A Bucking Strategy for the Axe Cordwood Challenge
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- čas přidán 6. 02. 2019
- Since Steven Edholm from Skillcult.com started the Axe Cordwood Challenge, a lot of good videos have been created regarding axe usage and technique. I don't have a lot to add to that discussion typically. I did think that it would be worth demonstrating this log handing technique I find useful for controlling the log as it is being bucked, as I think it allows good control when you are bucking a tree up where it was felled.
- Jak na to + styl
Not sure if your even still on here but thanks for this, and your other "strategy" type videos. I tend use a boy's axe and more conventional bucking techniques but leaving a branch/brace to keep the tree from rolling around, and the log spinning technique when the situation calls for it, has definately improved efficiencey and made my life easyer.
Very nice felling cuts and hinge! I wish you'd do more of these. I really enjoy seeing people fell tree's with their axes when they understand what they're doing
Hey Oxbox
Always a Pleasure to see a Fellow Lumberjack out getting fresh Air,
Exercise, and some natural endorphins, bet you felt great that night.
I could roll around in that snow right now damn Hot in Aus ATM.
Havn't seen for 30 years.
Blessings and Peace Brother.
What a great technique, so simple and effective. I've had situations like your tree where I had to cut with my left hand and its always very messy and ineffective but there isn't much option unless you use a saw.
I really didn't consider using a saw this time, but that has more to do with not having one with me at the moment I decided on this tree. I do have a couple one-man saws, but I haven't really gotten the hang of filing them properly so they cut VERY poorly right now.
@@oxbowfarm5803 What I found chopping off hand is that I did better than expected even though it felt like I had no confidence that I could hit the target (still don't usually), and that I improved pretty fast. I think it's essential for being well rounded, because there is just not always a way around it if you don't have a saw, or don't want to use one. Also, in some situations it's really awkward due to close spaced trees, or in a more extreme case a forked tree. In other words, it's not just that you have to chop wrong handed, but that it's also a challenging situation regardless. That can also be true of steep ground, rocks etc. So it's better to practice ahead of time. I think a great way to do that is just chop every other cut from our bad side for the final back cut. But it's hard to make myself do that or remember. If I were training someone though, I'd make them do it ;). Other ways to practice are limbing and a little bucking. One day I found myself making an off hand cut and it took me a second to figure out if I was using my dominant side or weak side, which surprised me, but like I said, I found that I improved surprisingly fast. It's still awkward usually, especially for felling cuts, which are always harder and more awkward for me than everything else, probably due to the horizontalness and also that it's still not the thing I do a ton of.
@@oxbowfarm5803 Got a couple of double bucks and a single I'm working on myself, sort of got it to cut but I can see why 'saw doctor' was a profession!
Nice video and neat technique. I just started a channel myself, so I’ve been revisiting old videos to see what other small channels are out there. I’d love to see more axe content from you. Also, seeing snow on the ground makes me long for winter already.
Your technique looks quite effective. I find that the infrequent bucking I do lately ends up being more like Ben's style, with handle lengths from 28-32 inches, but my lower back really feels it. Your style, with longer handles, looks easier on the back. I always enjoy your axe-related videos.
It's important to remember that Ben has a young limber back 👍😆
Which is a great thing. But not all of us do.
what a bunch of very hard work out in the cold
Nice tip using the lever on a branch, Tim, for both stabilization and rotation. The pines I've felled for the log cabin have long, straight, limb less trunks until I reach the tops. I don't usually start limbing until I absolutely need to. Those limbs do provide a stable trunk since I usually stand on top of the tree when bucking larger logs. I also read once of a guy who fells a tree on cribbing placed before the felling cut and leaves the limbs intact to stabilize the trunk for hewing. I thought that was a cool idea.
I also try to keep my cant hook near by but don't always. I've used a lever pole to shift logs but not roll them like this. Great idea. Also, I buck with my 36" double bit and get close to vertical when standing on the tree. On the ground the handle length forces me to notch similarly to yours. I do carry a boys ax for limbing though. The long handle has kissed my ribs a few times limbing, lol.
Have you ever watched onsek's video where he is hewing in the woods? He does something very similar to what you are talking about but he doesn't use any cribbing. If you watch it a few times its really cool to see all the things he does to use the tree to his advantage. The tree is a spruce (I think) and it is very tall and straight but it has small limbs along a lot of the length. What he does is limbs the length of the log except for the limbs on the underside which act to hold the log up off the ground just like cribbing. He then proceeds to hew both sides of the log parrallel. As far as I can tell he does then entire thing entirely by eye without any string line or layout of any kind. Only after he's got the two sides hewn he limbs off the underside, cuts the tree into log sections and hews the remaining faces. Super awesome video. Its one of the first couple videos in my hewing playlist.
This is the one. czcams.com/video/m7Z8KBmXgtc/video.html
It's my belief that in regards to felling cuts as long as you have a good consistent hinge it really doesn't matter how neat you leave the cuts as long as you place them right and they are function. Just what I feel from my own experiences. Although it is nice to have tidy cuts and does require accuracy skills to do but definitely not essential
Great vid !
However, it almost hurt me to see you chop up a beautiful white Ash tree into firewood ! The first 1w to 16 feet of it would have made tool handles. Maybe snowshoe frames. ECT.
Where I live , we don't have any nice hardwoods like that to make handles from. Your Jill poke roll works great . I have a short Peavey brand can't hook that I use. But, I have to remember to bring it with me !😤😆 .
