Force Multipliers
This past month, I once again had the opportunity to participate in something that has become a ritual of the fall – cutting and splitting wood for the winter. The first iteration was at my uncle’s farm. Due to several downed trees from earlier in the year, our work load was lighter than normal. Instead of cutting up our usual 14 cords of wood over the weekend, we only cut up 12! The second iteration was at my mom’s house. Although I cannot quantify the work yet because not all of the split wood is stacked, I spent the better part of Saturday with my older three kids and brother down at the wood pile. All of us earned our sleep!
While hefting a large walnut log off the bucket of the tractor onto the splitter, I marveled with my brother at our wood splitting experiences. Let’s look at the progression of time together…
When we were younger, we both worked side-by-side with my dad splitting smaller logs with a screw styled splitter. My dad would load the wood in between the backstop and wedge that traversed on a screw driven by a chain and sprocket. We were responsible for operating the lever to drive the wedge at my dad’s command.
Shortly after my dad passed away, I managed to bend the screws with a piece of oak that was to large. As a result, my mom purchased a 25-ton hydraulic log splitter. For smaller logs, lifting and splitting was “easy”. For the larger logs, my brother and I would “team lift” the pieces to sit on the cradle. For pieces that were larger still, we would pivot the beam into a vertical position and heft the log into place to split into smaller chunks. Mechanical forces were multiplied with hydraulics.
A few years later, we were given the opportunity to rebuild an older, 1970’s era Bobcat skid steer. Game changer!!! We could not use chain and a set of tongs to lift the large logs onto the cradle. Unless the fracture line pass through the connection point of the tongs, we could take several passes without exerting much effort to break the wood down into more manageable pieces. Lifting forces were reduced (multiplied) with hydraulics.
In the early 2010’s we acquired a late 90s John Deere Gator with a hydraulic dump bed. Transporting split wood from the discard pile to the stacked pile for seasoning was effortless. Transporting wood from the stack to the house in the middle of winter – no more trudging through the snow! Transporting forces were reduced (multiplied) with a machine.
Finally in 2019, through an acquaintance, we picked up a 1941 John Deere Model A styled tractor. The farmer said he didn’t have time to restore the machine, but he “wanted it to go to a good home”. We wasted no time locating a bucket for the front, and added a stand alone hydraulic system to prevent cross contamination of fluids and continuous operation regardless of the PTO state. Now we load, lift, and split wood at standing level without any effort. Lifting and transporting efforts were reduced (multiplied) with hydraulics and a machine.
The purpose of telling you about the family’s fall ritual is not to make you envious of our work – if that is possible with wood splitting. Rather, I marveled how we have been fortunate to multiply our efforts with the right tools. It took better than three decades to get where we are now, but it has made us more effective and efficient in the work that we complete.
Questions to Ponder
In what areas of your life could you benefit from a “force multiplier” to improve your normal activities or workflow?
If you are married, in what ways does your spouse act as a “force multiplier” for your family? How can you be a better “force multiplier” for your spouse?
Who do you know in your life that is showing the results that you want to experience? Will they support you as a “force multiplier” to achieve the same results? Have you asked?
Our command of a skill is best showcased when we teach others. Who do you know that could benefit from you as a “force multiplier”?
To working smarter… not harder!