Firewood saws

[Quacker152]

Which ever two starts that morning! :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Andyshine77]

I'll go ahead and once again agree with most here, big saws are simply not a necessity for most firewood cutters. Now when it comes to large trees and handling them, I normally rip them into manageable pieces. Really it doesn't matter how big the log is if you rip them in quarters, sometimes I even use a large wheeled dolly to load them into my trailer.

 

[deye223]

heres my three stooges all ported
STIHL MS 460R

Husky 390 XP

STIHL MS 261

 

[67L36Driver]

Firewood saws of the '70's.

Darn, forgot to include a Craftsman/Roper.

 

[7sleeper]

For the sort of firewood I've been coming across lately, most everything can get done with a 5100 Dolmar running 17" of 3/8" round chisel. That has been my primary firewood saw for the past couple years and it works well. 238se and 44Rancher (ported) also work well. Anything that requires a bigger saw will be a SOB to get into the trailer and then up onto the splitter, and will leave me eating ibuprofen and having back/leg pain for the following week, so I'm avoiding the bigger stuff more than I used to do.

That's when I begin noodling. Sometimes that's the luxury I allow myself to work in a healthy economic way.

7

 

[borat]

Looks like my kind of firewood! :msp_biggrin:

That's aspen/poplar, a very predominant species around here. We also get white and yellow birch, some black ash and various softwoods. I prefer to cut dead standing trees that are already dry. Jack pine and spruce are usually the best because the bark falls right off of them while they're standing and the wood is prime for burning. Not the greatest firewood around but it'll throw a lot of heat just the same and it's nice and clean to handle.

 

[jh35]

I only have a Husky 51, but I've averaged 10-12 cord for the last 12 years with it. In my possession is my buddy's 6 cube Olympik with a 36" bar when I really need it. He told me to keep it in running order and he would know where it was if he ever needed it again.

 

[Steve NW WI]

That's aspen/poplar, a very predominant species around here. We also get white and yellow birch, some black ash and various softwoods. I prefer to cut dead standing trees that are already dry. Jack pine and spruce are usually the best because the bark falls right off of them while they're standing and the wood is prime for burning. Not the greatest firewood around but it'll throw a lot of heat just the same and it's nice and clean to handle.

Your pic again, looks a heck of a lot more like white birch than poplar to me:

 

[longunner]

Started out with a borrowed 056 Stihl. Then bought a new 064 for $ 600 and something , left that in the woods and since then went thru 8-10 044's and 440's cutting 40,000,000 lbs. of wood. Tried an 046 but it used a little too much gas for my liking. To me, one tank full should equal one cord of wood or more. Now I'm working on rebuilding the remaining 7 044/440's I have for a second go around. I can't beat that German Quality equipment. Now,we're talking about pine or doug fir, 8 pin sprocket and you can feel the sharp leading edge square ground chisel chain. That 1 cord for 1 tank is repeatable day in day out unless there's something wrong with my saw. Too many hrs.on a tired set of rings,carboned spark arrestor screen or exhaust port, filter that needs cleaning,or a chain that's lost the sharp leading edge.If you're not cutting at least 1 inch of wood per second,somethings wrong and needs evaluating.

 

[Wagnerwerks]

562xp

no need for anything else/

Nice tech 1000..... And the saws.

 

[Sagetown]

One tank of gas per cord of wood. Aye Yie Yie. I must be holding my tongue wrong, or maybe my trees are too small, or they're too limby, but I can't recall ever doing that.

 

[gcdible1]

Your pic again, looks a heck of a lot more like white birch than poplar to me:

Yeah, mother in law had one that died in the front yard. So I removed it for her. Boy does that stuff stink! I dunno if it was just cause it was still a bit green or what? All i know is I hope it doesnt stink up the house!

 

[borat]

Not birch. That's for sure. I think it's called white poplar or aspen because the bark is such a light colour. That stuff hold a lot of water and is real heavy when freshly cut.

