Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

Today I worked on a long over due project, removing dead ash trees. The were growing close to arborvitae trees and have been falling on the evergreens. I didn't want to pull them down with a rope or cable. So decided to push them over with the backhoe bucket. The project went well with all the trees knocked over but didn’t get to cut them all up. Darn Stilh chain saw wouldn’t start after taking a break. That’s a story all in itself for another post. Harry

Nice job Harry. Ahhh, my favourite tool, a chainsaw.
The ash makes great firewood. Do you have a wood stove or fireplace Harry. ?

Noel

Well done Harry. Ash does make very nice firewood if you have the need, and it's super easy to split... Makes nice lumber too, but that's another game.

Probably a quarter of my woods were ash. If I had had the time, equipment, and youth to take it all down before it went punky, or fell, I would have firewood, and or lumber for the rest of my life certainly. It's a damn shame what has happened with this. I actually have large almost grassy areas in the middle of the woods now. I know it will fill in, but that's a long time off. I'm going to start putting a few American Chestnuts in some of those areas. The ash may well have filled in when the chestnut disappeared last time...

I don't actually want to play with some of the standing dead at this point. The tops are mostly off, so that's good, but since they like to grow in clumps, it's real hard to attack them, and not be worried about a big game of dominos, or root ball catapulting... Once I get the big backhoe in service, I will be using that hopefully since it's got a lot more weight, and power than the 646, and the ROPS and cab give it a little more protection than the Case.

Many of them I can work on with a 28" bar I have on a Homelite Super XL. That's too much bar for that saw, but it will pull it ok if I'm careful, and the total weight isn't a nightmare. The really big trees, and there are quite a few, will be a struggle with the 32" bar on my McCulloch 795L. At 24# for just the head, I don't like having to use that for felling. Hell I don't like having to use it period, but for cutting rounds at least you've got gravity helping.

Only reason I will fight with them now is a) I don't like them standing over my old logging roads which are just scenic drives now mostly, and b) when I put the chestnuts in, I don't want them standing under a bunch of dead trees that will inevitably fall on them.

propane1 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2024 4:42 am Nice job Harry. Ahhh, my favourite tool, a chainsaw.
The ash makes great firewood. Do you have a wood stove or fireplace Harry. ?

Noel

Noel, I have a wood furnace in my shop that I built. No wood heat in my house. Harry

Harry wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2024 7:29 am

propane1 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2024 4:42 am Nice job Harry. Ahhh, my favourite tool, a chainsaw.
The ash makes great firewood. Do you have a wood stove or fireplace Harry. ?

Noel

Noel, I have a wood furnace in my shop that I built. No wood heat in my house. Harry

That’s good Harry. You have a use for the wood.

Noel