OT: An old favorite - Chainsaws

[dhoff]

TT, I am not the one to help you on the routine.

When we were using these regularly, how we handled the saws was simple, "see mike, he has it handled." the guy was amazing and keep everything so dialed in. I look forward to hearing from Wade as well.

-d

[Too Tall]

TT, I am not the one to help you on the routine.

When we were using these regularly, how we handled the saws was simple, "see mike, he has it handled." the guy was amazing and keep everything so dialed in. I look forward to hearing from Wade as well.

-d

Gotcha.
I pulled the trigger on an Dolmar 5100 and plan to treat it like a first born. Anybody want two echos for parts? Make nice table lamps.

[Disturbed]

Hoff and Wade. I've always used the pre-mix echo oil and keep an 5 gal. can of gas for saw and trimmer. What's your drill? I learn from the cool kids ;)

I'm not cool but that's a big can of gas unless you wailing through it, It'll keep longer if it's in a metal [airtight] can though. I buy/mix per use and don't store for extended periods. OK.........I have, but I try not to.

[Too Tall]

I'm not cool but that's a big can of gas unless you wailing through it, It'll keep longer if it's in a metal [airtight] can though. I buy/mix per use and don't store for extended periods. OK.........I have, but I try not to.

Thank you that's a good call. I lack good leadership when it comes to murdering trees. Just found a nice 1.5 gal no-spill can. What's the dealio with oil? Totally confused, I should just squeeze out a fresh chicken into 1/2 gal. of ethanol and call it good right?
What oil is easy to find and won't ruin my (baby) saw? Dolmar mavens are talking about ratios of 50:1 and 35:1. WTH?

[WadePatton]

... I look forward to hearing from Wade as well.

-d

excerpted from what i wrote directly to toots hisself (gratuitous use of bad grammar/ GBG)

congrats.

now, if you're not comfy tuning the H jet by ear, then get a tach. the tachs are cheap--and are used to tweak the carb H screw whenever anything is changed or the weather changes (changing the air charge density). proshop owners have told me of new saws (lately) coming to their shops tuned way too lean (high rpm) because of the epa bullshit. (leaner is cleaner but WILL burn up your saw.) they of course re-tune them and run 'em dry.

the perfect burble is what you want. a saw that bites hard in the cut but runs a tad rich--the burble _when revved w/o load_. lots of youtube on it.
very simply: if it burbles under load it's too rich. if it doesn't burble when revved w/o load it's too lean--just like how one revvs up just before the tank runs dry--that's too lean. rich just makes smoke and wastes fuel, lean melts pistons.

if you don't follow what i'm saying, i'll dig up some reference materials.

Also can esplain more on the other two, less important, screws.

the other two screwz: L jet (idle mix), adjust so that saw picks up from idle w/o hesitation. idle stop screw-(the adjustable mechanical stop) adjust so that clutch disengages and stops pulling the chain.

each screw affects the other--keep twiddling until the high-speed jet is right, it accellerates from idle quickly, and the chain isn't moving at idle. the ability to do this yourself means that you can keep your saw running tip-top when the air-temp, humidity, or fuel mix changes. then you can move on to more adventurous stuff like modding mufflers and ports and compression OH MY!

if one buys or borrows (as i have) a tach, simply set the high-speed to the mfg's max speed, then adjust the other two as above. and recheck-it's all interconnected.

cheers, big chips, and be safe out there.

on edit--all the new stuff has silly little plastic caps on the adjustment screws. these will inhibit your tuning efforts. do as you see fit (but don't lose the springs). also if you have only one jet screw-- you have a fixed jet carb and you can only tweak by changing your fuel mix, or you can find a two-jet carb for retrofitting.

maybe sawchains next...

[echelon_john]

wrt to timing, at least here in the north country the preferred timing is to cut the trees you're going to burn during the winter/early spring before the sap starts running. that way you're getting the wood at its driest point to start with, then drying it further from there. most of the local woodchucks cut dec-feb, then split summer/early fall for fall sales. ideally you'd let it sit another year before you burn it, but if it's cut before sap flow it'll be pretty decent that first winter.

not sure how this applies to the mid-atlantic and other places where people aren't still looking at huge piles of snow and ice.

for saws, i've been pretty happy with husqvarna, but agree with the post above that a sharp chain and a good tune are probably the biggest factors in performance. second the vote for buying new or used from a local small-engine place that can help maintain it and avoiding anything from the big orange d-bags.

curious about the makitas; thanks for that tip

[WadePatton]

I did it again. I made my neighbor (who has been cutting wood for 60 years) say, "What kind of saw is that?!" in response to my ripping some big hickory down to pre-splitter size. He had over-hotted his 76cc saw and put it aside. He ask about the horsepower and I told him I wasn't sure, that it was 60cc's. Also that I left my big saw at home.

I did this to him once before--mof it was right after that that I noticed he started getting newer, bigger, and different brand saws...I had a fresh square-cut chain on that time and made 5 hefty cuts to his single cut--his log was the biggest, but he was flabbergasted that I finished so quickly. We were cutting with 20" bars buried.

When I get a new loop of square chain for my 79cc saw, I'll make it a point to cut some more for him...hehe. It's like race chain to me.

If you are an excellent round chain filer, then you might want to play with square-cut chain. I see it as free hp. The trade-off is durability and difficult to sharpen correctly-even the grinders for it are expensive. But I love it and am getting better at keeping it sharp.

