Bigger saws!!!
- Thread starter Yogi
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I just burn it becuase there is so much of it around me. I didn't know I need to "season" anything? Two years? WOW, that is a long time to dry outok guys take a deep breath presonal attacks are uncalled for on hearth.com
bobo if you are a professional tree cutter or timber man, than act professional.
yogi if you can not accept good advice, then go ahead and cut that 4' tree. If all works out for you you can brag about your experience. If not please tell us where we can read the obits in your area. Yogi will not be here long to argue with anyone. I have cleared over 10 miles of roads better than 200 house lots, would I tackle a 4' dia tree no way. What I would do is dig around the stump with my 235 cat excavator and lay that sucker down, then cut it up. If you have a spare $285,000 laying around for the 235 cat, then go at it. Almost are posters here were trying to tell you this is not a job for a novice. some in a kinder way than others. You also raised their ira when you think one week you can learn a profession it took them years to saftely preform.
Yogi sit back monitor the forums learn and ask questions If you are trying to be a smart ass and bait forum menbers, then take you act elsewhere. These forums are about educating and helping fellow alternative fuel users. We can help you and it turn you can help others such as your experiences with centry stoves.
To answer other questions most hard wood exposed to sun and air takes at least 6 months to season enough for burning. Oak and thicker rounds take up till a year, exposed to air sun and stacked off the ground. I have 3 year's supply now the last splits stacked yesterday will not be used this season or next but the season after next
bobo if you are a professional tree cutter or timber man, than act professional.
yogi if you can not accept good advice, then go ahead and cut that 4' tree. If all works out for you you can brag about your experience. If not please tell us where we can read the obits in your area. Yogi will not be here long to argue with anyone. I have cleared over 10 miles of roads better than 200 house lots, would I tackle a 4' dia tree no way. What I would do is dig around the stump with my 235 cat excavator and lay that sucker down, then cut it up. If you have a spare $285,000 laying around for the 235 cat, then go at it. Almost are posters here were trying to tell you this is not a job for a novice. some in a kinder way than others. You also raised their ira when you think one week you can learn a profession it took them years to saftely preform.
Yogi sit back monitor the forums learn and ask questions If you are trying to be a smart ass and bait forum menbers, then take you act elsewhere. These forums are about educating and helping fellow alternative fuel users. We can help you and it turn you can help others such as your experiences with centry stoves.
To answer other questions most hard wood exposed to sun and air takes at least 6 months to season enough for burning. Oak and thicker rounds take up till a year, exposed to air sun and stacked off the ground. I have 3 year's supply now the last splits stacked yesterday will not be used this season or next but the season after next
- Sep 24, 2006
- 75
Sorry guys, was out of town today and had to get to bed early last night, haven't had much time to be on. I mean no disrepect, and am willing to learn, just not used to all of this, I didn't think it would be that hard to learn to deal with the bigger trees after doing the smaller ones like I have been. It sounds like I have much to learn, and read! I do not have access to any heavy equipment, I am asuming that is wat you are reffering to, like that. I can on occasion use a freinds Ford tractor if need be, but that is at his discetion, and when he is available to use it, he doesn't trust me yet either! Sorry, I ust didn't think there was that much to it, I read the my tree lesons site and get the different pie cuts, don't really understand the deal with thehumbolt, but shouldn't ever need to use it. The dutchman is interesting to say least, I see how it works, and why it is scarry, but how can that little cut into the pie cause so much force to kick back at you? Still hearing about barberchair,what is it really and why is it so bad?
Is this a better way to go? Thank you.
Is this a better way to go? Thank you.
A bigger saw is not necessarily a better saw. It depends on the application. With modern chain technology, you can get by with a lot less horsepower and probably a shorter bar than you might think.
Personally, I wouldn't consider anything other than a Stihl, Husqvarna or a Jonsereds, and I'd buy it from a servicing dealer.
