Post your helpful chainsaw/cutting tips and tricks.

[BRCCArborist]

When making an open faced notch, grip the saw on the upper curve of the handlebar for the uppercut, and the lower curve for the undercut. This will give you the perfect angle and should line up well.

 

[KodiakKen]

this might be useless but I will try

if bucking or noodling on fairly level ground...cut with the handle slightly lower than the tip of the bar..any saw you have ever seen sitting flat on the bench..if you put the handle on the ground and cut until the saw reaches the ground..most of the time you will not hit the ground.
another. when noodling..cut 3/4 and hit with a maul ..saves time/chain/fuel/rolling that 48" bassturd around..the weight from the cut part helps split it. if you carry a cant hook..use the hook part drop into the notch and twist..huge leverage.
another. before taping around something..take the roll and flip it over..sticky side up for a few wraps..you can make it just as tight and doesn't hurt when they use their scissors to cut it off easily
last..my scrench from Stihl the screwdriver is tapered just right to use as a bar groove cleaner..I thought that was common knowledge

 

[WadePatton]

Another Zippo fan, add to that a Leatherman...the one with a bit set. Torx, square drive, etc....priceless.

A tip on the Zippo, get a flint pack & stick an extra flint under the felt block. That way you always have an extra flint with the lighter.

The best tip for me is a razor sharp chain...nothing else compares.

more zippo: eff the dimestore card of flints. just pick up disposed of disposable lighters for the best and cheapest flints. rip the top off and extract. easy.

and zippo fluid is coleman fuel is naptha. use this info at your own discretion.

razor charp chain. yes, can never be stated too many times. if you know that you're not good at chain filing, spend some time working on it get self-sufficient! buy good files and think about the process. the time will be paid back to you when you "get it".

i'm just now getting where my freehand is faster than jigged filing...oh it's a good feeling.

 

[056kid]

last..my scrench from Stihl the screwdriver is tapered just right to use as a bar groove cleaner..I thought that was common knowledge

I doubt that your screwdriver is getting to the bottom of the groove where it is important. If so , its not much of a screwdriver anymore. .

 

[slowp]

I don't like loops in my bootlaces in the woods. Have almost always used just a squareknot. With leather laces/wet day sometimes and extra turn on the lower or first layer.

Yes. Loops can get hung up and trip you during one of the "Run Away, Run Away" events. Streamlining things is a good thing to do.

So, laying Twinkle down on the other side when putting a new chain on will decrease inefficient language? I'll have to try that.

Here in the PNW, if you want things to stay wet, you throw them in the back of the pickup. If you want them damp and dirty, you throw them in the box, if you want them merely damp, they go here.

If you want dry gear, better take it in where there's heat. I left my saturated fleece sweatshirt spread out in the front seat over a long weekend.
After 3 days, it was still wet. The solar dryer failed.

 

[WadePatton]

speaking of dirty laundry, if you want the best performance it has to be wool and silk.

wool works (insulates) wet (gets heavy, but won't freeze you like cotton or synthetics). nothing else does. wet cotton is a huge no-no in survival situations, worse than bare skin for retaining body heat. wool is the original "wicking" material*-no matter what dupont and monsanto and exxon try to tell you.

wool and silk dry quickly and a less "promoted" fact of wool/silk is that they don't get stinky after one sweaty outing...or two or three. not too long ago i pulled my silk undies out of the bag for a cool mountain bike ride. yikes! unwashed--whoops, but no odor at all. i had worn them on a 68-mile road ride some weeks before and forgotten them in the bag-in the truck. no problem.

my 5-year old boots still smell like _leather_. seriously. i never wear nothing but wool socks. and have been ebay acquiring vintage "elmer fudd" wool hunting gear. fix a button hole and go...

and tie square knots.

*1,202,920,000 sheep can't be wrong.

 

[Burvol]

I doubt that your screwdriver is getting to the bottom of the groove where it is important. If so , its not much of a screwdriver anymore. .

That's what your Spencer tape nail is for besides going into your logs.

 

[slowp]

That's what your Spencer tape nail is for besides going into your logs.

I should do that on Monday. My tape migrated up to the top of the pile so I can find it.

 

[Steve NW WI]

You can have all the emergency gear in the kit---HD Kotex, surgical tubing, Celox ( strongly recommended ), duck/duct tape. But more: Take a Wilderness Medicine class that are given all over N. America, Europe, and those southern outposts. I got recertified last year for climbing and cutting,and the medical technology and training changes yearly. Learn to take care of yourself or buddies improvising without EMT gear.

For some free first aid training, join the military, your local volunteer FD, or even volunteer to be a first responder at your work. I spent time in the military and have been a first responder at nearly every job I've worked at. For those of you who haven't had training in a while, go take a CPR class, the "old rules" have changed greatly in the last few years.

