Wood cutting

[Woody Stover]

Same here, which is why I ended up with a stable of saws. We have some large trees here- the largest I've cut was 4.5' diameter. I also cut a lot of brush, and using the big saw for that would wear me out quickly.

Right. I went ahead and got out the big boy for the 24" Red Elm I recently got, although I could have also done it with the 261.
That was kind of my point to mari...get the lightest, easiest to maneuver saw that will handle the majority of diameters you are going to see. I think there's some Oak in NM, which would be larger diameter possibly, and I saw some bigger Crottenwoods at higher elevations when I was there last time. The question is, what's local and most plentiful where you live? Species availability no doubt varies across the state, as in other states.

cant hook is really useful to help roll logs in my log processing area or when I'm working on a tree I can drive a UTV to, but it might be too heavy to carry into the woods.

Yeah, she's not gonna be carrying my metal peavey into the woods...and neither am I! 😖 The wood-handled ones are no doubt lighter, though.

 

[ericm979]

How far are these acre plots from roads? I'm not sure what people use when harvesting wood on public land; I do all mine on my own land where I have equipment, and even then it's a lot of work.

 

[mari]

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How far are these acre plots from roads? I'm not sure what people use when harvesting wood on public land; I do all mine on my own land where I have equipment, and even then it's a lot of work.

That I do not know. I know the area, which is about half an hour from my house. A state road runs through the NF and then there are forest roads off of the main highway then there are two-tracks off of the forest roads. They will most likely fill us in on the logistics at the workshop.

 

[EbS-P]

Are there any light weight bars available for the 261 or 550?

 

[ericm979]

Are there any light weight bars available for the 261 or 550?

Yes for the 261. I don't know about Stihl lightweight bars (which there has been a shortage of lately) but there are aftermarket light bars for it. Most likely for the 550 as well. I don't think they save all that much weight in the shorter lengths that you'd use for this size saw. They do for really long bars.

I have a MS241 which is the 261's slightly smaller brother and it's a really sweet saw. I mostly use it for limbing.

 

[Ashful]

I've got a 20" bar on my 261, and it'll still pull that length pretty well.

I guess it depends on what you're cutting, and your expectations, but I won't even run 20" on an MS 361, without some big dogs on the saw to take the exposed length down to 19". Too slow, too easy to bog it in oak with a full 20" buried. On a saw as small as the MS 261, I'd run a 16" bar for cutting hardwood, maybe 18" if it was only doing softwood.

Yeah, she's not gonna be carrying my metal peavey into the woods...and neither am I! 😖 The wood-handled ones are no doubt lighter, though.

Maybe this depends on the manufacturer and materials. But I had both wood and metal, and my aluminum LogRite is way lighter than my wood-handled cant hook, despite being a foot longer. In fact, I gave the wood one away last year, since I only ever use the LogRite anymore.

If you don't already own a cant or peavey, and you're considering one, I would only recommend the LogRite aluminum cant hook to any firewood cutter. Peavey's are a bad choice for most firewood cutters, and I don't think you're going to find one lighter or stronger than the LogRite.

Yes for the 261. I don't know about Stihl lightweight bars (which there has been a shortage of lately) but there are aftermarket light bars for it.

Stihl makes some nice lightweight bars, although I've only shopped them in sizes 28" and longer. But I'd hesitate to recommend a lightweight bar, especially one short enough to fit an MS 261, to any firewood cutter... especially a beginner. They're much more fragile than standard bars, and they're expensive, and you're not going to save much weight on a bar that short. The lightweight bars are really nice when you're looking at a 36" bar, as regular bars get awful nose-heavy on a big saw, whereas the lightweights balance nicely at that length.

@mari, if you only ever cut softwood, I'd be shopping a 550 XP or MS 261 with a standard 18" sprocket nose bar. You can always get more bars later to experiment, but this is the middle of the road sweet spot for these saws. If you get into oak, locust, or hickory, then I'd buy that same saw with a 16" bar or get some big felling dogs to reduce the exposed length of the 18" bar by an inch.

 

[KDubU]

There is no oak or hickory in NM the last time I was there. Pinion and some Ponderosa Pine was 99% of what was cut.

 

[Ashful]

Yeah, figured that was probably the case.

Also, I was just checking out cant hook weights, and there are some wood models even lighter than the Logrite. Doubt they're anywhere near as strong, but if going for weight alone, the wood ones with a simple ring to hold the hook on an ash handle, rather than the full iron topper or oak handles, seem to be the lightest, around 8 lb. for 48". Nowhere near as strong as a LogRite, but if going on weight alone, this might be the best option.

