They make a tasty snack by the way, with a burst of lemon flavor, though not very sustaining. Maybe there’s a weird beetle lodged in there or more commonly a crevice full of ants. Sometimes it’s a shake (yes, I meant shake not snake) or an intriguing color in a particular piece. Could be it’s a unique grain pattern or configuration that someone sets aside to use for making a craft. It’s very common that a camp group pauses their splitting to gather where an interesting find has been made within a piece of wood. It’s possible to learn to read the growth rings and attack that wood in it’s weak point, rewarded again by a satisfying CRACK! There’s where the mind must be engaged as well as the muscles. But what about that chunk with an ornery knot in the center. Wow! Boys at camp love the thrill of raising that axe or maul and bringing it down with a crashing blow straight through a chunk of firewood (talk about subduing the earth). We learned the joy and the art of splitting that wood. “Let’s say we’ll burn a wheelbarrow load a day to heat these tents here… that means we’ll probably need at least “x” amount of loads in our wood tent by November.” Planning.

It takes a bit of innovation at times when you think that it can’t be done, but you know it must. It’s amazing how much teamwork it requires to carry a large oak log. Maybe you will be pulling the weight of the saw and your partners torso. The saw is sure to be pulled crookedly, jerking and catching all the while. It’s a very frustrating experience to run a saw with a partner who is distracted while he cuts. One thing is sure they didn’t spend much time lounging around.

They are average sized men with a whole lot of determination and a wee bit of pride. These men, standing beside enormous trees that they felled, are not Paul Bunyans. In fact a whole book could be written on the benefits of understanding the rigors of Pioneer life… the boys from camp look with respect into the eyes of those Irishmen staring back at them with grim faces from the pages of historic logging books. You know it never hurt a guy to try something the way his ancestors did. We learned that our great, great grandfathers were hard workers. Well like it or not, this young man and I went into the woods, our bucksaws in hand, to cut our firewood with raw man power, learning as we went. In regards to camp, at least someone could give the boys a little boost with a Husqvarna and a hydraulic woodsplitter. We live in a time when a premium is placed on efficiency and the very form of heating with firewood itself is controversially inefficient, let alone the idea of cutting it all by hand. I can’t recall whether my answer satisfied him then or not, but it might not even satisfy some of my readers. After all, I assured him, despite the fact that he probably could handle a chainsaw, not every boy coming to camp could, which would either create an unfair situation or a safety hazard. Cutting with a two man saw seemed like an awful lot of work for a little bit of firewood, but I did learn to like using one. I told him that I missed using a chainsaw too when I came to camp. With this in mind, my response to this young man was fortunately one of understanding. You know, after all, he was fast coming to the age when a young man needs to learn to handle a chainsaw, and what better boost could we give his manliness than to offer that blast of noise and power that he could hold with his two hands to “subdue the earth”. Take advantage of special pricing for single shapes and sets.Soon after he arrived, one of the first boys to stay here at Allegany Boys Camp, raised a small complaint because we were expected to cut our firewood with a crosscut saw rather than a chainsaw. Explore completed Projects for quick and easy application of your purchased designs. For added versatility, our files import as the full shape, yet are arranged in labeled layers for multiple uses such as pieces and embellishments. More shapes will be added weekly, so check back often! Currently, there are over a thousand shapes and counting. In just a few clicks, easily buy and download eshapes to empower your creations. Discover the newest and most popular designs from your favorite artists, including Sharyn Sowell, Brenda Walton, Jamie Pate and more. Plus all the designs in our virtual store are 100% compatible with the Sure Cuts A Lot (SCAL) software and the exclusive eCAL software for both the original Sizzix eclips and eclips2 electronic die-cutting machines. This exciting new way to shop for digital shapes is fast, fun and economical.

Sure cuts a lot 2 split