Saw Stuck in a big log

cheers mate thanks for the welcome , love reading the posts and viewing the pictures members post , hope i can add a few helpfull ideas that might make life a bit easier for people ..
cheers

geoff, great advice on the spare bar/chain and welcome to the forum.

i always take a spare saw. files, wedges, sledges, mauls, tools, PPE. when i only have 1 hour to load up, i don't want to lose any time for anything. i cut/buck/noodle with the 362 unless i hit a nail then i go right to the 290 w/chisel chain. sure its slower in the big beef but as long as you let the saw dictate the speed it works fine. if i hit something with the 290 then i break out the file and sharpen up the 362. and so on.

Ah Scotty. You do a lot of trimming in people's yards too and for sure I would want some different saws. Lots of big trunks but then you don't want to rastle that big saw 60 feet up if you have to trim a few limbs. Whereas I just went to the neighbor's to get his saw. One saw is plenty for me but if I traveled to get wood, then I would definitely have 2 saws. Well, I may end up with a smaller saw too just because it would be lighter for cutting up the limbs. I'm getting weaker as I age.

I got one late last winter and loved it right away. I now have two of them for use this winter. One place they really shine is on those trees you either have to drag out or cut into 4' lengths and carry out. Grabbing those with the tongs makes it much, much easier.

Sorry geoff1969, I had not noticed you are a new member here on the forum. Welcome!

There is another assie I am friends with; Glenn Druery. I think he recently has gotten into politicing. I though he knew better.

Good point on a smaller saw for liming. I notice it's getting harder on the shoulders swinging around the 12 lb 359 by the end of the day
I thought about using the old craftsman for that but it's before chain breaks.
Good reason to shop for a light weight saw.

What is a a good liming saw? 12 to 14"?
The Husq T435 is 7.5 lbs.
May start looking on CL.

Time for a new thread, liming saw.

If I get one it won't have more than a 12" bar. Probably in the Stihl line. We have a good dealer here and I'll stay with him. He also is our tire man and also does mechanical work. When we bought the Fireview, he accepted delivery for me then loaded it onto my trailer. No charge, but I gave him a nice tip anyway.

Which stihl?

Not sure yet Dave. I haven't looked for a while; still in the thinking stage. Maybe I'll do some research this week.

Lightest weight I saw on the stihl site was 8.6 lbs

ms201 8.82 lbs
ms 170 8.6 lbs

http://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/homeowner-saws/

stick with the ms192 or 200T. Top handle saws are great for limbing and for climbing, those two saws will impress the sh*t out of you. Tons of power for their size, but look out cause they are pricey! I do see them in decent condition on CL for around 200-300 bucks from time to time, but they don't last long at that price......

I still use heavy (but very handy and capable) Stihl 015's for my limbing saws. They are the ancestors of the 19T, 192-200 series saws.

I just can't afford a newer limbing saw (yet). Someday, someday......

I'll use my 31 yr old wee Echo until it croaks.No chain brake or hand guard (never had either),only turns around 9K or so.But at just under 8lbs,its a tough beast & works incredibly well with sharp .043 gauge chain.

WORD OF CAUTION...

...on the second bar & chain as backup. It's a great idea and I've used it, but note that it sometimes doesn't work on saws with an outboard clutch.

cheers mate appreciate the welcome ... love reading what you guy and gals get up to and hope fully i can help out at time with a few few helpfull hints .

Just yesterday I had a pretty small White Oak log eat the chain on my little Homelite saw. Never seen this happen before. It's like one particular cutter suddenly decided it wanted to tunnel its way to China. This wasn't binding due to sag or anything like that. It was a pretty small log anyway, under 4ft and 8in dia. It got bound well before I was even getting near halfway through. Heck, I doubt I was 1/6 of the way through. Long story short, I had to get my camp saw and a small bladed screwdriver and slowly saw on both sides and chip out wood. Eventually I got my chain free with no apparent damage to it. No idea how this happened- it's a first for me. Weird.

Dave,you being from Alaska know that you always have to have a backup. Last week I did the same thing stuck a bar in a locust,luckily I carry a spare bar. removed the bar from saw,put on other bar,dropped the tree,and got my other bar unstuck. When cutting trees and wood always expect the unexpected. Good thinking on your part.

Before I had a second saw I had to chop through an 18" Red Oak with an axe. After that I went home. I had no strength left to cut or load after all that axe work. My second saw is an MS180 that I picked up used for $80.

I've also used an axe to get out of a pinch. Not fun on a hot day. Another time I used a 6 foot breaker bar instead of wedges--worked great.

On more than one occasion I've used the FEL on a tractor to lift one end of a log to remedy a bad pinch. This always was little scary because a misjudgement could cause a heavy log to FUBAR my saw.

How pricey are you talking here Scot?