New Stihl Destroyed

[BigV]

A friend of mine purchased a new Stihl Farm Boss on Saturday.
Yesterday was his first opportunity to use his new saw.

He attempted to cut a small black walnut. He notched the tree in the direction he though it was leaning and then began his back cut. The tree began to lean back the opposite direction he had notched and his new saw became pinched.

He calls a friend who came out with his saw and felled the tree and released his saw.
Unfortunately this is the result….

Rule number 1 when your saw gets pinched; remove the motor before felling the tree.

In addition to the obvious bar damage, the chain was destroyed, the air filter cover cracked and the oil pan cracked. The cost to fix was almost as much as a new saw.

 

[firefighterjake]

I think I would cry if that happened to me . . . especially with a new saw.

 

[MasterMech]

Part it out. Worth some bucks especially since it was new. Experience is priceless. You can prolly recover $200 or better from it.

 

[BrotherBart]

Everybody will have a bunch of "could'a, should'a, would'a". Bottom line is it happened and that really is a sad thing to happen to his new saw.

Took thirty years for me to figure out how to get a tree to sit down on the bar. I finally figured out how to do it three years ago. :red: Three months later a pro from the power company did the same thing at the end of my driveway clearing the right of way.

 

[thewoodlands]

You can always get another saw, glad he's okay.

This is the book forum members recommended I buy (I did) To Fell A Tree by Jeff Jepson.



zap

 

[Flatbedford]

That really sucks about the saw! I can't believe the bar bent like that. I would probably cry if I did that.

 

[Danno77]

send me more pictures. i'll make an offer. Won't recoup much from me, but just an option.

 

[mayhem]

I did that to my brand new Husky 359 while dropping a few trees before hurricane Irene hit my area. Didn't do anything to the powerhead but the bar got bent pretty badly.

Live and learn. Part out the saw or get the parts to fix it himself and learn something new.

I'll give him $50 for it!

 

[smokinj]

2.00$ wedge....

 

[CTYank]

Clue me please, since by your silence you all seem to be in the know, where is the "oil pan" as named by OP?

Stihl is now using pressure-lubed, non-crankcase-scavenged engines? Must make a real mess when tipped!

 

[Danno77]

I'm guessing it was a reference to the bar oil reservoir. But, yeah, "oil pan" made me think for a second...

 

[mecreature]

Nice looking walnut in the background of that pic.

 

[JustWood]

2.00$ wedge....

+1
I can remember the day I first bought wedges. It was the day after I smashed my last saw,,,,, 24 years ago ! A week or so after that I was in the saw shop and the owner said "Hey,,, that wedge you bought last week ,,, do you want a whole case of them , no one ever buys them and I've had this case forever"! Can't remember but I think I paid less than $1/each. Best investment I ever made.

 

[Flatbedford]

Can't have too many wedges.

 

[DMZX]

2.00$ wedge....

Yep, yep. A wedge or two in every cut, even if the tree has an obvious lean. And always wedge the tree over so the the saw is in a safe place (on the ground off to one side) when the face cut closes.

 

[Highbeam]

When the tree is a pecker pole like that, doesn't the wedge hit the bar? You're driving the wedge in behind the bar as you make the felling cut (back cut) to prevent the tree from sitting on the bar right?

 

[Danno77]

When the tree is a pecker pole like that, doesn't the wedge hit the bar? You're driving the wedge in behind the bar as you make the felling cut (back cut) to prevent the tree from sitting on the bar right?

Right. Wedges can't fix everything. Sometimes you can still get the wedge in if you need to by going in at in angle. I always keep a couple of wedges in my pocket while cutting, but I don't really use them that much. That's just me, though.

 

[smokinj]

When the tree is a pecker pole like that, doesn't the wedge hit the bar? You're driving the wedge in behind the bar as you make the felling cut (back cut) to prevent the tree from sitting on the bar right?

Right. Wedges can't fix everything. Sometimes you can still get the wedge in if you need to by going in at in angle. I always keep a couple of wedges in my pocket while cutting, but I don't really use them that much. That's just me, though.

lol, bet he wished he had one!

 

[mecreature]

When the tree is a pecker pole like that, doesn't the wedge hit the bar? You're driving the wedge in behind the bar as you make the felling cut (back cut) to prevent the tree from sitting on the bar right?

Right. Wedges can't fix everything. Sometimes you can still get the wedge in if you need to by going in at in angle. I always keep a couple of wedges in my pocket while cutting, but I don't really use them that much. That's just me, though.

lol, bet he wished he had one!

It would have been worth a try.

 

[Kenster]

I've pinched a bar twice when felling. Once was with my old (now backup) Craftsman. Ended up ruining the bar and chain on that one. Fortunately, had a back up bar and chain to finish the job. Just last week I was working on a really big Post Oak. I actually got the bar pinched in the Face cut when I went back into it after being unable to wedge the tree over from the back cut (previous thread). I removed the power head and laid a large, metal wedge in the face cut right next to the pinched bar and chain. When the tree finally came down, the butt end rolled over that wedge and didn't even touch the bar and chain, which remained right there on the stump. I was lucky.

 

[Thistle]

When the tree is a pecker pole like that, doesn't the wedge hit the bar? You're driving the wedge in behind the bar as you make the felling cut (back cut) to prevent the tree from sitting on the bar right?

Right. Wedges can't fix everything. Sometimes you can still get the wedge in if you need to by going in at in angle. I always keep a couple of wedges in my pocket while cutting, but I don't really use them that much. That's just me, though.

I hear ya.I rarely have to use them,but there's always one in each of my back pockets just in case.One of my Christmas hints is a pouch for 2-3 wedges with slots for scrench & file/handle that fits on belt loop. Along with that 'rain hood' thingy for covering your neck & shoulders that attaches to back of forestry helmet.We'll see if I was good enough this year haha.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

What a nasty thing to do to a new saw!

 

[LLigetfa]

I've never owned a wedge and never used one either. If I pinched the bar working alone, I would take my axe and cut two poles, one to lever the other and push the tree over or at least open the kerf enough to free my bar.

 

[bogydave]

Man that hurts just seeing the picture.
Only good thing was the learning experience & no one got hurt.
Sorry for your buddy.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I would think you could fix it pretty cheap being that a bar and chain are not much. Air filter cover is just plastic. The oil can not be that big of deal either. I agree that it only takes two nuts to get the power head off before felling the tree with another saw. I had a tree do this once and I use a come-along to make the tree fall the way I wanted. I have some wedges but I rarely use them, they did come in handy once but I can normally tell which way the tree is leaning or which side has more branches if it is a straight one. The wedges seem to be handy for encouraging it to fall but if a tree is really leaning the wrong way wedges might keep the bar from pinching but you may not be able to move the tree the other way.