Firewood saw philosophy

[WOODSMAN416]

I don't sell. I cut just for myself and a little for a couple of friends. My time spent in the woods with saw and maul is my decompression time from the daily grind. I like to be as productive as I can without rushing. While running my dinky MS290 with a 20" bar is enjoyable, I am looking to upgrade to something with a 24" bar to handle the bigger trunks a little easier. But on the outside of the woodline lurks the real world and I'm usually in no big rush to cross back over.:msp_laugh:

 

[Dalmatian90]

I wont even stop to sharpen my chains, I will just swap a chain after 3 or 4 trees and sharpen them all later.

Doesn't that just mean you need more saws so you don't waste daylight swapping chains? :yoyo:

 

[ShaneLogs]

Can a man ever have too many good firewood saws????
These are just some of the small ones I hung up yesterday...

I love that John Deere saw, Hedgerow. Any pics of it in action or just in general ?

 

[Tazfreak]

There are some days where I will drop and block 20-30 good size trees at a time. I couldn't imagine using anything smaller than my MS660 with the 24" bar on those days. I wont even stop to sharpen my chains, I will just swap a chain after 3 or 4 trees and sharpen them all later.

Isn,t it just quicker to sharpen on the saw than to swap chains ,should be able sharpen a chain,refuel,oil in less time than it takes to have a smoke.

 

[Whitespider]

Naw... swapping the chain is much faster than sharpening, I almost never "sharpen" in the field. If I sit down for a little break I might "touch-up" the cutters... only because I'm not doing anything else except sitting there. Normally though, I just swap the chain after 3-4 fuel runs, and keep right-on-keepin'-on. I don't stop doing anything for a smoke, it can just hang from my lips... but I will stop for beer :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[olyman]

Naw... swapping the chain is much faster than sharpening, I almost never "sharpen" in the field. If I sit down for a little break I might "touch-up" the cutters... only because I'm not doing anything else except sitting there. Normally though, I just swap the chain after 3-4 fuel runs, and keep right-on-keepin'-on. I don't stop doing anything for a smoke, it can just hang from my lips... but I will stop for beer :hmm3grin2orange:

same here,,three chain program,,and rotate them. if you damage more than three chains cutting,,wellllllll..then home to the electric..say what you want about hand sharpening,,NOPE!! used to,,NO more!! way faster,,and i DONT burn the cutters!!

 

[El Quachito]

I don't sharpen in the field. But once I was running another guys saw and he liked to touch-up his chains between tanks of gas so I didn't have a choice on those days! :Blob - Fire:

 

[Hedgerow]

I love that John Deere saw, Hedgerow. Any pics of it in action or just in general ?

I just shot a pic of this one on my office wall...
It's Levi running it with a pipe...
And yes, it was fast and LOUD....
If GrandpaTractor has his fingers in his ears, It's stupid loud...

56 cc fireball...

 

[Hedgerow]

same here,,three chain program,,and rotate them. if you damage more than three chains cutting,,wellllllll..then home to the electric..say what you want about hand sharpening,,NOPE!! used to,,NO more!! way faster,,and i DONT burn the cutters!!

Grinders have their place... I nip cutters and clean gullets with my el-cheapo...
Even sharpen a chain once in a while with it...
Not the very fastest chains, but very adequate for work chains...

The chain Levi was using in the pic, was a race chain that was missing 2 cutters and 4 other teeth buggered from him hitting a bolt in the saw buck...

Lesson????
Good cutter geometry trumps the edge quality...
Or tooth count...:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Steve NW WI]

I don't sell. I cut just for myself and a little for a couple of friends. My time spent in the woods with saw and maul is my decompression time from the daily grind. I like to be as productive as I can without rushing. While running my dinky MS290 with a 20" bar is enjoyable, I am looking to upgrade to something with a 24" bar to handle the bigger trunks a little easier. But on the outside of the woodline lurks the real world and I'm usually in no big rush to cross back over.:msp_laugh:

Ehh, life's too short for an "adequate" saw. Nobody's saying you gotta speed up your cutting to get home faster, just that getting the job done faster gives ya time to wander the woods looking for shrooms, watching wildlife, or just lighting up some brush and kicking back by the fire for a little while.

