Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[chipper1]

Got off work late. Hurried up and filed chains, tossed stuff in the truck and went to "The Pile". I didn't take alot of time filing. Just hit 5 licks a tooth on both the 445 and the 550. Chains cut fine. For a half a tank on the 445 and one tank on the 550. It was ok because thats all the daylight I had anyway but that wood is so caked in frozen mud and now snow that I cant even tell the difference between mud and bark. I have to file every chain every tank or less on this stuff. So I think I am doing fine on filing, its just hard, frozen mud caked wood. It was a big party again when I showed up. The foreman over there is super dude. Every time I have been there when he's there he stops over with his five foot wide monster tonka toy and checks on me. He lets me cut about 20mins then crawls over and asks me what I need. WHAT I NEED!!?? There was a big something 20+" 30ft long and it was too big to get up on the timber jack and I couldn't cut it then roll it either. He squared up the tracks, pulled it up to the tracks then pulled it up to waist height pinned in between the bucket and the tracks and me and the 550 went to ASS. KICKIN.

I had a huge trunk lifted to waist height by a monster excavator and cut all the way to the tracks while he held it there!! When I got to the track he set it down for another bite and I ran down the trunk again to the track. About that time I was running out of bar on the 550 and knew I was gonna need a bigger saw for the bottom half of the trunk but thats ok, its short enough now that next time I go back I can wrestle it around with the timber jack. If not, I'll wait for big brother wiff da macheen. Super dudes over there. I cant believe that is actually happening. Oh get this...he said if I dont have the wood out when the ground thaws hes gonna drag it up to the entrance so I can get to it when its muddy. Does this get. Any. Better?!

That's great.
If it had been all dead standing then it might have been better.
Glad your getting a great hook up like that, good to here stories like that.
It sounds as though you would benefit from having a few semi chisel chains on hand. They don't have the super sharp point the full chisel has as the leading edge has a curve to it. This broader leading edge will stay sharper much longer in frozen dirty wood, it will just cut a little slower.
Remember that video I posted with the little red 2145, that was 18x.325 semi chisel and that saw cut's the same speed as my stock 550 for comparison.
Do you ever make boring cuts/plunge cuts.

 

[Cody]

That's great.
If it had been all dead standing then it might have been better.
Glad your getting a great hook up like that, good to here stories like that.
It sounds as though you would benefit from having a few semi chisel chains on hand. They don't have the super sharp point the full chisel has as the leading edge has a curve to it. This broader leading edge will stay sharper much longer in frozen dirty wood, it will just cut a little slower.
Remember that video I posted with the little red 2145, that was 18x.325 semi chisel and that saw cut's the same speed as my stock 550 for comparison.
Do you ever make boring cuts/plunge cuts.

If there's frozen mud or even ice in the bark I don't even reach for chisel chain, it only takes a few cuts for that sharp point to become worthless. Semi chisel is the only choice.

 

[chipper1]

If there's frozen mud or even ice in the bark I don't even reach for chisel chain, it only takes a few cuts for that sharp point to become worthless. Semi chisel is the only choice.

I cut a good amount of frozen or not frozen with a bit of mud with full chisel, but when it's both or it's very muddy I use semi .
I've got some videos cutting frozen wood, it's painfully slow, I imagine it being like cutting some of that Australian hard wood in the summer .
Good thing the drop bears here in Michigan hibernate in the winter .

 

[Cody]

I cut a good amount of frozen or not frozen with a bit of mud with full chisel, but when it's both or it's very muddy I use semi .
I've got some videos cutting frozen wood, it's painfully slow, I imagine it being like cutting some of that Australian hard wood in the summer .
Good thing the drop bears here in Michigan hibernate in the winter .

It seems that I'm either cutting dead ash, dead elm, or green oak, very little dead oak but my general rule of thumb is if it's dead/dry wood then I reach for semi chisel. If I'm felling a live tree I'll run full chisel. The noticeable speed difference doesn't bother me as with the semi, I know I can keep cutting without dealing with a dull chain. Stumping always gets semi as well. What works for one person isn't always ideal for another though.

 

[MustangMike]

Go Square, or go home, I use it for everything, including milling, and have cut lots of dead hard wood with it.

My angles for Square are 45* back, 45* down and tilt at 45*.

Like this:

http://www.madsens1.com/bnc_cb_angles.htm

 

[Cody]

Go Square, or go home, I use it for everything, including milling, and have cut lots of dead hard wood with it.

My angles for Square are 45* back, 45* down and tilt at 45*.

Like this:

http://www.madsens1.com/bnc_cb_angles.htm

I want to go that route when cutting the green oak trees down. I figure I can hand file it and as long as I don't find anything catastrophic in the tree then a simple touch up is all that would be needed. Right now, I've got too many chains that I need to wear out first, I know they could be converted but it just doesn't seem that logical. Maybe I'll give in and order a few loops through Bailey's. One 28", and two 16" loops would be ideal. Perhaps I'll price them through the dealer first.

