# Heating with wood and having a bad back



## EJL923 (Jan 31, 2012)

Im not sure where this would go, but ill start in the wood shed as that's where having a bad back would matter the most.  Another thread inspired me to start a new one.  How do people with bad backs deal with heating with wood?  It is obviously strenuous if you process wood yourself.  Even if you get wood delivered, there is stacking, and constantly bringing wood indoors.  Anybody have any tips?  Maybe some equipment which helps move wood easier?


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## smokinj (Jan 31, 2012)

Nothing easy about it. Iam starting to look for smaller trees.....Bottom line your moving a lot of weight. I work off from my knees every chance I get. (Lots of back issues) Sure I will take heat from this post....


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## EJL923 (Jan 31, 2012)

haha, true.  But im the same way.  Try to get the wood as close to the stack as possible, which sometimes means kneeling down, throwing the wood closer, then kneeling down to stack.  Ive managed large rounds at times, rolling the round up one of my legs.  There are times and i can pick up wood all day without kneeling down, and then there are times where my loving wife will bring the wood in for me because i couldn't pick up a pound of sugar, shes a saint.  There's definitely lots of rolling logs around.


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## Bocefus78 (Jan 31, 2012)

Get a tractor and wagon to move from pile to porch etc. Like jay said, work from your knees = less bending over. Try to handle the wood as few times as necessary. Split it where your going to stack it.  Plan your wood moving on days you feel good. That means DONT wait until the last minute. Most importantly.....get ahead in your wood supply.


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## lukem (Jan 31, 2012)

Bocefus78 said:
			
		

> Most importantly.....get ahead in your wood supply.



Couldn't agree more.  If you are ahead, you can process wood when your back feels good, and sit on the couch when you're hurting.


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## fran35 (Jan 31, 2012)

Believe it or not, splitting wood actually makes my back feel better. I have a few herniated discs and pretty much chronic pain. Running the chain saw is way worse on my lower back than swinging the maul.


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## ProjectX (Jan 31, 2012)

I believe it helps the back if you work smarter not harder.

Work with a size you can handle safely.  
Lift with knees.
Keep it close.
Take your time.
Don't over reach or twist.
Listen to you body.

I find taking 2 aleve (nsaid) anti-inflammatory 1 hour before I process really helps me. I am 39 with 2 bad discs and some nerve issues down the leg. I processed/scrounged about 6-7 cords this year of Oak/Maple/Pine all processed by hand no splitter and no helper. 

X


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## Lumber-Jack (Jan 31, 2012)

EJL923 said:
			
		

> How do people with bad backs deal with heating with wood?


Maybe not the answer you are looking for, but you already hinted at my main back saving solution when you mentioned your loving wife.  Get help when you need it.
If I have something to do, that I know is likely to aggravate my back, I'll call my teen age sons to either help, or take care of the task at hand by themselves. Knowing when to not to attempt doing something by myself has had the most profound effect on saving me from further back injury.
Of course my solution may not help anybody that doesn't have that sort of help availible, but I think it's worth mentioning since it has become such an integral part of my back saving regime.


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## Jags (Jan 31, 2012)

I am a firm believer in machinery and equipment.  Loader tractor, splitter with a lift, a yard cart that is higher than most being pulled by a garden tractor and a two wheel cart to bring wood into the garage.  For the most part, if there is a way to take weight off of me, I have it pretty well engineered into the process.

Edit: find the part of the process that causes the most trouble and then try to figure out a solution, then repeat.  That would be my suggestion.  I realize that there are a couple of areas that you can only go so far, like the actual running of the saw, but there are many other points to be looked at.


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## firebroad (Jan 31, 2012)

I don't have a bad back per se, but my lower back can give me a fit to the point that I will have trouble walking, doing stairs, even lying in bed after working with wood.  I get mine delivered and already split most of the time, but I do occasionally get a free windfall.  I use a log rack that is waist high and that helps.  Bucking and splitting usually cause little problems, believe it or not it is the damn hauling around to the back and bending over to stack that gets me.  Once the stack is above knee length, it gets easier.  If I don't use my lawn tractor and trailer, like when the ground is soft, I use a two-wheeled barrow.  I pace myself. and take breaks.  Just don't break too long or you will stiffen up!


