Printable View
Big grinder, right? I don't own a grinder. My neighbor has two smallish ones. He claims they are too small to grind/reform wedge heads.Quote:
Originally Posted by stfu&gbtw
The smashed, splintered, and mushroomed heads can splinter at the smashed head whenb pounding them, apparently (usually?) as projectiles.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using TGR Forums mobile app
Cut my first load of wood for the winter this weekend. It all oak and maple and should burn well. Driving in on the logging road was wasn't bad, but driving out was tricky. The weight of the wood really cut the ground clearance of my truck so I had to be careful navigating around the rocks.
Nicely done. We still are not allowed to chainsaw due to extreme fire danger
Can not imagine how that will be ready by Winter. Oak is one of the slowest drying woods there is.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grange
On a separate note my Jonsered 2171 cylinder is cooked and I think I want to move on to a lighter saw. Local dealer says they can get me a good deal on a Stihl saw, but I have an unpleasant history with a Stihl saw and having a hard time overcoming it. Thinking about an Echo or a Dolmar in the 40-50cc range, but I don't know those dealers. I don't need a pro saw, but would like something that is not junk. Any thoughts?
Is that an OR state rule?Quote:
Originally Posted by steepconcrete
a 3171 jonsered IS a pro saw and its red for fucks sake,Quote:
Originally Posted by cat in january
Jonsered is made by husky so it sounds like you have burnt out sthil & husky
but you say you don't need a pro saw but you already burnt out at least one and now you want something that isnt junk so you want to try the other 2 brands, there better be a dealer near by
sounds like you need the unicorn saw
Hiked a Stihl 8 miles into the woods long time ago when I was the saw guy on transit lines. Did everything to get it to go and it would not-saw was not mine.
Bought the Jonsered used and yeah I know it is a pro saw. Had it 10 years and happy with the use it gave, but most of my work I don't need a saw that big. 45cc would be about ideal, but could go a bit either size.
I like Jonsered, go back a long ways with them, and like Husky too. Looking at some of the Husky "Farm" mid size saws. There are a ton of their dealers around here.
Yes a unicorn saw with heated handles and carbide chain in a magnesium case would be nice.
And an attachment to split and stack the wood, and cupholders.Quote:
Originally Posted by cat in january
If you're not interested in a pro saw check out a Husky Rancher series - the 455 is something of a classic. Reliable, easy to work on/get worked on.
Yeah that's the saw I've had for ten years and I really like it.
You had one sthil which you of course tested before carrying 8 miles not start so they are all Bad?
Unicorn saw is what you want
Say unicorn saw again.
I agree that oak does dry slowly, and that is why when cutting firewood this time of year I look for oak that is already ready to burn or will be after a few months split and stacked. With the load in the picture every piece of wood was either already down due to nature (not necessarily laying on the ground), or dead and still standing with the bark falling away. It's not hard to figure out when cutting the wood if it is ready to burn or needs to be seasoned. Wet wood is harder on the chain and I can avoid the smell of wet wood.Quote:
Originally Posted by cat in january
I cut most of my firewood on the National Forest so I'm restricted to only cutting dead wood. I did find a nice standing large dead red oak that would have made great firewood (some for this year and likely some would have needed another season), but it was greater than 18" at DBH so I had to pass. I bet by the end of the fall it won't be there.
I have use Stihl most of my life and really wouldn't consider going to a different brand as they have been great for me. That said my brother-in-law has a Husqvarna that has worked well for him though I don't remember which model.
Where's Glademaster with his moisture meter?
I'm not sure I agree that cutting dry wood is easier than wet.
Depends on the wood. Same with splitting.
Absolutely-> white oak best green. Fir dry is best.
And if you have real hard wood to split wait until it freezes.
Yup agreed. Any moisture that is frozen in the wood is helping you.
For cutting up firewood I prefer cutting dry wood over wet wood in most situations. Wet oak (mostly red oak by me) dull my chain faster than dry. Same with maple.
