1st job with the new Timber Wolf

[Spellfeller]

Well, this was a comedy of errors, but thankfully no painful or property damaging ones! The saw performed perfectly, it's the operator who needs improvement...

This tree (locust, I think) was dead as a doornail in my yard in Indy. Despite the Holy Bible taking about the challenges of smaller diameter trees and instructing me to do a plunge cut 90° to the notch just above the apex and wedge it, I completely ignored the advice. (Never ignore the Good Word!) Sure enough the back cut closed, pinched the bar, and the tree rolled to the right, falling about 45° off the lay I wanted and coming to rest hung up in a neighboring ash. Two neighbors helped me roll it off the ash, and it came down into the street. It was light enough to manhandle back onto my property for bucking.

Bucking went better, but I'm not used to the power of a saw that can roll a 10-foot length of 7" diameter wood back towards the operator. The ol' Poulan 2000 never did that!

There also was the total Noobiford McNewb moment when I couldn't move the chain by hand and thought, "Oh, my G-d, this new saw has seized after less than an hour of use!" I frantically took off the clutch cover to see if there was a jam of some sort, only to realize that I had the chain brake on.

All in all, this escapade was nothing to video for instructional use, that's for darned sure, but the saw was fantastic, and I got the job done safely--just with zero "style points."

Can't wait to buck the wood from a big poplar that has to come down. (I'm going to hire a pro for the felling; it's going to need a climber or a bucket truck.) After one short use though, I can't say enough about this particular Echo, very happy with the saw. It will get much more of a workout at my mother-in-law's in Western NC. I'll report from there and post-poplar.

Happy Cutting. Stay safe!

 

[AuerX]

Just take your time next time around, Always keep safety in your mind first.

The more comfortable you get, The more important it will become to stick to Safety procedures.

 

[Spellfeller]

You're so right, Finn. Taking measurements, doing the math for an 80% cut and a 10% hinge, slowing down and thinking things through is so important. My second felling went much better, but I still made mistakes. I feel like starting on smaller diameter trees (these were both around 8") gives you a slightly larger margin for error in case you screw things up.

 

[Handy Man]

It's a good thing that no one got hurt. We should take proper safety measures before going to action. It'll be bad to have someone get hurt, that'll not be a laughing matter. Your Timber Wolf Saw looks pretty awesome by the way.

 

[sac-climber]

Spellfeller,

Your candidness is admirable! May your chain stay sharp and your wood pile full