The helmet will protect your head from getting bashed in or deeply gashed if a limb should fall and hit you on the head. A big limb will drive your head right into your chest cavity, but some protection is a lot better than none. At least the helmet will help prevent stitches and/or a possible concussion. If you need to inquire about the need for ear and eye protection, then you probably shouldn't be using a chain saw in the first place. In addition, kevlar chaps and steel-toed work boots (at minimum) are essential for anyone using any chain saw any time.
Most beginning chain saw operators survive mostly on luck. Read the saw manual and you'll get a good idea of where you should be focusing your attention. Like my daddy always said, with woodcutting, the only problem with on-the-job training is that sometimes they give the final exam on the first day.
Finally, if the Humbolt is your idea of a notch and you have no idea what bore cutting or a barberchair is, then you need to do more research. Google "open-face felling" for openers.
Here's a link:
http://www.forestapps.com/tips/notch/notch.htm
More good info:
http://www.forestapps.com/tips/tips.htm
Personally, I wouldn't consider anything other than a Stihl, Husqvarna or a Jonsereds, and I'd buy it from a servicing dealer.
The helmet will protect your head from getting bashed in or deeply gashed if a limb should fall and hit you on the head. A big limb will drive your head right into your chest cavity, but some protection is a lot better than none. At least the helmet will help prevent stitches and/or a possible concussion. If you need to inquire about the need for ear and eye protection, then you probably shouldn't be using a chain saw in the first place. In addition, kevlar chaps and steel-toed work boots (at minimum) are essential for anyone using any chain saw any time.
Most beginning chain saw operators survive mostly on luck. Read the saw manual and you'll get a good idea of where you should be focusing your attention. Like my daddy always said, with woodcutting, the only problem with on-the-job training is that sometimes they give the final exam on the first day.
Finally, if the Humbolt is your idea of a notch and you have no idea what bore cutting or a barberchair is, then you need to do more research. Google "open-face felling" for openers.
Here's a link:
http://www.forestapps.com/tips/notch/notch.htm
More good info:
http://www.forestapps.com/tips/tips.htm
(broken link removed to http://www.gameoflogging.com/training)
In the October issue of Forest Products equipment is an article about the Chain saw safety Plan. Author is Wendy Komancheck. The majority of the article is about the chain saw safety plan Program at Paul Smiths College...The professor has been teaching the course since the 70's..
36,000 people are treated each year in Emergency departments due to chainsaws..Higher when you include natural disasterss like Katrina.
In the October issue of Forest Products equipment is an article about the Chain saw safety Plan. Author is Wendy Komancheck. The majority of the article is about the chain saw safety plan Program at Paul Smiths College...The professor has been teaching the course since the 70's..
36,000 people are treated each year in Emergency departments due to chainsaws..Higher when you include natural disasterss like Katrina.
I've had my poulan 14 inch for 3 years. Have run a couple stihls in that time as well. I've had a few "oh sh#t" moments I've topped a few trees and had the wind come up on a totally calm day and send me scrambling for my life around a tree on my saftey rope, saw dangling below me. I've dropped a large sweet gum and had it goe completely the wrong direction...Almost took out a garage. I've been cutting on a large oak and had a branch that was almost a foot thick fall and graze me. put brown streak on my shirt.......and probly one in my shorts. I hired a pro to take out a large tree in my front yard last year. Didn't want to cut my house in half like a cheeze slicer. As far as pulling it with a tractor.....when I was in high school I piled into a truck to go look at a pickup that had been slung like a child's toy when the tree it was pulling fell the wrong way. The driver lived.....barely. I still remember that. tore the frame apart. threw the truck 50+ yards from where it was originally. What went wrong??? they had done that more times that you can imagine......only takes one time. If you have your heeart set on a monster saw, get it. But size down the bar and be damned careful. And leave the 48 inch trees alone. nobody mentioned the trees splitting apart from their own weigt wen you start to cut them. I've seen pines do it when I cut them....Know it can happen with hardwoods too. If that doesn't pucker up your backside, you ain't smart enought to be cutting wood.
Let me just add. I'm a babe in the woods as far as cutting trees is concerned. I wouldn't go nowhere near a 48 inch tree unless it was already down...and even then, it can kill you.
