fallen trees

[joek]

i went to my property in kentuckY yesterday and i have 2 trees down ill be going to spring class if offered was woundering if i can keep these trees safe from bugs untill im ready to build maybe next winter any suggestions welcome

[Shark]

You;ll want to get the bark off, & probably try & keep them up off the ground.
Also rotate every few weeks, & maybe spray to keep the bugs & mold away.

[joek]

spray with what and what do i use to take bark off should i cover to keep out of rain

[Shark]

spray with what and what do i use to take bark off should i cover to keep out of rain

Borates to protect the wood, read this page it explains well:
http://www.acbs-bslol.com/Gadgets/D97WoodRot.htm

Try & find what's called a spud, made to peal the bark off tree's without harming the layer under.

I wouldn't recommend trying anything like a tarp, it'll trap moisture & will probably feed mold. You could try & protect it, but it would have to be a roof-like structure high enough to let the logs stay dry. Might be difficult.

[joek]

does any one know where i can get this tool to remove bark off a couple trees i have on my land that have fallen i want to try to keep them for when im ready to build

[Shark]

Here's one, I haven't tried it personally but it has a few good reviews

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200333235_200333235

[joek]

thanks shark i checked out your pics nice work are u north or south indiana

[Will Dye]

I was curious where you're gonna be building. I live in Louisville,Ky.

[Shark]

joek, we're building about 45 minutes south of Indy near Morgantown.

[Will Dye]

Shark when will you be back? Are you gonna use tongue and groove on your roof? I still plan on paying you a visit but I've been lagging behind at Basil's. Hopefully I will have that cured this weekend. I was also wondering if you'd be interested in making some T&G because I wanna give my shaper system a good workout.

[Shark]

Will Dye,

I'm back to work now, so it's just weekends for a while. I have my roofers starting on Monday. Yep I'm cheating, but just no time & I'm afraid of the weather coming in quickly.
After getting some labor quotes to build the roof as per class, we changed our plans.

We are hiring out the framing & shingles/outside trim as a normal house, then will likely T&G from the inside after, ourselves. Just need to get the logs protected from the snow before it gets here.
We hoped to be farther along by this time of year, but we didn't find land as quickly as we'd hoped.

Let me know if you ever get up in the area, in the next few weeks hope to start on the floor joists.

Jeff

[KingLewey70]

Are you going to be out working on it this weekend? If so I should be able to make it down there.

[Shark]

Are you going to be out working on it this weekend? If so I should be able to make it down there.

E-mailed you...

[dross]

Joe, I am building a home and I had eight logs left over. Two of the logs were not peeled, the other six were. The logs were on the drying rack for three years. Yesterday I cut several of the logs up into firewood and found that the peeled logs were just fine and could still be used as good quality house logs, but the two unpeeled logs were rotten. The bark kept the sap wood damp and the bugs loved it. I used all Doug Fir. I used a 6' long mutt which I purchased at Home Depot to peel all 88 logs. Good Luck, Dave

[rocklock]

Dave;
Glad to see you posting on the forum. I believe you gave the best advice that I have heard... you said something like 'stack the next four biggest' which is what I tried to do...
do you have picture of your log home?
I would like to see them...
Dave

[dross]

Dave, Good to hear from you. I do have pictures which I will post. Have you cut your doors and windows? If you havn't, make sure you come to see my home before you do. It will be worth your time. Dave

[ajax]

ajax
I have to ask this having seen if referenced several times.

What in the world is a mutt tool? Is it another term for a spud?

I've been looking all over the rolladex for pricing on spuds but see several posts mention the mutt. Tried to research the mutt and find nothing on the itnernet...lol

thanks,
John

[greenthumb]

My mutt is a 'spud' that is about 4" wide at the scraping surface, and it tapers back to the handle. Mutt is the brand name used by home depot at one time, I know Lowes and Home Depot both use different brands now. I think some people call it a tile scraper. Someone posted a link a while back to one carried by Northern tool. I plan to make a few more out of jeep leaf springs...

[ajax]

Okay maybe I got it now.

I went to Home Depot just now and they had a "Bronco" brand tool. It had a 6' wood handle, and the small brochure said it was for ice, cutting roots, etc. The blade was about 4". Had a 5 year guarantee on the blade. The tip of the blade was flat and only sharp on the end and not both of the sides. There was a protective cover on the blade edge as it looked sharp.

Total price was about $14.00 with tax.

Does this sound like it would fit the bill for a spud?

Thanks,
John

[ajax]

Okay maybe I got it now.

I went to Home Depot just now and they had a "Bronco" brand tool. It had a 6' wood handle, and the small brochure said it was for ice, cutting roots, etc. The blade was about 4". Had a 5 year guarantee on the blade. The tip of the blade was flat and only sharp on the end and not both of the sides. There was a protective cover on the blade edge as it looked sharp.

Total price was about $14.00 with tax.

Does this sound like it would fit the bill for a spud?

Thanks,
John

[greenthumb]

That's pretty much what I have. The edge is probably ground to a chisel point. Mine is very dull from digging roots and rocks, so when I used it on a test tree it didn't gouge the wood much(especially if you hold it with the ground part touching the wood). I'll probably make my other ones with an axe point like taught in class.

[rocklock]

D Ross..
Thanks... I'm in Hawaii now, so I will make a point of comming over before I do my windows... Pinecone Pam (since she has such great Doug Fir logs- I keep thinking that she should change her handle to Fir Cone... but that's a little silly) has shown her book about how she cut her windows... She has used steel strapping to keep her monster logs from wandering around... I don't remember covering this in class, or in any other blog or book... but I think I will do something like that... I may take another look at her book before I start cutting... We may want to start a new topic about cutting windows...

Mutt. I bought a scrapper at HD before I got the blue wonder... It sucked... It had a 6" blade with a 30 to 40 degree edge... You need to get under the bark and lift it off. That is the reason a 3 or 4 inch blade will work much better. If the blade has about 20 degree edge and keep it dull... it will slide under the bark... IMHO... having both a long and short handled spud is an advantage... using different muscle sets... So you can get really tired...
Dave

[joek]

ive got 5 acers close to murray kentucky was hopeing to take next class but wife is haveing medical issues right now i sure hope they offer a class in feb or march