I was never a fan of peavey's for firewood cutting. Not sure what the purpose of that spike on the end is for (pushing logs around in a river?), but it's useless for firewood cutting uses.

 

[Montanalocal]

I was never a fan of peavey's for firewood cutting. Not sure what the purpose of that spike on the end is for (pushing logs around in a river?), but it's useless for firewood cutting uses.

I have used mine plenty times jabbing it into a kerf to keep it from pinching when I did not happen to have a wedge on me.

 

[ericm979]

I have an aluminum Woodchuck Dual, which is convertable between cant hook and peavy. I have never used it in peavy mode. The two points on the pivoting arm makes it useable on a wider range of log diameters than the traditional type cant hook, which I also have.

I've been to NM and worked for the USFS in the high country in AZ. Forests there can have trees ranging from small to decent sized depending on conditions (mostly rainfall). I'd expect 1ac plots to have a decent number of trees, otherwise there's not a lot of wood and it's not worth $300 to the FS to clean them up. I'm kinda hoping this is a new model for fire thinning (and as such they would probably work along roads, at least to begin with). I don't think there's enough folks who would be willing to do this work to make a big dent in our over stocked forests but every bit helps.

 

[Ashful]

I have used mine plenty times jabbing it into a kerf to keep it from pinching when I did not happen to have a wedge on me.

I stick a plastic wedge in each rear pocket when I grab my saw and fuel it up, before starting to cut. I will usually use one wedge as a hammer for the other. If I need to drive the second wedge in, a stray rock, branch, or my boot become the hammer.

A peavey point seems like it could do a heck of a job on the chain or operator, if the back of the bar happens to come into contact with it in a kerf. Do you just angle it such that the chain won't grab on the point, if there's an accidental contact?

My older plastic wedges have plenty of battle scars, each of which might have been an injury if they were a steel point rather than a plastic wedge. That said, I suspect my rear pockets are bigger than @mari's. Different strokes for different folks

 

[CatfishHunter]

I've got a Husqvarna 345e that's about 10yrs old. It's pretty light weight with a 16" bar. I've got two chains for that in case I hit something unexpected and really dull the chain. I've also got a 20" bar that I can put on there for bigger cuts, or if the other bar gets pinched. You'll find the right saw for you, especially if you go to a quality dealer. You should be able to try out a bunch of the models. Consider it like buying a car. Go on lots of test drives.

 

[Montanalocal]

A peavey point seems like it could do a heck of a job on the chain or operator, if the back of the bar happens to come into contact with it in a kerf. Do you just angle it such that the chain won't grab on the point, if there's an accidental contact?

I do not leave the peavey point in the kerf, I just use it to jab it into a closed kerf to open it up enough to get my wedge in. I like the biggest and heaviest peavey I can get. That way I have enough weight and momentum to do whatever I need to do with it. I can stab it into and between tangled logs to pry them apart. I can stab the point into the ground to stop a log from rolling toward me if I need to. Another thing is that when I am rolling a log and it starts to go over, I can jerk the straight point out easier than the hook, so it will not take the peavey with it and possibly break it.

I go mine many years ago, and like it. If I had gotten a cant hook, I would probably like it as well.

 

[Woody Stover]

I guess it depends on what you're cutting, and your expectations, but I won't even run 20" on an MS 361, without some big dogs on the saw to take the exposed length down to 19". Too slow, too easy to bog it in oak with a full 20" buried. On a saw as small as the MS 261, I'd run a 16" bar for cutting hardwood, maybe 18" if it was only doing softwood.

As I said, I'm not looking to set any speed records. Even though I cut three or four cords a year, a little extra time doesn't concern me at all. Heck, I sometimes run semi-chisel chain, which cuts a bit slower but also stays sharp longer--sharpening chains takes time as well. But in the woods where I cut, most of what's under the log is decomposed-leaf soil, and there's not much dulling grit in this clay soil, anyway. And if I get to a spot there the chain would have to go into the soil, I can usually measure down a few bucking lengths to a spot where I can saw the log without getting into the soil.
Now if I was doing a lot of off-site scoring, as I think you've done, maybe I'd want to cut as fast as I could. But when I'm out in the woods here, sometimes I'll just sit and look around for a while..not much rushing for this old boy, generally speaking. 🤗

There is no oak or hickory in NM the last time I was there. Pinion and some Ponderosa Pine was 99% of what was cut.

