The Backyard Lumberjack [Paperback]

Frank Philbrick (Author), Stephen Philbrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2006

For every man who has ever conjured up a picture of himself felling trees in a roar of chainsaw noise and power, The Backyard Lumberjack is an account of dreams fulfilled. Father and son lumberjacks Stephen and Frank Philbrick have enjoyed the thrilling destruction of felling, bucking, and splitting timber for hundreds of cords of firewood. Together they bring practical instruction and first-hand advice to every man with a chainsaw.

Before there can be any felling of trees or satisfying shouting of Timber!, every potential lumberjack must choose the proper saw. The Philbricks offer buying advice based on the quantity of wood to be cut and the amount of time to be spent on the job. Diagrams of chainsaw parts, functions, and maintenance requirements; tables and charts of saw specifications and firewood volume; and personal cautionary tales of on-the-job injuries arm potential lumberjacks with the necessary tools to make informed choices.

Chainsaw in hand, father and son move on to detailed instructions on managing a woodlot, felling and bucking, splitting and stacking, and even include fun facts on burning. For every lumberjack chore they offer advice on equipment (chaps, helmets, felling wedges, hatchets, mauls, peeves), careful procedural instruction, safety and efficiency strategies, and always their humorous anecdotes and tales of tree adventure.

For the rural lumberjack with acres of woodland, the suburban guy with a cord of wood to split and stack for the fireplace, or the urban guy who just likes to think about chainsaws, The Backyard Lumberjack is as much an engaging read on the legends and experiences of lumberjacking as a practical reference guide.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Here is something for the would-be lumberjack in your life."—Gordy Holt, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Nov. 25, 2006 (Gordy Holt Seattle Post-Intelligencer )

"[The authors] have created a guide…that's fun to read even if you don't know a chainsaw from a chain letter."—Jan Gardner, Boston Globe, Oct. 8, 2006 (Jan Gardner Boston Globe )

"…covers…getting trees from forest to fireplace with such enthusiasm…that you'll find yourself hankering to swing a maul."—Mary Beth Breckenridge, Akron Beacon Journal, Nov. 11, 2006 (Mary Beth Breckenridge Akron Beacon Journal )

“If your favorite wood-gatherer is getting a new ax or chainsaw this winter, make him read this book FIRST.”

Spokane Spokesman-Review

 

“…an excellent guide to harvesting, splitting, stacking, and burning wood for fuel.”

BackHome Magazine

About the Author

Frank Philbrick lives in New York and competes in lumberjack events around the country.

Stephen Philbrick, lives in Massachusetts, where he manages 120 acres of woodlot.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC (September 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580176348
• ISBN-13: 978-1580176347
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Power Tools
  • #69 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Forestry
  • #87 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Small Homes & Cottages

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Amusing stories but some not so sound advice, December 8, 2006

By 

W. Coates (Rural WA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Backyard Lumberjack (Paperback)

I snagged this book since I gravitate to most things involving wood and axes. I liked the layout and really enjoyed the tales of their neighbors and friends, but when I read the part about how to fell a tree I couldn't help but cringe. Felling trees is a regular part of my job with the US Forest Service. I'm no grizzled veteran faller but those I've worked with have enough confidence in my abilities to make me a saw instructor for our newer employees. That said, I found much of the Phibrick's falling process to be downright dangerous. The biggest example is their simple face cut. The photo shows a substantial dutchman (where the flat part of your face cut passes beyond the angle part). End result is you have little to no holding wood to control your tree on its way to the ground. If it's leaning back just a hair, or the wind pushes back, it'll just shear that little bit of wood (or big bit if your back cut is triple the appropriate size as the author's is) along the grain and the tree will go where it pleases. You want to have as much control of the tree as you can, especially if you have a wife and kids waiting for you at home. I could elaborate but I don't want to rant (too much). If you're looking for sound advice on falling trees (easy or complex) look to Professional Timber Falling by Douglas Dent, available at good logging supply warehouses, or find a copy of the Falling and Bucking Safety Guide put out by the Oregon state OSHA.
Enjoy the stories and the nice pictures of stacked firewood around the world that this book offers, but please take your tree falling lessons from someone with a better understanding. I was astonished that the publisher seems to have skipped even the most basic technical review before putting it to the press.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars wanted more, November 27, 2006

By 

Roald Euller (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Backyard Lumberjack (Paperback)

I have a mixed reaction to this book. On the positive side, I thoroughly enjoyed the authors' stories, insights, and personal asides. For them, "lumberjacking" is as much a metaphor for life as it is a means to physical warmth or woodlot maintenance. This made for an entertaining and accessible read.

On the negative side, I really wanted more hard information. I have a 13-acre woodlot that requires reqular care, and I had hoped for far more detail on how to approach difficult felling and bucking situations, especially since I often have to work alone. For example, a recent windstorm brought down about ten 70-80 foot pines, most of which are hung up at various angles on other trees. The book sheds very little light on how to deal with hung trees, other than to note that they can be tricky. For example, should they be notched from underneath with a felling cut down from the top like an ordinary tree? What effect does the added tension/compression on the trunk have in this situation? What should be done when two or three trees are hung up as a group, so that freeing one holds a strong risk that the entire stack may come down (a very dangerous situation)? Is it ever appropriate to apply tension (using, say, a come-along) to help direct a tree (hung or otherwise) that wants to fall in an undesirable direction?

This is just one example, however, there were many places in the book where I felt that it was long on story telling (which is a fine thing, don't get me wrong) and short on hard core "how to".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Need the Frontyard too!, January 9, 2007

By 

Dean A. Rosenthal (Washington State, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Backyard Lumberjack (Hardcover)

This is a fun book but I was looking for more technical information about tree cutting and bucking. More problem solving would have been nice. The idea of cutting compression areas first before tension areas wasn't discussed. More diagrams of cutting techniques would have been helpful.