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## EJL923 (Jan 31, 2012)

Ive been wondering if a two wheeled wheelbarrow would be better on the back...  I suppose it would be more stable and therefore cause less stress on the back.


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## velvetfoot (Jan 31, 2012)

A hookaroon can allow you to pick up splits and load them in the wheelbarrow without  bending over.  Good for a change of pace.


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## CTYank (Jan 31, 2012)

A couple of things that work well for me, as insurance:

Use lightest saw available, that'll get it done; makes more hours available to work per day by reducing fatigue-factor. Uses less fuel mix, too.
Use hookaroon/pulpwood hook to reduce/eliminate bending; makes arm longer. I've a 36". See FlatbedFord's 6-footer.
Know enough to quit while you're ahead.


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## firebroad (Jan 31, 2012)

The 2 wheeler was a godsend!
http://www.amazon.com/Marathon-7001...1KKQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1328026620&sr=8-1

Also, what CTYANK said.


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## Lumber-Jack (Jan 31, 2012)

firebroad said:
			
		

> If I don't use my lawn tractor and trailer, like when the ground is soft, I use a two-wheeled barrow.


I saw you post this and had to comment.
Sometimes machinery can be your worst enemy. I see a lot of people in this forum using quads and trailers to haul around their wood, and probably those may be fine, I don't have one so I can only speculate. But I notice some people are also using lawn tractors and riding mowers, and those I have some experience with. The worst of my back problems started when I had a job that involved doing a lot of riding around in a riding mower and frequently riding over rough ground. Many of these things have you seated like in car with your weight resting solidly on your rear end, and unable to support any of your weight on your feet. This differs, I think, from the way you ride a quad, or a motorcycle where you can lift your butt in the air at any time and take the weight off your tail bone, and back. When you are forced to ride over rough ground that can rock and roll your body side to side or up and down, your legs are much better suited to absorb that sort of impact than having your back absorb it directly. 
I know there are some models of riding mowers and lawn tractors that you can support your weight with your legs, but there are many that you can't. The difference in design is where your feet are, are they ahead of your butt, or are they directly under your butt? Can you stand directly up from your seat, or do you have to pull yourself forward? If you have any vehicle that you can't support your weight with your legs you'll want to be very careful about riding over rough ground, or maybe skip it entirely. That's what I would do now.


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## velvetfoot (Jan 31, 2012)

What I noticed too was that with the hydrostatic transmission there was a sudden increase in speed which could "adjust" the back as well.

edit:  I mean, it could be jerky.


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## momof2nutlings (Jan 31, 2012)

Throw out those wheelbarrows! They kill my back, even my husband has no love for them.  Instead I (and he, when his buddies aren't here to watch LOL) commandeered the nutlings's little plastic wagon. Holds a good deal of wood and easy to pull along behind me across the yard. Unloading it can be tricky, but I have a little collapsible stool that I put next to it when I don't have a stump handy. 


Best way to save the back yet - have your kids do it!  :cheese:


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## PA. Woodsman (Jan 31, 2012)

Like others have said going after smaller-sized trees and pieces help, but the best suggestion that I can offer is to strengthen your back so that you can deal with the job better. I had a disc rupture and foot drop in 2007 and went to a physical therapist who helped me with it. About a month ago I started to have some issues in the lower back, hip and groin area, and thank God that I found a manual physical therapist who is working with me and addressing my problems and getting me strong again for my job and also cutting wood. I would imagine you can benefit from some proper exercises at any age; and some of these exercises aren't extremely strenuos-a good therapist will know which ones are for you and target your weak spot and address it.

Good luck to you and I admire you for working with wood with a bad back!


