly lifting logs with a log pick with your right side or left side would cause a lot of stress on them muscles and skeletal system, I don't know because I only pull not lift the rounds or split pieces with my pick. I agree with you Chris that bending over is better for you to pick up the rounds or split pieces to stretch them muscles. But, it is always a good practice to lift with your legs not your back, may seem awkward at first, it is for me since I just started to learn to lift with my legs since my lower back is almost shot, so I need to get used to this new way of lifting if I'm to continue making firewood.

Thanks for the story about the chaps stopping the saw. You made a believer out of me.

I had the 36 inch log rite pickaroon. It simply made my job so much easier when handling firewood. Someone jacked it from me so I plan on getting a new one soon.

Why do you split your wood into tinder size pieces?

I use the longer pickaroon for the little bit bigger pieces. Not sure if I would have use for the short one

Get a pickaroon. From fiskar, save a tone of bending over , one of the best thing I have for moving heavy rounds

I use a 34” buzz saw on my two-cylinder John Deere 730 (76 HP rebored) for any rail wood 10 inches across, or smaller. Cuts take one second to make. I also use my Log-Ox to move and stack wood blocks. Sometimes I use a pulp wood hook. It looks like a hay hook. Great video. 🤠👍

Chris you are the most efficient and productive man I have ever met. Your the best 1 man band for splitting wood.

I hear you on the back thing in regards to speed. I too am faster with only my hands, but the fatigue sets in so much faster. I like the idea of tossing small pieces onto the splitter table. Unfortunately that will cost me at least $4000. A proper 4-way wedge for the logs I'm working on, along with auto-cycle, would save a huge amount of time.

You forgot the most important thing Chris need to stretch out your muscles so you don't injured yourself, try it sometime.Yes chaps are very important to I cut my leg one time without chaps on at that time don't think it was a thing.but I have a pair and use them now. But remember to stretch your muscles Chris we're not to young anymore GNI

I see you had a bar on your saw way longer then needed. Do you prefer a longer bar so you don't have to bend down as much?

If you had someone helping you splitting, what would be more beneficial, stacking while you split or constantly feeding you rounds?

Good morning Chris...Another great video,thank you! I'm just wondering if your Eastonmade has a adjustable wedge??

I adore my half-long pickaroons from "Oregon": it's the shape of the handle and the 'pick'-thing I think which makes it really easy to release the logs and to place them quite precisely. And they weigh next to nothing (compared to my long wooden handle sappie with a 'massive' metal head). I accidentally bought a pair, so I realized that we actually have two arms... So much to 'I can lift two logs with my bare hands'! 😁

I like your fire wod

That moment when you notice the cutting edge on the wedges are a mirror finish from the amount of wood across them. That's a LOT of wood through a splitter!

Hi im really enjoying these videos. When bucking logs it looks like you don't use a gauge or anything to measure the cuts. Maybe your just that good 🤔

Chris ask Tony if Fiskars makes a belt holder for that pickaroon. It would make it easier and more efficient if you could grab it from your right hip. If they don’t make one a loop hammer holder would work well.

There are two ways to view being able to work both sides of a splitter - 1) By varying the side, one gives part of their body a rest, or 2) By varying the side, at the end of the day, one is doubly-tired. LOL

I also use an 8-foot marking stick that lets me accurately mark out 16-inch blocks that are the same length every time. Again, no bending while using the sawbuck.

That little fiskars is hard to come by. I have 2 of the fiskars long hookaroon

G’afternoon Chris ! Thanks for the safety reminder ! I love my screen glasses (forget the name). It’s like built in sunglasses ! Irene : GN

I think you'll find that the Husqvarna pickaroon sticks and releases better than the long one you're using.

