Chainsaw technique advice please

Re: Chainsaw technique advice please

Dick Hines

>Be careful with this. Cut down from the top but not far enough for the log to pinch your bar. Then come up from the bottom. If you notch the top the log "SHOULD" fall free.

Be careful! And good luck.

I would...

BubbaBob

>...wedge it REALLY WELL, driving in wedges from both sides with a sledge to support the portion you wish to cut off.

Frankly, rather than have to keep going back and forth every little while to whittle off a bit to use, I'd cut it all into proper lengths for blanks, cut up your blanks as described on Bill Grumbines website, seal them WELL, and not have to worry about the chainsaw every time I wanted another blank or two.

BubbaBob

Re: I would...

Glenn Hodges

>Listen to Bubba Bob, I wouldn't go into the woods without my wedges and sledge hammer. They have gotten me out of some big problems.

Nashville, Georgia

Re: Chainsaw technique advice please

Doug Trembath

>Mike, I think in your situation, I'd slide some old plywood or something under the middle of the trunk, then add some wedges such as those cut from a 2X4 to support the trunk and keep it from pinching the bar. You can wedge it up by inserting the wedges from each side similar to the way you use wedges in hanging a pre-hung door. The plywood will offer some protection for the chain as you cut through.

The best way is to get a log handler to give you the required leverage. Cut most of the way through the log, then roll it until the uncut part is on top. Finish the cut from there.

Two options for the price of one! Hope at least one of them works for you.

Doug Trembath

Studio in the Woods

Re: Chainsaw technique advice please

John Lucas

>Mike

Here's what I've done. Saw down from the top about half way. If you get nervous about pinching put a wedge in the top and tap it a few times.

The start your saw from the bottom at about 4:30 to 5 oclock. Be careful with this cut. If you stick the nose in by itself it can kick back on you. I try to keep the nose down almost to the ground and cut my way into the log at this angle until I can get the blade parallel to the ground. Then I just cut straight up.

I carry an ax, several wedges and a sledge. I've read the tree wrong a couple of times and got the saw pinched. If it has a big root ball I stay away from it. They are too dangerous and unpredictable. We get a lot of trees down in storms and they are sure tempting but that root ball can weigh up to a ton and be real unpredictable.

Re: Chainsaw technique advice please *LINK*

Brad Vietje

>Mike--

Look into a timberjack. You'll need a bigger one than the one shown in the link below, but you might even consider this as a club purchase for a loaner to members with logs to saw up.


Timberjack

Re: Chainsaw technique advice please

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Thanks everybody. Brad - great idea! I think I saw one of them in my Bailey's catalog.

Like all of the advice given. Thank you all.

Re: Chainsaw technique advice please

DaveZ

>Hmmm, you could get a lever and lift up the end, then stuff some 2x's under, nahh probably need two people for that.

You could find a place to cut further down the log, seperate it there. But then you'd have 2 logs, better but you want to keep it as intact as possible you say.

Ok this works, cut down thru your log until you see it start to pinch. Grab those wedges and put one at eleven o'clock and one at 1 o'clock(remove saw first) Drive those wedges in equally and the pressure from spreading the top of the cut will lift the log up, usually enough to get your saw under it to finish the cut. Kinda of a reverse pinch ;-) When you lift it this way take the time and stuff some 2x's under for when you'll be cutting next. Gravity rules, so finish cut from the high ground.

follow up

Mike Schwing from Md.

>I've since managed to process the remaining 15' or so of this log. Thanks to everyone for their advice. I found a few things very helpful that I'd like to share, as I did this work all on my own and know others do as well.

To recap, this log was big for a black cherry, 20" or more in diameter. After removing a few 20" long sections, the remainder was touching ground at both ends but not anywhere else, most of it was suspended a few inches off ground.

When I cut up a section into blanks I like to cut square off the "blanks" on both ends, like a cant, makes things easier on the bandsaw later. I found these short, round offcuts very valuable in supporting the length of the suspended log.

I'd slide in one section of the offcut underneath the log, round side up, then wedge in underneath that one another, round side down on the earth, and tap it in with a sledgehammer. It made a VERY stable, highly manueverable platform to support the log for further cutting. Indeed, I was able to even jack the log up off the ground even more in this manner with no effort. 3 or four sections done like this made for a bed better than if it were sitting on the earth. Cutting was a cinch.

Before I got to that point there was a couple of feet of log that was just a tiny bit off ground, and I was worried about a pinch. I was able to easily insert the saw at the bottom of the log with a plunge cut straight through, cut down to the bottom, and then cut half way up. From there I proceeded to cut from the top, inserted a wedge, and sliced through to the cut from the bottom. No pinch, no danger.

Thanks for the tips!

Re: Chainsaw Maintenance

Bill B.

>Hi; After a number of years on the local City Fire Dept. we have found a few things of interest;

1-new blend of gasoline today seems to lose the light ends faster than yester-year, so we change the fuel weekly instead of monthly. We found they didn't start on the first or second pull with fuel up to 2 weeks old.

2- oil-gas mixture was 40:1 using synthetic oils with good lubrication.

3- after each hard use of cutting roofing material from nails, tar paper, electrical conduit or steel roll up doors the saws were torn down to basic groups. One of the most important items was to make sure the saw dust/ oil mixture crude was cleaned from the fins around the cylinder. If you don't it will create hot spots and from experience a cylinder piston will seize.

4- We also found adding some kerosene to the bar lube worked well to keep the chain and bar from getting gummed up with tar/ pitch.

5-we used several brands over the years and now the entire department uses Stihl saws.

6- we use carbide chains because we don't know what we will be cutting and change chains when 2 teeth in a row or 3 teeth total on a chain are missing.

Just for info carbide chains are high maintenace and create fine chips or dust and regular steel chains are lower maintenance plus it's easier to sharpen and they create larger chips.