Noodling

[NCPT]

I tried my hand at noodling for the first time the other day....the rounds were too big to move so I thought I would saw them in half real quick like I see on videos posted here.

I give it a go and I get nothing but saw dust. I'm using a skip tooth chain and 25" bar on an ms440. It was cutting the tree great with good chips from the chain but when I went to noodle, I was getting dust. Is my chain not as sharp as I thought? I use a guide with everything in a vise and take my time. The tree was a very large white oak and I was trying to split some crotches.....with the saw. Not sure if the combo of a green oak and crotch were making it hard to cut. Thanks.

 

[cus_deluxe]

Were you cutting on the endgrain or along the grain? Cutting the endgrain is brutal, the way chainsaw milling is typically done.

 

[ammoaddict]

Is it possible you were ripping instead of noodling? Noodling makes very long strands of wood especially with a skip tooth. Ripping makes dust.

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[U&A]

Chainsaw bar should be “parallel” with the wood grain.


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[NCPT]

Chainsaw bar should be “parallel” with the wood grain.


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That's exactly what I was not doing. Dumb me didnt realize that would make such a difference lol.

 

[ammoaddict]

That's exactly what I was not doing. Dumb me didnt realize that would make such a difference lol.

It makes a very big difference. You'll see when you do it next time.

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[cgraham1]

Still can be a pain in the ass. Most saws you will have to stop periodically to clean “noodles” out of the clutch cover... some saws are worse than others.

 

[U&A]

I want spaghetti now


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[NCPT]

Forgive my ignorance on this. This is the biggest tree I have ever worked on and it has been nice to have a saw capable. We're finally getting to the trunk but having trouble handling the pieces. I didn't even think the grain could make such a difference, but I knew I wasn't doing something right and I give up after 2-3 attempts lol.

 

[NCPT]

 

[U&A]

Nice!

Id love an opportunity like that!


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[ammoaddict]

Don't sweat it man. I am 55 years old and have cut wood all my life and I didn't know what noodling was until I joined this forum. We always had to use an ax.

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[NCPT]

Don't sweat it man. I am 55 years old and have cut wood all my life and I didn't know what noodling was until I joined this forum. We always had to use an ax.

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That's what I ended up doing. Cutting an inch or two deep then using the wedge and maul.

 

[NCPT]

Nice!

Id love an opportunity like that!


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It has been an easy haul for firewood. We have split and hauled off 6-8 cords so far and still have the big stuff to go....could have got more but burned a lot of smaller stuff.
I have brought home probably two cords and hope to get two more.

 

[Acornhill]

I think that round was 48-54”


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[Wood Doctor]

I noodle cut big rounds all the time because I cannot lift them either. The bar must run parallel with the wood grain:

Support the round so that the chain does not hit the ground. Many times cutting them in half is not enough. You have to quarter them. Occasionally, they are so big that I have made six blocks. AcornHill apparently has made even more. Looks like his tree was hit by indirect lightning.

 

[Tinman204]

All the years of overhead work in the trades have left my rotator cuffs a bit worn..

So I do a lot of noodling, which keeps me from injuring my shoulders swinging an axe.

 

[Huntaholic]

Ive been wondering WHY you folks talk about noodling so much but I guess I understand now if that's all the firewood you have access to. I suppose I take it for granted when it comes to firewood. If I cant split it with the maul in a swing or 2 it gets pushed over the hill and I move on to better wood.

 

[heimannm]

It often work better to hold the bar around 45 degrees rather than parallel to the grain, shorter chips that don't clog the clutch cover so bad but still cuts quite nicely.

The SP125 clutch cover will indeed get backed with noodles if you cut parallel to the grain and make long noodles.



Mark

 

[grizz55chev]

I think that round was 48-54”


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Steel wedges, I’d ditch them suckers. Accident waiting to happen.