Noodles

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Wood Doctor
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Noodles make great fire starters. Sometimes I pack them in 8" x 10" x 2" cardboard book boxes that I collected for years. My problem is that I often forget to rake them up and take them home in a sack along with the rest of the load. They work even better than shredded paper. One box of noodles sets off the fire in a cold stove like gangbusters.
 
SecondGenMonkey

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I want that saw... I want it like a fat kid wants a sticky bun, like a dog wants a rawhide, like Charlie Sheen wants a ball and Jack...

Sent from a thing using a program
 
Wood Doctor
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I want that saw... I want it like a fat kid wants a sticky bun, like a dog wants a rawhide, like Charlie Sheen wants a ball and Jack...
Sent from a thing using a program
That's why I like running my Makita 6401 BBK. It's also a horse and loves to cut noodles.

Remember that the chain also has to be in great shape to do this. I find that a 24" to 25" bar is ideal, but I have also been very successful on occasion with just a 20" bar. You also need no less that 60 CCs of engine (rounded up).

Best bet is to rest the big round on a couple of smaller logs. Get that big round off of the ground and remove the noodle pile from the saw's chip exhaust as it gathers deeply. The half moons can pinch the bar as the cut progresses, and that is why I keep a wedge handy. Once the halves or quarters are cut, it's much easier to split (or load onto the tailgate) rather than wrestle with a 200-lb round.

Please trust me on this issue.
 
Last edited:
SecondGenMonkey

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Considering I've never cut or split for firewood other than some small bits for party fires (I'm 25) I'll will definitely trust you.

Sent from a thing using a program
 
woodchuck357

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One of my uncles used to have a chain saw he kept just for making noodles from white oak. He used corn oil for bar oil, filled a 55 gallon barrel that had a removable lid with white oak noodles, propped the barrel up at a 45 degree angle, and built a fire under the barrel. The small vent hole in the top was left open and closed after a couple of hours of cooking. When the barrel cooled the charcoaled noodles were packed in a large crock that had a spigot near the bottom. The crock needed several barrels of noodles to fill, they packed down a lot. The crock was then filled with clear mountain nectar and a couple of weeks later 5 year aged whisky was drained out.
 
angelo c
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Noodling seems like a pile of work to split a log why not just use an axe and sledge.

I use a "split" technique. I noodle just enough to get a wedge in and sledge it in half fom there. Seems quicker, uses less fuel and saves some filing...nothing against noodles, just against wasting firewood to make firestarter.
385 xp w 24" bar is my noodle fav.
 
CTYank

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I use a "split" technique. I noodle just enough to get a wedge in and sledge it in half fom there. Seems quicker, uses less fuel and saves some filing...nothing against noodles, just against wasting firewood to make firestarter.
385 xp w 24" bar is my noodle fav.

Absolutely. No need whatsoever (except for forks & such) to compulsively noodle all the way through. Ditto on waste of wood, and unnecessary work for the saw. Once there's a groove in the round, at most a couple of swats with a maul, and NEXT!

IMHO a PP5020 is a very competent noodling saw. No cc envy here.
 
unclemoustache

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Noodling seems like a pile of work to split a log why not just use an axe and sledge.

There are several good reasons:

1. You've got a round that's too big to lift into the truck and your axe and wedge aren't around

2. You've got a crotch to deal with, and the axe and wedge aren't very good about those things

3. You've got some pine or other resinous tree and want some awesome fire starter

4. You want to show off your saw and post a vid online

5. You just want to because chainsaws are awesome
 
XSKIER

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There are several good reasons:

1. You've got a round that's too big to lift into the truck and your axe and wedge aren't around

2. You've got a crotch to deal with, and the axe and wedge aren't very good about those things

3. You've got some pine or other resinous tree and want some awesome fire starter

4. You want to show off your saw and post a vid online

5. You just want to because chainsaws are awesome

6. Because you can...
3enesa8y.jpg
 
angelo c
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There are several good reasons:

1. You've got a round that's too big to lift into the truck and your axe and wedge aren't around

2. You've got a crotch to deal with, and the axe and wedge aren't very good about those things

3. You've got some pine or other resinous tree and want some awesome fire starter

4. You want to show off your saw and post a vid online

5. You just want to because chainsaws are awesome


Yes wise 'stached one...
Sometimes the crotch wants what the crotch wants...and often its a long bar and not a tiny wedge....but i digress...
A lot of life is learned in reading the crotch correctly.
 
Icehouse

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Here's a stand I built for noodling. I noodle all my wood to season for next year, about the only one in this area to burn straight birch, cut it all green and let dry for a year. Notice 361 resting image.jpgimage.jpg
 
turnkey4099
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Here's a stand I built for noodling. I noodle all my wood to season for next year, about the only one in this area to burn straight birch, cut it all green and let dry for a year. Notice 361 resting View attachment 320055View attachment 320056

Noodle everything? To each his own but that seems a bit excessive with such easy to split stuff.

Harry K
 

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