How to cut very large wood

[drozenski]

Well the tree guy that pays me to dump wood on my property dumped a nice load of silver maple. Great! i thought as he was telling me about it.


Well as he dumped the truck out comes this trunk, wider than a car. 41 inch's across, 5 foot tall and 7 feet long! :bug:

Well i only have a chain saw with a 18 inch bar.


Any one have any advice on how to cut this beast?


Here's my wife sitting on the log.

She's 5 foot 6 inch's tall

 

[smokinj]

18 should make it look for a flat spot in it......It will go! lol

 

[BrotherBart]

Lean over it and make your first cut straight down the other side. Then pull the saw across it over the top. If this sixteen inch bar 42cc saw could slice this red oak then yours should be no hill for a stepper.

Just could not bring myself to pick up that 23 pound commercial Poulan that day.

 

[wkpoor]

Here is how I do it. Having it off the ground is just a nice option but not required. Next it really helps alot to have a 80cc + saw with a short say 21-24" bar. BTW this has been demonstrated at my GTGs I hold. Make 2 noodle cuts to divide the the log in thirds. Then cut it off to your liking say 16-20" long. 3 pieces will fall off. Cut each piece in half and wala...9 easy to handle pieces. With the right equipment this goes very fast. If its on the ground and you can roll it then make the first 2 cuts then roll 90 degrees and make the next 2 cuts. When you cut it to length all 9 pieces will separate.
If you cut your own firewood you really need 3 saws. 1 limer, 1 mid size say 45-60cc, and 1 80cc +plus. If you have a woods ported saw that will substitute for 10-20cc more in size. My Husky 346 is 40% more than stock and will easily out cut any 60cc saw with a full comp full chisel 3/8 chain.

 

[BrotherBart]

I could buy c/s/d for the rest of my life for half the price of the tractor. :coolsmirk:

 

[Thistle]

lol no kidding. I'd love to have a skidsteer loader with rubber tracks,bucket & grapple claw.Unless I win LOTTO sometime soon,it aint happenin'.

 

[wkpoor]

I could buy c/s/d for the rest of my life for half the price of the tractor. :coolsmirk:

You don't need any equipment to practice good sawing techniques. I sawed my own firewood for 25yrs before I went to my first GTG. What an eye opener it was. You can't imagine how much saw and sawing knowledge you will pick up on in one afternoon. All kinds show up from novice to pro. You'll learn about your saw, your chains and safety. BTW I use that tractor just about everyday for alot more than firewood.
Maybe you get the idea I don't do small.

 

[wkpoor]

lol no kidding. I'd love to have a skidsteer loader with rubber tracks,bucket & grapple claw.Unless I win LOTTO sometime soon,it aint happenin'.

Mostly its all in priorities. I don't drive a nice new expensive truck. That tractor didn't cost as much as one of those little CUTs. The bigger they are the cheaper they are to buy. Same with my saws. I have nice fast hot rodded saws that for the most part cost less than the little limers you guys buy at the box stores.

 

[BrotherBart]

I could buy c/s/d for the rest of my life for half the price of the tractor. :coolsmirk:

You don't need any equipment to practice good sawing techniques. I sawed my own firewood for 25yrs before I went to my first GTG. What an eye opener it was. You can't imagine how much saw and sawing knowledge you will pick up on in one afternoon. All kinds show up from novice to pro. You'll learn about your saw, your chains and safety. BTW I use that tractor just about everyday for alot more than firewood.
Maybe you get the idea I don't do small.

We all gotta have a hobby. I keep it simple. My hobby is heating this joint with the cash crop on the place. Large weeds. As cheaply as possible. Monster chainsaws and tractors are just taking the hobby to extremes.

And that ain't bad. What ever blow yer skirt up.

 

[Thistle]

lol no kidding. I'd love to have a skidsteer loader with rubber tracks,bucket & grapple claw.Unless I win LOTTO sometime soon,it aint happenin'.

Mostly its all in priorities. I don't drive a nice new expensive truck. That tractor didn't cost as much as one of those little CUTs. The bigger they are the cheaper they are to buy. Same with my saws. I have nice fast hot rodded saws that for the most part cost less than the little limers you guys buy at the box stores.

I dont have a new truck either.'98 GMC 4x4 that I bought in late 2004,1 owner.Its now got over 200,000 miles on it.Most of any extra money I get from working overtime or side jobs goes back into my part-time cabinet shop,furniture restoration business & working on this 85+ yr old house.Hope to go full time eventually,just biding my time until retirement in about 15 yrs.

