Tricks of the Trade

Wood-splitting is a rural pastime rooted in tradition and experience – experience that’s often measured in broken axe handles and creative curses directed at knotty chunks of…

In the last installment of Tricks of the Trade, we examined the venerable peavey, and offered several modifications to make an already invaluable tool even handier. Now it’s time to head…

While the mighty axe rightly receives credit for felling most of the timber of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was the peavey that took the work out of moving these logs, on both…

Of all the silvicultural techniques available to forest owners, perhaps no method is more underused than coppicing. Coppicing is a reproduction method where a tree is cut back periodically to…

Is longer better when it comes to chainsaw bars? Personally, I like a shorter bar. It allows me to use a saw with a smaller engine, which reduces overall strain on my back and muscles. Plus,…

The demise of the local sawmill has been closely followed by the rise of the sawyer with a portable bandsaw mill. Usually the sawyer will come to your house, set the mill up parallel to your…

Chainsaws, despite their blunt appearance, are precision tools that need to be carefully maintained to work properly. The chain is no exception to the rule. There are two parts to maintain on…

If you’re considering building a log structure, you’ll need to learn to scribe logs. In most cases, you’ll be scribing for a saddle notch, used to join two logs…

When felling trees, Plan A has the tree falling right where you want it to go. Once you hang one up, though - and even the best of us do - the game changes and it's time for Plan B. If…

Chainsaws are powerful tools, and you’ll work more quickly, safely, and efficiently if you own a good one. But with all the options out there, buying a chainsaw can be an overwhelming…

Vacuum tubing systems have revolutionized maple sugar production, and more and more sugarmakers are getting into the game, drawn by the allure of making an average of .4 gallons of syrup per…

White nose syndrome, a fungus that attacks bats while they’re hibernating, has been devastating to bats in the Northeast. (Editor’s Note: See our story “Bats on the Brink,” Spring…

To fell trees accurately and safely, you need to know how to do a bore cut, sometimes known as a plunge cut. On trees with forward lean, the traditional “race to the hinge” backcut will…

Some chainsaw chains are designed to minimize the reactive force known as kickback. These chains are found on a wide range of chainsaws made for homeowners, arborists, and loggers and are…

It’s not unusual for landowners in this part of the world to find themselves on one side of a wet area with a need to get to the other side. This can be a vexing problem. Boggy areas often…

So you’re planning on doing a crop tree release or a sugarbush thinning this winter. Or perhaps you want to pull firewood out to a landing with your tractor winch, but you’re worried about…

Your modern chainsaw has a precision engine that can be rendered into a worthless chunk of aluminum with just a few careless mistakes, like running straight gas through it, or spending an…

Did you know that a chunk of green firewood can be over 50 percent water? Of course you did. You’ve tried to burn that wood, and it was no more combustible than celery. So now you season…

Sharpening an ax is not difficult, but it does require a basic understanding of how the business end of an ax works. An ax is almost never used to cut perpendicularly through wood fibers;…

The act of tapping a maple tree is a fairly simple task, yet it’s one that’s often done incorrectly. Improperly tapping a tree can lead to lower sap production and, worse, poor…