Let's face it, cutting wood is still work, although not drudgery to most of us, work is work. My goal is to spend as little time working as I can and still get done what needs doing. That's more time for stuff that isn't work.

I love that John Deere saw, Hedgerow. Any pics of it in action or just in general ?

Baaaaad little mo-fo! (See above pic for proof) I've run that saw, and it's one of the very few things with a Deere logo that I actually want. (Of course, Deere didn't actually build it, it's an Italian Stallion under the hood.)

 

[computeruser]

My firewood saw philosophy changed when I started getting more picky about what I cut and what I pass on. I'm trying to stick to clean, straight wood whenever possible, preferably less than 20" diameter. I know there are people who will take the crotchy, bent pieces and the huge trunks, so I let them have those. I also live in town and have limited stacking space, so I get better bang for my buck with straight, uniform splits that stack straight and tight.

So for 75% of my firewood anymore, its 346xp/16" or 5100s/16". The bigger stuff, when I do take it, gets cut with 272/20", 044/20" or 7900/28". I sold the bigger saws off some years back; there is nothing that needs a saw bigger than a 7900 that I care to bother with.

 

[Chris-PA]

I just cut firewood for myself. Running the saw is the easy, fun part of the job. The sooner it's over the sooner the real work begins.

 

[TreePointer]

Confucius say: man with underpowered tool disappoint in kerf. ((( gong )))

 

[Hedgerow]

My firewood saw philosophy changed when I started getting more picky about what I cut and what I pass on. I'm trying to stick to clean, straight wood whenever possible, preferably less than 20" diameter. I know there are people who will take the crotchy, bent pieces and the huge trunks, so I let them have those. I also live in town and have limited stacking space, so I get better bang for my buck with straight, uniform splits that stack straight and tight.

So for 75% of my firewood anymore, its 346xp/16" or 5100s/16". The bigger stuff, when I do take it, gets cut with 272/20", 044/20" or 7900/28". I sold the bigger saws off some years back; there is nothing that needs a saw bigger than a 7900 that I care to bother with.

I'm cornering the market on 5100s non cat saws...
I've found not are they only well mannered...
They bounce!!!
No cracky!!!

 

[cheeves]

My firewood saw philosophy changed when I started getting more picky about what I cut and what I pass on. I'm trying to stick to clean, straight wood whenever possible, preferably less than 20" diameter. I know there are people who will take the crotchy, bent pieces and the huge trunks, so I let them have those. I also live in town and have limited stacking space, so I get better bang for my buck with straight, uniform splits that stack straight and tight.

So for 75% of my firewood anymore, its 346xp/16" or 5100s/16". The bigger stuff, when I do take it, gets cut with 272/20", 044/20" or 7900/28". I sold the bigger saws off some years back; there is nothing that needs a saw bigger than a 7900 that I care to bother with.

I agree! With my back the lighter the better!! Also fast and powerful!! Go to saw is the 262, and also like my Efco 156, and for smaller dead standing oak that I cut a lot, I have a 44 with an OE 346P/C milled down .015. Slick saw that will cut most everything! Thanks Komatsuvarna!! For the big stuff, that I don't cut too often, I have the Dolkita with the Mahle 79cc P/C!! I've also used the wifes 445 with a 16" bar and chisel chain a lot lately! Surprisingly nice saw!! Enough power and great anti-vibe! Price was right too!!

 

[VW Splitter]

I cut firewood mostly for myself and sometimes for friends. Never sell the stuff. With friends it's usually will work for food. I am a firm believer in the multiple saw system. One for every size chunk of wood you might come across. I don't bother with anything that resembles brush. But I dont cull them because they are crotchety or too big. In fact I kind of like the big stuff. Love a good challange. I have bars in 6" increments up to 42", and never go cut without at least 3 of them. The largest challange I have had was a 58" oak tree. There is a lot of good wood in a huge tree trunk, and with the right equipment, the big crotchety stuff will bust up just fine.

 

[Patrick62]

leetle ones are fun, but

The 440 with a 24" is my go-fer saw.
if I got a lot of cuttin' then might grab the 441
If I am in a hurry then the ported 460 is the weapon of choice.
We don't often pull out the 064, but it is there when it is needed.

Doing a bunch of Pinon trees at the moment, and the top handle echo's are perfect for dismantling a "bush".