Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[djg james]

.....View attachment 993604

...View attachment 993604

That would scare the hell out of me! Friday, Brother and I took down a dead yard pine. I had to climb up (12'!) with a ladder and then through the branches (like I use to do as a kid), to top the tree. Had a rope tied off higher and Brother was on the line. Side shoot branch lost a chunk of branch the hit my head (ouch!) and the main top went over.
The side shoot branch (12" dia) was a little more of a problem. Tied off and notched it, but it started to go backwards towards the street, trapping the saw. With both of us pulling managed to pull it over where we wanted it.
The tree was only 18-20" DBH but we tied off a rope to drop the main trunk since it was right next to the street. My face cut was angled down hill so I matched the second cut. Came down without a problem.

Man, I'm glad I don't do that for a living!

Burned the brush early Sat before the breeze kicked in.

 

[chipper1]

Ya, it would be real easy for me to talk smack about the guy that did that, but I've been oblivious, and clueless at points in my life as well. Done a lot of dumb stuff. Who knows, I may even do something dumb today , so I won't talk too badly about the guy!

I won't talk smack, but bit did offer to help.
When i was out chasing down deals i saw this woman. She has a big plug in the sidewall and was on her second can of fix a flat when I pulled up and asked if she needed a hand, she said she had a spare, but didn't want my help, no problem .
Lots of griping and complaining pursued, I just sat there willing to help at any time, she wouldn't even look our way. I received a call for the air compressor (ironic) so I left with out getting to watch the end of the show .
Look to the left at about 10:00 and you can see the plug .

 

[chipper1]

The “Y” had no chance, that’s when it ran out of gas on me.

Nice, it looked like it was going very well up til that point. I missed a nice one with a large rectangle opening last fall. It was out west and I said to myself I was going to wait until I sold a tractor before heading out there. A couple weeks later I called and since it was still listed I thought I may get a break on the price, it had sold the day before. Bummer is I had the cash and could have bought it anytime, I'll be alright though .
Moral of the story, let me know when you're done at your daughter's place and I'll come by yours right away .

 

[GrizG]

I was in my Stihl dealers the other day and he called me back in the shop. He showed me the same view as your saw in the last picture. The clutch bell was purple, the plastic around it melted., guide plates discolored. He asked what I thought happened. I said he either tried to run it with the brake on and just laid on it till he burnt the brake up, or, he cranked the chain down so tight it couldn’t turn and laid into it till he burned it up. He said the brake pad was gone down to just the band, and the bar was purple too. He had to take a screw driver and pry the chain out of the bar. Sounds like he had the brake on and the chain tight. He told the guy no way would Stihl cover it. It was a fairly big saw too, like a 441. I should have taken a pic. If I get a chance I’ll run by today and see if he still has it?

There is another possibility... it happened to my MS461. I was having trouble engaging and disengaging the brake which led me to remove the brake and oil pump covers for inspection. I found that swarf and bar oil had collected between the brake band and the case. It got to the point that the brake band dragged on the clutch drum. In the process it baked the swarf/oil mixture solid and melted the covers near the brake band. I discussed this on this site a few months back and others reported having the same thing happen on various models of saws. I believe using compressed air may have contributed to the problem by blowing swarf into those areas instead of out of the saw.

I replaced the two damaged covers and now remove them regularly to clean behind the brake band. It has worked fine since I started doing that.

 

[GrizG]

I was in my Stihl dealers the other day and he called me back in the shop. He showed me the same view as your saw in the last picture. The clutch bell was purple, the plastic around it melted., guide plates discolored. He asked what I thought happened. I said he either tried to run it with the brake on and just laid on it till he burnt the brake up, or, he cranked the chain down so tight it couldn’t turn and laid into it till he burned it up. He said the brake pad was gone down to just the band, and the bar was purple too. He had to take a screw driver and pry the chain out of the bar. Sounds like he had the brake on and the chain tight. He told the guy no way would Stihl cover it. It was a fairly big saw too, like a 441. I should have taken a pic. If I get a chance I’ll run by today and see if he still has it?

