The Backyard Lumberjack

Whether you re splitting a cord of wood for your fireplace or managing acres of woodland, The Backyard Lumberjack provides plenty of practical instruction and firsthand advice. Familiarize yourself with the proper equipment and safety gear, then learn how to fell, buck, split, and stack your own wood supply for the season. Veteran lumberjacks Frank Philbrick and Stephen Philbrick cover everything you need to know to bring a tree from the forest to your fireplace, safely and effectively.

“" [The authors] have created a guide... that's fun to read even if you don't know a chainsaw from a chain letter." -- Jan Gardner, Boston Globe, Oct. 8, 2006”

"If your favorite wood-gatherer is getting a new ax or chainsaw this winter, make him read this book FIRST."

"...an excellent guide to harvesting, splitting, stacking, and burning wood for fuel."

BackHome Magazine

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.

Frank and Stephen Philbrick, enthusiastic and skilled lumberjacks, explain what it takes to bring a tree from forest to fireplace. Part hard work, part pure chain saw satisfaction,The Backyard Lumberjackis your complete guide to bringing in the wood. Felling: It all begins here, where the chain saw meets the tree. Choose an appropriate wood source and bring it down safely. Bucking: Now that you've got the tree horizontal, work your way up the trunk, cutting it into stove-length pieces. Splitting: Trade your chain saw for a maul and start swinging. You can't burn until you have split and dried your wood. Stacking: Decide which kind of woodpile works for you and stack it up. Keep in mind that the only goals here are to let the wood dry and to keep it from falling over. The level of artistry you bring to the project is up to you. Burning: Choose your heating method, lay a perfect fire, and feel the burn. It's all here, from choosing the perfect chain saw to managing a woodlot to safely enjoying the pleasures of a backyard bonfire. Just don't forget your safety gear!

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.

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