Customer Reviews

The Backyard Lumberjack

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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".

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.

Lots of pretty pictures and cute writing. 23 full color pictures of the authors swinging splitting mauls. Lots of pictures of them doing all sorts of things. A really eccentric felling style. I wouldn't try it. There are much better, safer and more accurate methods in general use.

I read several less than stellar reviews on this book before I bought it - but bought it anyway - hoping that the specific flaws those reviews pointed out were the only ones. (Ironically, I paid full price for this book at a convention - shame on me - I should have bought a "used" one on Amazon for half the new price.)

The storytelling IS good, but for a book that bills itself as "THE ULTIMATE GUIDE" - there is simply not enough detailed, specific information. You could pretty much pick up what this book "teaches" by reading a page or two our of Storey's "Basic Country Skills" book. Frankly, no one area out of felling, bucking, splitting or even stacking is covered in "ultimate" detail.

It is a fun book to read. A fast read. I enjoyed the stories, but I will need to find another better book.

I can't and won't argue the wisdom or even safety of the 45 degree vs 90 degree notch cut to fell a tree. I use the 90 and find that it sometimes leaves me with tree that are still attached to the stump and under tension when it is down. This makes for some dicey surgery to relieve that tension before the tree can be limbed and bucked. Perhaps the 45 degree notch (that another reviewer blasts as horribly unsafe) actually has some positives as the tree snapping off once it passes 45 degrees could be a GOOD thing. After all, you shouldn't be standing around that area anyway, and the "hinge" can't do much guiding past 45 degrees anyway. (Hey, if that tree is falling the wrong way past 30 degrees, you're already in trouble!)

The authors also seem to have a problem with finishing their little stories. I found myself waiting for a moral or a punch line many times.

This is a fun and informative book. I recommend it for anyone considering doing anything

with wood before burning it. The book covers every step from tree to ashes, but there

is something in it for those that start with delivered log lengths, or shorter pieces,

split or unsplit.

I've been cutting and splitting wood for about 20 years, mostly purchased log lengths,

but also some trees on my lot. The only mistake I found was a one time confusion between

BTUs and Kilowatt Hours. The sections about limbing and bucking were correct, but a few

more examples and illustrations might have made them even better.

A substantial part of the book is not needed in an instruction manual. There are stories

about people (characters) the authors have known, sermons about the good life burning wood,

even a description of lumberjack competitions. You might not laugh as often as I did, but

if you don't smile frequently, you really are a grump.

If you're like me, you grew up in the suburbs, moved to the city, and either plan on or have already moved back to someplace a little bit more rural. You probably assume that you have enough common sense and rugged manliness about you to figure out how to bring in some firewood, without ever having actually tried. The Philbricks' book fills the fissures in your knowledge that you have yet to discover. You'll find that like many yeoman tasks, bringing in firewood is a far richer and more complicated subject than you might expect, and rather than reinvent the axe, you can get up to speed with a little help from this engaging father and son team. Through it all, the Philbricks impart an appreciation for work in their natural environment that is powerful but not sanctimonious, and that alone is worth more than the cover price for most of us. These fellers cut deep, but hold the sap.

The Good Woodcutter's Guide: Chain Saws, Woodlots, and Portable Sawmills
I have read The Backyard Lumberjack and I feel that some of the felling information is very poor and could be dangerous. I would suggest buying the book "The Good Woodcutter's Guide" by Dave Johnson instead.

Two skilled professional lumberjacks tell what it takes to bring down a tree: perfect information for any homeowner who faces a tree project and wants some hand in handling it. From learning how to fell a tree safely to cutting it up, splitting, stacking wood, and burning correctly, all the basics are covered in a unique guide. Plenty of books on the market tell how to identify and care for trees; but few give the homeowner the tools to assess conditions and take one down, making THE BACKYARD LUMBERJACK an outstanding reference.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

I just bought a chainsaw for my 12-acre woooded property, and after reading the manual cover to cover, I was terrified of using it. This book was very helpful, and the pictures were great. It has given me some confidence that when I get out there, I will know what I am doing.