I think Pinon or Mesquite is harder wood, but probably not big diameter, so Ashful's bar-length concerns may not apply to her.

Maybe this depends on the manufacturer and materials. But I had both wood and metal, and my aluminum LogRite is way lighter than my wood-handled cant hook, despite being a foot longer. In fact, I gave the wood one away last year, since I only ever use the LogRite anymore.

Peavey's are a bad choice for most firewood cutters...

I had to go out and check whether my Logrite peavey was aluminum--it is. Still not gonna be light for a small woman to pack back into the woods, though. I'm always using the quad/trailer, so I don't carry it out there by hand.
The problem I've run into with the peavey is that the point will sometimes slip off a big round when trying to maneuver it into position on the power splitter. But cutting in the woods, I don't get a lot of really huge rounds--trees tend to grow up, not out, and most of what I get are medium-sized dead Ash and Oak. If I have to take the power splitter out there to split some rounds I can't pick up into the quad trailer, and don't want to bust down with a maul/wedges, I can generally flip them end-over-end onto the splitter. I really don't use the peavey much at all.
Now, the peavey point might come in handy for some of the log loads you've been getting lately, prying the piles apart..
If I had it to do again, I'd get a cant hook. But we've all made "bad choices," as you can well attest.. 😉😆

I like the biggest and heaviest peavey I can get. That way I have enough weight and momentum to do whatever I need to do with it. I can stab it into and between tangled logs to pry them apart. I can stab the point into the ground to stop a log from rolling toward me if I need to. Another thing is that when I am rolling a log and it starts to go over, I can jerk the straight point out easier than the hook, so it will not take the peavey with it and possibly break it.
I go mine many years ago, and like it. If I had gotten a cant hook, I would probably like it as well.

Yeah, I like being able to spear the peavey into the ground so I can just grab it again when needed. And I imagine it will come in real handy for the heaps I've got to pick apart this summer..

 

[Ashful]

All good points, Woody. I also don't carry any equipment into the woods, it all gets hauled in with the tractor that I'll be using to skid logs out. My desire for cutting speed is sometimes just my natural inclination for speed and horsepower, but also sometimes trying to stay ahead of whoever is doing the skidding work on the tractor. I usually stay in the woods and cut, and let whoever is working with me drive the tractor to drag our haul out to a staging area.

 

[Woody Stover]

My desire for cutting speed is sometimes just my natural inclination for speed and horsepower, but also sometimes trying to stay ahead of whoever is doing the skidding work on the tractor.

View attachment 312110 View attachment 312109

Yep, I can tell by the pics that you guys are really "hauling ash." 😏

 

[Ashful]

heh... that one was actually a short day, for me! The photo below was all felled, skidded, and bucked in one day.



Now I can do about twice as much as that, since I no longer buck onsite or load individual rounds. Now I just drag full logs onto the trailer with a winch, and I have loaded, hauled, and unloaded 4 cords in a single day from a site about 10 miles from home, using this method:



That said, I'm using probably more than double the wood of the average hearth.com member. Not everyone needs to jam 10 cords of felling and processing into just a few Saturdays per year.

 

[Woody Stover]

heh... that one was actually a short day, for me! The photo below was all felled, skidded, and bucked in one day.
Now I just drag full logs onto the trailer with a winch, and I have loaded, hauled, and unloaded 4 cords in a single day from a site about 10 miles from home, using this method:

View attachment 312116 View attachment 312117

Yeah, you can really stack a bunch of wood in a hurry, working the big stuff. Right now I'm combing the woods for small, dry stuff. Takes a while to gather appreciable amounts, bringing it out quad-trailer load at a time..
I do have a couple of heaps to work this summer, so production rates will be higher. Then I recruit a few folks for a "splitting party" and get some serious wood stacked.
Hmmm...Pic1, Red Maple and Sugar? Pic2 Red Maple and...White Ash (bark doesn't look quite right, though?)

 

[Ashful]

Pic1, Red Maple and Sugar? Pic2 Red Maple and...White Ash (bark doesn't look quite right, though?)

Really tough to tell from those photos. But given the dates, I think it'd have to be white oak or white ash, as that plus red oak and sassafras is all I was hauling in that date range. Pretty sure they're not red oak or sassafras, which really only leaves white oak or ash as options. My own eye isn't good enough to tell from those photos.

We do get all sorts of maples around here, but I've never had any chance to cut any of it, other than the stupid silver maples that occasionally lose branches in my own back yard. A landscape architect for whom I used to work once told me "sugar maples only get half credit," for being a proper maple tree.