cutting frozen wood

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rmihalek

Where's the wood at?
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Are there any changes that should be made to a standard sharpening process for cutting frozen hardwood?
 
on average you bet. first you will cut your rackers more for frozen but it depends on what type of wood and how much water is in the tree when frozen the more water frozen the harder it will cut
 
Ed, Rackers?-Are you NUTS? ;)

The "rules" from years gone by. File top plates to 25-30 degrees instead of 30-35 degrees. Set depth gauges to .020 instead of .025 or .030. My advice-Don't worry about it. (But I stay inside when the temps go below the teens.)
 
I think Stumper has the best advice "But I stay inside when the temps go below the teens"
Well said!
 
My uncle used to cut all the wood for the furnace and kitchen stove on the coldest days of the year, often OF or less, as the tractor would disappear outta sight into the swamp if you tried to cross it when it was warmer. :p Frozen hardwood, at least maple in my experience, is a lot easier to split when it is really frosty. As for the saws they seemed to work OK as well, but I do recall a couple of days when I worked outdoors in Ottawa two years ago when they would not run at all, mind you that might have been caused by V's lousy maintenance.
 
it is the same for splitting trees cutting in the real cold weather, if it is - 20 F, and I came on to real nice red oak or cherry, It was not worth the chance on splitting it, most splitting came from the top back towards the stump and when real cold it did not matter what you did when she hit the ground snap, so just leave it for a warmer day
 
I was out yesterday cutting waterlogged, 20-24" dead-fall Ash and Oak. The day started out at -18 Fahrenheit and climbed to -9 for a high. I used both 3/8 semi-chisel and full chisel and it worked well. I had more trouble keeping my pickup and saws from freezing up than I did with the actual cutting. I agree that it is nicer to cut when the weather is more pleasant, but, when you get the urge, you gotta go!
 
yes you have to work , I meant was I would go cut in a different place and leave all the green gold to a warmer day, it is just not worth the chance of ruinning the high dollar trees and around here A good bush you get 20% of your cut in high grade so there are lots of other trees to cut , it is not like cutting down there in the banana belt where Gypo cuts, where pretty much ever tree he cuts is high grade
 
As such, I don't find cutting frozen wood an issue unless it's during timed cuts where times are approx 40% slower, however, I do take exception to cutting logs with frozen mud on them.
Here's a rocked 72LG round filed.
John
 
This is a picture after the 90 second tickle. Due to improper lighting and a cheap camera the cutters don't look much sharper, but trust me, you can shave with any of my chains.
John
 
Hey John,HOW MANY HOLES YOU GOT IN THAT MUFFLER?The worst thing about cutting frozen is all the little critters that are hidden in the wood. :) Dan
 
I think the species of tree has alot to do with the amount of difference in how it cuts below freezing. When I cut beach, it cuts about the same as in the summer, but red oak causes alot of chain vibration when frozen. So I would guess it has to do with the natural water content of the species. Beach has a very low water content, and red oak is high. I think you would find kiln dried wood would cut the same no matter what the temp.
 
I've got a couple cords of 6 to 8 foot logs, mainly red oak and maple, to cut up. The stuff has been sitting on pallets since spring, so it's probably as dry as it's going to get. Based on what was said, it sounds like I don't have much to worry about since the water content is low.
Thanks to all!
 
You would have a hard time finding a hardwood with as high a water content as Red Oak (95% by weight when green).

Elm is way up there at 92-95%. Beech at 75% in the sapwood, 55% in the heartwood.

Even cut to dimensioned lumber size and professionally racked & covered, Red Oak is a 250-300 day drying job.

Ash is one of the quickest drying hardwoods I can think of, though it starts off as a comparatively very dry green wood.
 
I'll try changing the top plate angle and see how it goes. Rackers are already at 0.025" so I'd need to grind back on the cutters until I get the recommended 0.020" rackers. I may try that, but I'll test out the change in top plate angle first.

I guess the tremendous odor from drying red oak is due to the high moisture content when freshly cut.
 
If it wasn't below freezing there, that wood would dry out considerably now having just been cut and split.&nbsp; In my experience, wood that's only 18" long and not been split usually has a high moisture content as compared to wood from even the very next round, which <i>has</i> been split.
 

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