The Backyard Lumberjack: The Ultimate Guide to Felling, Bucking, Splitting and Stacking

The Backyard Lumberjack: The Ultimate Guide to Felling, Bucking, Splitting and Stacking

Synopsis

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.

Library Journal

Do you really need an entire book on woodcutting? First-time authors and father-and-son lumberjacks Frank and Stephen Philbrick manage to fill this book with much more. Safety is heavily emphasized throughout; discussions of tree species best suited for one’s fireplace, chainsaw use and maintenance, and burning mechanisms are peppered with humorous reminiscences and philosophizing, which adds fluff. The subculture of logger games is also introduced, with competitive chopping, ax throwing, and more. There are nuggets of good information to be gleaned from this sometimes interesting, sometimes silly book. Buy only according to your region and local wood supply. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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Biography

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.