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## bogydave (Jan 31, 2012)

Sore back & fire wood go together.* Drugs, posture, mechanical aids & the 6" between the ears *
My back, after surgery, shots, therapy, still sore. 
I work slow & methodical  to lift in the right posture & avoid heavy or bad angle lifting.
Split vertical mostly, I roll big rounds & use pulleys, levers , winches, ATV ramps. & other mechanical devices to avoid putting lots of pressure on my back.
Low work is on my knees. Waist high for lifting bigger stuff (not huge stuff) & no twisting while lifting. No bending over for heavies, they are rollers.
Not much swinging a maul anymore. Back brace when in the woods liming & pulling logs to the truck &  uneven ground work. 
Slower pace, use mechanical advantages allot, Ibuprofen the day before , during & after,  & always be mindful of your position & posture


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 31, 2012)

I've suffered with a bad back for more years than some of these folks have been on this earth. In this time I've learned there are many more folks with bad backs that I ever imagined. I've also learned that no two backs are alike. There have been times when I could not cut wood for long periods of time. However, most years I can cut but can not do a full days work by any means. There are some on this forum who can probably put up wood 10 times faster than I can. I say this knowing what I used to be able to do. 

So what I do is take each day as it comes. If I want to cut or split wood bad enough, the weather is right and the body might let me, I simply go out and do it. I've gone out to cut wood and lasted maybe 2 minutes and had to stop for the day. Other days I may stay at it for several hours with liberal breaks spread about. Doing the felling is not much problem but cutting the wood once it is on the ground can be difficult on the back as can lifting the wood to load it onto the trailer or whatever you haul your wood on. 

For splitting the wood, we stack our wood in loose rows during the winter as we cut. Then come spring out comes the splitter (hydraulic). The splitting can go rather quickly or it can go rather slowly. I never know which way it will go until I get started. Then I simply don't worry any more and just take it as it comes. I've split 9 cord or more in the spring and I know for a fact that one time it took me perhaps 3 times longer to do the splitting simply because the pain was so bad I could work only for short periods. 

I do whatever is possible to make the work easier. Not too large of a chain saw. A low trailer so the wood does not have to be lifted very high. A nice atv for hauling and that gives a good ride so as not to jar me around. When splitting, I sit so that I do not have to lift those logs but simply roll them onto the splitter. I have pain medicine and if necessary I take it. I also like to use heat packs on my back and one that works very well are the ThermaCare heat packs (for the back) which can last 12 hours or more (but they may have changed them so they don't last as long. Not sure on this.) I also use the gel packs that can be heated in the microwave oven. Sometimes a little "muscle relaxer" when finished can help a bit if mixed quite strongly. 

In short, do what you can when you can. Personally I love the work but hate the pain. But even though I am in lots of pain I will still sometimes head for the woods. It is just something I enjoy and when you enjoy doing something, it is good therapy.


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## Hickorynut (Feb 1, 2012)

I have burned wood for about 20 years.  About 4 years ago, I was lifting some heavy rounds and felt a pop with subsequent pain.  To make a long story short, I am still having back pain.  I have gone long periods without  doing any firewood and my back might get better.  But anytime I try to go back out and work with the firewood, my back starts hurting again.  I also really like working with wood, but it gets so discouraging.  I work with smaller trees, saws, etc. but the back still hurts mostly from the  hours bending from stacking, splitting and lifting heavy pieces.   I actually can't totally quit fooling with wood because I live in a woods and have to clean up the trees and limbs that fall. Riding a lawnmower as someone said is also really hard on the back.  When I retire in a couple of years I plan on getting more proactive and having a mri and try to find what is really going on.  Back surgery will be a last resort as I still hear all kinds of reports of where surgery did little to no good. To summarize if you have back problems anything you do with firewood is not good, sorry to say (.


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## nate379 (Feb 1, 2012)

When I hauled in wood this summer I played it smart and hired someone to help me.  The ~$100 I spent was well worth being able to walk the next day.  I had him run the saw and load the bigger stuff on the trailer while I took care of the normal sized stuff.  Even still it was pretty rough for the next few days.


