noodling basics

[haveawoody]

Stihlman441,

Pinch because he is cutting on the side between two other rounds.
A safe for back method but you can see the saw grabbing here and there as the round gets close to through.

I never cut down the side unless it's a hulking round and then only directly on the ground.
I just throw round on round and cut down at maybe a 87 degeee angel with tip of bar at the 3d down and rock to 3d up.
I find that is effective even on a big saw to clear the chips faster.

 

[haveawoody]

Stihlman441,

The poulan technique



Wish i could find a video on how i noodle but it might be a me technique.
If my bar will reach i just cut right down with the next round under it, seems like everyone else likes to noodle on the side and play near the ground.
I find round ontop of round to be a much safer way, much the same way as you would split wood.

 

[aaronmach1]

I think the only way you can suck at Noodling is if you're actually Ripping instead!

See the pics at:

Just Ducky: Noodling

and make sure you saw is oriented the right way. The guys who make lumber rip with chainsaw mills, and they use huge saws with special chains because it's a much, much tougher thing to do.

Other then that, keep the noodles cleared out of your sprocket cover (set chain brake first, then pull them out if needed).

well im a damn fool! no wondering it never works well for me! i have been ripping! thanks

 

[zogger]

was using my 33cc poulan with 16 inch bar and then used the poulan pro 50cc with 16 inch bar once the green poulan died. really want a husky 555 but have to wait an see if we have tax money leftover this year. lol

Look around for a poulan 3400-4000 series used saw for a mid range size (56 to 65 cc). Most cut for the buck you will find. You'll get speed plus torque. You can fell/buck/noodle all de doo dah day long with one. You can find them cheap, half price or even less of an equivalent stilhavarna. Old American muscle, still a lot out there. The poulan sticky has all the repair info you could ever need. The *most* I have paid for a 3400 is $40 (but I fix them). You can find good runners needing nothing for around 100 bucks or so (varies like any other used prices).

 

[Fedaburger]

I don't noodle unless I have too like all the reasons already mentioned. I have a big log that I've tried buckin as much as I could. My bar's are too small on all my saws and I haven't got a 20 incher yet. But that dont stop me gettin firewood from tha big log thanks to the noodle method. Noodle down the round and then use the wedges to get the firewood pieces. Goes a little slow but it's gettin smaller and it's produced a lot of firewood.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Folks around here leave the big and gnarly rounds in the woods because they're too hard to handle.

That is usually the best firewood as it's very dense. It's worth the extra time needed to noodle it out.

 

[Chris-PA]

Why do you guys do so much noodling anyway? I have noodled once in my life on a couple of pieces of white oak that was about 38" dia. I usually just make 2 cross cuts on a big dia. log if I can't lift it I split it with wedges.

Yeah, like I said I kinda find noodling to be offensive, but then I hate twisted, unstackable rounds and wasting large pieces of wood that happen to be knotty. But noodling is still very much the exception.

It's also a good way to use junky pieces of wood to <s>play with</s> set up a saw!

 

[Fedaburger]

I know whenever I see a big huge log I just think of how big the firewood stack is gonna be. I have an even bigger tree a little deeper in the woods but I'm waitin for the growth to die down a little. And plus I want my 20 inch bar for the Jonny, I can't wait till I can shoot the rooster tail of chips behind me on that log.

 

[Fedaburger]

If your on a less than powerful saw make sure.
1. Dont cut at a direct 90 degree angle when noodling, a slight angle off 90 helps to clear the chips away.
2. keep the back of the bar an inch or two from toughing the wood, allows better chip flow, use more caution though cutting this way and the bar can grab and pull in on you.
3. If it's a real underpowered saw, noodle for 5 seconds, lift up just a bit then repeat, clears teeth and give a small motor a chance to catch up.
4.get a more powerful saw

I personally place my round flat ontop of another round and just cut right through.
Real big rounds stand on side and cut until you are near the ground, roll and finish the cut from the other side, less than good for the back though so do just a couple and then do something else and return for a couple more later.

Until the deal with the Jonny came along, which I couldnt pass on. The poulan 5020 was at the top of my list for a bigger saw, how's it been treating you?