Forgot to ask/comment... I haven't noticed any brake pads per se on my Stihl saws. They just have a stainless steel band that tightens on the clutch drum when the brake is engaged. Was this a Stihl saw? What saws have an actual brake pad?

 

[JustPlainJeff]

There is another possibility... it happened to my MS461. I was having trouble engaging and disengaging the brake which led me to remove the brake and oil pump covers for inspection. I found that swarf and bar oil had collected between the brake band and the case. It got to the point that the brake band dragged on the clutch drum. In the process it baked the swarf/oil mixture solid and melted the covers near the brake band. I discussed this on this site a few months back and others reported having the same thing happen on various models of saws. I believe using compressed air may have contributed to the problem by blowing swarf into those areas instead of out of the saw.

I replaced the two damaged covers and now remove them regularly to clean behind the brake band. It has worked fine since I started doing that.


View attachment 993764View attachment 993765

And that right there is enough to make me glad that I didn't talk smack about the other guy that may have had the same thing happen to him.

 

[SS396driver]

Finishing up the stakesides for my 68

 

[Kodiak Kid]

I was cutting a huge Spruce burrel off a trunk last winter. And was shreading "noodles". I wasn't paying attention to the waste coming out the bottom of the saw. Next thing I know. My saw is smoking and I can smell wood burning. The shavings got jammed and packed in tight under the cover plate. I had to take the cover plate off to clear it all out! It turned the clutch drum black and the edge of the plastic skirt around the drum brown. This was a first for me, as I don't shread cut that often. The saw was pretty much brand new and just back from getting hopped up by the Pro Modifier! I was afraid I had just caused major damage to seals and bearing's from extreme heat transfer. However, 30 tanks or more later and I haven't had an issue yet! I'll probably still end up replacing the skirt and the drum.


New 661 over heated drum from lodged and packed waste under the cover plate creating way to much friction.
Compared to much older 660 drum that's never over heated!

 

[Philbert]

What I didn’t buy yesterday, at my local Menards. Also out of bar oil.



Philbert

 

[LondonNeil]

Man! That thing is All Time Boone and Crocket for sure!

Not heard that phrase and no idea what it means, but I like it!

 

[ValleyForge]

What I didn’t buy yesterday, at my local Menards. Also out of bar oil.

View attachment 993817

Philbert

In these days of the Biden Reich, one must never hesitate to buy all that is available when it is available….

 

[handyman]

Ordered a new Milwaukee hand truck from HD...

Love a good hand truck or "sack barrow" as we tend to call them in the UK.

Back in the day I fired my labourer when I first discovered how incredibly useful a good barrow is, no real noticeable loss of conversation in the tea cabin either... ;-)

 

[rarefish383]

That would scare the hell out of me! Friday, Brother and I took down a dead yard pine. I had to climb up (12'!) with a ladder and then through the branches (like I use to do as a kid), to top the tree. Had a rope tied off higher and Brother was on the line. Side shoot branch lost a chunk of branch the hit my head (ouch!) and the main top went over.
The side shoot branch (12" dia) was a little more of a problem. Tied off and notched it, but it started to go backwards towards the street, trapping the saw. With both of us pulling managed to pull it over where we wanted it.
The tree was only 18-20" DBH but we tied off a rope to drop the main trunk since it was right next to the street. My face cut was angled down hill so I matched the second cut. Came down without a problem.

Man, I'm glad I don't do that for a living!

Burned the brush early Sat before the breeze kicked in.

I'd love to do that. I've spent may a day in a big Oak with a Homelite Super 1050 and a 36" bar hanging off my belt. But, if real lucky they topped out about 100-110 feet. I'd would like to have climbed a big Western every green once.

 

[rarefish383]

Not heard that phrase and no idea what it means, but I like it!