If I may be allowed to extend cutting tips to splitting tips:

An old tire around the chopping block keeps the maul from striking the ground (rocks) and it helps keep the block upright:

It is recommended to hole saw several large holes through the 'ground-sidewall' to prevent water from collecting within the tire.

When I was younger, we had an old Payloader tire we cut 8' logs into firewood on top of. Rubber is a lot easier on chains than dirt for that occasional nick. Modern tires probably wouldn't work as well, I doubt this one was "Steel Belted" - the one we had was probably taken off the machine in the 70's. It's probably still out back somewhere, gonna cost to get rid of it.

 

[oscar4883]

I'll add my meager tidbits. Empty chew cans are great for storing extra bar nuts in your tool bag. Keeps everything smelling minty. Never but Carhart overalls with a full length zipper on the leg. If the zipper craps out you have a problem. Buy ones with the zipper from the knee down and if it breaks use a few wraps of duct tape to hold the leg opening closed. Worked in the mining industry for some time as a welder and slag plays hell with zippers.

 

[R DeLawter]

Where to buy?

Best tool for working in the woods or with firewood is my "Grab a Log" helper. This tool can move 8 ft logs up to 13" inch effortlessly and is used daily when it just so much easier to drag something quickly. Also very valueable when postioning logs for lifting or just cutting firewood splits as you eliminate a lot of bending over which at the end of the day makes a huge difference. Well worth the $40 dollars I spent on it.. as my back feels so much better after a long day in the woods. See picture below.

Tried to find one of these to purchase but could not locate one .

Looks like something this old man could use.
LOTS of good information on this thread.

 

[logbutcher]

For some free first aid training, join the military, your local volunteer FD, or even volunteer to be a first responder at your work. I spent time in the military and have been a first responder at nearly every job I've worked at. For those of you who haven't had training in a while, go take a CPR class, the "old rules" have changed greatly in the last few years.

Mostly correct Steve. However, most large bureaucracies like FD's and any mil except the specials ( I'm biased ) are way behind civilian advances in emergency care, gear, training techniques. Trust me, I've been.

CPR, for example, saves few lives IN THE FIELD compared with bleeding out, shock, or other trauma such as hypothermia. Add into that training to use what is available immediately far away from the high tech EMT or ER or medic field technology. The WILDERNESS MEDICINE programs do take some techniques from military medicine advances, but much more from field trauma experience in mountain injuries and sports medicine. It's worth a look at the agendas of the many Wildernewss Medicine programs.

ANY training is worth the time.....you're right.

 

[hoss]

Sometimes the simplest little technique makes life a lot easier when it comes to working on or cutting with chainsaws. If you "discovered" something simple that helps out, post it. Even if you think think its minor or if you think everybody else is already doing it, who cares, post it.


I always try to take the scabard off the bar BEFORE I start cutting.:help:

 

[Arrowhead]

Sometimes the simplest little technique makes life a lot easier when it comes to working on or cutting with chainsaws. If you "discovered" something simple that helps out, post it. Even if you think think its minor or if you think everybody else is already doing it, who cares, post it.


I always try to take the scabard off the bar BEFORE I start cutting.:help:

Does that help?? :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[bullittman281]

I'll wager that it makes no difference to the saw or cutting but, I'll also wager that if you remove it before cutting the scabbard is good for more than one usage.

Bullittman.

 

[hoss]

I'll wager that it makes no difference to the saw or cutting but, I'll also wager that if you remove it before cutting the scabbard is good for more than one usage.

Bullittman.

I hadn't thought of it that way, but I bet you are right.:greenchainsaw:

 

[logbutcher]

I'll wager that it makes no difference to the saw or cutting but, I'll also wager that if you remove it before cutting the scabbard is good for more than one usage.
Bullittman.

You mean that you take the scabbard OFF before cutting ???? :monkey:

 

[BigE]

You mean that you take the scabbard OFF before cutting ???? :monkey:

NO!!! The scabbard acts as a lubricant for the chain! It is also a safety guard for when you put your hand on the spinning chain. I can't tell you how many times I had to get my fingers re-attached before I learned this trick.

 

[7sleeper]

NO!!! The scabbard acts as a lubricant for the chain! It is also a safety guard for when you put your hand on the spinning chain. I can't tell you how many times I had to get my fingers re-attached before I learned this trick.

But only as long as it is running real fast. As soon as you stop the soft and lubricating plastic rehardens!

7

 

[hoss]

But only as long as it is running real fast. As soon as you stop the soft and lubricating plastic rehardens!

7

You are right. That is why I try to keep my saws spinning at about 22,000 RPM. Then they cut great......for a bit. Funny thing though. They occasionally seem to wanna stop suddenly in the cut and digest a bunch of cash when they are set up like this.