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## rdust (Feb 1, 2012)

I had back surgery(microdiscectomy) at the end of July(2011) to repair a herniated disk at the L5-S1, I also have spondylolisthesis on that same level.  The spondylolisthesis caused me back pain for years and still bothers me some.  I work in smaller amounts now, before I would process wood about 3 times faster than I do now.  I take it easy now and think about what I'm doing before I do it.  I avoid any crazy lifting, bending, twisting, reaching and make sure I always lift with my legs when I do need to lift.  If I have to half/quarter a log to make it more manageable I now take the time, before I would just muscle it and deal with the pain later.  I also try to get help when I need it, my dad enjoys helping when he has time.

I may start buying log loads just so I don't have to haul wood out of tough spots.  I hate to do it but the 3-4K I save a year from burning wood isn't worth the bad back that could come along with it if I make a wrong move.


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## eujamfh (Feb 1, 2012)

Muscle relaxers, chiropractor, inversion table, core exercises, and lifting with the legs.  Those are in reverse order the way I handle large rounds. I try to exercise daily to strengthen and stretch back and stomach muscles.  The inversion table was just added to the routine at the advice of the Doc.

Just had an episode that has had me out of commission for two weeks (not completely out but hobbling around).  When I asked the Doc why the sudden problem with no apparent trigger...he commented, "It's tough getting older."  

Yup.


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## jimbom (Feb 1, 2012)

> Anybody have any tips?  Maybe some equipment which helps move wood easier?


My tips and equipment:
-Timber jack when bucking.
-Tongs and heavy two wheel hand truck to move rounds not split on site.
-Homemade rounds carrier low to the ground loaded with tongs pulled with garden tiller power unit.
-Electric splitter mounted at waist height.
-Rounds direct from carrier to splitter to drying stack.
-Two large plant pots that hold 50 pounds of splits each on hand truck.  Rolled from drying stacks to porch stack.  100 pounds per trip.
-Hand truck has large diameter turf tires and is moved up stairs one step at a time.  I stand vertical with my back to the rise and either shrug the shoulders to raise the load one step or slightly flex the knees to raise the load one step.  Step up - repeat 16 times.
-Unload top large pot onto porch stack from hand truck.  Then flip that pot over for a seat and unload bottom large pot onto porch stack.
-Porch stack to stove in 5 gallon buckets ~20 pounds.

I move 600 pounds per hour up onto a 10 foot high porch.  So I don't need to do it very often.  It gets done when the old body feels great, the weather is perfect, and nothing else strenuous is on the agenda.  600 pounds will heat our house about 300 cloudy degree days or 450+ sunny degree days.  About ten days to two weeks of winter use.

I have pictures of all of this in Picasa3, but cannot figure out how to get them posted.


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## blacktail (Feb 1, 2012)

I had back problems for years. Bulging discs, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease. Then I learned about the back pain theories of Dr. John Sarno. He's been featured on the tv show 20/20, written books on back pain, and helped celebrities get rid of back pain. It may be worth a trip to the library to check out one of his books. He believes that the body can use pain to distract us from other things. I found it to be the case for me, but only after years of dealing with docs from GPs and chiropractors to neurosurgeons. According to the doctors, there's a lot of things I can't or shouldn't do. My back doesn't stop me from doing anything anymore. 
Backs are weird. Lots of people have abnormalities that show up on an MRI, but don't have pain.


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## Trktrd (Feb 1, 2012)

I wrecked my back 16 years ago and now have COPD. I just take it slow and know my limits, and use every tool at my disposal to make the job easier. Work smart, not hard.


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## Brogan007 (Feb 1, 2012)

Pay a local kid to do it for you.  Or better yet, a Hispanic guy who's out of work. These guys work like demons.
The small $$ will be well spent, .  They deserve the $$ more than some shyster chiropractor.
There's no shame in doing this. Accept your bad back and use your brain, not your back


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## babzog (Feb 2, 2012)

fran35 said:
			
		

> Believe it or not, splitting wood actually makes my back feel better. I have a few herniated discs and pretty much chronic pain. Running the chain saw is way worse on my lower back than swinging the maul.



