For me there has always been something magnificent about cutting firewood. I know for a fact it’s because of the way my father raised me, to be handy with a chainsaw, and to love the sweat and muscle tension of hard labor. I still remember being a teenager sleeping-in on Saturday mornings until my father, fed up, would stand outside my window singing, “It’s a beautiful Morning!” while incessantly revving a chainsaw or some other abundantly obnoxious power tool. As I would walk outside grumbling he would smile saying, “Oh you’re up. Great! You can give me a hand!”

To this day I love anything to do with physical work but most of all I love cutting firewood. I believe cutting firewood is a Zen art.

Step 1: Finding the Tree
Now, I’m a total tree hugger by nature, so none of this is about destroying trees to sate some maniacal lust for firewood, so let’s talk about picking the right tree.

To make this a true Zen art, you should walk through the woods for a while, contemplating life, nature, and the fact that most of the trees around you were here long before you and will remain long after you’re gone.

In any forest there are usually a large number of dead trees still standing, these are your first choice, dead and dry. If you can’t find any dead trees it’s best to look for trees where rot is beginning to take hold, or as in the case of Colorado, trees that are being destroyed by pine beetle. If as a last resort you have to cut down a living tree, remember that you’ll have to let it sit to dry for a season in order to get nice firewood.

Step 2: Falling the Tree
Once you’ve found the right tree it’s time to fire up the chainsaw, which not only cuts through the tree but also rips through the forest silence. To me, this is man, loud, destructive, and thriving off the burning of fossil fuels. This is where nature and man are about to collide, or man as a part of nature is about to wreak havoc. Lucky for nature, unlucky for us, every cause eventually results in effect, as it has repeatedly for millennia.

The key to falling any tree is to work with nature as much as possible. Look of the gaps in the forest surrounding it, look up the tree observing it’s natural lean. Now as you begin to cut, be sure to always maintain a steady and balanced stance, and hold your saw comfortably whether sideways or straight. Cut a slight notch half way through on the side you feel it should fall and then once this notch is in place, cut the opposite side till it begins to TIMBER!!! Quickly get out of the way as falling trees may bounce before landing in place.

Step 3: Limb the Tree
This is where you walk along the tree with chainsaw or axe and take off the limbs. Again do this while paying attention to stance and balance being sure to not hurt yourself. These limbs make great kindling for later use, or in the case of living trees, limbs make great foraging for forest animals such as deer.

Step 4: Cut Trunk Into Logs
This is pretty basic. Still maintaining a balanced and grounded stance, cut your trunk into logs, be sure your chain never hits ground as you’ll be sharpening for another hour, and be sure to sometimes cut upwards to insure your chain doesn’t get pinched by downward pressure of the tree. Measure all your logs equal length so they appear beautiful when stacked, I like to use the length of the saw blade as a reference.

Step 5: Split Your Logs
This is really my favorite step, since it involves brute strength, momentum, balance, focus, and is oh so satisfying. Be sure to find a nice log to split the others upon. Place the log to be split upon it and with feet shoulder apart and posture balanced, raise the axe over your head and bring it down into the log while bending your knees. Your back should be straight all the while, don’t bend over as you bring the axe down. If the wood is properly dried your actions should result in a satisfying split right down the middle. Repeat as needed creating a variety of log sizes from kindling up to full logs that will burn all night while you sleep. One of the benefits of splitting your wood is that it makes the resin inside the trunk of the tree more accessible to the flame providing a bright and hot fire.

Step 6: Stacking
Stack your wood in a nice dry place with the curved surface on top to ensure any rain or snow runs off nicely instead of penetrating inwards. This is the end of your Zen of Lumber Jackin’ workout so enjoy the last of it. Toss some logs into your fireplace and sit back and enjoy the warm glow feeling stronger, more balanced, and nicely tired from a good workout.
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Looking at this blog I can’t actually believe I’ve written it. I’m such a geek, who cares about making firewood. I think what I love most about the process is what it does for the body, mind and soul. Lumber Jackin’ feeds you in all the right ways and it provides a sense of archaic independence back from the time when man first discovered fire.

It seems there’s a Lumber Jeff in there after all.

peace,
d