Tips on cutting big wood with a small saw

[Jeffkrib]

My dad had a big tree fall across his driveway from the neighbours. Im planing to cut it up this weekend. The problem is I have a Dolmar 6400 with a 20" bar..... Im not 100% sure but the base is probably 50" plus dia hardwood (peppermint gum I think)
My question is more on saw preservation rather than cutting technique. I dont want to cook the motor. Any tips on how to go about this without burning a piston. Is it better to let it idle or turn it off between cuts?
I'll be using full chisel chain for this and will keep it sharp. Will use fresh 95 Ron with Stihl ultra at 40:1.
Looking forward to this job but wish I had a bigger saw.

Thanks in advance
Jeff

 

[jughead500]

I knew it! you guys really are upside down.

 

[olyman]

My dad had a big tree fall across his driveway from the neighbours. Im planing to cut it up this weekend. The problem is I have a Dolmar 6400 with a 20" bar..... Im not 100% sure but the base is probably 50" plus dia hardwood (peppermint gum I think)
My question is more on saw preservation rather than cutting technique. I dont want to cook the motor. Any tips on how to go about this without burning a piston. Is it better to let it idle or turn it off between cuts?
I'll be using full chisel chain for this and will keep it sharp. Will use fresh 95 Ron with Stihl ultra at 40:1.
Looking forward to this job but wish I had a bigger saw.

Thanks in advance
Jeff
View attachment 420591

personally, your going to be buried most of the time with that bar,,id run more towards 35:1......you also may be doing some noodling to get the bigger chunks apart....

 

[weedkilla]

Keep an ear on the tune and stop if it changes, but I'd just run tank after tank and not blink.
Don't overthink it.

 

[Rudolf73]

G'day Jeff, hope you are doing okay there in NSW with all that wild weather.

Thats a pretty decent tree you have there, if I were closer I'd come over and help cut it up. The 6400 is a good quality professional saw so need to baby it, but yes I understand your concerns. Stihl oil at 40:1 will be fine just make sure that the saw is properly tuned and not running lean. Also keep your chain sharp and you won't have a problem.

I have the same saw I use it for milling which is really hard on saw engines and I haven't cooked anything yet. If you have any more questions feel free to ask.

Stay safe

Oh and I don't like turning off a hot saw straight after a long cut, I prefer to let it idle for a few seconds, but thats just me.

 

[olyman]

right...

 

[7sleeper]

There should be no problem at all with using a 24 inch bar on that saw! Just don't push it!!! Let the saw do the cutting and always remember what rudolf73 said "let it idle a quite a few seconds after long hard cuts"!!! Your saw will thank you for the cool down time. Personally my time for this is the time it takes to take off my gloves, hard hat & ear muffs. That is for me about perfect timming. Further I prefer to go slow and always refill prior to extensive cutting time. Nothing worse then running out of fuel half way in the cut.

Looking forward to some more pics! But please to compensate for the wrong gravitational situation please hold your camera the wrong way around...

7

 

[Chris_In_VT]

I once tackled a 44"+ sugar maple trunk with a 357xp and a 20" bar. It can be done, takes patience though.
Just keep the chain good and sharp, let it self feed and don't push it. I would let it idle when you aren't cutting, but I don't know if I'd go out of the way to let the saw idle just to cool down.
Probably will need to cut from 3 sides. That's how I tackled my maple. Then eventually rolled the trunk with a truck and finished the cuts off. If you wanted though, you could noodle the trunk into quarters as you buck it. Makes the pieces more manageable.

 

[Brushwacker]

Keep a sharp chain, will work your power head less. Let it idle between cuts as it relaxes and cools things off. Don't worry about using any good 2 cycle oil for air cooled engines mixed between 20:1 to 40:1, ( if synthetic, the lesser, conventional I'd use more ) Do make sure your carb settings are right with the mix you are using. If the saw sounds 100% normal it should be fine. If something doesn't sound or work right, stop and fix it before proceeding or it is highly likely to cause serious damage, like working hard labor with bad heart sort of asking for trouble. 6400 is a good work horse for 64cc.