Exercise. Keep your back and tummy (your core) strong and you will have fewer back problems.  My lower back, sore for 20 yrs, has been awesome the last couple of years since I started working out. Last summer, I slacked off and pulled my lower back muscles. Let that heal and started working out again. No more problems. You also recover quicker when you're in better shape.  4 weeks after I broke a rib last winter, I was working out again. I'm no athlete and still have some flab i'd like gone but I feel a lot better when I ezercise than when I don't.


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## BrotherBart (Feb 2, 2012)

A mattress that cost more than my first new car and a pair of ramps from Harbor Freight and I no longer walk stooped over for most of the Spring. A fifty buck set of ramps to roll those rounds up into either the garden tractor trailer or the utility trailer and forgetting this macho lifting them chit. Roll'em up, haul'em, roll'em off at the splitter. And sleep on that firm mattress and be back pain free for the first two years in the last 45.

Ramps: $50

Mattress: $1,350

No back pain for two years: Priceless


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## EJL923 (Feb 2, 2012)

Hey BB, what kind of mattress, just anything firm?  My wife and I have been contemplating a new matress for this reason.  She wants a tempurpedic, but I do t want to spend that kind of dough when something else might do.

I have a standard 6 lb maul for splitting, but been thinking about a fiskars due to the reduced weight.

As far as ramps, I should utilize them more, good idea.  My best use is driving my snowblower up the ramps to clean my deck after a snow.  So much easier than shoveling


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## BrotherBart (Feb 2, 2012)

EJL923 said:
			
		

> Hey BB, what kind of mattress, just anything firm?




I have a Beautyrest extra firm. Hardest one they made. They change the names of the things every year. At first it is like sleeping on concrete but you get used to it.


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 2, 2012)

Dh has herniated discs.  

I help lift bigger rounds into the truck when scrounging.  

For cutting, he runs the saw and I clear the work area and load any smaller rounds.

For splitting, he runs the splitter, but I bring the rounds to him and he just tosses the splits into a pile on the other side.  Then I load the wheelbarrow and shuttle them to where we are stacking, and stack them.  OR we load the little truck and bring that over to the stacks and I stack them.  I've been having problems with my shoulder and elbow so I like using the truck a bit more than the wheelbarrow.

We haven't pulled from our own stacks yet.  When we bought the cords we had to pick up, he helped toss the splits into the truck, then for the most part, I unloaded and stacked in the porch.  I imagine when we do start using our stacks, we'll load the little truck and move it that way-at least until we get a cart for the tractor.

I bring in the wood/eco bricks for the night(s) and reload the wood box, then clean the hearth pad.  He usually takes the ashes out of the stove, but I carry the hod out and dump it into the can outside.

I've always had an obession with old tractors, and wanted one for years.  We just don't have enough land to make it justifible to buy one, so I found an early 60's Wheel horse Suburban lawn tractor for myself (kinda looks like a little Farmall).  We haven't brought it out to the Cottage yet, but I think DH is going to steal it from me-the seat is metal like an old tractor seat and he says it's more comfortable than the one on the newer tractor we've got out there.  If you're using a tractor to move wood, try sitting on a few to find one with a comfy seat.


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## Jags (Feb 2, 2012)

eclecticcottage said:
			
		

> so I found an early 60's Wheel horse Suburban lawn tractor for myself (kinda looks like a little Farmall).



Those make a nice little work horse.  Ya can't break 'em even if you try.


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 2, 2012)

Jags said:
			
		

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I absolutely love it...even if I haven't gotten a chance to use it yet.  DH thinks it a blast and mows the lawn with it.  It's got a replacement 5 (or 6?  I can't recall) horse Kohler in it, and the previous owner's dad rigged up a push button electric start.  Pretty neat little machine, and its in nice shape (the hood was cut to fit the motor, but you can't really tell).  I've got to get it cleaned up and repainted this year.