 

[wkpoor]

Monster chainsaws and tractors are just taking the hobby to extremes.

I guess its all in the crowd we hang with. To some I own little saws and to others they are monsters. hehelololll. Most of my neighbors have 150-200hp tractors so mine is the lawn mower. Guys come to my GTGs with 5' bars on 110CC saws. Its all in your prospective. Hang out over at Arborististe for a while, or racesaws.com. Your prospective will change. Many will ask why a person needs a 2K Hearthstone stove when a 200.00 one off CL will do just fine.
We all draw the line in a different place I guess.

 

[okotoks guy]

Get yourself a Fiskars SS and give it 1 hit in the centre with about 1/2-3/4 power. That will cut it in half.
Then repeat until desired size is achieved.






I'm just kidding BTW. Take BrotherBarts advice a few posts up,it's bang on.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Well the tree guy that pays me to dump wood on my property dumped a nice load of silver maple. Great! i thought as he was telling me about it.


Well as he dumped the truck out comes this trunk, wider than a car. 41 inch's across, 5 foot tall and 7 feet long! :bug:

Well i only have a chain saw with a 18 inch bar.


Any one have any advice on how to cut this beast?


Here's my wife sitting on the log.

She's 5 foot 6 inch's tall

Use some of that money he pays you and go buy a real saw.

 

[MarkinNC]

As I recall from an earlier post, you have a firewood business of sorts. To me it is crystal clear you need a big saw. I would say 70cc pro saw minimum.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

As I recall from an earlier post, you have a firewood business of sorts. To me it is crystal clear you need a big saw. I would say 70cc pro saw minimum.

Agreed (is a NON-pro 70cc saw even on the market?).

 

[Thistle]

As I recall from an earlier post, you have a firewood business of sorts. To me it is crystal clear you need a big saw. I would say 70cc pro saw minimum.

Agreed (is a NON-pro 70cc saw even on the market?).

Nothing that I've seen in the past 10 yrs.

 

[woodsmaster]

The best way to cut very large wood is to use a very large and very sharp saw. ;-)

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I could buy c/s/d for the rest of my life for half the price of the tractor. :coolsmirk:

You don't need any equipment to practice good sawing techniques. I sawed my own firewood for 25yrs before I went to my first GTG. What an eye opener it was. You can't imagine how much saw and sawing knowledge you will pick up on in one afternoon. All kinds show up from novice to pro. You'll learn about your saw, your chains and safety. BTW I use that tractor just about everyday for alot more than firewood.
Maybe you get the idea I don't do small.

We all gotta have a hobby. I keep it simple. My hobby is heating this joint with the cash crop on the place. Large weeds. As cheaply as possible. Monster chainsaws and tractors are just taking the hobby to extremes.

And that ain't bad. What ever blow yer skirt up.

BB large weed plants, thats sounds interesting.

 

[drozenski]

As I recall from an earlier post, you have a firewood business of sorts. To me it is crystal clear you need a big saw. I would say 70cc pro saw minimum.

Correct however so far all the money has been spent on doctors probing, poking and testing on my wife and I.. Were trying for child 1, but has been difficult. A pro saw isn't out of the question however at this time im stuck with my farm boss and a 18 inch bar.

I might be able to borrow my buddy's Stihl 044 with a 24 inch bar. Hummmm.

 

[midwestcoast]

As I recall from an earlier post, you have a firewood business of sorts. To me it is crystal clear you need a big saw. I would say 70cc pro saw minimum.

Correct however so far all the money has been spent on doctors probing, poking and testing on my wife and I.. Were trying for child 1, but has been difficult. A pro saw isn't out of the question however at this time im stuck with my farm boss and a 18 inch bar.

I might be able to borrow my buddy's Stihl 044 with a 24 inch bar. Hummmm.

If you have some time to mess with it you can buck that log with an 18" bar I'd say. You may not get it in just two cuts though. As was suggested earlier you can noodle it in place. You should only need one noodle cut per round, just make it off to one side, say 1/3rd (or even less) instead of right down the middle (much less noodling that way) then make your regular bucking cut on the side nearest the noodle cut. That should let the 1/3rd round drop of & now your bar is well long enough to cut the remaining 2/3rd round from both sides. I had to do a few rounds of a large oak that way when my 20" bar wouldn't reach the middle.

If you start getting wood that size more often this will get old pretty fast, It's not a great way to make firewood, but for just now & then you might just save the cost of a larger saw.