Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[MustangMike]

My brother has a few acres in Garisson NY that he is trying to sell. He got reports that a tree had fallen across his driveway and said there was another dead tree over there he wanted me to take down.

He did not know what kind either of them was, but I packed up a few saws and hooked up the trailer just in case any of it was good firewood.

On another note, since you guys were just talking about it, I took 3 saws that had not been run in about a year, and all 3 had 1/2 - 3/4 tank of fuel in them. I was VERY PLEASED that all 3 kicked on the 5th pull and started two pulls later! I guess my Amsoil Saber does a good job stabilizing the fuel!

I got there before my brother and was very pleased to see that the fallen tree was a Black Locust, and there was another standing dead Black Locust nearby! Glad I brought the trailer!

 

[Jere39]

Still not exactly sure capturing weather fallen trees on my own property is technically a "Scrounge". But, it would lay there for a couple decades gradually rotting unless I went and got it. So, here is another step in my recovery of a 32" DBH oak that fell during a wind event, whumped the earth pretty good, and then the butt bounced up and hung on one of my property corner concrete fence posts. Today I decided was a good enough day to snip off the end that was hung on the fence post:
(2:35 of patient, thoughtful sawing)



I needed to work from both sides, and it is obvious that disease and ants weakened the trunk, but I still couldn't get the whole way through with my 20" bar. It was split up from the bottom, so I carved out the small split that was not hung, then worked both sides of the larger split till it cut through and dropped.

There is plenty of good solid wood there for my firewood stacks:



Then, in boring fashion, I bucked for a while:
(2:09 at 8x bucking from each side)

 

[H-Ranch]

Some of these photos may be NSFW (not safe for woodworkers). I finally cut up the potential saw logs I had been leaving. The opportunity cost of saving them was more than the potential was worth to me. Oh well, there will be more. The nice thing is that the straight grain makes for some nice firewood. A few red oak logs, a black walnut, and a cherry. And a bonus honey locust from splitting the other day. The cherry still needs to be split and stacked. Slight breeze and shade from an elm and oak made for perfect work conditions.

 

[MustangMike]

I cut up the fallen tree before my brother arrived, and then we dropped the other one.

However, my brother then informed me that was not the dead tree he wanted me to take down. Further down the driveway was a large, dead Hard Maple. It was well over 30" in diameter.

I asked him why he did not tell me it was so big, as I would have brought my 661 with 32" bar, and he said (with tongue in cheek since it was dead for a long time) "it must have grown".

So, my MOFO 462 w/24" bar got the call, and after making the felling notch I notched each side to reduce the width of the hinge.

It was a very dead Maple. Even though I wore my helmet, my brother joked that I should also have football shoulder pads! I was thinking the same thing!

Luckily the 462 did a great job and it came down clean, and I put a nice load of Black Locust in the trailer and some extra in the truck!

 

[bob kern]

Some of these photos may be NSFW (not safe for woodworkers). I finally cut up the potential saw logs I had been leaving. The opportunity cost of saving them was more than the potential wss worth to me. Oh well, there will be more. The nice thing is that the straight grain makes for some nice firewood. A few red oak logs, a black walnut, and a cherry. And a bonus honey locust from splitting the other day. The cherry still needs to be split and stacked. Slight breeze and shade from an elm and oak made for perfect work conditions.
View attachment 990628View attachment 990629View attachment 990630View attachment 990631View attachment 990632View attachment 990633View attachment 990634

Yes sir that can make a woodworker cringe!!

 

[Kodiak Kid]

I

One of my favorite small saws till I got my 562xp was an old 026av. Woods ported it was quite a ripper, although I'd never run more then an 18" bar on it. I gave it to my dad and still like running it. But as mentioned it's more a limb saw then a felling saw around here if tour getting into 20" + trees. Thays what the bugger saws are for.

I agree It is a great little limber! However, I pretty much use it for camping or dinking around in smaller wood. Our Spruce is pretty soft when compared to hard woods. For thinning and cutting pecker poles, say 12" or less it works quit well also, and cuts pretty dang fast provided it's cutting soft wood with a short bar and .325 chain. I don't all put it in the "production saw" class. I can walk down the trunk of a downed three or four foot Spruce with my 660 or 661 with either a 32" or 36" bar and have all but the underside of the trunk limbed out flush close to the top in a matter of a few minutes. I really don't use the 260 in an industrial setting on a logging side. If that makes any sense.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

My biggest 16 round load to date! I would have gotten 18 on her but I ran out of straps!

 

[farmer steve]

Well here she is... View attachment 990619View attachment 990620
All I can say is wow. Light weight handles awsome. Very nice power output. Doesn't seem to have the low end grunt I'm used to but very lively up top. It's a little back heavy, but I think of it can handle a 24" bar it would valance out about perfectly. Can't wait to get a few tanks through it. Its very stingy on oil. Put half the tank through it playing here at the house and it still had nearly a full tank of oil. Guess that will need adjusted right out of the gate. Sorry husqy.... think I'm a stihl fan again.

Nice score Sean. I think it took 6-8 tanks on mine to break in. I have the oiler turned all the way up on mine and it seems to use just a tad over a 1/2 tank of oil to a tank of fuel. I put the OEM outer dawg on mine which seems to help when noodling.

 

[MustangMike]

I was at my local dealer a week or two ago. The only pro saws he had were one 261 and one 362.

Said he cannot get 400s, 462s or 500is.

 

[MustangMike]

K Kid, looks like you got a great looking - well behaved companion there!

Do you know what is in him?

 

[Lee192233]

I was at my local dealer a week or two ago. The only pro saws he had were one 261 and one 362.

Said he cannot get 400s, 462s or 500is.

