general questions on cutting firewood

[GASoline71]

its pretty tight, its as tight to the bar as I could get it and still move around the bar easily by hand( roller tip)

Your chain is too tight. When you tighten the chain, you should pull up on the bar and then take the slack out of it just until the chain touches the bottom of the bar. Then check your tension every so often when cuttin'. If you can see the chain saggin' (even slightly) after a few cuts... you need to retighten again.

Gary

 

[Lakeside53]

Dead trees... one way to be cautious is to wear a helmet, always... I've had a few near misses, and a couple of direct hits.. banging wedges into dead hemlocks and firs - 100+++ feet tall.. crap comes down real fast.

 

[ozarkjeep]

maybe, but its fairly loose, I mean I can move it around the bar pretty easily, it isnt sagging at all though.

i will loosen it up a bit and see how that works.

Your chain is too tight. When you tighten the chain, you should pull up on the bar and then take the slack out of it just until the chain touches the bottom of the bar. Then check your tension every so often when cuttin'. If you can see the chain saggin' (even slightly) after a few cuts... you need to retighten again.

Gary

 

[GASoline71]

maybe, but its fairly loose, I mean I can move it around the bar pretty easily, it isnt sagging at all though.

i will loosen it up a bit and see how that works.

No sweat. Just a guideline to use. Even if you can still pull a chain around a bar "pretty easy" it can still be too tight.

Gary

 

[Brushwacker]

Dust , sand, dirt etc. are more prevelant nearer the bottom of the tree. Some can't help but to get imbedded in the bark or wood. Surrounding conditions of course can be the difference why some trees get more junk on them then others which are fairly clean. If livestock has been grazed at sometime around the trees they have probably rubbed more then a reasonable amount of dirt off in the lower parts of the trees. If you cut in a recently used hog or cattle lot you will easily see the effect.

 

[Gypo Logger]

I think sparks are always flying, however, I have only witnessed this at dusk as mentioned. Some trees harbour sand grains that are exposed on the edge of a forest.
I cut my stumps as low as possible, just above the ground litter and can't say I have seen sparks unless I hit a rock.
John

 

[Fordman99]

have to agree with some of you on this about the sap.In my experience with dead oak,the older,drier it is, the harder it becomes.Try this..take a "green" piece of oak and an old seasoned piece..try driving a nail into each,darn near impossible with the dry stuff!!!...don't forget to pull the nail out before burning!!

 

[DGG]

I'm not trying to be a wise-guy here but are you cutting the same diameter log at the bottom of the tree as from the top? They get bigger the closer you get to the ground which puts more drag on the chain. I haven't noticed any difference on similar sized logs.

 

[ozarkjeep]

haha!

no, the trees were pretty straight and close to the same diameter, at least the sections I was cutting.

it was simply harder to get the saw to pull itself thru near the base of the tree.

Next time I will start at the bottom and see if the opposite is true.

I'm not trying to be a wise-guy here but are you cutting the same diameter log at the bottom of the tree as from the top? They get bigger the closer you get to the ground which puts more drag on the chain. I haven't noticed any difference on similar sized logs.

 

[mattinky]

I'm no professional but I have cut TONS of firewood in the last 20 years, I too have noticed that trees are tougher at the bottom. The bottom pieces are always harder to split too, I can't give you an answer as to why this is - I just accept it for what it is LOL!
Matt