 

[woodchip rookie]

That's great.
If it had been all dead standing then it might have been better

Then I would have to drop it and limb it all. This is gravy. No limbs. Just dirty frozen green heavy hardwood.

 

[woodchip rookie]

I'm glad you guys beought up semi chisel. I was going to ask about that. I just assumed semi chisel was for homeowner saws because of the anti kickback stuff. And thought full chisel was the way to go for real saws. I dont cut down live trees. All my stuff is scrounge. Dead standing or dead on the ground. Or like this place....pushed around with a dozer in the mud, frozen, snowed on and some been dead for a while and "aged". So is there a non-anti kickback semi chisel? Like the yellow oregon but semi? What chain is that? And if I got into square ground how do you file that stuff?

 

[JustJeff]

I'm glad you guys beought up semi chisel. I was going to ask about that. I just assumed semi chisel was for homeowner saws because of the anti kickback stuff. And thought full chisel was the way to go for real saws. I dont cut down live trees. All my stuff is scrounge. Dead standing or dead on the ground. Or like this place....pushed around with a dozer in the mud, frozen, snowed on and some been dead for a while and "aged". So is there a non-anti kickback semi chisel? Like the yellow oregon but semi? What chain is that? And if I got into square ground how do you file that stuff?

Quit buying your chains at Home Depot. Go get a loop of Stihl rs and let us know what you think.

 

[woodchip rookie]

I only have one HD green chain. The rest is full chisel. And Still doesn't make .325/.050 66DL. It would have to be a custom loop.

 

[woodchip rookie]

Looks like they make it but it "Stihl" says "clean wood with limited contact with dirt and abrasives"

http://www.baileysonline.com/Chains...in-Loop-23RS-66-Drive-Links-3637-005-0066.axd

 

[JustJeff]

Try the rm. they say it stays sharp longer. I’ve never tried it myself. I’ve used the Oregon which you can put a wicked edge on and the Stihl rs which I feel like I can tell the difference when I’m filing. The Stihl seems to hold the edge longer in my opinion. I only keep one spare and have never used it. I can cut hard for several hours before there is a difference. I usually stop for a break before that point because I’m getting soft. In between panting and gasping and guzzling water, I’ll touch it up with the file and it’s good to go.

 

[farmer steve]

I only have one HD green chain. The rest is full chisel. And Still doesn't make .325/.050 66DL. It would have to be a custom loop.

i had that size made for my J-Red at my Stihl shop. around $23. non-safety type.

 

[James Miller]

With nothing to scrounge and after reading the 241 to .325 chain thread the gears in my head started turning. Grabbed a poulan 2300 bar and my cs490 and this is what I got. Chain adjuster and oiler line up perfect. Talked to homelite410 about getting a 3/8 lp rim maid then figure out the DL count for the chain. If I wanted to try it with the .325 rim I'd need 57 DL. I think this saw will run very well with 3/8 lp.

 

[Philbert]

Still doesn't make .325/.050 66DL. It would have to be a custom loop.

A full service dealer gets chain in 100' rolls and will make any length you want. Or they can order a loop for you, if it is not a style that they normally stock.

If I wanted to try it with the .325 rim I'd need 57 DL.

Most of those bars run 56DL in 3/8 low profile. ECHO branded bars usually require 57DL, just so that you go back to the ECHO dealer for replacements. Not sure about .325.

Philbert

 

[Buckshot00]

Scrounge of the day. Mostly ash and small amount of walnut Beautiful day for working outside.

 

[foxtrot5]

View attachment 631499View attachment 631500View attachment 631501Scrounge of the day. Mostly ash and small amount of walnut Beautiful day for working outside.

Well now I have a reason to try and get my old lawn tractor up and running. Somehow I never thought of using it to pull wood around. I wonder if I could somehow disconnect the cutting deck and use the shaft to power something more useful...

 

[chipper1]

Try the rm. they say it stays sharp longer. I’ve never tried it myself. I’ve used the Oregon which you can put a wicked edge on and the Stihl rs which I feel like I can tell the difference when I’m filing. The Stihl seems to hold the edge longer in my opinion. I only keep one spare and have never used it. I can cut hard for several hours before there is a difference. I usually stop for a break before that point because I’m getting soft. In between panting and gasping and guzzling water, I’ll touch it up with the file and it’s good to go.

Great choice for dirty wood.

Then I would have to drop it and limb it all. This is gravy. No limbs. Just dirty frozen green heavy hardwood.

I meant previously dead standing.
That's what most my big pile is, I try to avoid green wood anymore as I have to store it in order to season it.
That being said green wood cuts a lot easier and faster .

 

[MustangMike]

Full Chisel (Stihl RS) converts to square just as easily as starting with square. Just do the corners first, and every time you sharpen it more of the tooth will be converted.

 

[Westwood]

Looking forward to reporting in on this thread. I'm on ~20 acres and a section of the utility lines run through it. I met with the tree crew a couple weeks ago and they need to clear 15' from each side of the lines. All hardwood too. He's leaving it all for me.