Cutting White Oak

[Ashful]

Odd. I have more trouble with nose sprockets, fibers getting jammed in the bar groove, fibers that don't cleanly sever dragging in the kerf, bars getting too hot, etc. when cutting green wood. I fell and cut a lot of green, and it's a treat when I get to go at something that's already been dead a few years. I'm cutting mostly oak, ash, and walnut, roughly 12 - 15 cords per year. I'm no pro, but I cut a lot more than the average burner.

 

[oldspark]

Then you know how fast a green log can be cut vs a dried one correct?

 

[billb3]

I'd rather cut just about any wood green vs seasoned with a chain saw

 

[Woody Stover]

True, kickback can occur... but I think my original statement holds true:


We are debating yellow label chain versus green label chain, with respect to helping the OP cut faster, not whether or not someone has ever bumped the nose of their bar on something.

I didn't dispute any of that, just took issue with the notion that potential kickback is not something to be taken seriously. Inexperienced users might read this thread and get the wrong idea.

But in my experience, a non-kick chain definitely reacts less to a given type of contact. If there was no difference, what would be the point of safety chain? How much it has diminished injuries is apparently something you have looked into....I have not.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

So you never had the top of the bar nose contact something, even a twig or a branch, and the saw rock back, even a little? That's amazing.

Contrary to what Dennis says, I would say, be concerned about kickback and be aware of where the nose of the bar is at all times, especially when cutting in heavy brush, because kickback does happen. And don't rely on the chain brake to save you from a mistake. Keeping your left arm straight when possible is another precaution you can take, as is keeping you thumb around the bar.

That is correct Woody, I haven't. I was taught to always be aware of where the nose of that bar is.

 

[firecracker_77]

I knocked 2 splits together of white oak split about 1 month ago. Not surprising...Made a thud noise, not the baseball bat sound I was praying for.

 

[Woody Stover]

That is correct Woody, I haven't. I was taught to always be aware of where the nose of that bar is.

So you are concerned about potential kickback and you take precautions to avoid it. Thanks for clarifying that.

I knocked 2 splits together of white oak split about 1 month ago. Not surprising...Made a thud noise, not the baseball bat sound I was praying for.

How long had those been split and stacked?

 

[Ashful]

Folks sure are snippy today... must be woodburner's withdrawl.

 

[Woody Stover]

Folks sure are snippy today... must be woodburner's withdrawl.

Well, we can always go CSS some more to blow off a little steam....

 

[oldspark]

Folks sure are snippy today... must be woodburner's withdrawl.

Not sure who yu are talking about but my question was just that a question, was wondering about the speed cutting through green wood, never have had the problems you described when cutting green wood.

 

[Ashful]

All I can say is that when I make a face cut in a 44" ash tree, pull out the cookie, and see an apparently unlimited river of water pouring out of the tree, I just know the rest of my day is going to be hell.

When I have the (rare) chance to cut dead stuff, perhaps the saw does work a little harder, but I know I'm not going to have the same issues with bar oiling, sprocket jamming, bar groove fouling, etc. So, I guess I'm not saying seasoned is faster than green, but that it's just so much less troublesome. As far as cut speed goes, when you have an 85cc saw with a 28" bar, the hardness of the wood is sort of irrelevant.

 

[Thistle]

That is correct Woody, I haven't. I was taught to always be aware of where the nose of that bar is.

Dad taught me the very same thing many many years ago.And the rest of it also.

 

[oldspark]

All I can say is that when I make a face cut in a 44" ash tree, pull out the cookie, and see an apparently unlimited river of water pouring out of the tree, I just know the rest of my day is going to be hell.

When I have the (rare) chance to cut dead stuff, perhaps the saw does work a little harder, but I know I'm not going to have the same issues with bar oiling, sprocket jamming, bar groove fouling, etc. So, I guess I'm not saying seasoned is faster than green, but that it's just so much less troublesome. As far as cut speed goes, when you have an 85cc saw with a 28" bar, the hardness of the wood is sort of irrelevant.

well I have a 80 cc saw with a 28 bar also but I can tell the difference, just dont understand why I dont have the same issues, when I make a horizontal cut when I am cutting down a green tree my 360 will jam up with the bar groove, my old big saw in over 30 years has never done that. Must be some thing they have changed in the bar design.

 

[oldspark]

I will add that bar jamming with my 360 does piss me off.

 

[firecracker_77]

So you are concerned about potential kickback and you take precautions to avoid it. Thanks for clarifying that.

How long had those been split and stacked?

About 1 month C/S/S. LOL!

 

[Ashful]

You're right, oldspark! I never have the jamming issues with my 064, which wears a Total Tsamura sprocket tip bar. The jamming issues were mostly with my previous 40 and 50 cc saws, both wearing Oregon sprocket nose bars. Only issue I have cutting lots of green with the 064 is the bar gets much hotter than cutting seasoned. The green wood really seems to clean the bar oil off the chain, as it's running 'round.

 

[Woody Stover]

About 1 month C/S/S. LOL!

Yep, it'll be a while before you get anything resembling a ringing sound out of that White when you knock it together. I've got some White that's been stacked two summers, double row, but it was split pretty large (for me...some are 6-8".) I may check a few splits this fall but I would think that's gonna need another summer for sure.

 

[Ashful]

I assume that when people talk about oak taking 3 years, they must be talking mostly about white. Red oak, by comparison, should dry fairly quickly. White's closed cell structure and higher resin content makes it a bear to dry. I can buy KD red oak timbers from a few suppliers around here, some specialty shops with their own kilns. When I ask about buying KD white oak timbers, they just laugh at me.

 

[Woody Stover]

I assume that when people talk about oak taking 3 years, they must be talking mostly about white. Red oak, by comparison, should dry fairly quickly. White's closed cell structure and higher resin content makes it a bear to dry. I can buy KD red oak timbers from a few suppliers around here, some specialty shops with their own kilns. When I ask about buying KD white oak timbers, they just laugh at me.

Huh. I had read the opposite here a couple of times, that Red is slower. You are not doing much to raise my hopes on the White that if got stacked in a double row and split kind of big. I've had some Red that, after two summers, was pretty good. That was split smaller, though. It makes intuitive sense that White would be slower, as it is more dense.
Maybe the three years' drying also allows for a summer like this one. Shoot, the lowest humidities I'm getting in the afternoon here are barely getting below 60% a lot of days. And that's in town where it's hotter. I really need to get a weather station set up here at home....

 

[oldspark]

Yea I read on here it was slower but found a couple of sites that said it was quicker then white oak.

 

[Ashful]

So, I did a little digging on this, and what I found was interesting. Red oak does indeed dry faster than white oak, in fact about 50% faster, in terms of grams of water loss per day. However, red oak also starts off with a higher moisture content than white oak, which offsets the advantage of faster water loss. In the end, the time to reach equilibrium MC% is pretty darn close to equal, for the two species. Varying conditions drive varying results, which is why you find claims going both ways.

 

[Woody Stover]

So, I did a little digging on this, and what I found was interesting. Red oak does indeed dry faster than red oak, in fact about 50% faster

So if I get some more Red, it may dry faster than the Red I have stacked now, and if I do that a couple of more times, I will have some Red that will be dry in one year? Sweeeeet!
Seriously, I think I get the drift of what you're saying....but the introduction of green Oak threw me for a loop.

 

[Ashful]

So if I get some more Red, it may dry faster than the Red I have stacked now, and if I do that a couple of more times, I will have some Red that will be dry in one year? Sweeeeet!
Seriously, I think I get the drift of what you're saying....but the introduction of green Oak threw me for a loop.

Oops... typo. Fixed now.