I would like to mill this White Pine that is down, what would be the best way to
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cut this so I won't pinch the bar.
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cut this so I won't pinch the bar.zap
Best Way
- Thread starter thewoodlands
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Undercut first then on top a few inches down on either side of it.Once part way down from the top,have a wedge handy just in case.Once its on the ground the fun can begin.Get it where you want with log chain or cant hook/peavey.
Gasifier
Minister of Fire
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Gasifier
Minister of Fire
If we had money the furnace would run, how is that new tractor working?
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No it wouldn't. You got the wood processing bug. It would not matter if you had the money. You love the woods, and the wood processing and burning. Nothing like it. I love it too. I just wish I had more time to do it. The tractor is running great. I managed to beat it up a little already. Been getting a bunch of work done with it over the last month.I was clearing some of that woods around my property and managed to drive a small sapling right up into the underside of the tractor. Hit the negative ground on the battery and broke the soft metal for the lead. Had to do a temporary repair to it with a piece of copper wire to finish the days work. Now I have to get a new negative ground for it some day. Oh well. Wouldn't be havin any fun if I didn't scratch it up a little. I have taken out many, many stumps and rocks with it. Leveled a good bit of ground, and moved quite a few heavy things. Love it. Can you tell? 
Sorry.
Glad that your getting good use of it, we talked about a tractor but will wait until we pay off certain things. When I saw this pine (we dry them vertical) it made me think of your comment about your pine not being ready.
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Zap; You make me laugh. LOL
You are asking us. You cut more down trees up than 5 of us put together.
At least it will be easy to cut all the limbs off close with it off the ground like that.
I'd mill it "right where it's at" . Cut some really long boards
You are asking us. You cut more down trees up than 5 of us put together.
At least it will be easy to cut all the limbs off close with it off the ground like that.
I'd mill it "right where it's at" . Cut some really long boards
Gasifier
Minister of Fire
That is a good drying strategy. I like that. We have a good number of those on the family property. Some of those are ready as soon as you cut them down. I was trying to clean up some of that slab wood I got from the Amish and stacked in the wrong place! 
Figured I would burn it instead of stack it again. You know how it is. You want to get an area cleaned up....... I am somewhat of a clean or neat freak. 
Or geek. One or the other. Have you had any problems with ticks? Noticed any?
So if I'm understanding this right you undercut first, then down the top a certain amount (wedge) then down the sides?
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Ticks, not yet but I'm sure that will change. It's time I sprayed my work clothes with the stuff I bought from Cabela's which will last for six washings.
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Gasifier
Minister of Fire
What is that stuff? I should check it out. A week or two ago my brother got a tick on him. He noticed it after it was too late to take it off himself. When he picked at it a little the legs went to squirmin. He said "Talk about gross." Went to the doctor and they removed it. Gave him some antibiotics. There has been no ring, no other problems. He was on our family property out behind my house a bit.
bogydave, I always did it different then what they mention, v the top then undercut it. Straight up, most of what I cut is down or leaners so I'm a novice compared to most of these guys, I only started cutting firewood in the summer of 2008 so when I ask a question about cutting I'm serious.
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http://www.cabelas.com/product/Camp...280|104774580|104401080&WTz_l=Unknown;pod7688
Bought this last year.
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So if I'm understanding this right you undercut first, then down the top a certain amount (wedge) then down the sides?
If you want to pinch your bar, I think that method would do it.
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Zap,
I think you were basically doing it right, only you shouldn't need to V-notch on this one. If I'm seeing things right you have a log suspended on both ends so the pressure will be down anywhere you cut between the ends. Cut on top first, just an inch or so, go over the far side and then back to the front side so you can line up those cuts from below and finish by cutting up from the bottom. The log will fall towards your bar opening as it does and not pinching. You're really only scoring the top and sides a couple of inches so it doesn't slab on you if it breaks before you get through it. And you can line up your front and backside cuts when you come up from the bottom. In general, always finish your cut against the direction of pressure and you shouldn't pinch your bar. If your top cut goes too deep, it will start to get pinched if the strain on the log starts to exceed the holding strength of its core. Only experience with your wood/size etc. gives you a handle on this, but you can usually feel this happening and can plan for it if your pulling your saw out as you cut that 2nd-3rd inch on top. I only pinch in this situation if I try to get too much cut on top before finishing from below.
The challenge to this are leaners like you have dealt with and if you have a root wad on one end that wants to stand back up so that one side of your cut wants to go up and the other side wants to go down.
Here is an example of cutting a blowdown with 12' rootwad attached that stands up rather quickly.
You also might want to put some chunks crosswise underneath that before you buck it so that it doesn't end up in the dirt. Look forward to the milling pictures
Yeah, there were a bunch of them here for a while (mostly dog ticks, couple of deer) but then it got dry for a couple of weeks, and there aren't too many around right now. They'll be back though. I need to find some kind of repellant I can make at home; Don't like chemicals, and that stuff ain't cheap...
Might be able to find it cheaper, but once diluted, this is pretty inexpensive to keep those little buggers off.
This formulation of naturally occurring pesticides is perfect for organic gardeners. Controls many insects on fruit, vegetables , ornamental flowers and trees. May also be used as a flea, tick and lice spray for dogs. Labeled for the control of fire ants. Mix 1 to 4 tsp. per gallon of water.
http://www.amazon.com/Pyrethrin-Spray-Concentrate-1-Pt/dp/B001E8X1RQ?tag=duckduckgo-d-20
This formulation of naturally occurring pesticides is perfect for organic gardeners. Controls many insects on fruit, vegetables , ornamental flowers and trees. May also be used as a flea, tick and lice spray for dogs. Labeled for the control of fire ants. Mix 1 to 4 tsp. per gallon of water.
http://www.amazon.com/Pyrethrin-Spray-Concentrate-1-Pt/dp/B001E8X1RQ?tag=duckduckgo-d-20
And I do it different. Cut the top first, but just a simple cut. Also when cutting the top, make sure you tip the saw to make a good cut on the far side. This creates a weak point so that if the tree decides to do something different than what you intended, it will break and go on the weak point side. So after the top cut (just cutting down far enough that it does not pinch), then do the undercut. I've cut so many like this that it is scary to try to count. But the good thing is that it works.
Just to let you know what can happen, one time we had a really bad leaner, on a much steeper angle than your pine. I explained to the fellow who was helping and he disagreed with me. I cut it anyway and while doing the undercut, that thing suddenly shot, and I really mean shot down. The weak spot took the tree that way and it happened so fast that in the blink of an eye it buried the end into the ground over a foot. Imagine what would have happened if that thing would have came like that on the side where I was! We talked about that one for a bit and I made a believer in that guy that day. The description I gave is difficult to follow what happened and the speed that it happened but it scared the what-not out of me just thinking about what could have been.
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