The pleasure in cutting standing Sitka Spruce

[difflock]

So, as a result of the always-wet rodden being frozen nice and solid,

since it lies East-West it caught the full benefit of the biting/drying East wind.

I finally got into my stand of 40 year old Sitka, some of which have started to blow down in the wind.

An absolute pleasure to cut, sned and generally work with, and this stand is, ironically despite being accessed off the wet rodden, the driest bit of forestry I got.

I am gambling that the better buttressed Sitka might manage to hold on a few years yet, so essentially thinning and removing the wind-thrown trees.

I intend to plant native specis trees in the clearings, Oak and Beech primarily.

cheers

mth

Edited March 3, 2018 by difflock

[agrimog]

see if you still feel the same after a few days of black sticky horrible hands from the sap and resin off the sitka

[difflock]

I will trade black sticky fingertips(cos I am wearing fingerless gloves)

for black sticky everything else, i.e. me, me clothes, me tractor and everyfink covered in wet black peat.

All things are relative.

mth

[MattyF]

Pete washes off?? You will never remove Sitka sap!! I don’t mind Sitka as long as the hairy outside trees are weighted in the right direction.. just don’t wear your favourite saw trousers and best jacket.

[difflock]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/232680731662?chn=ps&adgroupid=47842945425&rlsatarget=pla-380312384851&abcId=1129946&adtype=pla&merchantid=9802104&poi=&googleloc=9045175&device=c&campaignid=974959912&crdt=0

 

works for me

p.s.

whats a "best" jacket?

[MattyF]

Tuxedo ... I will try and separate my work clothes, newer ones for Arb work and being in customers gardens and wrecked up stained black with Sitka ones for forestry.
You certainly never want your best rope for dismantling them!

[MattyF]

Better than swarfega ?? I’ve had my arms raw to get the sap off with gritty swarfega stuff, mind you that’s cutting in spring /summer when they are not dormant and the saps flowing like a giant tube of glue off the stems.

[s o c]

Dreumex expert works for me??

[difflock]

Whether due the recent cold snap, but I would say no sap from the stumps/butts, that I had cut the previous day, also the couple of blocks I cut to take the stumps down to forest floor level were clean, dry and light to handle.

despite the tops being vibrant lush had-to-be-sappy green.

I suspect it is the citrus oil in the Loctite 7850 product that cuts the Sitka sap, with the aid of the pumice abrasive , it is also very kind to my skin.

[spuddog0507]

Best things for removing sitka resin I have found over the years are methes and a more modern addition is them lenses /glasses cleaning wipes out of aldi, cutting spruce at the moment, was standing but its now on the floor in a right tangled up mess some over fence in to field so more work.