Stick the picaroon into the side of the log instead of the end. The bark will help you pull it out better sence your swinging it so hard. Also you filed the tip to a point. U want it more square but also sharp if that makes sence. But to be fair I feel for what your doing log tongs would be great. Expecially when your done with your chainsaw and throwing it to the other piled on the ones that aren't huge

I use a six-foot sawbuck stand that handles eight-foot logs. For bigger stuff I use a forklift I made for my tractor loader, which allows me to cut up 30 foot logs with no bending over. I then use the forklift backboards to push the blocks up into a pile.

The long pickaroon seemed too long and the short one seemed too short. If you had one right in the middle would be the best. They both looked like they worked great though.

The pickaroon is a tool like any other -- good some times and not others. I love a long-handled pickaroon, though I am shopping for some log tongs after seeing Tony's video on them! One thing that caught my attention was you mentioning that you sharpened yours with a dremel. Truth be told, the single most used tool in my shop, something I never thought I'd need, is a 2x72 belt grinder that knifemakers use. Wholy Mackerel! What a difference that thing makes in your life. Wood, metals, plastics, everything can be shaped with them. From super-coarse to super-fine with the quick change of a belt, you can get grind slag off cut steel one moment and then go to a high-gloss finish on antler the next. A bit pricey to guy into the club, but infinitely worth it for anyone who tinkers around the shop or farm.

Save yourself a step and your back... place wheel barrow by splitter and chuck kindling pieces directly in it

Hey Chris, how many times to you sharpen your chain while doing a truck load of wood? Also, I see you don’t measure your wood length for your cuts. Are you within an inch on each log length? Or, if not, do customers mind? Thanks for the vids.

"I've finished my other job this morning and have half a day, I have 8 hours" . What many consider an average workday Chris calls it a half day

If you are using an axe to split having a pickaroon is a godsend, I hear you on the stretching part since I can stack wood all day but chopping and stacking it's nice to not to bend as much. I prefer the short i feel it is easier to remove, i also use it to make smaller cuts with my hatchet as a holder so I don't lose any fingers. However the best pickaroon is to just give your grandkids 5$ to hand you wood and stack

follow your video super Czech republik

I am 75 years old and still cut 6 cords of firewood every summer to heat my home all winter. I burn as much of the tree as I can, down to about an inch or so in diameter no high production like you. Just the wood you show in your video would probably last me the rest of my life LOL.. I use one of those light picker upers with the rubber cups on the grabber to pick up the small stuff, saves my back, and was just looking at the Hookaroon to help with some of the larger 16" long logs, The real big ones I have to split with a wedge so I can lift them. Out in the field I load everything into my trailer and take them home where I can use my 6 1/2 ton electric splitter to split them for the stacking. Just getting ready to start cutting again about the end of May, rounding up all the tools and getting them ready. may add a l Hookaroon to my tool box this year.

As a believer in chaps you should have them on b4 you start the saw sir

Nice demonstration on the picaroons.. every tool has an advantage to disadvantage.

The trick is to pic just hard enough to grab it and it's easy to take it out.

That Easton log splitter is the best one I have seen on RU-vid.

Good info and a great video! Nice shout out to Steve's Small Engine his videos are also great info to know.

Have you seen the new pusher face for the ultra from Easton Andrew is offering Check it out Just saying

Have you found a hookaroo that works better with hardwoods like oak and hickory?

A little story about safetypants: I helped the local plantation with cutting down some small trees and brushes. A young guy, 19 - 20 years old, was also helping with a chainsaw, he was not wearing safetypants, only hunting pants. We had been going for some hours an decided to take a break when we noticed that he had ripped his left pantsleg. He looked surprised and opened up the pants and on his thigh he had a red line some 10 - 15cm (4-6inch) long! He did not even notice that the saw had ripped his pants and literally scratched his leg! USE SAFETY GEAR! If you take a chance, the saw takes a leg!

I hear ya Chris! Or rather, don’t hear ya… I’m 47 but have the hearing a 70 year old cause I could never be bothered with earmuffs. Grew up running saws with my dad, then a career in Motorsport. BOY do I regret it now!!

I forget do you eyeball your cuts?

