getting a little faster

[mtngun]

Another day in the woods. Pretty much the same kind of day that I've written up several times before, so I'll try to point out a few new twists.

In a previous thread, I promised some pictures showing the terrain. Typical steep slopes, chest high brush, blowndown trees, stumps, old logging slash, thistles. It's all you can do to walk through this without breaking your neck. No ATV logging, no forklifts to lift the logs up for milling.

Note some trees were burnt 20 feet up by the slash fire when this area was thinned a couple years back. Douglas fir is adapted to wildfire and actually benefits from a low-level fire, but slash fires often get out of control and do a lot of damage. Some of these burnt trees will survive, some will die, and some will blow over during windstorms.

Here is the tree I will mill today. It is a blown-down doug fir, about 18" diameter. Naturally, it is on a steep slope below the trail, surrounded by thistles.

Looking down from the skid trail.

Using the Oly 980, I bucked the tree into 12 foot logs, then used the GMC skidder to drag them up to the skid trail. Sometimes the logs would hang up on a stump and I'd have to use the awesome Logrite peavy to point the log in the right direction.

 

[mtngun]

The Oly 980 died while bucking the log. It had been idling for several minutes while I was measuring the log, then when I picked the saw up and hit the throttle, it just died and wouldn't restart. Something is seriously wrong, but I haven't had time to diagnose the problem.

The CS62 finished bucking and limbing the logs.

Three 12' logs, on level ground, close to the truck..

I'm still using an old board for a guide because I haven't had time to get the unistrut set up. The board works fine, it's just getting a little warped.

This was cut with Bailey's ripping chain sharpened to 15 degrees, and the rakers filed using a file-o-plate. Later in the day I switched to a 12 degree chain. I honestly can't tell any difference between 10, 12, or 15 degrees, or any difference after using the file-o-plate. They all cut well when they are freshly ground, and they all slow down after a few boards.

This was 3 logs, now it is 15 boards and one 8" x 8" post, and I still had several hours remaining to top off the load with firewood. Compare that to last year when I would work my arse off to cut 10 or 12 boards in a full day. My saw is not cutting faster, but it helps to have the logs close to the truck and on decent terrain. I have also become more efficient at setup and I will try to discuss that in detail on a future thread.

On the downside, the Stihl's dual port muffler self destructed. Then on the way home, while collecting firewood, I managed to acquire another ding on the GMC skidder. Throw in the dead Oly 980 and it was a pretty sad day for equipment.

 

[clearance]

Thats ok, good show. I love those old GM trucks, they are the best. Looks like decent rear bumper.

 

[Brmorgan]

If the saw starts up fine once it's cooled off completely, try a new spark plug. If that still doesn't do it, the coil or ignition probably went south.

That's some pretty steep terrain! At least you were able to get the logs up onto more manageable terrain. On the other hand, that hill was steep enough that you could just start the mill and sit back and have a coffee while gravity does the job.

 

[BIG JAKE]

Looks like a good haul and I'm with Clearance on the truck. Good smooth cuts on the boards too!

 

[mtngun]

If the saw starts up fine once it's cooled off completely, try a new spark plug. If that still doesn't do it, the coil or ignition probably went south.

Good guess.

Plug looked OK. While I had the plug out, I checked compression. 142 psi cold, vs. 140 psi when I acquired the saw last summer. Shined a light inside the plug hole and things looked normal, maybe a little sooty because I tune rich but that's OK.

Looked for spark with plug out, couldn't see a spark at all. Tried new spark plug, still no spark.

Just in case the spark was invisible in the daylight, I sprinkled a little mix in the cylinder, installed the new spark plug, and tried to start it. Couldn't get it to pop at all. Since I know it has fuel and compression, but I can't see a spark or get a single pop, it's gotta be ignition.

That's as far as I got. I'm chin deep in projects at the moment, so the spark-less Oly may sit on the shelf for a while. Let's hope it's something simple like a bad ignition switch or a frayed wire.

 

[woodguy105]

That's some pretty steep terrain! At least you were able to get the logs up onto more manageable terrain. On the other hand, that hill was steep enough that you could just start the mill and sit back and have a coffee while gravity does the job.