Sawing Hardwood

I got a brand new chain for my saw. To many of you that last sentence does not seem very special or exciting. To me, it makes me positively giddy. The chain that had been on my saw had been well used and sharpened countless times. The chain had served me well and cut countless cords of wood in 16 inch blocks. I have cut with that chain in the woods and in the landing. It was about worn out, the little teeth that Mike sharpened for me each time it was dull, had been filed down to nubs. The wear from spinning around the bar of the saw had stretched the chain and even though it had a link taken out a while ago, it was again stretched and the adjustment of the bar to take up the slack was at the end point. It was time for a new chain and Mike picked on up on his last trip to the hardware store.

With the new chain, my saw cuts through wood like butter. It is the perfect time to cut into the hardwood deck made up of cherry and maple. Before when I tried to cut the hardwood, the old chain would heat up and scorch the wood as I cut.

I attacked the deck with vigor and enjoyed every minute of the smooth cuts of 16 inch blocks. Once I had cut several tanks full of fuel on this project, I stacked the blocks up so the cattle don’t season them with plops on their way through the landing. It wasn’t until I had started stacking that I noticed the center of some of the maple wood had a heart-scar in the shape of a tree.

My pile is approximately two cord of wood right now and will stay in the landing until after hay season when I will pull the splitter out of the barn to place it near the stack. Once the wood is split into bundle-able sized pieces they will be stacked into cribs and stored in the barn while the curing/seasoning process dries the wood to less than seventeen percent moisture before it can be bundled.

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