LittleLebowski's big inspirational chainsaw thread

[ralph]

Just bought a Stihl MS251c a few days ago, should work well with my 12yr old Husky 455 rancher. Took both saws out and cut up a Maple log that was about 10-11' long, and about 30" in diameter..Both saws worked well, the Stihl being more quiet. Amazing how much wood there is in a 10-11'long log (I have an 8' bed on my truck, an it was full when I was done)..I did'nt have a choice but to rip the peices I cut off this log, so I could handle them, and get them in the truck. Another reason I bought the Stihl, is locally, where I live, that's just about all that's being sold, the nearest Husky dealer is about 15 miles away..I'm going to seriously look at the 2 in one sharpner..I bought an extra chain when I bought the Stihl,(it's still in the box) but after ripping all that Maple the other day, the chain on the saw, could probably use a touch up...

[jeep45238]

Just bought a Stihl MS251c a few days ago, should work well with my 12yr old Husky 455 rancher. Took both saws out and cut up a Maple log that was about 10-11' long, and about 30" in diameter..Both saws worked well, the Stihl being more quiet. Amazing how much wood there is in a 10-11'long log (I have an 8' bed on my truck, an it was full when I was done)..I did'nt have a choice but to rip the peices I cut off this log, so I could handle them, and get them in the truck. Another reason I bought the Stihl, is locally, where I live, that's just about all that's being sold, the nearest Husky dealer is about 15 miles away..I'm going to seriously look at the 2 in one sharpner..I bought an extra chain when I bought the Stihl,(it's still in the box) but after ripping all that Maple the other day, the chain on the saw, could probably use a touch up...

When you say rip, do you mean dropping the chain on the top of the log going down to the bottom? It’s slow, and tedious without a special chain.

Next time, drop the chain WITH the grain, so it’s parallel to the bark, and run it from the bottom to the top, sectioning as you need too. It’s called noodling, and goes dramatically faster.

Ripping only catches the tip of the wood fiber - noodling bites into the tip of the wood fiber and rips it out in long strips.

[ralph]

When you say rip, do you mean dropping the chain on the top of the log going down to the bottom? It’s slow, and tedious without a special chain.

Next time, drop the chain WITH the grain, so it’s parallel to the bark, and run it from the bottom to the top, sectioning as you need too. It’s called noodling, and goes dramatically faster.

Ripping only catches the tip of the wood fiber - noodling bites into the tip of the wood fiber and rips it out in long strips.

That's what I was doing, I guess rip is the wrong term, I would move the peices around until the chain was with the grain, but I was cutting from top to bottom, (due to their size) chips were coming out in long strips, and, yes it went quick, still, I feel this type of cutting isn't great for the chain..

[OlongJohnson]

Since this is where the tree people are, I thought I'd ask.

I bought a big Silky BigBoy hand saw based on the earlier discussion, and it is awesome. Contemplating a PocketBoy for doing cleaner work on small stuff.

I've been giving my Corona pole pruner a workout. It's OK, gets the job done. Took the saw blade off it a long time ago, because the pruner is frequently unusable with the saw getting in the way. Made a couple cuts with the blade this weekend. It sau-huuckked. The saw blade isn't great, and having the pruner getting in the way and adding weight made it fairly unpleasant. Not to mention, the flex in the upper section of the telescoping Corona pole made it a PITA to keep things steered right.

Recently saw a crew doing some work. They had what looked like the Jameson yellow pole handles. I like the segmented blade, because everything stays nice and stiff, and when you only need the length of one segment, you only have the weight of one segment. And all segments are full stiffness. The blade had sharpened hooks at each end for rapidly trimming twigs. I see Jameson makes one like that, but Silky also has the Hayauchi blade:

https://www.amazon.com/SILKY-Replace...dp/B0014C4QA8/

I like the way a Silky saw blade cuts. So I'm thinking just grab a couple Jameson poles...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Jameson-...-2PK/303890123

...this SherrillTree adapter saw head...

https://www.amazon.com/SherrillTree-...dp/B075WDMZ7N/

...and the Silky blade above for a brew-my-own system.