Last week my dealer had two 261s, two 362s, a 400, a 462 and two 661s. Strange how the different territories get their allotments.

 

[chipper1]

Last week my dealer had two 261s, two 362s, a 400, a 462 and two 661s. Strange how the different territories get their allotments.

I had a dealer call me a couple nights ago, he didn't offer me any stihls though lol. He said they had just had a sale and had a 592 he could cut me a great deal on, really don't need a 90cc saw, and I'd rather keep the cash around for the barn, so not this time.

Started my old 353(non primer bulb saw) yesterday, it popped on the 2nd pull and fired on the third, it's been at least a couple months since I ran it last.

Our local stihl dealer an Ace Hardware doesn't have much in stock for pro saws. I said something about it to the owners son and he acted as if if was how it's supposed to be, last summer the shelves were fully stocked and they even had a 462(they don't normally stock 70cc saws, but order them as needed).

 

[chipper1]

I cut up the fallen tree before my brother arrived, and then we dropped the other one.

However, my brother then informed me that was not the dead tree he wanted me to take down. Further down the driveway was a large, dead Hard Maple. It was well over 30" in diameter.

I asked him why he did not tell me it was so big, as I would have brought my 661 with 32" bar, and he said (with tongue in cheek since it was dead for a long time) "it must have grown".

So, my MOFO 462 w/24" bar got the call, and after making the felling notch I notched each side to reduce the width of the hinge.

It was a very dead Maple. Even though I wore my helmet, my brother joked that I should also have football shoulder pads! I was thinking the same thing!

Luckily the 462 did a great job and it came down clean, and I put a nice load of Black Locust in the trailer and some extra in the truck!

That's a nice load Mike.
No reason to run the big saws if you have tricks to make the bigger trees go down with a smaller saw.

 

[chipper1]

Still not exactly sure capturing weather fallen trees on my own property is technically a "Scrounge". But, it would lay there for a couple decades gradually rotting unless I went and got it. So, here is another step in my recovery of a 32" DBH oak that fell during a wind event, whumped the earth pretty good, and then the butt bounced up and hung on one of my property corner concrete fence posts. Today I decided was a good enough day to snip off the end that was hung on the fence post:
(2:35 of patient, thoughtful sawing)



I needed to work from both sides, and it is obvious that disease and ants weakened the trunk, but I still couldn't get the whole way through with my 20" bar. It was split up from the bottom, so I carved out the small split that was not hung, then worked both sides of the larger split till it cut through and dropped.

There is plenty of good solid wood there for my firewood stacks:

View attachment 990627

Then, in boring fashion, I bucked for a while:
(2:09 at 8x bucking from each side)

Nice job getting it off that marker, tough to make decisions on punky wood not knowing just how soft it is.
Crazy it hopped up there like that.

 

[MustangMike]

That's a nice load Mike.
No reason to run the big saws if you have tricks to make the bigger trees go down with a smaller saw.

Nice to know how to do it with what you have, but it would have been faster, easier and safer with a longer bar saw.

Luckily, that ported 462 is a little beast!

I'm lucky I decided to refuel it after cutting up the Locust, before dropping the Maple, as I noticed the Locust had really stretched the chain, so I tightened it up before starting on the Maple. It is often the little things that keep you out of trouble! Losing a chain in that big tree would not have been fun!

 

[chipper1]

Nice to know how to do it with what you have, but it would have been faster, easier and safer with a longer bar saw.

Luckily, that ported 462 is a little beast!

I'm lucky I decided to refuel it after cutting up the Locust, before dropping the Maple, as I noticed the Locust had really stretched the chain, so I tightened it up before starting on the Maple. It is often the little things that keep you out of trouble! Losing a chain in that big tree would not have been fun!

It sure is.
I shaperned the chain on the 251 I picked up yesterday, and the chain was so tight I could barely turn it, and I run my chains tighter than most people I know.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Well here she is... View attachment 990619View attachment 990620
All I can say is wow. Light weight handles awsome. Very nice power output. Doesn't seem to have the low end grunt I'm used to but very lively up top. It's a little back heavy, but I think of it can handle a 24" bar it would valance out about perfectly. Can't wait to get a few tanks through it. Its very stingy on oil. Put half the tank through it playing here at the house and it still had nearly a full tank of oil. Guess that will need adjusted right out of the gate. Sorry husqy.... think I'm a stihl fan again.

Nice "79"

 

[sean donato]

Nice score Sean. I think it took 6-8 tanks on mine to break in. I have the oiler turned all the way up on mine and it seems to use just a tad over a 1/2 tank of oil to a tank of fuel. I put the OEM outer dawg on mine which seems to help when noodling.

Think I read somewhere a 460r oil pump is a direct bolt on high output option.(?) I'm too used to my husqys oiling. I think a 24" bar would suit this saw really well. I did check the oiler and it was maxed out. Outer dog is ordered. Considering a bark box for it..... needs a little bling lol.

I was at my local dealer a week or two ago. The only pro saws he had were one 261 and one 362.

Said he cannot get 400s, 462s or 500is.

Yeah, I called 3 other "local" dealers till I found one with a saw equal to the 562xp in stock. I was pretty pissed with the one dealer that kept insisting that my needs would be met with a homeowner grade saw. I'll no longer be dealing with then at all for for out door equipment. Eblings in Myerstown had the ms400 and ms462 in stock and no husqys around 60cc. Wouldn't hold either till Tuesday morning either. It's sad shape were in. Was told by eblings and umburgers September to October is when the next shipment of saws will be in.

 

[sean donato]

Nice "79"

Thanks... there's a 12v cummins in that one.

 

[chipper1]

Considering a bark box for it..... needs a little bling lol.

Just know, they are loud, real loud, and I like loud .