Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)

[The Shooters Apprentice]

I don't have a heated shop area. I was supposed to get a garage built this year, but ran out of time before snow flew. Been around 0 all day, and I got tired of not working on something fun, so I went to town and got a propane heater for the 8x12 saw shop. Not perfect, but takes the chill off enough that I can work bare handed.

Ive been playing with hand filing more lately trying to get my skill honed in. I have a well worn Husky raker guage that I use when grinding chains and its about perfect, but I learned today that it takes off way too much for a hand filed chain.

So I guess I need to order a couple more.

Also, I'm starting to see why my dad liked skip tooth chain. I've always ran full comp since we have small soft wood here, but man thats a lot of teeth to hand sharpen.

 

[jellyroll]

Free cherry log been on the ground since december 11th 2021 when that straight line winds ( 100+ mph ) and a EF2 tornado rolled through Kentucky. I am will be glad NOT to go through that crap again this year hoping.


My el cheapo Craftsman S145,, 42 cc with a 14'' bar bucked those four rounds the saw handled it fine No need for a expensive saw.

 

[JimR]

I had a bar cease up like that with wood chips while cutting Chestnut Oak several years ago. I freed my sprocket tip the same way (WD-40, screwdriver and hammer). I believe I have only had it happen when the tip is buried and I'm pressing it.

I try to either select a longer bar or cut over the top first, so I don't bury the tip so much.

That is how I got mine stuck yesterday. I was cutting one log and went into the one behind it with the nose.

 

[jellyroll]

I don't have a heated shop area. I was supposed to get a garage built this year, but ran out of time before snow flew. Been around 0 all day, and I got tired of not working on something fun, so I went to town and got a propane heater for the 8x12 saw shop. Not perfect, but takes the chill off enough that I can work bare handed.

Ive been playing with hand filing more lately trying to get my skill honed in. I have a well worn Husky raker guage that I use when grinding chains and its about perfect, but I learned today that it takes off way too much for a hand filed chain.

So I guess I need to order a couple more.

Also, I'm starting to see why my dad liked skip tooth chain. I've always ran full comp since we have small soft wood here, but man thats a lot of teeth to hand sharpen.

View attachment 1028171

Skip chain does well in soft wood.

 

[JimR]

Like over here you mean? That's how we've gone for a decade now. We've always had more expensive fuel and hence smaller motors.... Plus smaller roads and smaller vehicle make a bigger motor less important anyway, but the emissions rules drove European vehicles to smaller and turbocharged a decade ago. 1 litre turbocharged petrol give about 140 BHP stock, easy to drive and 50+ mpg.

I was in France 7 years ago for a week on business and pleasure. I rented a VW Polo. It had a turbo 4 cylinder diesel in it with a standard shift. I averaged 58 mpg with that car. It was a blast to drive on the mountain roads. I looked the specs up on it. It only had 90hp but was pretty peppy for a 2600 pound car.

 

[JimR]

Some friends of mine are into American trucks, cars (and motorcycles, I used to own a Sportster myself), e.g. Dodge Ram, etc. One of them even has a Boss Hoss, I believe it has a 5.7L car engine under it? ... But those things rarely see the road these times, fuel prices are just too high. My sister bought a Ford Ranger pickup truck last year, for her company, don't know what engine version or whatever (it's a diesel though) but it uses some 11 liters/100 km I believe, and filling up its 80L fuel tank costs you €160... that kinda hurts the wallet.

I went off topic a bit here, but let me fix that . Oak trees here have been producing way more acorns than usual, because of the drought, I suppose they do this to ensure offspring in case they die. They became so heavy that tops broke out, especially in windy conditions. A few weekends back I was driving through an area with a lot of privately owned parcels of woodland, and a top (almost half a tree) was blocking the road. I was there to do some bucking on a property, so had my saws with me... Don't know who the owner of the land was but seeing that I cleared the road, I took quite a lot of perfect firewood with me... Gonna warm my house for several days in a year or two

You must have gotten all our acorns over there. None of my Oaks had an acorn on them. Last year my back yard was like walking on marbles. The Boss Hoss is a 350 small block Chevy engine.

 

[sean donato]

I don't have a heated shop area. I was supposed to get a garage built this year, but ran out of time before snow flew. Been around 0 all day, and I got tired of not working on something fun, so I went to town and got a propane heater for the 8x12 saw shop. Not perfect, but takes the chill off enough that I can work bare handed.

Ive been playing with hand filing more lately trying to get my skill honed in. I have a well worn Husky raker guage that I use when grinding chains and its about perfect, but I learned today that it takes off way too much for a hand filed chain.

So I guess I need to order a couple more.

Also, I'm starting to see why my dad liked skip tooth chain. I've always ran full comp since we have small soft wood here, but man thats a lot of teeth to hand sharpen.

View attachment 1028171

I just did a few loops for the 36" bar. Full Comp. Doesn't take long once you get Into a rhythm.

 

[JimR]

That's what I'm thinking or the heater control valve, see if it moves when turning up heat on dash. Maybe that's jacked up.

Or frozen shut

 

[Kodiak Kid]

I don't have a heated shop area. I was supposed to get a garage built this year, but ran out of time before snow flew. Been around 0 all day, and I got tired of not working on something fun, so I went to town and got a propane heater for the 8x12 saw shop. Not perfect, but takes the chill off enough that I can work bare handed.

Ive been playing with hand filing more lately trying to get my skill honed in. I have a well worn Husky raker guage that I use when grinding chains and its about perfect, but I learned today that it takes off way too much for a hand filed chain.

So I guess I need to order a couple more.

Also, I'm starting to see why my dad liked skip tooth chain. I've always ran full comp since we have small soft wood here, but man thats a lot of teeth to hand sharpen.

