Recent content by Ryan Browne

Similar to sugar maple but takes longer to dry. Usually splits better. When sugar maples get large the grain tends to get kinda twisted and curly. Oaks seem to stay straighter.

Oak when it's had 3 years to dry is pretty tough to beat for BTUs, but I'd rather burn ash or maple. I've got a better chance of getting it dry before I burn it. Plus, people pay extra for oak firewood, so I try to sell it when I can.

I have friends (even people who are in the tree service industry) that call skid steers "skidders" also. I never understood it. Though, in my particular area, I've almost never seen an actual skidder, so that may have something to do with it. Also, I hear a skid steers called a "skiddy". Maybe...

The first saw I ever bought was when I lived out in Washington after college. It was a 361 with a full wrap. This is the only picture I have of it. Looks similar but not identical to the one you have. It was a great saw. I still had it when I moved back to Wisconsin, and I took a FISTA safety...

Nailed it. Looking at Sugarloaf rock. Here's another one from the end of lighthouse road. We were delivering syrup to some places up on Prosper ridge. Hard to tell the grade and road condition from pics, but everytime I drive up there I laugh at the idea that people live there. We had the...

This is actually a decent stretch of pavement on this road which is equal parts pavement, gravel, and potholes. Switchbacks across cattle grates up through pastures where some beeves enjoy pretty incredible views. I bet @HumBurner knows right where I took this. I had about 900# of maple syrup in...

In theory, Stihl parts should be easier for me to get, but I'll walk into the local Stihl dealer with a part number and they'll do the whole "what saw is it for?" routine. Then they want a premium for parts. Then, they charge me shipping for parts that get delivered to the store. That was really...

I wouldn't say so. Within 100 miles of me there seems to be a few dealers and maybe there were more in the past. Definitely some Jonsereds back in the day. But locally it's a very Stihl dominated market. There's Stihl dealers in almost every small town, including mine. From the township guys to...

They're definitely both quality saws. And as much as I'd like to own a new 550xpg, the reasons that I listed above for owning a herd of 350/346-family saws doesn't apply to the 550. There's like 8 models of Husqvarna and jonsered saws on that platform, which makes parts saws real common. Not...

I run a number of saws on the 345/350/353/346 platform. For me, the cost of ownership was a lot better than the 261. The saws themselves are cheap, the parts are cheap and widely available, plus parts saws are easy to find. Lots of parts interchangeability too. Plus, I like them. Honestly I...

I'd rather run a smoother, less grabby chain for cutting branches, and the extra torque from the smaller drive sprocket is nice when you're dealing with minor pinches in that type of work. Conversely I found 3/8 to stay sharp longer, clear chips better in bigger diameter material, and generally...

My 261 was a favorite firewood saw for pretty much anything under 16-18" wood, both stock and after I had it ported. I ran a 16" 3/8 bar and chain for firewood and I'd swap to .325 for limbing and thinning work.

I was just gonna ask @FTG-05 how he likes that implement. I think it's called a Harley Rake, but I could be mistaken. If I understand correctly, they're kinda like a shallow rototiller for gravel driveways and other grading applications.

They're really great in wet conditions also, and heated handles sure is nice for resale value also.

I think you'll greatly appreciate having them on there. Also, I assume you can buy the same tractor with ag wheels which could be moved out to a fairly wide stance. I wouldn't worry about breaking stuff if your r4s with spacers are within the same width range as you can achieve with ag tires