Cutting Ice with a chainsaw

[fin460]

I wish I had some video or pictures of me cutting holes today to ice fish out of.

I used a 346xp that was rough and ugly and a saw I plan to keep and not resale.

The tip broke off of the blade of the ice auger and made it completely useless, its kinda the same as chipping a drill bit.

So in a pinch I used my 346xp, I'm worried it would be hard on the cylinder, with the ice chips and water spashing up on it.

I just cut two quick holes before the saw got warm.

I'm sure people do stuff like this all the time, for whatever reasons, I would like to hear from some who do.

 

[Plan-b]

How elese do you get a square hole for the ice hut? Drain bar oil, let 'er rip.
Pre-crash I had a picture on her of ice cutting.

 

[fin460]

Is there any concerns on being hard on the saw, I'm new to this ice fishing thing, Here in MO we don't always get good ice..... good ice to me is 5 inches, we are up to 9 now.

 

[fin460]

This is the only picture I took today


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChevyDealer]

One year back in the late 90's I think it was, I remember 14" think ice here in SW Missouri. I cut 5 holes everyday for the cows to drink. Wind Chills were in the negative 30's. By the time I got the 5th hole cut the 1st one was frozen over if the cows werent imediately drinking from it.

I was using a Husqvarna 55 which several yrs later I sold to an employee & he is still loving it to this day...his 1st Husqvarna. I replaced it in 2005 with a 357XP. The only problem I had was wearing a bar & chain out. Let the chips fly!

 

[Nitroman]

It's about four feet here.

 

[Deererainman]

My Mac 10-10 has cut a lot of ice in its day.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I'd be afraid to be out on ice that thin! I'm used to seeing it several feet thick.

 

[fin460]

they say 4 inches is plenty, i'm comfortable on the 9 inches we had yesterday. we were able to ice fish from late December to early march last year solid, it never did get over 15" thick

 

[Jeff Lary]

3" of black ice will hold a team of horses.... At least that is what my Grand farther used to say and he used to cut with a team back in the 20's-30's. But it should be mentioned that black ice is very un-nerving to be on to me at least. You can see through it very easily see plants current ect.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

If you use vegetable oil in the bar you can use it to carve your thanksgiving turkey or other meat products, even wedding cakes. Nothing like hitting a 20lb bird out the oven with a fresh loop of .404.

 

[thinkrtinker]

If you use vegetable oil in the bar you can use it to carve your thanksgiving turkey or other meat products, even wedding cakes. Nothing like hitting a 20lb bird out the oven with a fresh loop of .404.

Is this before or after the bird is on the table???????????

 

[fin460]

I use my ms170 for a steak knife!

 

[prospectfarms]

Chainsawing through ice gets the operator very wet. I cut several thousand blocks of ice in the 1990's. We skidded the 20" blocks up to an ice-house and packed them into layers of snow and sawdust. Stacked them 9 feet high.

I always stayed dry. We kept the rink clear of snow so the ice would freeze thicker. When it was time to cut blocks, we plunged our saws short of the bottom. A couple of taps with a chisel-end bar would snap the block off at its base (after chainsawing the sides.) After a few blocks you could off from the floor.
A two-inch floor was sufficient. If we broke through it would flood the space and we'd abandon that hole.

To cut a fishing hole, I used the same technique, leaving a thin floor of ice that could easily be broken through with chisel-bar.

Be careful. I've fallen through ice, into water. It is a violent action -- no time to react. I carried a stick held horizontal but without it the momentum would have carried me down over my head.

 

[bluehaze]

Lots of holes get cut during our sturgeon spearing season in Wisconsin. Here is one of the many videos I found.

 

[pioneerguy600]

This is what the ice is like up here in the great white north,

 

[cary911]

I love cutting ice, I didn't realize that the bar and chain oil needed to be drained? Oh boy?

 

[AKDoug]

We've cut lots of 4'x8' holes in the ice with chainsaws for ice rescue training. Never hurt a saw doing it.

 

[Bill G]

Is there any concerns on being hard on the saw, I'm new to this ice fishing thing, Here in MO we don't always get good ice..... good ice to me is 5 inches, we are up to 9 now.

What part of MO are you in to get 9" of GOOD ice????????? We have been a bit cold up here but no where neae getting that kind of ice. The Walleye guys are not even out yet in the open water The coldest we have gotten is minus 15F We have been above zero thhe last two days and 25F today

 

[fin460]

Bethany, MO

We just fish our farm ponds,

They freeze over quicker, but they say eventually the ice gets much thicker on larger bodies of water, I guess a pond just gets "thick enough" first