clearing some land of many large pines, over the course of fall to present. With snowstorms the place is a mess/maze of downed trunks, limbs, etc. I’ve been cutting the logs to 12 or 16 foot lengths as we plan to sell them to a lumber company. Long story short, I’ve gotten my primary saw pinched more times up there, it’s ridiculous. So, I finally picked up a backup saw. Stihl Ms 250. I’ll post pics later, here’s some of the work site.
Found Out Why You Need A Second Saw
- Thread starter BIGChrisNH
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Ashful
Minister of Fire
Yes, pickup and the tractor in some cases haha. 01 Ram 2500 diesel. We took a winch off a racing trailer that’s rated for 5,000 pounds, and welded it onto a steel housing that slides into the trailer hitch. It worked pretty good.
What you might want is a 5$ wedge to place in the top of the cut after you have cut half way thru.
xman23
Minister of Fire
Cutting up logs like that on the ground can be trickey. Rolling them so the weight is off one end is key,
I skid with both of my 3/4 ton dodges all of the time. I am currently welding up a 1/4 plate steel winch plate...similar in design to what loggers use only on a smaller scale..it will also be a hitch mounted design so I can transfer it from truck to truck..it is amazing in how much these truck can skid!
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Get a couple of the plastic orange wedges, and find some boards about three feet long to slip under the log on either side of the cuts. I worked up about 10 cord this way last year out of a bunch of 3' diameter logs, never needed another saw (but had them if I needed them!) Try it, you'll never go back.
Good advice about plastic wedges. All mine are metal and I was hesitant to cut too close. I'm impressed with the trucks pulling ability too, with good traction we couldn't find anything too big for it.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
You're gonna love what a difference those wedges make, and so simple. Just stop cutting about half way, stick the wedge in, pound on it to set it, pick the saw back up and continue the cut.
Get you a 6 pack of the 6 in orange wedges..they will break eventually..You can get a belt wedge pouch..keeps them handy...it doesn't take much to set them in a cut since your just bucking...a small dead blow hammer is easier on them vs your maul.
PA Fire Bug
Feeling the Heat
I have been able to get out of trouble a couple of times by removing the bar and then using a spare chain to make a new cut. Taking time to use wedges is a better idea but it isn't always easy to see when the bar may get pinched.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Before I discovered the wedges, I had some epic battles with pinched bars. Now if there's any chance, I take the 30 seconds to set the wedge. Life is much better now.
Tension in the logs can be a bummer but tension that is higher up, especially if you are doing after storm cutting can really throw you a surprise if your not experienced much. My problem once was that I was on a roll and I didn’t stop to look at branches that were in a mess and the saw got knocked out of hands running fast and the chain chewed up my pants good and a bit of some leg skin too but not too bad. But yeah pinches stink.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
I just carry one in each back pocket. I use a 2 lb. “engineers hammer”, which is basically a small sledge with a short handle. Cut half way, idle saw, pound wedge in, finish cut. No need to remove the saw from the cut, if you can support it idling with one hand and work the wedge with the other.
I buy the yellow ones... cheaper than the orange (Stihl brand), and every bit as functional.
I think the orange ones I got from Ebay were a generic brand...I have them in stock in both trucks....I don't leave home with out them...
Yes a second saw is really nice to have especially when you do something boneheaded like set your saw on the spare tire & get to rammy dragging a log out of a brush pile. Nothing quite as satisfying as watching your saw in slow motion pop off the flatbed & splaton the ground thru your mirrors.
. Luckily it just busted the handle.Attachments
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Just a broken handle in that situation is great. Stressful during, though.Yes a second saw is really nice to have especially when you do something boneheaded like set your saw on the spare tire & get to rammy dragging a log out of a brush pile. Nothing quite as satisfying as watching your saw in slow motion pop off the flatbed & splaton the ground thru your mirrors.
Tonight I was trying to finish cutting up a 14” locust that has been down for years, it’s still solid. Attacked it with my 011 & low kickback back chains, I would equate that to a mosquito attacking a grizzly. When I go to get my handle I will be picking up some slightly more aggressive chains.
I had that experience once with some 50 year old hedge (Osage Orange) fence posts. I decided they did not need cutting that bad.
Wedges help. Even better is to read the bind and cut the compression wood first, then cut the tension wood second. That comes with experience though.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Yep, best to have the experience to know, and situation that allows, cutting the compression wood first.
I seem to find myself in situations that don't allow that quite often, particularly out in the woods. Those wedges are like bumpers added to the gutters at the bowling alley. Adds a great margin of error and protects against lapses in judgement or mis-reads.
I'm ready to accept every advantage I can find.
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