Noobie Needs Help...

[73amc]

Hi guys,

I just purchased my first saw about a month ago. Its a Stihl ms250. I am a home owner and only use it occasionally to cut wood for firewood.

I had about 5 14" truck pieces that I needed to split and stack. Well I could half the sections with my splitting axe so I cut them length wise, with the grain with my chainsaw. After doing research I see that this isn't the best approach. I'm wondering if I just hurt my saw? Probably not, but I get paranoid about stuff like that.

I let the saw do the work and didn't force the bar through the wood. The chain is very sharp and went through the wood pretty easily. It was pine actually.

I plan on buying a maul for splitting from now on, I was just curious as to whether or not I would have hurt the saw. Still starts and runs great.

Thanks for your time guys, I think Im ready for a bigger saw already

 

[freemind]

What you did is refered to as "noodling". As it makes "noodles" cutting the wood with the grain.

No, you didn't hurt your saw. Alot of guys here noodle big rounds to get them small enough to handle, or to stubborn pieces that a maul wouldn't split.

 

[bobt]

Freemind is right. You did nothing wrong.

Welcome to Arboristsite. There is a wealth of knowlege here. Read, and contribute. You will be happy you did!

Bob

 

[73amc]

I stood the log on end and cut it in half going with the grain. Thats noodling? from what I read i did a no no.

I stood the logs on end on top of another log so I would saw into the grounds and started at the top of the log and went all the way down.

I did not put the logs on their sides which is noodling from my research. Im just concerned I hurt the saw.

 

[bobt]

I stood the log on end and cut it in half going with the grain. Thats noodling? from what I read i did a no no.

I stood the logs on end on top of another log so I would saw into the grounds and started at the top of the log and went all the way down.

I did not put the logs on their sides which is noodling from my research. Im just concerned I hurt the saw.

You can do it either way. Neither will hurt your saw.

Many times when I have a stubborn block, I stand the block on end and cut across the grain for a few inches and then stop and insert a splitting wedge. You produce small chips that way, and the saw doesn't cut very fast. But you aren't hurting your saw at all.

When you "noodle", you lay the block on it's side and cut with the grain. The saw cuts faster and makes long strings that are noodlelike, hence the term "noodling". Personally I don't noodle very much as the strings bunch up under the bar cover. Then you have to pull them out by hand. If you do get your fingers in there, please shut the saw off and don't do it with the saw running! Fingers are kind of nice to have, wouldn't you agree?

Bob

 

[Nosmo]

What you described - standing the round on its end - and cutting downward is ripping. This is the same method sawmills use when sawing lumber into boards.

In my opinion it is easier to lay the round on its side and cut quarters out of it (noodling). I used to rip rounds when I did projects on my lathe (turning bowls) and it seemed to be harder to rip rounds than to noodle them.

Nosmo

 

[Circle B MN]

Good bit harder to rip wood than to noodle. In a small length of pine like that I would not be too concerned. Ripping a large piece of oak with a smaller saw could possibly over heat it. Just lay the rounds on their side and go to town.

 

[goof008]

noodling is faster than ripping.

I noodle larger pieces I don't want to try to lift or ones with large knots in them.

Keep the chain out of the dirt and don't hit metal with it and you should be ok...and always make sure there is bar oil in it!

 

[CTYank]

Again, as bobt pointed out, you really don't need to noodle all the way through. Just enough to set wedge(s).

Less runtime/log = more lifetime/chain,engine,saw IMHO.

 

[4seasons]

Either ripping or noodling will work to get a round down to manageable size, and neither will hurt your saw or chain. Your saw is designed to cut wood, the way you hurt a saw is cutting something other than wood, or using it to pry, wedge, or something other than cut. That said ripping is generally done as milling and chainsaw milling is done with much larger more powerful saws than yours. It is slow going and you can overwork the saw by impatiently pushing it thru the cut. Noodling is much faster however the "noodles" can clog up the clutch cover and cause a lot of heat build up. All you have to do is check after each cut and turn the saw off if you need to clean them out. The key to long saw life is a sharp chain and don't force the saw thru, let the chain do its work. Well that and regular maintenance and keeping the chain out of dirt, rocks, metal....