Am I making this too hard, or do I have it all figured out?

As of yesterday, I'm done with major pruning for this year. But when it's time again, I want the best tools to git 'er done.

[txdpd]

I have a Stihl/Marvin setup. Same gear different labels. The Jameson poles should be fine. Notch poles are pretty cheap on amazon.

I like the Marvin Mondo blades. I pretty much only cut with the bottom half of the blade and try to be at least 30 degrees off of vertical, so the hooked blades don't do much for me. Definitely consider picking up one more pole than you think you need, the farther you get out from under the branch the safer you'll be, the flatter angle will help you stay in the kerf and gravity will help keep the kerf open.

https://www.circlesaw.com/tree-pruni...ole-saw-blade/

If you decide to get a pruner, I think the Marvin Bull is the best thing going out there. It can be rigged as a single pull, single or double pulley. You can rig it to your needs.

https://www.amazon.com/Jameson-WR-1-.../dp/B0044U4N9Q

A line lifter or pike is very useful for loose limbs out of trees or positioning ropes.

[ccmdfd]

Timely thread for me. Just found it last night and read through it all.

I'm new to chainsaws. I had a brief encounter with them back in the late 80's when volunteering for a fire department, but back then I was the youngest member and all of the old farts wanted to use the saws themselves.

Fast forward to 2020, I just purchased a 40 acre tract of land which contains our house as well as a mixture of hardwoods and swamp. We've experienced tropical storms/hurricanes 3 out of the past 4 years and the prior owner left a lot of downed trees for me.

Purchased a Sthil 311 per the rec's of a family member I trust, my wife got it for me for Christmas. I asked the local dealers if there was any local hands on training for saws and was told no by everyone. Purchased PPE

So far I've used it a couple of times, 1-2 hours each limbing and bucking trees which have fallen from the storms.

I feel I've done ok from a safety standpoint, no close calls or scary moments. But I have found that after an hour or so of cutting (with breaks) I've got significant neck, back, and arm discomfort.

I should mention that i'm not in the best of shape and am prone to neck issues.

Any recommendations for places to go read/watch which demonstrate proper stance, ergonomics, etc?

thanks

cc

[txdpd]

Terry Hale has some of the best videos that explain tree felling.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtn...d8w0JcQ/videos

Stihl and Husqvarna also have good educational videos.

Personally I think limbing and bucking is just as dangerous falling trees. Cutting trees on the ground is when the saw will get you. A log jack/peavy and pickaroon are some of the best pieces of PPE you can have limbing and bucking. It's not always practical to roll logs or downed trees, but when you can rolling and separating logs will save you from a lot of hidden dangers.

If you love your Stihl dealer, you can get a rebranded Logrite for a decent price
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/ch...ools/canthook/
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/ch...ools/logstand/

My personal choice
https://woodchucktool.com/dualpro

[LittleLebowski]

Uhhhh...Mastermind custom ported Husqvarna 550 XP Mk2 ordered. I feel like I ordered a custom gun Now, we wait for it to be built.

[10mmfanboy]

I'm still waiting for my 40 year old stihl 028 super to let me down. A huge tree fell on my boat down at the big pond from all the rain, whole thing just uprooted. I haven't touched that saw in a year since the last tree fell during a bad storm. Still had old gas and bar oil in it. I dumped it out and put freshies in and cleaned out the air filter. First pull started and let 'er eat with a full chisel chain. Got that sucker cut up in no time and hauled it up for firewood. You cannot beat an old Stihl 028 super!

[Cookie Monster]

I just started to talk to a guy about getting my 461 hotsaw'ed.

I'd probably be better off getting a chain grinder and learning to grind chain but some about having a saw that rips. Gives me the fizz.

Just got back from cutting a little wood, still too much snow out there for real work. The 362 was throwing some nice chips, my hand filing has come a long way.