hboy43
ArboristSite Lurker
Hello:
I am new here. I was referred here by someone from the usenet group misc.rural.
I am a new rural resident (Central Ontario, 200 km west of Ottawa) with 28 acres of mostly sugar maple bush. I acquired a Stihl 017 5 years ago and have used it to process probably 10 cords of wood from trees on my property. I am highly amateur at the forestry business obviously, but touch wood, I havn't come even close to killing myself yet. It helps that probably 95% of the trees are under 10 inches and 99% are under 12 inches. I know you pros wouldn't have much to do with such a small saw, but for me being undersized and slow (and safety chained!) adds a measure of safety.
I only ever saw about 2 tanks a day and between sawing, I haul wood by various "armstrong" methods. This time of year a little sled I made with old downhill skiis. So I am not too concerned about fatigue issues that a larger saw would address, I am worn out by moving wood far sooner than cutting it.
So I am inclined to think that I have about the right saw for me with one exception. I want to be able to repair it myself and Stihl won't release technical manuals as a matter of policy. Don't know if it is a move to thwart liability, or a move to protect the dealership repair monopoly. Probably a bit of both. I have a copy of "Chain Saw Service Manual 10th ed", but the section devoted to the 017 really isn't all that helpful to me. If I had 10 years experience with small engines, it would probably do just fine.
The current problem is that I was a little forceful the other day and pulled out the upper "anti-vibration rubber mount". It does not seem possible to just push it back in as the insider "retainer" (no reference to this part in manual mentioned above) prevents it. But I cannot remove the inside retainer without doing some (to me) major disassembly. I don't want to make a catastrophic blunder, but I also don't want to be trotting to the dealer (70 km round trip) for every little thing.
You know, maybe for my needs a 2 man cross-cut saw would be the right tool as I have a book that will tell me how to maintain and sharpen it. But I don't have the second man (grin). Seriously if a manual solution is feasible for 5 cords annually, please point it out to me. I am not excessively strong, but I am youngish (43) and retired in the sense that I don't have a job to go to every day, so speed isn't a big factor, especially when there isn't much else productive to do around here in the middle of winter. I like being outdoors and it keeps me fitter.
Maybe Husqvarna has a similarly sized saw and maybe they will release technical data.
Anyhow I don't have a whole lot to add as a rank amateur, so I will mostly observe form the sidelines. I would be very interested in hearing from people in a similar situation, especially with regards to how you move the wood. I don't really want a mechanical or biological beast on the payroll (yet, we'll talk again when I am doing this at 60 or 70). Unfortunately though, my wood is downhill from the house by an elevation change of as much as 10 or 15 metres. Plus the terrain rolls, so even some kind of manual or electric motorized winch arrangement doesn't look feasible either. I am in defenite need of a clever idea here. Best one so far is to build a cargo tricycle with a 500 pound capacity and really low gearing. I am a cyclist anyhow so it would be a natural approach. Then I figure that 5 cords (wet) is about 40,000 pounds is about 80 trips per year at 15 minutes a trip.
Cheers,
Jonathan
I am new here. I was referred here by someone from the usenet group misc.rural.
I am a new rural resident (Central Ontario, 200 km west of Ottawa) with 28 acres of mostly sugar maple bush. I acquired a Stihl 017 5 years ago and have used it to process probably 10 cords of wood from trees on my property. I am highly amateur at the forestry business obviously, but touch wood, I havn't come even close to killing myself yet. It helps that probably 95% of the trees are under 10 inches and 99% are under 12 inches. I know you pros wouldn't have much to do with such a small saw, but for me being undersized and slow (and safety chained!) adds a measure of safety.
I only ever saw about 2 tanks a day and between sawing, I haul wood by various "armstrong" methods. This time of year a little sled I made with old downhill skiis. So I am not too concerned about fatigue issues that a larger saw would address, I am worn out by moving wood far sooner than cutting it.
So I am inclined to think that I have about the right saw for me with one exception. I want to be able to repair it myself and Stihl won't release technical manuals as a matter of policy. Don't know if it is a move to thwart liability, or a move to protect the dealership repair monopoly. Probably a bit of both. I have a copy of "Chain Saw Service Manual 10th ed", but the section devoted to the 017 really isn't all that helpful to me. If I had 10 years experience with small engines, it would probably do just fine.
The current problem is that I was a little forceful the other day and pulled out the upper "anti-vibration rubber mount". It does not seem possible to just push it back in as the insider "retainer" (no reference to this part in manual mentioned above) prevents it. But I cannot remove the inside retainer without doing some (to me) major disassembly. I don't want to make a catastrophic blunder, but I also don't want to be trotting to the dealer (70 km round trip) for every little thing.
You know, maybe for my needs a 2 man cross-cut saw would be the right tool as I have a book that will tell me how to maintain and sharpen it. But I don't have the second man (grin). Seriously if a manual solution is feasible for 5 cords annually, please point it out to me. I am not excessively strong, but I am youngish (43) and retired in the sense that I don't have a job to go to every day, so speed isn't a big factor, especially when there isn't much else productive to do around here in the middle of winter. I like being outdoors and it keeps me fitter.
Maybe Husqvarna has a similarly sized saw and maybe they will release technical data.
Anyhow I don't have a whole lot to add as a rank amateur, so I will mostly observe form the sidelines. I would be very interested in hearing from people in a similar situation, especially with regards to how you move the wood. I don't really want a mechanical or biological beast on the payroll (yet, we'll talk again when I am doing this at 60 or 70). Unfortunately though, my wood is downhill from the house by an elevation change of as much as 10 or 15 metres. Plus the terrain rolls, so even some kind of manual or electric motorized winch arrangement doesn't look feasible either. I am in defenite need of a clever idea here. Best one so far is to build a cargo tricycle with a 500 pound capacity and really low gearing. I am a cyclist anyhow so it would be a natural approach. Then I figure that 5 cords (wet) is about 40,000 pounds is about 80 trips per year at 15 minutes a trip.
Cheers,
Jonathan