 

[Philbert]

Hard to tell from the photo. But it looks like most of that tree will cut easily with a 20 inch bar.

Do that part, and take your time on the rest. Watch out for the stump standing back up - it can happen quick!

Philbert

 

[MustangMike]

Like others have said, keep you chain sharp, and try to re fill before you are empty and you should be just fine. That is a Pro Level saw!

 

[Jeffkrib]

Thanks guys two good points raised… 1) let it self-feed 2) keep an ear out for the tune.
I’ll also let it idle a bit before hitting the kill switch.
I’ve corrected the “down under” picture.... and added another pic from the other side. My dad emailed me these pictures. I’m trying to recall how big the diameter actually is, it may be even bigger than I remember.
I’ll add some more pictures of the job being done on the weekend.
Again thanks for your valued contribution.

 

[MustangMike]

Hey, I bike also, nice bike in your Avitar. I have a Madone 7 with D-3 A-3 Carbon wheels. Still using the Mtn Bike this year because the roads are covered with sand and pot holes from the tough winter we had, but I will break it out soon.

 

[Jeffkrib]

That’s a nice bike you have Mike. My road bike is an Orbea Orca, we have the opposite problem to you… it’s not the harsh winter that slow us down it’s the summer. I still managed to clock up 8000 miles on the bike last year though. I’ve been into riding for about 10 years now, the best part is I’ve lost 25Lbs and keep it off, I eat as much as I want and don’t put on weight!
Unfortunately I don’t have the same toy as in your avatar though….. Mine is a Ford but it’s not quite as sporty …Diesel family car.

 

[MustangMike]

Nice bike, when I expanded your Avatar I could see that! Biking is great exercise, and I really enjoy it, but we can't ride in the winters around here, and in Tax Season (2/1 - 4/15 - I'm a Tax Preparer) I get so busy I often don't have much time to train. I work 7 days a week during that period.

Every year you get older, it seems a little tougher to get back into shape. Right now, I'm about 15 lbs over where I will likely be at the end of the summer. It happens every year. It is nice when you are burning off more calories than you care to eat, but that only happens at the end of the summer for me.

Enjoy the riding!

 

[SS Sniper]

We need more threads like this...where one gets the help he/she needs and all is good.
None of this BA nonsense

 

[Jeffkrib]

I,ve got an update on this, my dad called the insurance company as this tree tore down his power lines plus a power pole.The insurance company said they will send out a tree service company to clear his driveway. The crew turned up today but didn't do the job, they decided they need a crane to as they are worried the root ball will fall back and damge the neighbours house (well flagged philbert you must be a pro). Probably a good thing I didn't find this out the hard way.
Thanks again for everyones help..... Theres some decent people on here!

 

[blsnelling]

More importantly than anything else, make sure it's not tuned too lean.

 

[lambs]

I,ve got an update on this, my dad called the insurance company as this tree tore down his power lines plus a power pole.The insurance company said they will send out a tree service company to clear his driveway. The crew turned up today but didn't do the job, they decided they need a crane to as they are worried the root ball will fall back and damge the neighbours house (well flagged philbert you must be a pro). Probably a good thing I didn't find this out the hard way.
Thanks again for everyones help..... Theres some decent people on here!

You will find a lot of decent people on AS. Glad you got some help with that tree too!

It is wise to always assume a root ball is going to fall back. Good catch Philbert.

 

[Chris-PA]

I,ve got an update on this, my dad called the insurance company as this tree tore down his power lines plus a power pole.The insurance company said they will send out a tree service company to clear his driveway. The crew turned up today but didn't do the job, they decided they need a crane to as they are worried the root ball will fall back and damge the neighbours house (well flagged philbert you must be a pro). Probably a good thing I didn't find this out the hard way.
Thanks again for everyones help..... Theres some decent people on here!

Probably a good thing - it looked like a messy job.