This is not the outside profile of the chain-where you have round, semi-chisel, and full chisel. It is the inside of the cutter profile. Most saw chains sharpen with a round file. Square cut sharpens with a flat or triangular file--and it cuts like a horny beaver on amphetamines.

I'm a two-saw minimum type of guy too. The second saw is handy to cut out a pinched first saw. Use the less sharp chained saw for stumps or dirty wood. Alternate saws to reduce the number of re-fueling stops. But the number one reason: to have a spare so that the outing isn't ruined in case one saw becomes damaged or fails to start.

Now is the time I hit the rack and saw with my eyes closed.

cheers

[Too Tall]

Good stuff W.P. I anxiously await for my new saw to arrive. Just in time since a neighbor is having an 100+ yr. old white oak felled next month. FatCity.

Next up for me will be to build an better wood rack.

[Disturbed]

Any burls on that tree Josh?

I want please.

[Too Tall]

Any burls on that tree Josh?

I want please.

Looks to be one hella burl below ground level Alec. If my feeble brain can remember I'll take a pic.

[ron l edmiston]

Looks to be one hella burl below ground level Alec. If my feeble brain can remember I'll take a pic.

make hellacious bowls --- now ya fall a hard maple with "tigerstripes or birdseyes" -- ima just a buzz away...

ronnie

[maunahaole]

Ronnie, if you like to turn bowls, look for a norfolk pine or a cook pine.

[54ny77]

Hey TT, what kind of saw would you recommend to bring down a fallen tree that's got a ~15ft. tall "stump?" It's a big mudderfugger, probably 3ft. diameter or so. It's my neighbors, and it fell in the big bad storms last year. He hasn't had the inclination to have it removed (no idea why, but so it goes). I'm going to offer up renting a chainsaw and do it myself in xchange for beer, because i'm sick of looking at that half-busted tree stump eyesore.

Should i take it down in 3-4 foot segments rather than one big timmmmmmberrrrrrr? Or, do it all at once at the base?

VSalon: It's Not Just About The Bike.

[WadePatton]

I no TT but WP and says that, judging by the question, it should be felled by someone with more experience. 36"x15 feet is still a heavy chunk of wood. If it goes the wrong way or binds up your saw or twists or jumps/bounces wrong and somebody is out of position...just a lot of things can go bad quick atmo.

segments? like on a ladder? ladders and saws don't mix. arborists use bucket booms or climbing gear or extension saws.

wild grape vines swung a tree 90 from the intended line-to which it was falling and popped my windshield not too long ago...be safe out there.

[WadePatton]

hey you woodie workers, i have a couple of slabs of bodock (osage orange), air-dried over 10 years. i'd like to trade if for gunstock blank...or something.

[54ny77]

agreed on all fronts. we're talkin' thousands and thousands of lbs of wood, it would be no small feat.

my neighbor is a cheap lazy bastard and won't hire a tree service (it's been there for over a year), hence why i'd like to volunteer to get 'er done. he'll never do it.

i'm wondering what a dozen or so passes with a 29" auger bit and something explosive would do....

I no TT but WP and says that, judging by the question, it should be felled by someone with more experience. 36"x15 feet is still a heavy chunk of wood. If it goes the wrong way or binds up your saw or twists or jumps/bounces wrong and somebody is out of position...just a lot of things can go bad quick atmo.

segments? like on a ladder? ladders and saws don't mix. arborists use bucket booms or climbing gear or extension saws.

wild grape vines swung a tree 90 from the intended line-to which it was falling and popped my windshield not too long ago...be safe out there.

[WadePatton]

hey, tree-service is expensive for a reason. btw if that tree was in my 'hood-- I have this friend with a 41" bar on a 120cc saw--ooh rah.

[Too Tall]

OOOOOOOO an package just arrive from Canada ;) Got it assembled and adjusted. Maybe this weekend I'll murder some trees. Did I mention it has an heated handbar? Oooo la la.

[bellman]

Hey TT, what kind of saw would you recommend to bring down a fallen tree that's got a ~15ft. tall "stump?" It's a big mudderfugger, probably 3ft. diameter or so. It's my neighbors, and it fell in the big bad storms last year. He hasn't had the inclination to have it removed (no idea why, but so it goes). I'm going to offer up renting a chainsaw and do it myself in xchange for beer, because i'm sick of looking at that half-busted tree stump eyesore.

Should i take it down in 3-4 foot segments rather than one big timmmmmmberrrrrrr? Or, do it all at once at the base?

VSalon: It's Not Just About The Bike.

Like mr Patton says, lots of things can go wrong with a snag.
But... heres how I would proceed;

step zero, practice your 16 foot dash :-)

step one, slap an up-cut face (thats the notch cut with the angle part on the bottom) into it about 30" above the ground so he can use it as a table if he wants. make it about 1/3rd of the tree deep

step two, I would come-a-long me some tension. Not a lot but just enough to tell it where to go. Rope or chain from the top of the tree to something solid near ground level.
Two spots 15' apart would be good

step three; start your back cut aiming for a spot about an inch above the top of the face cut. Cut parallel to the face until you have about1.5" of holding wood. Don't cut all the way thru. The tree should be moving at this point. if not, go add tension.

step four, collect beer and offer to buck it up for a steak dinner and more beer.

[WadePatton]

a fine plan, understanding the face and back cuts and hinge are critical. given that, it can be done with an axe. all this assumes that the top is gone completely. a broken tree can be quite dangerous with the unseen stresses built in.