Aspen/poplar has a strong smell when green. It's primarily from the bark. When it dries, it's pretty much odourless.

 

[sawfun9]

White birch smells good like fresh furniture to me.

 

[harrington]

i think the 50 cc + 70 cc combo is a great combo.

i have an 026 and a 440. they are both great saws. something it took me a few years to get over was running max bars on saws. i figured stihl said it should handle the bigger bar so thats what i was going to run. now i run a 16" 0.325 on the 026 and 3/8 20" on the 440. i run an 8 pin on the 440 and this makes a difference in speed. running bigger bars just made cutting slow at times. also smaller bars = less teeth to sharpen, better bar oiling, cheaper chain

i also have a 660 with a 28", but this is more luxury than necessity. without it, i would have to change how i use the 440 from time to time.

i am regulary cutting in big hardwoods so this is one reason i prefer under baring saws.

i will say, with the trees i cut, a 50 cc saw would not work by itself. i would have to leave a lot of wood behind. anything can be acomplished with enough patience, but i just hauled away a 50" white oak tree main trunk. this is the kind of wood the 70+cc saws get you into. and like someone else said earlier, once you start cutting wood this size, its amazing how more jobs this size seem to find you.

but with all that said, the 50cc/70cc combo is great for firewood. if you said i could only have one saw then it would be a 70cc saw (440/460).

 

[rdtreewalker]

I love running my 385xp but it gets heavy quick when cutting firewood, does anyone else use a 80+cc saw for firewood? It's not my main saw by any means, it's just fun to play with from time to time.

 

[Freakingstang]

i think the 50 cc + 70 cc combo is a great combo.

i have an 026 and a 440. they are both great saws. something it took me a few years to get over was running max bars on saws. i figured stihl said it should handle the bigger bar so thats what i was going to run. now i run a 16" 0.325 on the 026 and 3/8 20" on the 440. i run an 8 pin on the 440 and this makes a difference in speed. running bigger bars just made cutting slow at times. also smaller bars = less teeth to sharpen, better bar oiling, cheaper chain

i also have a 660 with a 28", but this is more luxury than necessity. without it, i would have to change how i use the 440 from time to time.

i am regulary cutting in big hardwoods so this is one reason i prefer under baring saws.

i will say, with the trees i cut, a 50 cc saw would not work by itself. i would have to leave a lot of wood behind. anything can be acomplished with enough patience, but i just hauled away a 50" white oak tree main trunk. this is the kind of wood the 70+cc saws get you into. and like someone else said earlier, once you start cutting wood this size, its amazing how more jobs this size seem to find you.

but with all that said, the 50cc/70cc combo is great for firewood. if you said i could only have one saw then it would be a 70cc saw (440/460).

Nice post... I agree. Since I just sold my 7900 I'm sticking with the three saw plan...

Dolmar 5100 with a 13" for limbing
My 372 with 20" for just about everything
and the 660 with a 28" for the big iron, like you said, it is more of a luxury. i could do it with a 70cc saw, I just choose not to.

 

[fin460]

I did a lot with the MS460 25" and MS261 16" but after getting the 562xp this fall with a techlite 20" its almost all I use for firewood.

 

[sunfish]

I did a lot with the MS460 25" and MS261 16" but after getting the 562xp this fall with a techlite 20" its almost all I use for firewood.

I'm also using the 562 w/20"Techlite more this Fall.

The 346xp will come out later for smaller wood though.

 

[Hedgerow]

I love running my 385xp but it gets heavy quick when cutting firewood, does anyone else use a 80+cc saw for firewood? It's not my main saw by any means, it's just fun to play with from time to time.

I cut today with 2 saws... A 7900, and a Mac 3200...
Yes, I just said that....
Not proud of it, but ran 6 tanks through that little bugger...
I don't have a good top handle, and the Mac won't die!!!