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## Jags (Feb 2, 2012)

eclecticcottage said:
			
		

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Pics??


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## mecreature (Feb 2, 2012)




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## Jags (Feb 2, 2012)

Mecreature - I had actually thought about building one similar to the 4 wheel version.  I have dabbled in electric conversion of a couple of different things and it would probably be fairly easy.


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 2, 2012)

Jags said:
			
		

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Sure!  These are from the previous owner's post about it before he put it up for sale:
















You can see the old school style seat in the pics.

BTW, I don't know where I put my brain but if anyone finds it, I could use it back.  It's a 61, and it is a Tecumseh, not a Kohler.  It was SUPPOSED to be a Kohler (4 horse).


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## Jags (Feb 2, 2012)

Those old dogs were cool.

That looks to be the 400 model.  Maybe the 401.


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 2, 2012)

I think it's the 401, but I'd have to double check.  The guy we bought it from inherited it from his dad, who bought it brand new.  Said it was slow-I'm guessing he never drove it after his dad put the Tecumseh on it, because it can almost pop a wheelie.  It does slow up a bit when you engage the mower deck though.  Beats the push mower either way though, lol.

to the Op, I guess my point is to use power tools when needed and when possible :D It's more fun anyway!


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## ken999 (Feb 3, 2012)

Pickeroon....by FAR the best handtool for working with firewood when it comes to back pain. They make life ALOT easier.


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## Lumber-Jack (Feb 3, 2012)

eclecticcottage said:
			
		

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Cute little tractor, but I'm sorry to say the seating style on that thing is the same as what wrecked my back. You can't get your feet under you to support yourself, your torso weight is all resting on your tailbone.


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## Jags (Feb 3, 2012)

Solution:
(train your eye on the seat, it is cushion ride seat.)


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## eclecticcottage (Feb 3, 2012)

This has no springs (here's a better look at it)






We have a craftsman that came with the Cottage that has a padded seat with springs and all, and DH swears the Wheel Horse is more comfortable.  He even chipped his tailbone a few years back, and still says the Horse has a more comfortable seat.

I think, like someone else said, everyone's back and problems are just a bit different, so you have to find what works for you.  If we had the space and money, we'd probably get an ATV-but we've also heard conflicting reports that they need to be registered even if they don't leave your property, which seems like a waste of $$.  It would be nice to use to move wood and snowplow (if we ever need it, lol), but the tractors can do that too, and it's not like either of us would be using them for a really long period of time.  I'm looking at getting a tilling attachment for one of them as well, so we can get the garden in without using the rototiller/hand digging.  I could use a post hole digger attachment too though, lol, since I'll be planting about 100 shrubs come springtime...fun stuff.


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## Lumber-Jack (Feb 3, 2012)

The little lawn tractors I use to ride had fully padded seats, but knowing what I know now I would have gladly traded them for something with bare metal seats on an ergometricly design machine that I could have my feet under my rump. The problem isn't the padding, but how your back absorbs the constant side to side jostling while driving over rough terrain.
Obviously the amount of time you spend on the thing, and how rough or smooth your terrain is, will have a huge bearing on the impact it will have on you. 
It took 12 years of riding those things before I started to realize where my back problems were coming from. One reason it took so long to figure out was because even after a few hours of riding thing around I could get off and go about my business for the rest of the day without any noticeable effects. However the next day I would do something simple like reaching for the eggs in the lower shelf of the fridge and BAM! I'd be on the floor, and unable to work for a week.
As I say, it took a long time realize that it was the mowing I did the day before that caused the injury, not reaching for the eggs or whatever I did the next day that set it off. It was the delay between the cause and the effect made it difficult to determine the root cause of my back problems.
Anyway, I look at those things now and I can see the hidden danger, and I'd be negligent if I didn't speak up.

Ride easy ;-)


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## Flatbedford (Feb 3, 2012)

I have suffered back pain since my teens so i have learned to either work smart or be in pain. I try to work with and not against gravity whenever possible. When cutting I use my pickeroon to roll or drag the rounds to my truck. I split the rounds into manageable size before I lift them onto the truck. 




