The Good Woodcutter's Guide: Chain Saws, Woodlots, and Portable Sawmills [Paperback]

Dave Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

A good woodcutter . . .
. . . uses the best equipment, and works safely. A good woodcutter works responsibly to get the best yield from the woodlot. A good woodcutter loves the forest and manages it with an eye for future generations.
The Good Woodcutter's Guide is the first book in more than two decades to focus on the essential tools and information that enable owners of small woodlots to gain the maximum yield and enjoyment from their time in the woods. You will learn:

How to use the right chain saw

How to find the best dealer

Chain and saw maintenance

Safe techniques for felling, limbing, and bucking

Tips for productive, sustainable woodlot management

When to use a portable sawmill

Written in a warm, accessible style, The Good Woodcutter's Guide is a perfect manual for anyone who owns a chain saw and wants to use it to its full potential.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Greg Blanchard, a professional logger, says of Dave Johnson's book, "I enjoyed the book immensely and was constantly amazed to hear someone else describe a predicament which I all too often find myself in. The information is accurate, realistic, and practical."

Chain saws can do in a weekend what used to take a wood cutter an entire summer, but at the same time, used improperly or carelessly, they are certainly one of the most dangerous of power tools and can cause serious injury and even death.

Johnson provides a thorough and very readable overall look at choosing a saw, chain brakes, spare parts, felling, managing your woodlot, hard hats, safety equipment and guidelines, advice on sharpening and maintenance, cutting and selling firewood, and the pros and cons of portable sawmills in what is the most comprehensive overview of wood cutting written in recent years. Not a dry, technical manual, Johnson's accessible writing style is similar to Gene Logsdon's in his well-known The Contrary Farmer. The author's expertise on the subject is reinforced by the book's selection for special distribution by Bailey's, the nation's leading mail-order supplier of gear for loggers and foresters. --Mark A. Hetts

About the Author

Dave Johnson and his wife Marcia make a living from their 400-acre farm in central Wisconsin. Dave has written for The Country Journal, National Woodlands and The Northern Logger magazines. Both he and Marcia are former directors of the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea Green; First Edition edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890132152
• ISBN-13: 978-1890132156
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,116,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Johnson and his wife Marcia make a living from their 400-acre farm in central Wisconsin. Dave has written for The Country Journal, National Woodlands, and The Northern Logger magazines. Both he and Marcia are former directors of the Wisconsin Woodland Owners Association.

photo by Marcia Johnson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dubious Authenticity, December 19, 1999

By 

Gil Gaudia (Hobe Sound, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Good Woodcutter's Guide: Chain Saws, Woodlots, and Portable Sawmills (Paperback)

Although the "Good woodcutter's guide" reads well and is loaded with information from techniques to equipment, it does suffer from some shortcomings, most notably a lack of clarity in the description of potentially lethal activities and materials. For example, the discussion of chain saw "kickback" in which he disagrees with conventional wisdom is interesting, but if the novice is to follow advice that runs counter to other expert opinion, he'd better be supremely confident in the author's ability. I have found reason to question the reliability of some of the claims the author makes. An outstanding example is his advocation of a tree felling practice he calls the "open face" method in which the central concept is the cutting of a "notch of 90 degrees" in the trunk. The photographs and drawings shown decidedly contradict this since they appear to be 45 degree notches (Pgs. 91 and 109). It is actually mathematically impossible to cut a 90 degree notch in a trunk unless the bottom cut slopes upward to some degree, yet Mr. Johnson specifically states that the bottom cut must be a HORIZONTAL cut. Has he ever dropped a tree using his own method? I'd like to know how. If I'm going to engage in risky task like falling trees, I want to know that the person's advice I'm following can be counted on to be the safest available. I hate to be picky, but when the clock strikes thirteen, it's time to throw away the clock. On the other hand, if I've missed something, I'd appreciate an explanation and offer my apology.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Hardly A Guide, July 13, 2002

By 

Michael A Kelley (Winchendon, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Good Woodcutter's Guide: Chain Saws, Woodlots, and Portable Sawmills (Paperback)

The author has an easy readable, style that found me reading the book in one evening. It is laced with humorous anecdotes, but that is where the "goodness" stops.The information on saw and tree safety is a gloss over at best and very disturbing considering the immense danger involved in proper cutting, nevermind improper. A chainsaw manual from a reputable dealer has more safety and technique information than this book. Novices beware, this book will not teach you how to be a "good" woodcutter.The pages on selecting clothing at the Salvation Army and driving around in a beater of a truck would have been better used discussing wood cutting, but it obvious that his self-taught methods and his "it's not the right way, but the way I do it" attitude will get some unlucky beginner killed. Don't buy this book if you are looking for info on Chainsaw milling, he knows nothing about it.
A better title might have been "Subsistence Living with Pulp and Cordwood."

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Good Woodcutters Guide, January 9, 2000

By 

Tom Mooney (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Good Woodcutter's Guide: Chain Saws, Woodlots, and Portable Sawmills (Paperback)

Dave Johnson is a practical guy, who writes a practical guide. He provides a very good review of chainsaw use, safety, and maintenance. He also does a pretty good job of discussing bucking, felling, and all other aspects of getting pine trees off your lot for money.

The other areas discussed, such as sawmills, and economics were interesting, but only cursory. If you are already proficient with a chainsaw, but want to know more about woodlot management, this is not your book.

My only two minor criticisms of the book are Johnson should use diagrams more when he is describing the techniques of felling, bucking etc. Also, It was evident that the author was biased to recommend products sold by his publisher. In particular, his acclaim of a sawmill that the publisher sells, even though he admits that he never used one.

If you are looking for a good book on using your chainsaw to get wood on the ground, this is the book for you.