I need to muffle my saw temporally. Any ideas?

[rustyb]

Why would anyone want to do that? Long story short. I kayak & there's a series of nice surf waves in a canal which is forbidden. There are lots of trees lining the banks to keep my surfing fun hidden. However, there are also trees blocking some of the surf waves. There's a lot of branches I'd like to trim but there are homes nearby and I don't really wanna be drawing attention to my activities.

So, I have an MS180 I thought might be a good canidate for this operation. Anyone have any ideas on how I might fabricate a quick and effective silencer?

When I was a kid, riding my moto-x bike through town at night, I'd stuff steel wool in the silencer and keep the RPM's down real low so not to blow the wool out. It worked ok but I'm leary of doing something like this to my saw in fear of damaging it.

 

[Bill G]

Your question can be answered very easily.

Use a pole saw.


Bill

 

[jimmyq]

How bout a nice sharp Zubat or Ibuki? they is plenty silent. So, uhm, whose trees are these ? should I ask?

 

[heviarti]

how about an electric saw?

 

[Bill G]

Originally posted by heviarti
how about an electric saw?

That might just take a real long cord

 

[Lawn Masters]

Originally posted by Bill G
That might just take a real long cord

not if its cordless

 

[rustyb]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Funny, after I posted that last night, I thought of a cordless saw. Perfect! However, being the tight wad I can be, I was hoping to keep this low budget. If I could purchase a cordless for under $50, then maybe....

Pole saw? Isn't that similar to a weedeater with a saw attached to the end? And wouldn't that make similar amounts of noise as a weedeater?

And I'm not familar with Zubat or Ibuki. I'll have to do a search.

As to "whose trees are these", good question. They are in the canal companies right-of-away and they are generally in charge of maintaining them. However, this particular canal seems to, more or less, get ignored from the canal company. They're just trees that have come up on their own and grow rampant...mostly willows. I want to keep it on the low-down as any recreational activity in that right-of-way is generally frowned upon.

 

[Newfie]

"And I'm not familar with Zubat or Ibuki. I'll have to do a search."


Hand saws for pruning. No emissions, no noise.

 

[rustyb]

Newfie,

A hand saw was my first thought but being there are probaby more than 150 2-6" limbs I'd like to trim over the course of 2 miles, I ruled that out fairly quickly. I wish I were that ambitious but.....

Thanks for the info though.

r

 

[jokers]

Hey rusty,

A good handsaw will make short work of the limbs that you speak of.

Are you sure that you will not be arrested for tresspass for doing what you propose? Even a right of way for a municipal(tax payer owned, in essence) utility does not grant unauthorized access and those branches may be providing a natural restriction of access to an "attractive nuisance" type hazard and liability. Ironic as it may sound, not only might you be arrested and prosecuted if caught on the canal, but you might have to restore at your own expense the barrier which once existed naturally.

Have you considered that possibility?

Russ

 

[xander9727]

Something tells me that this isn't a fully thought out plan.:Monkey:

 

[rustyb]

xander9727,

You're correct but it isn't my plan that wasn't fully thought out. It was the way I presented it due to posting in haste last night & again this am. It's not like I'm committing murder with my saw. I just wanna trim a few branches which no one cares about and not draw any more attention than need be. If word gets out then there'll be hordes of other local kayakers wanting in on the action then the powers-to-be will shut it down to all (yes, it has happened in an adjacent county before). If there's a few of us, the canal company looks the other way.

And, for anyone concerned with the potential legalities, let me assure you the cutting of the few branches I want is the equivalent of driving 56 in a 55 MPH zone. It's no big deal.

So, back to the original question. Any clever ideas floating around out there how I can rig up a temporary muffler which is very quiet and easy to make? C'mon, I figured the ideas would be flying in. Perhaps the topic "which is better Stihl or Husky" would garner more interest....

 

[xander9727]

Spend a few dollars and hours with a $15 bow saw. If it takes a couple of trips who cares, it'll just make the story that much better in a few years.

 

[Bill G]

Originally posted by oldsaw-addict
not if its cordless

OSA,
You have confirmed my assumptions.

Rusty,

It seemes it all comes back to what I said originally and others have posted. Do the work by hand. Use a pole saw (hand operated). I assumed you were talking about high limbs. If you are pruning close to the ground do as one suggested and use a bow saw which will be much faster. Anyone who has ever cut willow knows how fast it cuts. You will get done much quicker than you think.


Bill

 

[heviarti]

high output industrial computer UPS (IE multi server) + extension cord + electric chainsaw == cordless saw?

 

[heviarti]

if the ups is that big you'll need to move it with your car anyhow..

 

[rmihalek]

I had authorization to cut some wood on private land, and one of the nearby neighbors complained saying that the noise was too much. I took out my roll of silencer packing material for my dirt bike (the material resembles fiberglass) and put a thick layer on the exhaust side of the muffler on saw, in between the spark screen and the outer muffler casing. Turns out, it barely did anything to attenuate the noise.

On a separate occasion, we had some microbursts level a bunch of trees in the local woods that were some of the best mountain biking trails around. However, mountain biking was not formally permitted in this area, even though most bikers knew about it. So, we couldn't expect the town to come through and clean up the trails, since they officially didn't exist. What do to? I got out my cheapo hand saw with scabbard, slipped it into my hydration pack, and on every ride I'd stop and clear a few trees. I even managed to saw through a 12 or so inch diameter oak on one trip. After a few weeks of this, the trails were clear. One time I was out there riding, had my saw with me, and saw two mountain bikers with a 4 foot crosscut saw doin' the same thing. I never got around to asking them who carried the saw when they were riding.

So, go with the silent handsaw, be patient, and reap the benefits.

 

[Crofter]

This post got me thinking about the swede saw again. I just posted about getting new decent blades.
Back about 1955 my father had a Polish fellow cut pulp for him on shares. Dad was using an old PM Woodboss chainsaw and there wasnt much difference in what they got cut in a day. That fellow sure could sharpen a saw. I remember hearing the wisp, wisp, wisp it would make cutting.

What did I say not too long ago about "The good old days are remember best by those with failing memorys", now where were we? I think I found MB's pipe tobacco!