"Seasoning" Fallen Wood before Bucking?

[Toasty-Yote]

This year I had a big cherry fall over at my dad's house and then had arborists take down some really tricky box elders that were hanging over my house. When I got to bucking them up, I found that what I thought was my very powerful Dewalt Flexvolt did not in fact like to cut large green logs at all. I was getting maybe six big cuts per battery which I am kinda ok with since I have three, but I also got the feeling that it was overall kinda hard on the saw; I don't think they were really meant for this kind of task.

My question is, if I were to leave the big chunks of box elder for a year, would it save much wear and tear on my saw due to being somewhat drier next year? I know there is likely to be some degree of rot but box elder has such crap BTUs anyway that I guess I am not losing much anyway. I guess I could skip it altogether and let it all go to the bugs but I am curious if leaving green wood for a year is a viable option in order to prolong the life of a saw.

 

[Dieselhead]

Some woods seem tougher when dry then wet. May be time to get a tool appropriate for the task. Battery saws are cute for homeowners that need to cut up an occasional limb but for the firewood enthusiast they seem to lead mostly to disappointment.

 

[MongoMongoson]

Box elder can really load up the saw with chips when it is green and that can make it work harder. My old Homelite could get completely packed full of chips to the point where I would have to stop and clean them out. Crazy. That is the only species I ever noticed that happening with... but it is also fun to watch the torrent of chips pouring out of the saw, until it chokes anyway.

I wonder... if you used a skip tooth chain on that saw it might work better. The skip tooth gives the chain more chip clearing capacity and maybe your saw would not have to work as hard.

Box elder won't season very well if you leave it uncut. It rots pretty quickly. It is best to get it cut split and stacked sooner rather than later or it will go punky on you.

 

[Toasty-Yote]

Thanks for the input. I have stopped bucking up the really big pieces for now. It doesn't seem worth it in terms of battery and motor wear when my dad's place down the road has so much nice dead standing apple, ash and maple that is about 6-10" diameter. I will pick at the box elder when I get bored and want to do a few quick cuts for fun. Mongo, very correct about box elder jamming up a saw. I had to take mine apart because the chips were getting in and jamming up the kickback trigger so the saw wouldn't run. I do think I will stick with the battery saw though. I live in the suburbs and only need about 4-5 cords a year so my Dewalt is good for making the neighbors hate me less. I feel like I already make enough extra noise between bucking limbs on the miter saw and splitting in my driveway.

 

[bholler]

Some woods seem tougher when dry then wet. May be time to get a tool appropriate for the task. Battery saws are cute for homeowners that need to cut up an occasional limb but for the firewood enthusiast they seem to lead mostly to disappointment.

My dad has switched over almost entirely to a battery powered saw for firewood and loves it. But he has a stihl not a dewalt.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Is your chain sharp?

 

[brenndatomu]

My brother has a Milwaukee battery saw that he likes a lot, and he has a whole fleet of pro saws to choose from too.
I like box elder for spring and fall firewood, have cut a bunch of it and never had any issues with plugging things up. My only issue with it is it's often not straight wood, so stacking neatly can be a challenge.

 

[Toasty-Yote]

Is your chain sharp?

Yes, I sharpen regularly although I cannot attest to how good I am at it. I know the saw works better after I do it so I must be doing something right...

 

[Toasty-Yote]

My brother has a Milwaukee battery saw that he likes a lot, and he has a whole fleet of pro saws to choose from too.
I like box elder for spring and fall firewood, have cut a bunch of it and never had any issues with plugging things up. My only issue with it is it's often not straight wood, so stacking neatly can be a challenge.

Yeah, a lot of knotty pieces end up in my ugly pile or just thrown into the woods for the bugs to enjoy. There are these big grubs that seem to favor box elder as their home.

 

[Highbeam]

Woods in my area, softwoods and hardwoods, tend to easiest to cut when green. Then as they dry get harder, then if they start to get punky get easier again. When green I feel like the wetness acts as a lubricant.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Yes, I sharpen regularly although I cannot attest to how good I am at it. I know the saw works better after I do it so I must be doing something right...

I'd look in to a gas powered saw. Even a cheap starter saw off Amazon is a start. Chinese clones have gotten decent reviews and cost as much as a battery. Im not saying ditch the battery saw, but when you run into things like this a decent gas saw goes along way.

If you want to get into wood burning it takes work to do it, its definitely rewarding but why make this any harder then that it already is. The object of the game is to see how efficient and easy you can make it.. not see have long we can struggle through it.

 

[4x4prepper]

imho, You should not buy ANY saw from Amazon, The so called 60cc saws are actually clones of RedMax 4000 45cc clones with .325 chain stretched so tight to get to 22 inches, once the chain slacks there is no adjustment. It got to a point where I just would not want to even look at these Amazon clone chainsaws even for a jumped chain.

The recoils break. the saws run terrible at 20:1, and if you run 40:1 you stand a good chance at smoking the saw.

A neighbor thought his Amazon 60cc special was all that, until the chain came apart doing a face cut. So, I ordered a new chain, went to cut with it to test it before giving back, and realized this is not even a 50cc saw. So, I let him use my modded Ryobi 10432 (? RedMax 4000 clone) running the bigger 3/8 low pro chain, the so called 60cc was not even close.

> tear on my saw due to being somewhat drier next year?

Saw chain is meant for cutting chips from green wood, the drier the wood, the quicker the chain dulls. I have owned a chainsaw mill off and on for about 20 years. The first words out of someone's mouth to discourage me from cutting logs is "it's been air drying for years". The ends are dried enough to dull chains and the insides are wet and punky.

> I thought was my very powerful Dewalt Flexvolt did not in fact like to cut large green logs at all

The best cordless chainsaws I have used have been the Atlas 80v 10" pole saw and 18". Though I bought a Ryobi 40v top handle saw for a tree climber and he de-limbed the whole 60 foot pine tree and dropped (3) 8 foot logs using one battery! The lower cuts were 12"+. I have a video of him using it.

That being said, none of these cordless saws compare to this HF special:

PORTLAND 42cc, 18 in. Gas-Powered Chainsaw

https://www.harborfreight.com/42cc-18-in-gas-powered-chainsaw-57436.html

It is actually a decent saw and as good as the older (20+ years ago) Poulan chainsaws. I actually like using it!

Is it a 92 cc Stihl MS-660? No, but, for a 13+- pound gas chainsaw running the common lo pro .050 3/8 chain on the A104 (?) mount it is pretty good. Unlike a battery powered chainsaw running the same chain, you can bury the Portland and force it, and it just digs in and cuts. Stalls out, just let up and press the trigger again. No BMS drama, just work, and performance.

I bought mine on sale for $149 plus tax, I should have bought two, but, between (2) MS660 clones and the Atlas 80v saws, a second small gas saw would just sit around rotting.