Im getting ready to move to the Anchorage area. What kind of Timber can I expect there. I only cut firewood and have a couple of big saws and a couple of 50cc saws. I do not want to move what I do not need. So if I don't need one or the other I want to sell them and save the space for something else
How big of a saw for Alaska?
- Thread starter Ted_D
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You're not going to see a lot of big timber around Anchorage. There's Black Spruce which doesn't get too big and some stands of hardwoods. Mainly the weather and permafrost keep the trees from getting too big there. Southeast and the islands is where the big timber is.
DUGs-sawshop
ArboristSite Operative
Bring them all . You can probably sell them for double what they will bring down here. Im jealous , wish I was moving there also , but momma wont go for it. doug
Well the problem is space is precious. We have to leave a lot of stuff. Most of it we don't need so I may part with my 395 and 570. Here in Idaho I had a use for them but if timber is small well just don't need them. People have been telling me there wasn't much to cut up there. Said firewood was scarce. If that is the truth I may not need any of them
j_franich
ArboristSite Lurker
50cc is plenty for firewood, but don't hesitate to buy a large(r) enclosed trailer or two to haul up......they bring a premium in AK. I could have sold mine a half dozen times w/o advertising it, but I held onto it because I knew we would eventually be moving again. We didn't find the cost of living to be too extreme until you factored in travel to visit friends/family. Alaska was a great stepping stone for us, plenty of opportunities professionally and for recreation.
There is plenty of smallish black spruce and a fair bit of smallish hardwood just on the outskirts of Anchorage inland in Wasillia and Palmer and a fair distance out toward the coast toward Seward. A 50cc chainsaw would cut anything you come across in that area.
zogger
Tree Freak
AlaskanBurner
ArboristSite Lurker
You don't need anything big here, except for cleaning up cottonwood ( which we throw away) I leave a 16 inch bar on almost all of the time. As far as bringing along stuff to sell be careful, I buy saws off of ebay just like anybody else, costs about 38$ to ship a used 036, 044, here vs 30$ in the lower 48. Enclosed trailers are also pretty much just the same. HOWEVER it does seem like good dump trailers still go for more here than in Seattle. Good luck, when you get here if you need to know places to cut post on AS and I'll help you out.
mad murdock
ArboristSite Guru
Along the creeks and rivers are lots of white spruce, and birch, aspen, etc. there is some pretty nice stuff even for that far north. Just not like the big timber of southeast AK and the inside passage islands.
Thanks you! I'm not bringing anything to sell. The reason I posted is to see if I could leave them behind. No use bringing the big saws if the smaller ones is all I need
SawTroll
Information Collector
According to Gypo, a 346xp is enough saw in Yukon, so likely in Alaska as well?
Of couse local variations always is a factor.
mitch95100
Saw Nut
Ya i saw-sit if thats what your asking... i only use high quality formula, burp them after every feeding and sharpen their teeth every night..
Sent from me to you using my fingers
Sent from me to you using my fingers
RedShift42
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+1 on all the above. And welcome to the Greatland
Here on the bottom of the Kenai peninsula (200mi south) 90%-ish of our firewood is spruce, the remaining being birch and scrubby alder. Locally, the best selling saw for years has been the 026/260, and most 60cc saws are 029/290's. The bark beetles took pretty much everything justifying >20" bars. From what I've seen around ANC, the species are slightly different, but the modest tree size is the same.
Despite the rugged image bestowed upon we Alaskans, the irony is the actual firewood cutting just isn't that challenging-- heck, my father in NJ needs a bigger saw than I do. I still really want a 261 or 361, but unless one comes along at an irresistible price, I honestly can't justify it.
Like the others, my vote is for packing the 50cc saw(s) and leaving the big boys down in hardwood territory.
Here on the bottom of the Kenai peninsula (200mi south) 90%-ish of our firewood is spruce, the remaining being birch and scrubby alder. Locally, the best selling saw for years has been the 026/260, and most 60cc saws are 029/290's. The bark beetles took pretty much everything justifying >20" bars. From what I've seen around ANC, the species are slightly different, but the modest tree size is the same.