The ease of splitting wood wet or dry in my experience varies depending on the species. Cottonwood is terrible to split when wet. The splitting maul will just sink in it. Splitting birch when dry is hard as it likes to break apart. My favorite is dry hard maple as it splits very easily with cleanly. Splitting wet oak kind of sucks in my opinion unless it's frozen compared to dry oak. A larger piece seems more difficult to get the first piece split than when it is dry. I like to use a larger diameter piece of wet oak or cottonwood as my base when splitting wood. With elm it doesn't matter much as it always seem to be stringy and dry ash is quite easy and doesn't require much of a swing.
I burn a lot of tamarack. Cuts easier green. Splits easier dry. For me.
How's your pondo "problem", Mike?
Most of mine is staged for an upcoming splitter fest.
Agreed. Cutting dry tamarack gums up my chain.Quote:
Originally Posted by ~mikey b
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using TGR Forums mobile app
Man. Cutting dry not only screws up the oil ratio in my chain but also cuts much slower.
A hudge pileQuote:
Originally Posted by bodywhomper
If the moisture content of your preferred choice of wood dictates when you can cut it, you need a bigger saw :D
And a splitter
Or a new hobby?
You burn cottonwood?Quote:
Originally Posted by Grange
Always need a bigger sawQuote:
Originally Posted by BCMountainHound
Mostly I'd just rather not breathe all the dry dust. Wet has no dust and I think has higher btu after split and dry than just cutting and splitting dry wood. Something that has dried in the open has also slightly decomposed.
I was thinking the same thing. Pretty low quality, at least the western stuff - down there with white fir.Quote:
Originally Posted by steepconcrete
Until you have to carry it very far.Quote:
Always need a bigger saw.
I have used cottonwood for firewood on two occasions due to the convenience of easy gathering and short tranport. The first was when I helped family clear some land for their home and the second time was after a storm where multiple cottonwoods were blown over in a yard and I helped clean up. After each incident I took some of the wood home and split it. I would never take cottonwood or any other popple while out cutting firewood. It burns fast, fairly cool, and produces a lot of ash.
Of course you keep your small saws for limbs, climbing etc!Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
Also I'm a fan of white fir. Chick the link below. Not only will the btu rating surprise you but look at the Btu:weight ratio while green. It is one of the best if not the best.
http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-btu-ratings/
Always heard white fir called piss fir because of the way it smells. But there are always exceptions and other points of view.
a bigger saw is more likely to be a real saw, one that you can take out and run for a 6hr shift day after day without it melting, whereas a smaller saw is more likely to be something made mostly out of plastic ... even the engine block is plastic
but a good rule of thumb IS get the orange one
I burn a fair amount of aspen and yes the ash content is high. I always thought it was just the same mass but light and took up volume. Last year I started pushing the ash to one side and really the mass of ash with aspen was higher. But its 40% of my forest so I'm always going to have some.Quote:
Originally Posted by Grange
Same here on my property with poplar. I only burn it when I cut it near my house. Makes good shoulder season wood and well as getting the fire started/reflamed. The branch wood bark stinks like piss when burned.
Never considered burning this shit for heat. It even sucked in the backyard fire pit.Quote:
Originally Posted by steepconcrete
I think my aspen needs two years to dry. Sometimes dries to nothing ( light as a feather) as most of the wood was dead when I cut it , sometimes its pretty solid wood and seems to have some heating value.
I think cottonwood is a lot lower, Spruce and sub alpine fire are lower than white fir, which I have never run into. Just got about 1/2 cord of sub alpine fir which compared to spruce is splitting very well , about the same as the Doug Fir which I also got at same time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper
I've got a cord of Juniper that needs splitting. FML.
i gather that certain areas in the west have restrictions on chainsaw use when the wildfire hazard exceeds a certain threshold. What are thoughts on this restriction? what about in areas, like california, that do not have restrictions? how and when do peeps draw the line, if at all? nobody wants to start a forest fire, but i hear chainsaws running most days of the year in my general neighborhood.