View attachment 1028171

I just did a few loops for the 36" bar. Full Comp. Doesn't take long once you get Into a rhythm.

Full comp sure is nice! However, I don't run it as much as I'd like to. I square grind 90% of the time. IMOP, it takes a good high quality and tight precision grinder. Like the Silvey SDM for example. To square grind full comp and keep the cutters all consistently uniform for the duration of the chains practical use . My Silvey Razor Sharp isn't tight enough. Too much play in the swing arm feed assembly to grind FC and keep every cutter consistently uniform. FS grinds good on it. SS grinds ok on it, but the SDM is a much tighter precise grind fir sure when tuning FC. Im in the market for one if you guys hear about a SDM fir sale anywhere!

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Full comp sure is nice. I square grind 90% of the time. IMOP, it takes a good quality precision grinder. Like the Silvey SDM for example to square grind full comp and keep the cutters all consistently uniform for the duration of the chains practical use . My Silvey Razor Sharp isn't tight enough. To much play in the swing arm feed assembly to grind FC and keep every cutter consistently uniform. FS grinds good on it. SS grinds ok on it, but the SDM is a much tighter precise grind fir sure! Im in the market for one if you guys hear about a SDM fir sale anywhere!

I'd love to get a square grinder, but just can't justify the price for the amount of cutting I do.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

I'd love to get a square grinder, but just can't justify the price for the amount of cutting I do.

Sometimes you can find them used on line for a reasonable price. But even used Silvey grinders are selling at a premium if they are in good shape. Being as Silvey went out of business. All their different models of grinders are selling for $1000 more than what they were selling at brand new!!! If you find one for sale at a bargain? It probably has a lot of play in it and is sloppy. It's hard to square grind and get a proper tune with a loose square grinder!

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Also did a little work on my Jonsered 625 project saw today. Still waiting on my case splitting tool, but I pulled the oil pump today and the bearing on that side is also full of crystallization, I doubt the other side is any better but I can't find my gear pullers at the moment.

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Sometimes you can find them used on line for a reasonable price. But even used Silvey grinders are selling at a premium if they are in good shape. Being as Silvey went out of business. All their different models of grinders are selling for $1000 more than what they were selling at brand new!!! If you find one for sale at a bargain? It probably has a lot of play in it and is sloppy. It's hard to square grind and get a proper tune with a loose square grinder!

Not where I am. It's rare to even see saws over 60cc.

 

[Cowboy254]

That is how I got mine stuck yesterday. I was cutting one log and went into the one behind it with the nose.

When I've jammed mine up it has generally been when I've been nearly through a cut with a log on the ground and long grass and stuff has prevented good chip clearance so there are chips getting pulled around through the cut.

 

[Cowboy254]

I'd love to get a square grinder, but just can't justify the price for the amount of cutting I do.

If we all used that logic we would only have a maximum of three saws each

 

[SimonHS]

I'm now adding a little redex fuel cleaner (only needs about 1.5/1000). That's on top of a similar amount of star-tron fuel stabiliser....

Try this instead. I've been using it for years. My mowers always start first or second pull, even after winter storage full of fuel. Similar good results with my chainsaws and strimmers.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/eu/en_gb/products/care-products/fuel-fit.html
https://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/briggs-stratton-992381-fuel-fit-additive-250ml/

 

[LondonNeil]

Is that stuff usually available at gas stations?

No not at all. You will only find avgas of any type at an airfield and I'm not sure if I could rock up and fill a Jerry can, I suspect not. However I may well be confirming that before long! Tbh, since I don't use loads each year, I could afford to go to Aspen/motomix when ethanol takes over. For the moment, it's star-tron, redex and Esso synergy supreme mixed with husqvarna xp fully synthetic. That still costs over £2/litre these days.... But a quick search and Amazon comes up first with Aspen premixed at a whopping £8/L

 

[LondonNeil]

Try this instead. I've been using it for years. My mowers always start first or second pull, even after winter storage full of fuel. Similar good results with my chainsaws and strimmers.

https://www.briggsandstratton.com/eu/en_gb/products/care-products/fuel-fit.html
https://www.lawnmowersdirect.co.uk/product/briggs-stratton-992381-fuel-fit-additive-250ml/

The b&s stuff is much the same as any stabiliser, with its anticatalysts to slow gumming/oxidation. Star-tron also combats the ethanol. The b&s stuff didn't when I was buying, and the bottle of starton will last me more than a lifetime. It gets just a few ml per gallon and saws and mower only use a couple of gallons a year.

 

[Brufab]

I don't have a heated shop area. I was supposed to get a garage built this year, but ran out of time before snow flew. Been around 0 all day, and I got tired of not working on something fun, so I went to town and got a propane heater for the 8x12 saw shop. Not perfect, but takes the chill off enough that I can work bare handed.

Ive been playing with hand filing more lately trying to get my skill honed in. I have a well worn Husky raker guage that I use when grinding chains and its about perfect, but I learned today that it takes off way too much for a hand filed chain.

So I guess I need to order a couple more.

Also, I'm starting to see why my dad liked skip tooth chain. I've always ran full comp since we have small soft wood here, but man thats a lot of teeth to hand sharpen.

View attachment 1028171

Wow thats a wicked looking chain never seen one with the raker 1/8" lower than the cutter

 

[Brufab]

You must have gotten all our acorns over there. None of my Oaks had an acorn on them. Last year my back yard was like walking on marbles.

Same here, I have oaks around and got 2 garbage cans full from one tree, I got tired of deer tearing up the backyard digging for acorns, everyday I put a half gallon out thru winter. Now no acorns here or in lapeer Co where it's all big oaks and maples.