Cutting Frozen Wood

[GeorgeWLogger]

I have been cutting alot of frozen hardwoods and noticed that my chain is dulling very quickly. I am using oregon DG because it is supposed to run sharper longer in dirty or frozen woods. Can anyone provide me with some help on this. Would I be better off running an LG? What are you suggestions.

Thanks,

GeorgeW

 

[bwalker]

I use to run semi chisel during the winter, but now I only use full chisel. The full chisel is faster and I dont notice much of a change in stay sharp time with it. Thats with clean wood though. Cutting tops, firewood on dirty ground and I still use stihl or carlton semi chisel.

 

[JimL]

Won't see me using any semi chisel chains. Still looking for some full chisel 1/4" chain for my 020 av.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi George, if you are having problems with cutting frozen wood, I wood try going with the shortest bar possible and stick with RS or LG chain. Melted snow can dillute bar oil by whiping the oil and water into a froth. The shorter the bar, the more lube you will have on the bar. I dont believe that frozen wood as such will cause problems, but cutting below minus -15C will.
John

 

[GeorgeWLogger]

John,
I was cutting some cherry that was taken down over the summer by flatline winds. I was using an 026 with a 16 inch bar, with 72DG chain, but the wood was covered with snow. Perhaps it was not the frozen wood but the snow that covered it that caused my chains to loose thier edge quickly. Do you recommend using LG or RS for all cutting applications? I started using the DG this summer when felling some large Popular Trees and noticed that this chain(DG) stayed sharp much longer than the RS/LG I had used in the past.

I have another question for the "Master" I have converted my 028 Supers and 026's to 3/8 chain. In your opinion what is the largest bar I could use on these saws with harming cutting performance? I used these saws for cutting smaller trees and wood and would not be using a 24 inch bar fully buried in wood.

Thanks,

GeorgeW

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi George, its just my view, but those saws are best suited to a 16" bar. I hate to see a long bar on a little saw. What happens is the operator does this so that they dont have to bend over as far. As a result they generaly get into the bad habit of using the tip to much, especially when bucking smaller wood.
Since granite is granite, and wood is wood, it is of no use to use anything other than full chisel. Abrasive material is not more gentle on chipper than it is on chisel, I think, so "stay sharpability" is a non word. I dont think a chain of any type allows the operator to cut rock with abandon.
I find it is very sacreligious to push dull chain of any type. Filing every tank, very gently, will ensure that you will become a proficient filer, along with a productive day. We all contact abrasive material when we cut, but it is what we do about it and how we avoid it that counts. Keeping rakers above 25 thou will reduce the damage to chain that has touched frozen mud or rock.
Although LG is softer and easier to file than RS, I am content to use either one. Sorry about the rant, but full house chisel is the only way to go for me.
John

 

[bwalker]

Hey Greg, Where did you find the cherry at around Gwinn. About the only hardwoods I have seen up there are oak and maple.

 

[GeorgeWLogger]

BWalker,
I was cutting with my brother down state. He needed some wood for his woodstove.
GeorgeW

 

[jokers]

Staysharp...

is a term rather than a word, just like horsepower. I hate to disagree with you on this issue John, and I don`t entirely, but the different working corner profile of semichisel does hold up better to less than ideal conditions. I don`t profess to know all the mechanics involved but I believe a large measure of the decreased loss of efficiency in dirty conditions has alot to do with the increased area of the working corner of semichisel. On your chisel chain you have a very small area doing most of the work so all the force is concentrated there. The dispersal of work over a larger area is also what causes the semi to cut a bit slower. Of course no chain is going to cut well after diving in the dirt or anything else that isn`t wood. I agree wholeheartedly that that careful attention to what you are cutting and frequent minor sharpening is the key to efficiency. BTW, I also suggest chisel chain in the winter unless you are blocking logs that were skidded through wet spots. Russ

 

[Acer]

Re: Staysharp...

Originally posted by jokers
is a term rather than a word, just like horsepower. I hate to disagree with you on this issue John, and I don`t entirely, but the different working corner profile of semichisel does hold up better to less than ideal conditions. I don`t profess to know all the mechanics involved but I believe a large measure of the decreased loss of efficiency in dirty conditions has alot to do with the increased area of the working corner of semichisel.

I've got to agree with Russ here. I use semi chisel because most of the stuff I cut has crud in it somewhere. I've been working on roadside hegdes recently, and the wood is dirty. Muck from the road lands on the wood and the wood grows around it, insects fill cavities with sand, etc. By the end of each tankful the semichisel chain is pretty dull. I'm using full chisel at the moment, thanks to a mistake by my dealer (no time to take it back now), and it goes from very sharp to very dull very quickly when it hits dirt. When that leading point is gone, that's it. I think it does cut faster, but that's not much of an advantage to me. If I were harvesting, then that would be different..

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Russ, I see what your saying about chipper taking more of a beating, but I still think chipper chain should be reserved for those that cant or wont file, or simply those that delude themselves into thinking that it is somehow better. How's that for a run on sentence?
Chipper chain is also fine for low performance saws and unprofessional woods workers. If we are forced to cut dirty wood, all the chipper chain in the world wont make for a productive day.
Buying a 1000$ modified professional saw and slapping on a chipper chain so we can go and cut a cord of dirt and rock impregnated Bulgarian Bugwood seems to goes against the grain, however, it might work on an 031, 041G, 090G etc.
Using chipper chain simply cannot circumvent the responsibility of the operator to not only file correctly and often, but also to do everything possible to avoid abrasive material. There is just no easy way around technique.
Russ, I finaly learned how to do a proper felling cut, but I think I left in a bit of a dutchman.
John

 

[jokers]

Hi Gypo, I agree with your points, it`s all about productivity and blasting`em off the stump. BTW, I see that you have adopted the Willock as your notch technique. Nice work! Russ

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Russ, thats a good point you make about cutting, its not necessarily about productivity as you say. Sometimes I need to step back and view things from the casual users point of view.
If I dont work in the woods for a month or so, then my first day back always seems like my first day in kindergarten.
Anywho, I am pumped up now, and the chips are just freakin flyin! Glad you like my notch.
John

 

[Ryan Willock]

hey!! hey!! now Russ you wouldn't be pickin on my notches now would you???? LOL i swear make one big notch to keep things on the stump and people just won't leave it alone!LOL John, did that tree stay on the stump or did your hinge break half way down???

 

[JimL]

With a hinge that big it probably sprung back up.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hi Ryan, the Willock notch will be sure to go down in history and will be talked about in all better cabins from Kalamazoo to Dawson City. It's a real working felling cut and it brings a whole new dimension to the word sidewinder, but I like it.
John

 

[xander9727]

John,
Are there any cherry trees left within 100 miles of you?

 

[StIhL MaGnUm]

The Willock notch now thats a good one I'll have to add that notch to my bag of tricks it may come in handy some day .

Later Rob..

 

[jokers]

Hi Ryan, don`t look at my comment as picking on you, simply view my remark as giving credit where credit is due, LOL. Russ