Let me just add. I'm a babe in the woods as far as cutting trees is concerned. I wouldn't go nowhere near a 48 inch tree unless it was already down...and even then, it can kill you.
- Sep 24, 2006
- 75
I was not going to use the humbolt for anything, just asking about it. I have read some of the older posts on here and have learned a good deal from them. I did an internet search and found some other sites that had real good information on them as well. I am learning more all the time it seems!! I am still trying to understand what makes the bigger trees so much more dangerous? Is it the weight or just the size of it? The notches link was great info, never knew I had to cut that deep into the tree!
Eric Johnson said:
Reading that website from end to end should be required reading for all who cut their own wood.
That's the state-of-the-art information on using a chainsaw, Warren. It's what the pros do, or try to do at any rate.
The deal with big trees, Yogi, is that everything that can go wrong with a smaller tree can go a lot wronger with a bigger one. That's not to say that cutting the smaller ones isn't dangerous, too, but it's a matter of degree. Kind of like comparing the consequences of being hit by a motorcycle vs a Mack truck; both are going to hurt, but with the truck, probably not for long.
The deal with big trees, Yogi, is that everything that can go wrong with a smaller tree can go a lot wronger with a bigger one. That's not to say that cutting the smaller ones isn't dangerous, too, but it's a matter of degree. Kind of like comparing the consequences of being hit by a motorcycle vs a Mack truck; both are going to hurt, but with the truck, probably not for long.
I have been reading this thread for a while and I have to chime in. I don't understand why anyone would want to get a chain saw larger than they need. Bigger saws are more expensive, they are heavier and the chance for severe kickback increases with more power and longer bar lengths. I make a living working in the woods using a chainsaw everyday. I use a Husqvarna 372xp with a 16" bar. Also I use a stihl ms460 with a 20" bar. I have a 24" bar which I rarely use. If you learn how to cut would properly you don't need a long bar.
(broken link removed)
Check out this book, It is very interesting if you are into cutting wood. There is a section on choosing a chainsaw. As stated in the book, if your bar is never to short then it is probably to long. The point I am trying to make is get the smallest, lightest high quality saw you can get by with. You can keep a spare bar and chain that is longer than you normally need.
When dealing with large trees determining lean can be more difficult as well as getting the tree to fall where you want it to. I use wedges to drive the tree over in the direction I want it to go not where it is leaning and if you have cut any trees at all you know they usually are not leaning the way you want them to.
And as Eric said the bigger the tree the more severe the damage to you or property or someone else if it goes the wrong way.
A small tree could cripple you or worse imagine what a 40" inch dbh (diameter) monster could do.
The saw Eric mentioned is a perfect choice for cutting firewood. Husky 346xp. Small lightweight and powerful. A comparable model for stihl fans would be the ms260.
Matcho has no place when it comes to cutting wood with a chainsaw!
Be careful and if you are not sure about something get some help from someone who is sure.
Craig
(broken link removed)
Check out this book, It is very interesting if you are into cutting wood. There is a section on choosing a chainsaw. As stated in the book, if your bar is never to short then it is probably to long. The point I am trying to make is get the smallest, lightest high quality saw you can get by with. You can keep a spare bar and chain that is longer than you normally need.
When dealing with large trees determining lean can be more difficult as well as getting the tree to fall where you want it to. I use wedges to drive the tree over in the direction I want it to go not where it is leaning and if you have cut any trees at all you know they usually are not leaning the way you want them to.
And as Eric said the bigger the tree the more severe the damage to you or property or someone else if it goes the wrong way.
A small tree could cripple you or worse imagine what a 40" inch dbh (diameter) monster could do.
The saw Eric mentioned is a perfect choice for cutting firewood. Husky 346xp. Small lightweight and powerful. A comparable model for stihl fans would be the ms260.
Matcho has no place when it comes to cutting wood with a chainsaw!
Be careful and if you are not sure about something get some help from someone who is sure.
