Who here has never cut hardwood?

[warlock1944]

Central Michigan

Around here it is all hardwood, red, white, pin, black oaks and dead ash trees.

036 with 16 "
2171 with 20 "
395 XP with 24" or 28 "

If you cut wolf trees or fence row stuff you might want to go smaller or bring a lunch and lantern. Lot of great wood in those big trees, split big burns forever but sure is not big bar wood. I run skip on any bar over 20 "

Only soft wood I cut is poplar for spring and fall and the saws fly through that stuff. 16 18 " logs of any oak cut reasonably good and you could get by with bigger bars but around here that kind of wood is hard to come by what with everyone in Michigan cutting wood to stay warm.

 

[cycledude232]

man, the biggest bar ive run is a 24, i almost always run a 20. i live in the pine tree state but i barely cut any softwoods. the soft stuff i cut is normally poplar.
my part of the state is mostly hardwood, and thats what i cut.
i can't imagine running a lil 440 with a 36, i don't have enough daylight to do that.
when i cut pine or similar its usually to get it out of the way, and normally it just hits the burn pile.:greenchainsaw:

 

[Bullshop junior]

the saw I run is a Huskvarna 266 with a 20" bar, but I wish it was a 24". all the rest of my saws have 32", or the small husky has a 16, but I never use it. I have never cut hard wood, but soft does not wear the paint off the bar very fast.
BIC/Daniel/BS Jr.

 

[warjohn]

Several years ago I cut a 40" diameter oak log with my Jonsered 2051 with a 16" bar. I'd make a cut down both side then get on top with my monster maul and split chunks off til i could cut through the center. That was a workout but it was the only firewood available and my only saw. Now I cut mostly hedge but for the big ones I've added a 2077 with a 24" bar and a MS290 with a 20" bar. Since I've added the MS180 for the smaller stuff the 2051 watches from the truck but it's earned a rest.

 

[oldsaw]

I haven't tipped a softwood for over 20 years, but then I did quite a few. Grew up on hardwoods and that's all I do now to feed my milling habit.

My favorite combo is a 24" on my 066, keep a 20" on the 372, but have 36 and 42" bars for the 066 when the stuff gets big, although the 42 is primarily for milling. Got a workout on a 40"+ white oak this summer. Used skip on the 42, took a while, but that is an awful lot of wood.

The Homies have 16s.

Mark

 

[Sochr000]

I cut a mix of soft and hardwoods (oak, birch, and assorted pine) all with my 012 with a 16" bar. Just have to remember, slow and steady is the way, or something like that.

 

[stihlboy]

opcorn: reading with interest

to date i don't beleive i have cut any soft wood other than a few yellow pine limbs.

same here lol hardwoods is majority in my woods

 

[forestryworks]

Only soft wood I cut is poplar for spring and fall and the saws fly through that stuff. 16 18 " logs of any oak cut reasonably good and you could get by with bigger bars but around here that kind of wood is hard to come by what with everyone in Michigan cutting wood to stay warm.

poplar is a hardwood

 

[Sethro]

poplar is a hardwood

Poplar is a intermediate hardwood as the likes of Soft Maple

 

[MR4WD]

Poplar is a intermediate hardwood as the likes of Soft Maple

Poplar is softer than many softwoods, also. None the less, it's a hardwood.

The thread title asked who's never cut hardwoods, not how many hardwoods you have at your disposal

I cut I'd guess around 95% softwoods. 372" with 28" skip and 8 pin rim, 385 with 36" skip and 8 pin rim. I'd say the majority of fir snags I burn are in the 20-25" range. Most of the pine is probably 10-20". I've dropped a few 25" birch, which is a hardwood and used my 372. It never left me wanting a shorter bar.

The 36" bar is excessive, but I like stumping down to ground level (nothing worse than leaving a high stump for the next guy/logger) and it seems fir's have a pretty good flare to them. Biggest fir snag I'll grab would be abotu 3', but I've been know to go bigger should I want to mill it. With either bar, after dropping a straight softwood you can walk the top of the log and limb on your way up. Having a limbsaw or limbing with a small fast saw and a small bar will only hurt your back, slow you down and throw more saws into the mix. I'm sure sawtroll is probably having a stroke right now.

 

[GrizzlyAdams86]

Western Wisconsin

Where I live it's mostly oak (red and white) and some elm, with some cottonwood, popluar and birch thrown in. With the occasonal maple, basswood, and cedar here and there. Then there is box elder, which grows like weeds, is usually half-rotted away and is still standing and utterly useless for anything but a woodboiler and holding the soil togerther. And with some exceptions, most of the conferious trees are in towns or yards in this county. But drive to where my friends parents now live, near Osseo, WI, conferious trees are everywhere and other than that its mostly red oak. Most people around where I live usually run 18" or 20" bars on 50-70cc's saws, although one friend for his big saw has a MS441 with a 32" bar. I myself run a 16" on the 137, a 16" and 20" for the L65, a 20" for 288, and a 20" for the 2100. Eventually I would like to get a 24" bar for ether the 288 or 2100. And maybe a 28" bar for the 2100, but it would not see mush use as the biggest thing I've ever cut was an 8' elm log that varied from about 30" at the felling wedge to about 40" where all the limbs branched off. But I accomplished that with the 20" bar on the 2100, so I may just settle on the 24". But we have been losing bigger oaks, elms, and even cottonwoods to diease, among other things, so I just may need to buy that 28" bar...

Husqvarna: 137, 61 (in pieces-yet), L65, 288xp, 2100CD
McCulloch: Mac 2-10 (won't stay running, rainy day project)

 

[ropensaddle]

Well for wood heat all hardwood red oak,white oak,post oak,willow oak burr oak,blackjack,chinkipin oak,pin oak,
shumard oak,water oak,Pignut hickory butternut hickory,pecan,walnut,beechnut,black cherry,locust,pear,apple
etc.
I don't use softwood but I do cut it I also prefer a long bar and
many horse's for directional notching in tight quarters to get the
best control over the felling process! I run a 36' on my 395 a
24' on my 2101 and 20" on both 372's it is a good combo for
a tree services needs. I would use the small bar in woods
but I am mostly cutting dead monsters between houses
and need the log to lay just so with sometimes just a
few inches play!

 

[willsaw4beer]

I've never cut a serious amount of softwoods, always been hardwood. Maybe that's why I have a 16'' on my 268, most of what I cut is 8-20 in sugar maple for firewood (10+ cords since late August.) I do have a longer bar for noodlin' but the shorter bag is handier, cuts faster, and is quicker to touch up. The only negative trade off is havin to bend down more to cut.