OC Outdoors

Welcome back to OC-Outdoors!  We've got a nice little how to article for todays post.  I needed to replace the flue on the wood burning stove in the garage.  So made a quick trip to tractor supply company to pick up the materials. What do you need to replace the flue  Black stove pipe Slip pipe Self tapping screws Screw driver and or drill Possibly angled pipe depending on the layout of your exhausting system(mine is just straight through the roof) Process of replacing stove pipe flue The first step in the process for replacing the flue on the wood burning stove is to remove the old stove pipe currently in place.  Pretty obvious right!?  However, this really can be the most difficult part of the whole project as I came to find out.  My pipe was rusted and corroded together, which was the whole reason for this project to begin with. You can kind of see this in the picture to the right. So, I sprayed mine with WD-40 and let it sit several nights before attempting to

I was finally able to get down in the woods a couple days ago.  I've been attempting to clear some trails that used to exist on our property. Since my wife and I just moved here a couple months ago I really didn't have much equipment to do this with.  So between weather and gathering equipment like my chainsaw and pole saw its taken a while to get out there.  Eventually I'd like to get a small tractor, like a John Deere or Kubota compact tractor to help with these kind of tasks.  But for now, the chainsaw and RZR 1000 work alright. The first priority was to cut a rather large tree that had fallen across the trail. Here is a video I was able to upload. https://youtu.be/bWzJHpQgjYE Originally I planned on cutting it up into firewood but after getting down there it seems to be a nice candidate for a saw log. So I decided to hook it up to the Polaris and pull it up to the top of our property. This successfully opened the trail! Now I can continue clearing the trail around

My previous post titled  Chainsaws  was asking about which chainsaw brands you guys would recommend.  Well, I ended up picking up my new saw yesterday and got a chance to play with it some today.  I know I was leaning toward a Stihl or a Hasqvarna which are chainsaw brand names that come to mind, but in the end I ended up going with the cheaper option.  I found a Poulan Pro 42cc 18" chainsaw for $135 at the Home Depot.  Since I had received gift cards, it made it a no brainer to try this saw out instead of spending the cash for a name brand unit. I'll include an Amazon link to the model I bought below. The saw came with a nice carrying case, the 2.6oz of 2-stroke oil, and the fully assembled chainsaw itself. After filling it with recommended mix of fuel and adding the bar and chain oil it started on the 4th pull! Definitely an easy starting machine so far. Time will tell if that remains the case. But so far, initial impressions of this saw are very good. My one and only

I'm looking at getting a new chainsaw to maintain some of the woods that we have on our newly acquired 5.5 acres.  Currently I have an 18v battery operated cordless pole saw which works awesome for high up limbs and smaller trees and brush.  Now I'm to the point where I have most of that type of material cleaned up and  need somwthing with more power. I've looked at several different models of new chainsaws. I think I've decided to go with something with around 40cc and a 16-18" bar.  I know there are tons of different brands out there, but is it worth the extra money to go Stihl chainsaw or Husqvarna chainsaw?  I am very new to the chainsaw world so I would love some opinions and experiences from others.  What do you feel is the best chainsaw?  Please leave your comments and let me know what you use and how you like it or maybe some things you don't like about it!  Help me decide what chainsaw to buy!