# Bucking large rounds with small saw....



## LIBurn1784 (Dec 17, 2011)

Hey all, I had a landscaping company drop off a truck load of wood, I cut split and stacked all the manageable stuff (about 3-4 cords), but what I have left are some monster pieces.  A few of them measure 40+" across.  I'm at work so no pictures available at the moment, but anyone have any suggestions for making them more manageable?  I have a 16" bar on my saw, and have just had very little luck being able to do anything to them.  Do equipment rental places rent saws with a larger bar?  Or could I possibly call a tree company and maybe they would buck up the stuff my saw can't handle?


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## chimneyguy (Dec 17, 2011)

Some rental outfits have big saws, or worst case buy a big used saw, buck it up, then resell the saw... or sell or trade the huge stuff to someone who does woodwork, if it's nice stuff.
Stay warm,
Ed the chimneyguy


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## LLigetfa (Dec 17, 2011)

Q. How do you eat an elephant?
A. One bite at a time.

Renting a big saw is certainly an option but with a little resourcefulness and a sledge and wedges, you can chip away at the monsters.


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## Kenster (Dec 17, 2011)

I wouldn't call the landscape company back to buck the wood they (I assume) gave you for free.  If you paid a tree service to come do it you'll likely be out more money than it would cost you to rent a saw.  I've never rented but I'm thinking the average rental saw is going to be about 18" so that won't help much.  

What kind of saw do you have?  Is it big (powerful) enough to handle a 20 inch (or bigger) bar?  If so, just invest in a bigger bar and chain and you're set for the future.   Other options: if your saw is too small to handle a bigger bar, and you think that this might be a recurring situation, invest in an upgrade saw that can handle the job.   Just putting a big bar on an underpowered saw is not going to get the job done.


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## Beer Belly (Dec 17, 2011)

Not sure if it would work....maybe these guys would know......cut it down the side as deep as you can....then pound a wedge in the cut to get it to split ???....would this work ???...I dunno


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## LIBurn1784 (Dec 17, 2011)

My saw is a ryobi(I wanna say 38cc but not positive), nothing too powerful, but its served me well to this point.  My brother has a stihl (also with a small bar) but I would think maybe his saw would be better suited to handle a larger bar/chain.  I guess I could give that a shot.  I actually tried calling to local rental places, and they both offered me 14" bars....so thats out.  The wood delivery was free, so I wouldn't be terribly upset if I had to spend a few bucks to get it bucked up out of convenience.  But maybe i'll buy some upgrades for my brothers saw and see if it makes it any easier.


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## smokinj (Dec 17, 2011)

Try to find a flat spot most 40 rounds is dont a perfect round. So it is more that possiable to get through with a 16inch bar. Key is very good chains and letting the saw cool half way through the run. (just let it idle) Clean the air filter often aswell.


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## Kenster (Dec 17, 2011)

Depends on the Stihl.   I'm thinking anything MS290 or smaller won't handle a 20 inch or longer bar.  I'm certain your Ryobi won't. It's probably maxed out at 14 inches.

You might try cutting slices into the logs with your saw, as deep and as far around as possible, then noodle in several cuts in the end.  Then take a sledge hammer and a wedge or two and whack the wedges into the noodled slots.  That should start knocking some chunks off the end.  Once a few chunks are knocked off you should probably be able to cut the rest of the way through with your saw.  It'll be a long process but you'll sort of be splitting at the same time.


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## LLigetfa (Dec 17, 2011)

Even without sledge and wedges, you could noodle off chunks but as Kenster said, youâ€™ll sort of be splitting at the same time, something you'll have to do eventually anyway.


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## wishlist (Dec 17, 2011)

Find out what size stihl you can get your hands on.  If it has a 16" bar your ok, just make sure your using a full chisel chain, SHARP. When you noodle cut with the grain , in otherwords , lay the wood on the side so your cutting the bark first and you'll go thru fast making large "noodles. With a 16" bar you'll need to cut on the backside as well. I use a 20" bar and I can noodle 16-17 inch plus no problem. Just finished noodling this big notty bur oak today!