Craig
Hey Craig. What a coincidence. My dad wrote that book and I edited it. They told us it was out of print, but Bailey's must have a few copies stashed away.
I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I still pull it out and read a few chapters now and then. Still go back to Wisconsin every summer and cut pulpwood with the old man, too.
I'm really glad you enjoyed it. I still pull it out and read a few chapters now and then. Still go back to Wisconsin every summer and cut pulpwood with the old man, too.
Eric Johnson said:
Ya know, there just aren't a lot of people that can say "My dad wrote the book on cutting wood.".
Tell him I said hi. It has been a year since you related it but me and my wife are still nodding and laughing about "You want your creosote to end up on your neighbor's car, not in your chimney.".
Hi Eric,
That is an excellent book , I go back and read parts over again all the time. If I'm not out cutting wood I am usually reading about it. I guess I didn't look real close who else was involved in the writing of the book. Your Dad is living my dream. I can't get my wife to move anywhere that I could afford to have my own good size woodlot so for now I just work on other people's. At $275,000 an acre where I live, even if it was fully stocked with Birdseye maple it still wouldn't be worth it. So I will continue working on other peoples wood lots!
You need to publish the NL more often than once a month, I read the whole thing the day it arrives then spend the next month reading it over and over.
I can relate to your article this month as I mainly do improvement cuts.
Craig
That is an excellent book , I go back and read parts over again all the time. If I'm not out cutting wood I am usually reading about it. I guess I didn't look real close who else was involved in the writing of the book. Your Dad is living my dream. I can't get my wife to move anywhere that I could afford to have my own good size woodlot so for now I just work on other people's. At $275,000 an acre where I live, even if it was fully stocked with Birdseye maple it still wouldn't be worth it. So I will continue working on other peoples wood lots!
You need to publish the NL more often than once a month, I read the whole thing the day it arrives then spend the next month reading it over and over.
I can relate to your article this month as I mainly do improvement cuts.
Craig
I'm not so sure about a 372xp and a 16" bar and i'll tell ya why. Running a 18" bar on my 346XP and an 18" bar on my 372XP the 372XP is a lot heaver but dont cut any faster in 16" wood. The 372xp turns at 13500 RPM and the 346xp turns at 14700 rpm. Your just haulling extra weight with a 372xp and a 16" bar. Now where the bigger chainsaw will shine is with the bigger bar. Throw a 24" , 28" or a 32" and you are just as well to leave the 346xp in the truck because its out of its league. to me a 372xp with a 16" bar is like a F250 truck with 13" car tires. You also mentioned your ms460 with a 20" bar ? You must not cut over 20 or so " logs ? or are you cutting both sides to make 1 cut ? .......... not coming down on what you use or what you say , just flapping about preferences.MALogger said:
Hi Roospike,
It may seem on the surface that a 346 would cut as fast but when you add an 8 tooth sprocket which greatly increases chain speed trust me, I have used 346's and the 372 the way I have it setup cuts extremely fast. I have tried many different setups and this is what works for me. Also I run semi skip chain (oregon #72CK). The longer the bar the more drag and resistence and the slower it cuts.
As for not cutting big wood, ask Earthharvestor he works with me on occasion and I assure you I cut plenty of big wood with that 20" bar. I do cut from both sides when felling the tree if it's diameter is bigger than the bar is long. But when bucking up wood I don't have to cut from both sides unless the tree is huge then I would have the 24" on the saw.
Craig
It may seem on the surface that a 346 would cut as fast but when you add an 8 tooth sprocket which greatly increases chain speed trust me, I have used 346's and the 372 the way I have it setup cuts extremely fast. I have tried many different setups and this is what works for me. Also I run semi skip chain (oregon #72CK). The longer the bar the more drag and resistence and the slower it cuts.
As for not cutting big wood, ask Earthharvestor he works with me on occasion and I assure you I cut plenty of big wood with that 20" bar. I do cut from both sides when felling the tree if it's diameter is bigger than the bar is long. But when bucking up wood I don't have to cut from both sides unless the tree is huge then I would have the 24" on the saw.