 

[scotvl]

If your on a less than powerful saw make sure.
1. Dont cut at a direct 90 degree angle when noodling, a slight angle off 90 helps to clear the chips away.
2. keep the back of the bar an inch or two from toughing the wood, allows better chip flow, use more caution though cutting this way and the bar can grab and pull in on you.
3. If it's a real underpowered saw, noodle for 5 seconds, lift up just a bit then repeat, clears teeth and give a small motor a chance to catch up.
4.get a more powerful saw

I personally place my round flat ontop of another round and just cut right through.
Real big rounds stand on side and cut until you are near the ground, roll and finish the cut from the other side, less than good for the back though so do just a couple and then do something else and return for a couple more later.

Great tips except for the last paragraph for me. If I can lift a round onto another round there's no need for me to Noodle it, I lift it into the trailer. I've found most big rounds almost fall apart when I get an inch or two from the ground just from their own weight.

 

[andydodgegeek]

I'll noodle up a whole tree. I like noodling. I have a tree monkeyed 064 that is happiest when noodling. I would rather noodle than split, I'd rather run a chainsaw than a splitter. Just my opinion. Heck that's part of the reason I am on this site so much.

 

[haveawoody]

Fedaburger,

I do have a poulan pro saw.
I use it to limb sometimes and to cut stumps down close to the ground when you can almost count on a dull chain afterwards.
In a very brushy hard to move situation they are great because the chain seems to stop as soon as your are off the gas, husky and stihl don't.

 

[haveawoody]

scotvl,

Thanks.

If they are semi easy to lift then usualy they depart that way.
If I'm working with pretty big rounds that are really very heavy to lift then i will even cut a 2" or so wide section and use it as my base for other rounds.
If they are real big like you say you can work pretty much right on the ground and have them split most of the time as you get close.
The 2" piece for medium to large rounds just gives your saw a ground stop to keep out of the dirt and stablity while cutting.
Then you can saw like mad without playing how close am i to the dirt

 

[scotvl]

scotvl,

Thanks.

If they are semi easy to lift then usualy they depart that way.
If I'm working with pretty big rounds that are really very heavy to lift then i will even cut a 2" or so wide section and use it as my base for other rounds.
If they are real big like you say you can work pretty much right on the ground and have them split most of the time as you get close.
The 2" piece for medium to large rounds just gives your saw a ground stop to keep out of the dirt and stablity while cutting.
Then you can saw like mad without playing how close am i to the dirt

Great idea I never thought of cutting or bringing a cookie to protect my chain.

 

[haveawoody]

scotvl,

Thanks and i wish i could take credit for the cookie idea but i stole it from my cutting partner who stole it from his dad LOL
When i first saw the cookie idea i thought this has got to be counter productive having to roll things onto it then cut.
After a few races of me just noodling and my parnter rolling then noodling it was pretty easy to see him at full throttle all the way through and me playing dirt wonder for the last inch or two at about 1/4 throttle.

I seldom noodle anything on site because i bring a hand trolly to the site and it can manage 600lb rounds right onto the trailer.
At home near the splitter is another story and my cookie lives right beside it, but it does travel site to site should it be needed

 

[aaronmach1]

well after reading this post i tried noodling the right way. that worked great. the muff modded 18" 250 worked great and didnt plug. Here is some big oak from last night because we need more pics in this thread! And now i have some noodles that look like they will work good for starting fires.

 

[Dalmatian90]

well im a damn fool! no wondering it never works well for me! i have been ripping! thanks

Took me a while to figure out why sometimes I made noodles easily and sometimes I made sawdust hard...once I realized it I was like, "Duh."

 

[haveawoody]

aaronmach1,

Goes to show noodling can be fun.
Well more fun than trying to lift a round 1lb bigger than your back can.

I end up noodling rock elm about 9 to 1 over everything else combined.
big rock elm rounds seem to be the only thing than can stop even a decent splitter in it's tracks, but it can't resist a noodle.

 

[benp]

Here's a video of Andydodgegeek noodling from his GTG yesterday.

Pretty cool!

 

[haveawoody]

benp,

Looks like a snowstorm

I could just never figure why people noodle on the side like that.
To make a side noodle above ground it's always a pinch at some point.

Round on round for me, or round on cookie and top to bottom noodle.
Only giant things get a side noodle.