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## bogydave (Dec 17, 2011)

I wonder how they did it before chain saws. 
Those folks must have been pretty resourceful & think it through. 
Think they "noodled" ?


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## wishlist (Dec 17, 2011)

I bet they did whatever it took. I have a 2 man saw that was my great grandfathers. Its hanging in the shop and its staying there!  I've seen videos of the guys "riding" the logs down the river. Can't recall what the proper name for them is but I would hate to fall off a log, hundreds more behind you!


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## bogydave (Dec 17, 2011)

wishlist said:
			
		

> I bet they did whatever it took. (


Exactly:
I bet one man , back then, with a 16" chain saw could cut & split a 50" diameter, 8'  log in less time  than he did with a hand operated cross cut saw, axe & wedges


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## Adabiviak (Dec 18, 2011)

@wishlist - that's an awesome piece of firewood you have there.


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## gzecc (Dec 18, 2011)

Could buy a used splitter, use it, than sell it for what you bought it for.  Or you could rent a splitter for a day.


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## fordss (Dec 18, 2011)

Look on ebay or Craigslist and find an older large CC saw that runs it may be big and heavy but you will not be using it all the time I bought a old echo from eBay when I first started cutting wood just to cut the big stuff and used my smaller light saw with a 16 b/c for most of the cutting. If you spend $100 on a saw you will be able to use it when ever you want vs paying for a one time thing that would prob cost you $50 or more.


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## Kenster (Dec 18, 2011)

gzecc said:
			
		

> Could buy a used splitter, use it, than sell it for what you bought it for.  Or you could rent a splitter for a day.



What good will a splitter do if he can't buck up the log? 

He's got to cut the log into rounds before he needs to worry about a splitter.


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## rwhite (Dec 18, 2011)

Might see what size saw your brother has. I run a full chisel chain on a 20" bar on my Stihl 026. Trick is when your maxing out the bar length is to let the saw work and don't work the saw. How many rounds do you have to do?


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## TreePointer (Dec 18, 2011)

Yes, many rental places have chainsaws.

Home Depot rental locations (not all Home Depot stores) usually keep a few Dolmar 6401/6421 saws in their stable (64cc/20" bar).

Around here, a local a rental place carries a Jonsered 2171 (same as Husqvarna 372XP) for day rentals and is less expensive than Home Depot.


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## blacktail (Dec 18, 2011)

A couple of wood cutting trips back, I watched two guys way up the hill tackling a large old growth. Their saw sounded like a real screamer and it was a good 300-400 yards between us, so I got the binoculars out. They were cutting part way through the log, then using a wedge to split the part they'd cut through. Let's say they cut through the top half of the log, then they'd stop cutting and use the wedge in the end of the log to split up the half of the round they'd cut.


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## wetwood (Dec 18, 2011)

A local radio station has been running an ad for rental chainsaws up to a Stihl 660 with 36 inch bar for cutting your own firewood. I was wondering if there really was a need for rental chainsaws for firewood. Now I know there is.


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## gzecc (Dec 18, 2011)

Kenster said:
			
		

> gzecc said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sorry, I miss understood.


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## LIBurn1784 (Dec 18, 2011)

rwhite said:
			
		

> Might see what size saw your brother has. I run a full chisel chain on a 20" bar on my Stihl 026. Trick is when your maxing out the bar length is to let the saw work and don't work the saw. How many rounds do you have to do?



Theres probably about 4 - 6' lengths that are in that 40"+ range that will give me an issue.  I work alot so dont have alot of time to run the saw, but i'm thinking my next day off i'll try noodling and wedges and such.  I figured I was going to have to just cut small sections off little by little, just seems like my saw really struggles on those big pieces.  I'll sharpen up the saw and give it a whirl when I have time.  Thanks everyone for the responses.


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