Craig
- Sep 24, 2006
- 75
Ok guys, I have read and read and until my eyes hurt!! I think I have made my chice on my next saw, see what you guys think of my idea. I think the Husqvarna 346xp. It is light, has great power on paper at least, and will run an 18" bar easily. I have found a lot of videos and watched them again and again and have been practicing doing bore cuts on small trees, the wildthing doesn't seem to have enough power to do it well. Most of the videos that I have seen came from Husqvarna and the saw of chioce was always the 346xp and usually with a 16" bar!! I was amazed at what could be done with that short of a bar!!
Do you guys think this is a good way for me to go?
Do you guys think this is a good way for me to go?
Yogi said:
The Husqvarna 346XP is an awesome chainsaw for sure , I own 2 of them.
There a fast , light weight saw and cut wood very well 16" and under. I have the 18" bar and have kept it that was on both of mine.
If your wanting a chainsaw for larger wood than you will need a larger chainsaw. Your best bet over all is to own a smaller saw and a larger one. 1 for limbing and light / smaller wood and 1 for the bigger trees and trunks.
I think the 18 inch bar is definately the way to go. not too big. I still say to stay away from those giant trees of yours. I will be putting an 18 or 20 inch bar on my 365. I just like the control that a smaller blade offers. The 24 inch blade is great if you have large wood but in the last few years I havn't found too hany things that would require such a large bar.
The 346xp is an outstanding saw. Plenty of power and very lightweight. You won't be disappointed.
- Sep 24, 2006
- 75
bobo said:
Don't like it? What is there not to like? I hear this i the baddest saw of it's size made, what's not to like?
Forgive my skeptisism, but you and I have a bit of a checkerd past, how can I be sure you won't screw me on this, as I am interested?
- Oct 25, 2006
- 391
Eric Johnson said:
I didn't write or edit but my great grand father starred in it.
http://www.alibris.com/search/detai...best=15.95&pqtynew=0&page=1&matches=6&qsort=p
A little different kind of wood cutting. I usually get it out in the spring when we are making syrup, few things better then sitting next to the cooker on a cold night out in the woods with a full moon throwing shadows and reading a book like this by the light of a gas lamp.
____________
Andre' B.
Every time I think about felling trees, I just have to run my hand over my head to be reminded of the respect that trees demand. When I was 10 years old, my best friend and I were screwing around on the hill behind his house, maybe 500 yards up into the woods. We were cutting trees with an ax, and one hung up, it was maybe 8"-10" in diameter. Well, I tried hossing the tree down, slipped and fell under the trunk just as it broke loose. I don't remember the next two days. I spent several weeks in the hospital with a skull fracture, one of the sutures in my skull popped and now I have a very shallow ridge in my head. From what my friend said, the tree hit me above my left eye, and my head hit the rock on the back right side. Sandwiched my head, if the tree was any bigger, it would have popped my skull like a grape.
Now add 3-7 horsepower and a blindingly fast chain, and it's a wonder more people don't die! Even cutting small trees, I take my time and plan every cut. I always wear my PPE, even if I'm "just making a couple cuts". I've been cutting wood for over 15 years, grew up watching people cut trees, but I never assume that I know what's going to happen when I make that last cut, or even that the tree will wait till the last cut to fall. Our cherry trees are almost always hollow when they are over 16" or so.
Now add 3-7 horsepower and a blindingly fast chain, and it's a wonder more people don't die! Even cutting small trees, I take my time and plan every cut. I always wear my PPE, even if I'm "just making a couple cuts". I've been cutting wood for over 15 years, grew up watching people cut trees, but I never assume that I know what's going to happen when I make that last cut, or even that the tree will wait till the last cut to fall. Our cherry trees are almost always hollow when they are over 16" or so.
I second that, Gibbonboy. Never trust a tree to do what you think it's going to do. Like driving, always be prepared for the unexpected, and give yourself every advantage you can. And remember that no matter what you do, it's still a very dangerous activity.
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