xraydaniel
Addicted to ArboristSite
Crawdads get big here. Might be a good replacement to boiled lobstas and butter.
Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)
- Thread starter mainewoods
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Nice half ton .Good Show! This one was at the traffic light yesterday.
Almost 12 hours without a post in this thread!!!
I'm still out there in the heat (running in high 80s - low 90s with poss 100 by the end of he week. Only getting in a couple hours a day then find some flimsy excuse the quit for the day. Yesterday the herd of cows showed up and were in the way. Same again today. I think age is a big factor causing my 'quit and go home' syndroms.
Ordered up a Dewalt electric 60volt chainsaw. I have two top handle saws and both are being stubborn about restarting warm - multiple pulls. Both have been to the dealer this summer for the problem. They work fine for a few days and then stubborn again. Unfortunately teh Ace Hardware dealer could only find one with 18" bar - too long for just cutting brush and very small gauge stems. I'll try online for a Dewalt 14" bar/chain.
I'm still out there in the heat (running in high 80s - low 90s with poss 100 by the end of he week. Only getting in a couple hours a day then find some flimsy excuse the quit for the day. Yesterday the herd of cows showed up and were in the way. Same again today. I think age is a big factor causing my 'quit and go home' syndroms.
Ordered up a Dewalt electric 60volt chainsaw. I have two top handle saws and both are being stubborn about restarting warm - multiple pulls. Both have been to the dealer this summer for the problem. They work fine for a few days and then stubborn again. Unfortunately teh Ace Hardware dealer could only find one with 18" bar - too long for just cutting brush and very small gauge stems. I'll try online for a Dewalt 14" bar/chain.
JustPlainJeff
ArboristSite Operative
Had a load of logs delivered today. When he got here I told him I'd take two more yet this summer. Trying to get ahead of my drying time cycle.
Say guys! How many of you have ever used a bow saw?
In a different thread, I have an ongoing debate with a couple of guys that seem to think a bow saw is vastly more productive than a conventional bar. I'm not buying it, but I cannot claim to have ever tried running one either.
So what are your thoughts? How many of you are salivating at a chance to mount up that bow saw and get some real productivity out of that saw, having been held back so many years by the conventional bar.
In a different thread, I have an ongoing debate with a couple of guys that seem to think a bow saw is vastly more productive than a conventional bar. I'm not buying it, but I cannot claim to have ever tried running one either.
So what are your thoughts? How many of you are salivating at a chance to mount up that bow saw and get some real productivity out of that saw, having been held back so many years by the conventional bar.
It's been in the mid 90s here and the humidity is creeping up. No scrounging as the log yard has dried up. No hardwoods. Been working on my ill-fated (ground hog) wood rack/shed. Basically tearing down and rebuilding. I've been quitting around Noon.
It was pretty warm here in Mass yesterday too. I finished blasting the back of my truck frame. Wearing a mask and hair net to keep the sand off was really a sweating situation. I was dripping sweat on the inside of my goggles. I painted the frame with POR15. Sure enough a few hours later it looked like rain. I had to run the truck over to the barn and put it way for the night because the paint was still wet. I also installed new rear cab vents on the back of my cab. Seven years old and gone to crap already.
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Yes it is. He’s local to me and I’ve never seen it before
I think if used for their intended purpose they will walk the dog on a conventional bar. But, I have never used one. Pulping, you can walk along the log and cut through without any bending, easy on the back. The design of the bow lets you cut all the way through without pinching the bar, saves time. When my Dad cut pulpwood after WWII, they cut it in 4’ lengths. Now it’s moot point. Harvesters can fell, delimb, and cut to size a tree in minutes, if not seconds. Now they are just an archaic tool of the past.
JustPlainJeff
ArboristSite Operative
I don't personally know the difference, but whatever that is is the norm for this area.
i think exercise and regular ck ups at the docs is sound advice for a long life....
just got back from the doctors....
Sorry, I got to ask, POR15? A rust preventative? Do you have to go down to bare metal before applying?
Haven't used one personally, my logging buddy has a few old saws with bow bars on them. I've asked about them several times and he tells me they are worthless excuses for a saw bar design.
You don't need to take the rust off with por 15. It's encapsulates it. It's stupid expensive though and needs top coated. It's not uv stable. Used it a few times on restorations. Works amazingly well if done right.
Not many people will have a conversation online with me now but the bow is the way to go if you're just cutting firewood. I've used every bar and it is always the fastest cut on an average size firewood log from about 5" to 16". The thing that slows it down is cutting wider than the bow on bigger stuff. That couldn't be changed using full skip. Full skip just cut slower except in basswood or other very soft woods with an aggressive chain setup. Have not tried semi skip square, yet. I'm also running a muffler modded 75ish cc PP455 powerhead so it is limited somewhat on overall power but doesn't lack torque. My favorite bow here is 16x24". Bigger ones are here now but I didn't really need to use them, yet. The smaller bows are just too short and bending over defeats the purpose imho. You can work faster, smarter and be more productive using one on trees already on the ground. It flies through softwood and ejects chip faster and farther compared to a conventional bar. Still faster in hardwoods and can cut the log down to the ground being in a depression from felling without grabing dirt. A belly bar or the ES 24" with some arch to it picked up a few seconds in the bigger wood compared to a flat Oregon regular bar. The chip load seems to be the issue and the bow clears chip faster. Going to try a smaller clearing bow this year for small wood. It measures half the height but retains it's length so no bending over.
My bow is setup with full guards top and bottom that I fitted to it and altered the factory top one. The bottom tin guard was no good so it got replaced by a Stihl aluminum one. The tin bends and the chain eats it up. The single foot is harder to work with than a double that kept the bar moving straight through the wood. It also digs in less with the wider cast aluminum dual foot verse the steel singles that do handup up sometimes in the bark while cutting and will drive the bar sideways on occasion. Having a pretty trashed back and cutting for hours really makes a big difference for me. No one has ever wanted to run it once they see one or hold the saw. The standard answer is "That looks too dangerous" or "It's too heavy." Kickback can be an issue if you don't follow the rules. It will jump up in your face if your careless when approaching the first initial cut into the log. The fact that the saw pushes the bow through the wood when the chain is set up correctly for the wood you are cutting makes using it pretty effortless. The biggest problem was getting my chain to match the wood. About twelve years ago I put twenty seven tanks through it in one day cutting large oak rounds from 25 to 32". Someone had felled seven large red oaks all into each other and then left the two to three story pile like that and never came back so the lady needed it all bucked to give it away. This was long before I started milling slabs. No way you could do that pile with a conventional bar setup without pinching it many many more times than I did that day. Got it pinched up maybe three times but a conventional bar would have hung up dozens of times. Using a wedge is rarely need but it fit right in when needed.
The biggest advantage to me is easy of use and the chip can be directed away from the user with a right angle approach. I also have a rebuilt left forearm and wrist so not having to use two hands on the saw once your cut is established makes a mountain of difference to me personally. Considering adding a top handlebar extension to eliminate leaning forward to start my cuts. This bow might get worn out. If it does welding stelite rod and resurfacing the chain guide will happen. Coping this foot in cast aluminum has been consider to sell a few for others to use. It could be made from steel or billet aluminum but that seems like even more work than a sand cast with two holes to drill and make it a one peice unit like mine is.
Hope that helps.
If he is interested in selling them your not too far from here.
My next project . Actually it only needs a few cosmetics .1998 Jeep limited 4.0 with 187k miles. Has the manual shift for the transfer case . One rust hole in the drivers rocker panel . The tailgate is pristine which is rarely seen here . Car came from Georgia . 
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