The Boone and Crocket club is named after Daniel Boone and Davey Crocket, and is a conservation club that records record animals. That might be a world record Stag Beetle.

 

[rarefish383]

Where's Dan Dan the big Spruce man? As duly appointed President of the Maryland Fraternal Chapter 318, of the Big Spruce Scroungers Society, I am formally applying for membership in the International Big Spruce Scroungers Society. Here follows proof of our dedication to scrounging, and the preservation of Big Spruce. Todays project consisted of thinning a row of Blue Spruce, to enhance and stimulate their growth and beauty. These are just babies at about 60'. Next week we will be working with the teen agers that are getting close to 100' We may be removing some invasive species of White Pine.

 

[JustPlainJeff]

No wood for me today. Spent quite a few hours organizing my tool chest. The picture of the chest if a few months old (when I first got it). I was waiting for my tool organizers to get here before I actually started setting it up. I'm almost done, but have to order more organizers before I can finish it up. All of the stickers and crap are off of it now, and it's 60-70% done. I've been using these exclusively to organize my box https://toolboxwidget.com/. Expensive as s%$&, but worth it to me. And no, they're not Snap On or Mac. But for what I do, I don't need Snap On or Mac tools. These will suit me just fine.

 

[rarefish383]

Forgot to ask/comment... I haven't noticed any brake pads per se on my Stihl saws. They just have a stainless steel band that tightens on the clutch drum when the brake is engaged. Was this a Stihl saw? What saws have an actual brake pad?

Yes it was a Stihl. Brand new, only 2 days old. No saw dust on it. He just said it was "Burnt down to the band". He said the guy said he started it, and left it sitting idling for about ten minutes, looked over and it was on fire. I don't think it was blazing, just lots of smoke. Any way you think he could have set it down on fast idle and didn't know it? A week or so ago he said he had two come in on the same day that sounded just like yours. If I get a chance I'll stop in and talk to him tomorrow. On the first one he said when he told the guy someone had cranked the chain down way too tight, the guy said he did it himself. But, that's when a real customer came in and I didn't hear the rest of the story.

 

[RCamo]

When you can't quite figure out where the lean is on that tree your about to cut.
View attachment 993500

 

[GrizG]

Almost done with the big oak... between this pile, the one at the lake, and the stuff we burned that one tree yielded a bit over 2 cords of wood. I'd not recommend taking a tree that big and processing it all by hand! I used a Bison splitting axe and a steel wedge and sledge to split it... this after quartering the rounds with the saw. As I recall the calculated weight of the rounds was 4-500 lbs depending on the location of the trunk. I've still got a big maple to split and there is a cord and a half plus there... 27" DBH. Between those two trees and the stuff already on-hand I figured there was a couple years worth of fireplace wood... (usually fires are had most evenings). That was until my girlfriend's daughter (AKA "Pyro Babe") bought a house with a fireplace and I told her she could take some home with her when she visits. It's a good thing I have an endless supply of wood available (rail trail hazard and fallen trees, plus the trees that come down on my family's properties).

 

[GrizG]

Yes it was a Stihl. Brand new, only 2 days old. No saw dust on it. He just said it was "Burnt down to the band". He said the guy said he started it, and left it sitting idling for about ten minutes, looked over and it was on fire. I don't think it was blazing, just lots of smoke. Any way you think he could have set it down on fast idle and didn't know it? A week or so ago he said he had two come in on the same day that sounded just like yours. If I get a chance I'll stop in and talk to him tomorrow. On the first one he said when he told the guy someone had cranked the chain down way too tight, the guy said he did it himself. But, that's when a real customer came in and I didn't hear the rest of the story.

Ah... didn't get the "brand new" part from the original post... I'd go with brake on with fast idle! I ran into a friend of mine, who is a very mechanically inclined guy (bicycles, motorcycles, cars, exotic cars) one time coming out of the saw shop where my son works. He bought a new saw and let it sit on fast idle with the brake on... melted the oil pump! It happens!