That seems like a really useful trick to have in the toolbox. Your technique is informed by your bucking technique and axe length too. Also those nice long bare trunks (jealous!). I use short handles, standing close up to the log. and the cuts are pretty vertical. So, I can cut from both sides, usually leaving a small bit of wood at the bottom of the cut to maintain stability and prevent digging into the ground with my axe toe. Then I usually roll over and make usually one final severing cut for each round. Beyond 30 inches I can't really use that method and even a 30 inch handle is slightly awkward. Longer and you have to stand back and make the cut more diagonal That all assumes that I can chop from both sides, which as you pointed out is not always possible, though it's always an option to cut all the way from one side. Not sure how much I'd use the idea, but I'm glad I know about it now. Rolling a log without any leverage can pretty much suck sometimes.
Yes, I had not considered so much how handle length would impact bucking style and strategy. I've noticed in Ben's videos that he likes very short handles too. I only have one boy's axe, and its the only axe I have that has a handle under 30 inches. I do like it for chopping the tops one handed (which you taught me) but I pretty much never use it for anything else. I've kind of got comfortable with the long handles and fairly heavy heads and I've more or less decided to stick with them for almost everything these days, including hewing. (which maybe makes it sound like I'm chopping all the time, which is a lie)
@@oxbowfarm5803 Long handles always feel weird for bucking small stuff to me, but I'm just not used to it. I do think it's safer for sure. You can imagine the problem of having a long handle in competition, trying to make those vertical cuts to finish without adjusting the log in any way. Ben was saying that for large logs, they use different handle lengths on the same bucking cut, which makes sense. It can be a pain to reach down very far with a short handle. That long handle with the heavier head allows you to use a very relaxed style of chopping that you can't really do in the same way with a short light axe. Like knives and many other tools I guess, there is not a perfect one for all situations.
Thanks for doing more axe content! :) This is the kind of stuff I appreciate. I doubt I'll ever have wood that nice to work but this is great info if I ever get in a woodland environment. Do you not use your ox to drag bolts with anymore?
This time I'm trying to focus on getting the most wood out of each tree, so I buck it up completely and chop up the tops as much as possible. When I was pulling the logs out with Star I kept leaving the tops. I always intended to get back to them, but I only actually got less than half of them processed. I also was always getting interrupted by my neighbors stopping by while I was chopping by the road.
@@oxbowfarm5803 I see. I cant say I wouldn't do the same but I'd want to get in on the fun. I grew up on a cattle farm, so I'm a fan of Star. Haha!
Also, thank you for putting out some more axe content! Wishing I had your camera too lol
My camera is actually pretty sucky. Especially in the cold. This video was taken during a warm snap, you can kind of tell by the slush. When it is below freezing the battery life of my camera is pathetic.
When I buck (barely ever) I tend to use similar rolling techniques when needed but I usually have shorter lengths so i used to axe on one end of the log to roll it. You can also easily use a pole or felling lever if you have one. It might me slower but for the sake of safety and learning, why not spend a little more time in the woods!
Hi my friend!!😀😀
You do a really nice job of felling and buckling!!
Hopefully the ash borer doesn't kill all your ash trees.
Take care and work safe!!
Your friend Al.
Thanks Al. Unfortunately, its pretty much guaranteed that the borer will kill them all. That's what's been happening everywhere the infestation has occurred so far, so I have no reason to believe it will be any different here.
@@oxbowfarm5803 :) You are right. We are having the same problem here in central Wisconsin. I'm lucky not to have any ash on my property. But it's wiped out all the ash 35 miles east of me. So it won't be long before they will all be dead here.
Take care!!😀😀
This is starting to get me fired up to do some chopping! What size axe are you chopping with? Is that a 3 pound or is is bigger? I'll be taking down a cluster of Birch here in another week or so. As soon as I knock this cold that has me spending the day at home today. I adopted your technique when I buck up my logs. I really like the efficiency of the technique. Cheers.
Hey Aaron! Long time no see! I think this axe is somewhere in the 3-3.5# range, but I don't think I weighed it before I hung it. Its a pretty average weight axe I would say, if that means anything, not a boys axe, but definitely not in the 4-5# range at all.
@@oxbowfarm5803 I only asked cause it looked a little bigger than mine which is 3# but also because you obviously have experience. Your cuts are pretty efficient and it seems like you move through a log at a good pace. I've been lurking. I've been wanting to check in for a while but just haven't. Not sure if any of my chopping will make it into a video. Life and work have intensified lately and I'm stretched pretty thin most times. I'm sure you can relate. I will probably pester you on one of your veggy trial videos. You've inspired me.
Well I hope you make some videos sometime soon, chopping or whatever topic. I think your homestead is pretty interesting, as well as your house itself.
@@oxbowfarm5803 Thanks for the boost and the compliment. If I can get some time I'll see what I can put together. Until then, I'm always interested in the stuff you put out there.
It's getting close to 25 years since I've gone out in the bush to cut firewood with an axe. I would have bucked that at 16 feet and drug it back to the house with the horse before bucking it the rest of the way. Interesting technique with the lever but I've never gone out in the woods to cut (with either a saw or an axe) without a cant hook.
TrollForge, the main thing leaving the limb stub does isn't helping you roll the log, although it does do that. It's that you can wedge the pole between the main stem and the stub and brace the tree so it won't rotate while you are bucking. For general log rolling purposes a cant hook is pretty important to have, although I didn't have one for a long time. Last time I did the challenge, I did section up the logs and hauled them home with Star to buck up. This year I'm doing most of it in the woods for two reasons. One was I was bucking them next to the road so I was always getting interrupted by my neighbors and they slowed me down wanting to talk all the time. The other was I ened up leaving lots of the branches and tops unfinished in piles in the woods because of time constraints, which bothered me from the waste. So this year I've been focussing on completely bucking up each tree before I fell another one.