I pull the rounds or splits to the end of the truck with the pickeroon so both feet are firmly planted on the ground.




No crazy reaching or climbing on and off the truck.
Whenever possible, I split as I unload. That way the wood goes from the truck to the chopping block with gravity on its side. I park the tractor cart close to the chopping block so I can toss the splits in as I make them.





It took me a few years to put this system and the tools that it requires together, but the increased efficiency and easier work has benefited my not so young anymore body. I also use the lightest tools possible. I do most of my splitting with the lighter Fiskars Pro Splitting Axe. I think it has a 2 1/2 lb head.


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 4, 2012)

Looks real good Steve.


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## rideau (Feb 24, 2012)

Long ago decided to forego heavy loads and get my 20000 paces a day by carting splits one or two at a time. Cut trunks into 16 inch lengths (have to decide on 12 or 20 inch now that I habe a PH-concerned about hand splitting those 20 inch lengths, even about getting them up on a splitter if I succumb and buy one):  If 8 inches or less in diameter, carry them to my road (winds through 24 acres to the house) or my sister's road (winds through the adjacent 12 acres) and stack them beside the road.  More than 8 inches I split them in situ with a wedge and sledge (just think it's safer since I'm alone in the woods...also means I get less grief from my daughter and sons about CSS my own wood) and carry them 2 at a time (about 12 pound splits, eventual dried weight) to the road. Anything 6 inches or less I cut into 48 inch lengths, process the rest at the house.  I do this until I have a good amount of wood along the road.  If I happen to be cutting where I have a good level clear line to the road, I'll use the wheel barrow, and load up at the cut site and wheel to the road . I have a bed cover in the back of my suburban.  Put a good amount of wood in the back of the suburban and drive to the house.  Split the rest  on the wood (and cut the 4 foot lengths) on a round on a  slab of bedrock between the house and woodpile.  Toss the splits into the wheelbarrow as I go (keep round together while splitting by any one of various methods.  Stack the splits as I go.  That way I am not doing any one activity for an extended period.  The breaks and change in muscles used is helpful is preventing pain.  I also find I build better stacks...just instinctively check them more often as I go.  Stacks are about 40 paces from my sliding glass door.  Use "bins" (rectangular plastic grocery shopping bins our grocery store sells, complete with molded handles on the ends and web straps on the side, about 18 in x 12in x 10 in deep,I guess) to bring firewood into the house, each bin carries enough wood for a good fire:  put the bins on my landing 4 ft x 4 ft, about 4.5 feet high, and one on each step (2 x 12 douglas fir).  Carry the splits two at a time (these are big splits) to the bins.  Fill all the bins.  Lift the bins one at a time into the house, leave them just inside the door for  a bit until they warm up.  Walk the dog.  Come home, carry the bins to the stove,  load a number onto my 3 ft diameter circle of forged iron that is my wood rack. Place two bins in front of my stack for my next two fires,  As I empty the bins, I turn each bin upside down into the first empty bin, then stack all the bins under the first.  Next time I go out, I take the top bin, dump the detrius on any icy spots outside...works great and is much cleaner than ash.  Walk the dog, fill the bin on my way back inside.  Always fill a bin, by carrying a comfortable weight of splits to the bin which is on the steps, every time I go out.  Makes for a reasonably long interval between having to move lots of wood at a time.  When I do move much aim to fill that rack with two bins left.  Gives me 3 1/2 to fours days of heat, in reserve for bad weather.  Mostly I manage to burn with the wood I carry in in single bin loads.  If I have really nice special wood in a bin, I'll add it to the rack and burn lesser wood from the rack.  That way I end up with wood on the rack that is nice and clean and totally bug free that I am comfortable leaving in the house indefinitely.  BTW, I have a second rack that is full of 6 inch perfect ironwood logs 18 inches long...been there several years.  My safety reserve against the inevitable blizzard/ice storm,injury, illness etc..All low tech, but it works for me.


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