MasterMech said:
I would love to have been a fly on the wall at Stihl Corporate to see what the overriding purpose was when they came up with this idea.
First Chainsaw...
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I would love to have been a fly on the wall at Stihl Corporate to see what the overriding purpose was when they came up with this idea.
Stihl MS 170 with easy start if you want a chainsaw.
Chop saw may be your cheapest and easiest route.
Chop saw may be your cheapest and easiest route.
HittinSteel said:
They give you warm fuzzy feelings about supporting the "little guy" or the local hardware store.
Shameless Husqvarna owners, buying saws off the Internet or worse, a B*x St*re! Pffft!
;-P
Or maybe it's just an excellent product line top to bottom that keeps us coming back for more. Who knows? %-P
MrWhoopee
Minister of Fire
Jerry_NJ said:
Chopsaws are low precision cut-off saws that use an abrasive wheel to cut metal.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-12-horsepower-14-industrial-cut-off-saw-68104.html
Put a circular saw blade on one and it makes quick work of small stuff.
Technically correct. Mitre saws often get called chop saws particularly by those in the trade.MrWhoopee said:
I like the idea of being able to trim many logs at once, so placing many logs in a holder (H-frame sawbuck) and cutting them with one pass of a gas powered chainsaw appeals to me.
See ideas in this link and sublinks: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/74272/
See ideas in this link and sublinks: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/74272/
I recut almost all splits for my little stove, to be able to stack at 16/+" and burn at 8".
Favorite tool for recut: cheapie HF 10" table-saw.
Pros:
fast, powerful, narrow kerf, easy start, safety relative to chainsaw, mostly one pass with little splits for Morso,
collected sawdust (just not that much) easily dumped on garden beds.
Cons:
still noisy, exposed blade, fear-factor for some folks, needs shop-vac. Some folks might rush things.
If that's all your cutting, much less would be invested than with chainsaw, PPE, etc.
Favorite tool for recut: cheapie HF 10" table-saw.
Pros:
fast, powerful, narrow kerf, easy start, safety relative to chainsaw, mostly one pass with little splits for Morso,
collected sawdust (just not that much) easily dumped on garden beds.
Cons:
still noisy, exposed blade, fear-factor for some folks, needs shop-vac. Some folks might rush things.
If that's all your cutting, much less would be invested than with chainsaw, PPE, etc.
Nobody mentioned a bandsaw yet. Now that would be the ultimate in narrow kerf making less sawdust.
Of course one could aways use a Swede saw, more commonly known as a bow saw. At one time we bucked up all our firewood with one of those... only used the chainsaw for felling. Learned how to sharpen them and set the teeth early in life. I still remember catching the filings on a newspaper, then tossing them on the fire and watching the sparks. Later we got a buzzsaw that ran off a belt on the farm tractor. That 3 foot blade had quite the kerf and made more sawdust than your average chainsaw.
As for making sawdust with my chainsaw, I think I average about one 6 cu ft wheelbarrow load per cord. It sure seems like a lot of wasted BTUs.
Of course one could aways use a Swede saw, more commonly known as a bow saw. At one time we bucked up all our firewood with one of those... only used the chainsaw for felling. Learned how to sharpen them and set the teeth early in life. I still remember catching the filings on a newspaper, then tossing them on the fire and watching the sparks. Later we got a buzzsaw that ran off a belt on the farm tractor. That 3 foot blade had quite the kerf and made more sawdust than your average chainsaw.
As for making sawdust with my chainsaw, I think I average about one 6 cu ft wheelbarrow load per cord. It sure seems like a lot of wasted BTUs.
BlankBlankBlank
Minister of Fire
A few years ago my dad picked up an industrial bandsaw from a factory that closed. He had worked there at one time so had a connection. He uses it mainly for cutting up pallets. It's got a deep throat which is ideal for this purpose. He also extended the table using plywood and runners from some skids. I've used it a few times when helping him cut up pallets to burn in his garage. It works great. After having done it, I wouldn't recommend anything smaller for the job. The table, etc. sure take a beating. Anything less heavy duty just wouldn't last. My 2 cents.
I've got a 250 and its a decent all-around saw. I'm not an expert when it comes to cutting so I purposefully kept the saw on the smaller side, thinking that I'd be safer if I kept it under 65mph. There would be instances when I would like to have a 24" bar to get through a monster in one pass, or for a more comfortable bucking position, but with a sharp chain there is not much waiting. I cut 3-4 cord/year from my own land and I could get by with even less saw if I needed (of course, I spent the morning on craigslist looking at an MS441 !)
LLigetfa said:
I sometimes use a bandsaw for this, but some experience is required when cutting wood that is either round or irregular in cross section (like a split). The blade can grab the wood and rotate it violently, slamming it hard against the table. This can lead to injury in some instances, and a kinked (ruined) blade in others.
Also, todays woodcutting blades are expensive and usually have impulse-hardened teeth. They are extremely sharp but do not lend themselves to easy sharpening since the very tips are file hard. I save my old blades for this kind of grunt work and use the razor-sharp newer blades for fine woodworking. No use trashing a $20 blade on dirty firewood.
EDIT: I should have also mentioned that a bandsaw is a pretty expensive piece of machinery and it doesn't store that well on a shelf or fit in the trunk of your car. If you have one, great, but not something I'd recommend for firewood if you don't. If you are mostly a woodburner and not a woodworker, a small chainsaw is a nice investment that you won't regret.
woodmiser
Feeling the Heat
I've had a Stihl MS260 for about 4 years. Good saw but I find it a bit lacking in power compared to a husky of similar size I used that a friend of mine owned. I heard they are bogged down a little for emissions.
No comparison but I also have a Dolmar with a 28" bar that eats through big wood like it's all punk.
No comparison but I also have a Dolmar with a 28" bar that eats through big wood like it's all punk.
Wow, if you are swinging a 28" bar around I don't want to argue with you. My 20" bar is too much for me, and then that's even with the tree down on the ground. I am a total amateur and too old to become anything else. Oh, right this thread was started by an amateur: First chainsaw.
Still I'ld like to own a Stihl once in my life : )
Still I'ld like to own a Stihl once in my life : )
A 105 lb amateur at that.Jerry_NJ said:
Perhaps I should have used the ;-P smiley in my bandsaw comment.delp said:
The way this thread has gone, I was just taking it to yet another absurd tangent. %-PBattenkiller said:
I'm really thinking a 170/180 or similar sized husky should do the job. Have you made any progress towards your decision?
Giles
Burning Hunk
This is more on the topic of "Chainsaw Safety" but I think it is worth mentioning------
Some of the best advise I have been given, concerning chainsaws, was given to me by an old friend that was a logger.
He advised me to start out with my new chainsaw ownership by always Locking my left elbow when using it. Of course you can"t always do this but it has saved me from injury many times.
The idea is----With your elbow locked, the saw will go up instead of back.
I think of this every time I use my chainsaw!
Some of the best advise I have been given, concerning chainsaws, was given to me by an old friend that was a logger.
He advised me to start out with my new chainsaw ownership by always Locking my left elbow when using it. Of course you can"t always do this but it has saved me from injury many times.
The idea is----With your elbow locked, the saw will go up instead of back.
I think of this every time I use my chainsaw!
biggest one I like to remember is "stay out of the PLANE of the CHAIN." If you do this, it doesn't matter if it kicks. It'll hopefully fly right by you! Keeps you from pushing on the saw, too, which helps with making sure you keep the chain sharp (safer) and keeps you from getting tired (also safer).
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