Cuttin' Dirty Wood - Tips?

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Great thread. I am always trying to figure out new ways to cut dirty wood.

A few years back I purchased several truck loads of log length wood that had been skidded though a gravel pit. I used wire brush to clean the area before every cut. That was a ton of wire brushing averaging 15 cuts per log. I have had good luck pressure washing them in the past but I was not near a water source.

I do have a carbide chain and have had good luck with it thus far, but haven't run it enough to sharpen it yet.

Lately I have been run two saws, one that is sacraficial and the other to do the cutting. I cut just enough with the sacraficial saw to clean an area to make a regular or plung cut with the other saw pulling the dirt away from the log.
 
1953greg said:
like,
i have removed many logs from bulldozed piles but certainly not hundreds!! i just knock off the worse w/ a hatchet or spud bar and leter rip. seems to me you might be expecting a little much from your chains as far as staying sharp goes. 20-40 trees and a chain needs sharpening!! sometimes its more like 5-10 for me. also, from what i can tell from the pic they dont look bad dirty at all. have cut many much dirtier than that. maybe the photo is a cleaner one.

not much help but i think you may be expecting too much.
let us know if you find any secrets

good luck n good day

As I have stated a couple of times, "this chain does better than I expected".
I am not complaining about the chain. Just looking for "a better idea".:D

I was not clear on sharpening the chain. When I said every 20 -40 trees, I was referring to mostly only one cut per tree. Most are smaller than the one in the pic. Just cuttin' off the stump and pileing for chipping/biomass. I have saved a few logs, but not many.

The log in the pic doesn't show the dirt very well. It could be a lot worst if I didn't take care of them right after digging. Then there would be mud....I have been doing this since spring, and I am lucky enough to have the luxury of waiting for the right conditions. If we get a soaker rain, I will wait 2-3 days before digging.

The advantage I have is that the soil is loose and a large wire brush takes care of a lot of it, but there is plenty of dirt still there in the bark.

If I find any "secrets", I will share, and then it won't be a secret anymore....:Eye:
 
Just another thought, I do like the air compressor idea and have a gas powered one that would solve a lot of issues you have, but I am thinking you are a canadate for stihl RM2 chain. I hate using it, but it is harder than heck to dull, my thought is the humps will knock off the dirt before the cutter hits it. Just an opinion.
Andy
 

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