Right Tool for the Job
Mar. 31st, 2023 02:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeIn some of the photos of the area near the woodbox, you may have noticed a pile of uncut cord-wood as well as a not-very tidy pile of pallets. We accumulate pallets, as the Pres-to-Logs and other wood is packaged on pallets. Lisa has tried to cut these down to short lengths so we can burn them in the fireplace; however, the pallets are generally full of nails, and you don't really want to try cutting them with most power equipment. Cutting them with hand saws is very tiring, and consequently, we've got a lot of uncut pallets.
Lisa, after doing some study, decided that a new tool was needed, and so off we went to Lowe's.
We bought a DeWalt model DWE304 reciprocating saw and an assortment of different types of blades. The right blade, in this case is the large "demo" (meaning "demolition" rather than "demonstration") blade, useful for rough cuts where you don't need fine control. Unlike the other reciprocating saws on offer, the DeWalt is US made ("with international components").
On March 25, we did the first round of pallet reduction, and Lisa also used the saw to cut most of the cord-wood we salvaged from the West Lot when they tore out trees and left a bunch of logs laying about. There is still one log left that is too large to cut with the saw and will have to wait until we break out the chainsaw. (The electric chainsaw needs either a new blade or we need to buy a sharpener for it before we use it again.) We put this in the wood box. I burned the pallets over the following few days. The cord-wood was too damp to burn, but I hope will dry out sitting in the wood box under cover.
Yesterday was the first day since the 25th that was both dry and warm (-ish) enough to continue work on the pallet project. At left are what were the main members of a previous round of pallets. It may not be that obvious, but those boards are just loaded with nails. The key thing here is that the heavy demo blade on the reciprocating saw is rated to cut through nails. Lisa doesn't aim to cut nails, but if she hits one, she knows the blade should be able to cut it. Of course she wears ear, eye, and hand protection doing this work.
I put on my own ear protection and gloves and held onto boards and pieces of pallet. In general, I look away while Lisa is cutting because I don't have a pair of full-protection safety glasses
Cutting was very quick, and we broke down three or four more pallets, stacking the pieces in the wood box. This pallet wood burns pretty quickly, but it will help stretch our supply of firewood for the rest of this season.
After Lisa put away the saw and extension cord, she and I went around the property, gathered the remaining pallets, and piled them relatively neatly here. This looks much tidier than the random stacks scattered in different places around.
As our time and energy permit, we will cut up these remaining pallets and store the pieces in the wood box. The area behind this pile of pallets is a place where Lisa is planning on building a second wood box so that we can lay in as many as three pallets of Press-to-Logs at a time, which will help soften hiccups in the supply chain next winter, we hope.
Lisa, after doing some study, decided that a new tool was needed, and so off we went to Lowe's.
We bought a DeWalt model DWE304 reciprocating saw and an assortment of different types of blades. The right blade, in this case is the large "demo" (meaning "demolition" rather than "demonstration") blade, useful for rough cuts where you don't need fine control. Unlike the other reciprocating saws on offer, the DeWalt is US made ("with international components").
On March 25, we did the first round of pallet reduction, and Lisa also used the saw to cut most of the cord-wood we salvaged from the West Lot when they tore out trees and left a bunch of logs laying about. There is still one log left that is too large to cut with the saw and will have to wait until we break out the chainsaw. (The electric chainsaw needs either a new blade or we need to buy a sharpener for it before we use it again.) We put this in the wood box. I burned the pallets over the following few days. The cord-wood was too damp to burn, but I hope will dry out sitting in the wood box under cover.
Yesterday was the first day since the 25th that was both dry and warm (-ish) enough to continue work on the pallet project. At left are what were the main members of a previous round of pallets. It may not be that obvious, but those boards are just loaded with nails. The key thing here is that the heavy demo blade on the reciprocating saw is rated to cut through nails. Lisa doesn't aim to cut nails, but if she hits one, she knows the blade should be able to cut it. Of course she wears ear, eye, and hand protection doing this work.
I put on my own ear protection and gloves and held onto boards and pieces of pallet. In general, I look away while Lisa is cutting because I don't have a pair of full-protection safety glasses
Cutting was very quick, and we broke down three or four more pallets, stacking the pieces in the wood box. This pallet wood burns pretty quickly, but it will help stretch our supply of firewood for the rest of this season.
After Lisa put away the saw and extension cord, she and I went around the property, gathered the remaining pallets, and piled them relatively neatly here. This looks much tidier than the random stacks scattered in different places around.
As our time and energy permit, we will cut up these remaining pallets and store the pieces in the wood box. The area behind this pile of pallets is a place where Lisa is planning on building a second wood box so that we can lay in as many as three pallets of Press-to-Logs at a time, which will help soften hiccups in the supply chain next winter, we hope.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-01 12:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-04-01 12:52 pm (UTC)On early morning TV (which seems an odd time to me to place such a spot) there is a recurring TV commercial for Stihl tools, with a point that they are Made In America. Every time I hear it I think of the two of you.
no subject
Date: 2023-04-01 06:01 pm (UTC)Lisa's disdain for the phony patriots knows no bounds. They shout "We're Number One!" while riding around waving flags and wearing hats made in China and other things that show they're, as some Texans have said, "All hat, no cattle."