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This book is very in depth and contains more information concerning trees and chain saws then I intended for it to have when I first began writing it. When the endeavor launched it was supposed to be a “general orientation” resource for the uninitiated saw operator. Because the “general orientation” resources are a dime a dozen it quickly evolved into what it is today, as close as I can get to a complete introductory course into the world of trees and chainsaws that I live in daily. This is not an all inclusive mastery guide and is in no way a reasonable replacement for learning hands on from a seasoned pro. The purpose of this writing is to associate you, the novice, with some of the more advanced basics of the art and science behind producing your own firewood. I am sure that there are a myriad of items I have missed, topics I have not addressed that you are looking to have addressed, if that is the case then I apologize, if I have omitted anything it has been left out because at this stage in the game it is too advanced for the typical operator. Included in this work you will find all of the tools that you will require as a firewood processor, even if you have been doing it for years you may very well learn something new.
Throughout this book you will encounter words that you may or may not be familiar with, in preparation of this I have included the glossary at the beginning of the book so you can acquaint yourself with these terms prior to moving into the meat and potatoes of the material and it will be in a convenient place for you to return to as a reference. Like the rest of the book the glossary is far from all inclusive, as a matter of fact, there are a very large number of terms that I have omitted in order to keep from overwhelming you further.
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As the owner and long time principle operator of a tree removal service I have spent more hours on the business end of a chainsaw in the course of a month than most people spend in their cars throughout the rest of the year. I have climbed and cut literally thousands (if not tens of thousands) of trees in my years in the industry and can honestly claim, though I am no certified expert, that I have a pretty good idea of what I am doing and am more than proficient. From Ponderosa Pine to Honey Locust, Sycamore to Eucalyptus, each tree and species of tree, though different in look, density, and scientific classification, respond the same to the basic laws of physics and the effects of a good chainsaw and a knowledgeable operator. If you are going to be self-reliant and harvest your own firewood it is important that you have that good chainsaw, have become a knowledgeable and safe operator, and have a better than fair understanding of the laws of physics and the effects a falling tree has on the objects it will land on. In order to orient you further I have chosen to start at the very beginning with a short history lesson.
Whether you are a creationist or an evolutionist you can't deny that man today is what he has become because of his ability to harvest the power of heat. Scientifically speaking fire has been used by hominids since the Early Stone Age, or to the more academically inclined, the Lower Paleolithic Era. The more faithful readers understand that fire has always been a companion to man, though the Bible never mentions exactly when God gave fire to him, as early as Genesis fire is mentioned when Abraham utilizes a torch for light and later in the book a descendent of Cain, a son of Adam and Eve and evidently someone from an earlier time than Abraham, is said to have made tools from Bronze with the use of fire. Which ever belief you harbor, early uses for fire were limited to cooking and protection against animals and the elements but man quickly learned to use it for forging metals, rousting witches from the community, as a weapon of war, bar-b-queing, beach side bonfires, igniting fireworks, and even sending our fellow men to the moon. Try to imagine what your life would be like if you did not have the fire in your light bulbs to illuminate your bathroom when you go to take a pee at midnight. Or, how would your daily routine be affected if you did not have a well controlled and contained fire heating your water in that water heater in the basement? How different would the world be if we did not learn to harness combustion in the block of an engine allowing us to provide power to the wheels of our cars and buses? What is so easily taken for granted today began quite literally as a simple spark, a flash of human (or human ancestor) ingenuity.
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