Despite the rugged image bestowed upon we Alaskans, the irony is the actual firewood cutting just isn't that challenging-- heck, my father in NJ needs a bigger saw than I do. I still really want a 261 or 361, but unless one comes along at an irresistible price, I honestly can't justify it.
Like the others, my vote is for packing the 50cc saw(s) and leaving the big boys down in hardwood territory.
Tundra Man Mike
ArboristSite Operative
There isn't any permafrost in Anchorage.
There are some very large cottonwoods that fall over when the wind blows. 80+ footers. I run a 28" bar for those. Actually I use the same saw for stumps as that is my main occupation. There are some HUGE cottonwoods in some areas.
Birch to 30" diameter.
Spruce to 24" diameter.
Most trees will be around 16" diameter.
I run a 562XP with a 455 Rancher for backup.
Unless you are building a remote cabin, black spruce won't see your saws.
There are a few larch and mayberry trees. Your goal will be birch followed by spruce for firewood.
I have been known to call someone looking for firewood when I drop trees. I cut you load.
Frostbit
ArboristSite Lurker
I live out on the NW coast of Alaska, all of our trees used for firewood come in as driftwood. The vast majority come out of the Yukon river during spring breakup and the currents carry them up to us in rafts/flotsam, eventually deposited on the beaches by the Bering Sea storms over the course of the summer...if we are lucky. Some years without the right ocean currents, we get zilch.
Virtually all of the wood is either Spruce or Cottonwood (poplar), with an occasional Birch. I rarely find any of them over 16" or so in diameter.
I have been collecting driftwood/firewood for years. I have been using a Husky 350 with an 18" bar for 5 or 6 years, and just this past week bought a new 550XP which will become my primary saw.
You mentioned you have a 550XP, it really will be all the saw you need in the Anchorage area. Southeast, different ballgame.
Virtually all of the wood is either Spruce or Cottonwood (poplar), with an occasional Birch. I rarely find any of them over 16" or so in diameter.
I have been collecting driftwood/firewood for years. I have been using a Husky 350 with an 18" bar for 5 or 6 years, and just this past week bought a new 550XP which will become my primary saw.
You mentioned you have a 550XP, it really will be all the saw you need in the Anchorage area. Southeast, different ballgame.
Hi Ted
Bring the big ones along.
If you decide you don't want them by the time you get to Haines Jct,i'll trade you gas,tires, or any repairs you need for them.
Thomas
Bring the big ones along.
If you decide you don't want them by the time you get to Haines Jct,i'll trade you gas,tires, or any repairs you need for them.
Thomas
kentuckydiesel
ArboristSite Operative
If you are trying to save space in your vehicle, just pack them up and send them to yourself. If you use USPS, you'll beat them there by a couple weeks. 
If you are completely determined to leave them in the lower 48, just ship them to me and I will keep them in using condition until you need them.
-Phillip
If you are completely determined to leave them in the lower 48, just ship them to me and I will keep them in using condition until you need them.
-Phillip
AlaskanBurner
ArboristSite Lurker
RedShift42
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Since we seem to have answered Ted's question (just not definitively) I'll risk thread hijacking since my follow-up question is sort of related...
What's the story w/ cottonwood for burning? For the most part, around here everyone ignores the stuff; whereas a felled spruce or birch is pounced on, cottonwood is often left to rot.
I'll have the opportunity to cut some this year; will I be wasting my time?
Is it just some Alaskan prejudice (like how we generally feel about catching humpies), or does our cottonwood really burn that poorly?
What's the story w/ cottonwood for burning? For the most part, around here everyone ignores the stuff; whereas a felled spruce or birch is pounced on, cottonwood is often left to rot.
I'll have the opportunity to cut some this year; will I be wasting my time?
Is it just some Alaskan prejudice (like how we generally feel about catching humpies), or does our cottonwood really burn that poorly?