Wate is all them kids u had helping u at ?

Good morning from Piqua Ohio

Have you done a video side by side to show how much faster your new splitter is than your old one?

My friends dad hit his femoral artery with a zip cut on hand held grinder……..bled out in his garage weeks after retiring. No guard on the grinder. Imagine how much more dangerous a chainsaw is than a 5” grinder! Only fools run a saw without the safety gear, there are some who have massive followings on the tube…..with kids watching! It’s an absolute disgrace the mindset they are fostering. Shameful!!! Peace and love, peace and love…….alone you have the right, as a “mentor” with a following you are endangering people’s lives, period. BTW, YOU HAVE THE BEST MUSIC, of those I follow

When I was first married (1980) I borrowed my Father-in-Law's little Homelight 14" chainsaw and did a stupid thing cleaning up the small branches. Holding the little stuff in my left hane and the powersaw in my right. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Went halfway through two knuckles on the first two fingers of my left hand. Took a year to get 100% back (happily, I did with a LOT of sweat and tears squeezing balled socks on up to tennis balls). Later, when we got more property and my own chainsaw, my Wife made me promise I would wear chaps and helmet/faceshield/muffs. And I still do all these 43 years later. I learned things go bad in fractions of a second and respect the moving bits. Tractors, too. Haven't hit my leg, but somehow managed to melt a spot on the chaps with a hot muffler. I also noticed a large, nicely sliced chunk missing from the left index finger on a pair of heavy leather gloves that was a mystery. Phew I use a 36" pickaroon to move bucked sections for splitting and a 5' peavey for larger logs. I only cut wood for our own use (wood stove in the living room and a boiler for heat and water heating in the cellar). Four chords sees us through a year as the boiler is also oil fired and we run that through the summer and a bit more.

The PPE overview and reminders to actually use them are better than hindsight and regrets after an injury occurs. I suspect most cannot do what Chris does, because they haven’t done what he’s done through the years. Strength, stamina, to achieve his productivity rate and listening to your body to avoid overuse injuries as you work only come through long experience. Recliners and office chairs set up more guys for injuries than daily hard work in my opinion.

​ @In The Woodyard Watching your #346 (Pickaroon: Long vs. Short) right now. Ordered the 12" Fiskars Hookaroon XA2 last night to hold small pieces vertically for hatchet splitting. Thanks for the tip!

Looks like some elm in that pile?

Similar experience- I got nicked in the skull with a chainsaw and it felt like somebody smacked me with a 4x4. Got a nice scar but no serious damage, miraculously.

Everyone’s situation is different. That’s what is fun watching other people’s set up. I’m predicting when you get your larger push plate you will lower your 4 way a smidge.

Frightens me seeing people on RU-vid using chainsaws without any protection and treating them like toys.. They're not fussy what they cut and they WILL bite you. If you get cut it will be bad. Wear the gear and stay safe wood fans.

Ha! I was trying to remember what I seen about warming up your saws. It was the Steve's small engine saloon vid you mentioned! It looks like you're not happy with the height of the horizontal wedges. Maybe a modification worth doing.

New to the channel… Sorry if you’ve answered this before. Have you kept track of how long it takes to process a cord with chainsaw and splitter?

Chris I watch you clean up your waste and you always pickup the kindling and throw it into a pile and all your short block and put them into a pile then go back and bend over to pick them up again. Why don’t you get a couple more wheel barrows and fill them up as you go and not handle them more then needed.

Chris do u think u can process more wood with the smaller rounds ur normally have . (They looks small on from the video that is ) I Kno there easier to handle . Or would do think if u only cut and split 22+ inch stuff u could produce wood faster . I not saying ur don't process astronomical amount cause u do . I rather handle the smaller ones .but 90 percent of the stuff u get my hands on are huge .

Steve's small engine is a great channel! And so is yours!

Never liked multi-wedge splitters too much trash fast returning single wedge splitter for me either way nothing easy about making firewood 💪🍻