Wood stove and chainsaw

[artbaldoni]

It's SIR Fru-Fru Hack ......get it right.

Thats Mr., Doctor, professor Fru-Fru Hack...

Sorry for the "Spongebob" reference, but I seem to watch it (and sorry to say) enjoy it with my kids, aged 16, 16, 19 and 23. I'm a sorry excuse for a woodcutter!

 

[Pulp]

With most trees never > 30" here in the East, a 16"-18" bar is enough.
There are techniques of boring that will safely do the job. Shorter bars make for more efficient cutting, easier sharpening and maintenance.
Easy to pick up the boring methods, or watch a pro use it then try it on smaller trunks.
Those long bars are for West Coast softwood pros.

 

[Locust Cutter]

He said "softwood"...

 

[Wood Doctor]

Thats Mr., Doctor, professor Fru-Fru Hack...

Sorry for the "Spongebob" reference, but I seem to watch it (and sorry to say) enjoy it with my kids, aged 16, 16, 19 and 23. I'm a sorry excuse for a woodcutter!

OK, I guess I am out of date these days. My MS361 is anything but out of date. If I ever go to a job site and do not know exactly what I am going to cut, I bring the MS361 with three bars and six chains, two for each bar. Usually the job gets done. I will never trash a Stihl MS361, verbally or physically.

 

[J3 Driver]

You don't need two saws......Just an extra bar and chain. If it gets stuck you can just remove the saw from the stuck bar and put on the spare bar and cut the stuck bar free.
You said you have an average of 18" trees so you dont need a big saw. I cut 40" oak rounds with my 290 with an 18" bar all the time.
My MS290 cuts everything I throw at it. The trick with big rounds is take your time.
You want a light saw to lug around on them there hills.
I have bigger saws but use the 290 most of the time.

Sorry but never used that stove.

Be very selective when felling trees. Once there cut , you cant put them back. It may seem like a lot of trees but they can go pretty fast when your heating with wood.

Thanks. The main heat will be geo thermal. Wood stove will be for backup. I'm planning on clearing out for the hour and about 70 feet away from it. If something falls I don't want it hitting the house. That should give me enough wood for a long long time.

 

[Pulp]

You don't need two saws......Just an extra bar and chain. If it gets stuck you can just remove the saw from the stuck bar and put on the spare bar and cut the stuck bar free.
You said you have an average of 18" trees so you dont need a big saw. I cut 40" oak rounds with my 290 with an 18" bar all the time.
My MS290 cuts everything I throw at it. The trick with big rounds is take your time.
You want a light saw to lug around on them there hills.
I have bigger saws but use the 290 most of the time..

Great idea, should have thought it before. I always take an extra saw or 2 for stuck saw ( it happens rarely ).
Better to grab an extra B&C along.
Thanks.

 

[Ambull01]

You don't need two saws......Just an extra bar and chain. If it gets stuck you can just remove the saw from the stuck bar and put on the spare bar and cut the stuck bar free.
You said you have an average of 18" trees so you dont need a big saw. I cut 40" oak rounds with my 290 with an 18" bar all the time.
My MS290 cuts everything I throw at it. The trick with big rounds is take your time.
You want a light saw to lug around on them there hills.
I have bigger saws but use the 290 most of the time.

Sorry but never used that stove.

Be very selective when felling trees. Once there cut , you cant put them back. It may seem like a lot of trees but they can go pretty fast when your heating with wood.

Damn it, you just destroyed one my reasons I gave my wife before I bought another "backup" saw.

 

[firebrick43]

Damn it, you just destroyed one my reasons I gave my wife before I bought another "backup" saw.

She doesn't read the forum does she?

 

[Ambull01]

She doesn't read the forum does she?

She has, previously. There were several nights worth of discussion concerning how much of a nut I'm becoming about chainsaws. I finally told her to visit this site and see all the fellow chainsaw nuts around the country.

 

[firebrick43]

She has, previously. There were several nights worth of discussion concerning how much of a nut I'm becoming about chainsaws. I finally told her to visit this site and see all the fellow chainsaw nuts around the country.

You done messed up! Didn't the Corps teach you anything about what and what not to tell your wife!

 

[Ambull01]

You done messed up! Didn't the Corps teach you anything about what and what not to tell your wife!

Negative. Must have slept through that Parris Island PowerPoint class.

 

[zogger]

Damn it, you just destroyed one my reasons I gave my wife before I bought another "backup" saw.

Well, I don't swap out in the field, just grab the right size saw. I typically go out with 2-4 saws. If felling, the larger number.

 

[zogger]

She has, previously. There were several nights worth of discussion concerning how much of a nut I'm becoming about chainsaws. I finally told her to visit this site and see all the fellow chainsaw nuts around the country.

It's a cheap hobby as hobbies go, and has productive payback. Say..what does a round of golf go for? Or go watch some pro sports game? Those tickets oe greens fees and membership are not cheap...and it isn't considered weird or obsessive to most people. Once spent with those sorts of hobbies, gone. Gym membership, what does that cost? Chainsaws and firewood payoff in firewood, which can be sold (I did 4 bundles today, paid for my diesel I used to go into town and snagged some good cheese I normally wouldn't afford......), and if you take care of your equipment and learn to work on them, you can fix busted saws and sell them, and pay for the saws you want to keep, plus it helps keep ya in shape. To me, firewood is my number one physical therapy to keep from gimping up.

Just hang onto your heating bills, once you start burning for heat, see how much you save there.

Your saws should more than give a real return on investment.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Ditto to Zogger. I figure a just about break even on the Revenue--firewood sales, used chain saw repairs and sales, chain loop sharpening and home heating bill savings vs. the Cost--equipment purchases and repairs, fuel, parts, supplies, and part-time labor. There is no money in it, but as Zogger says, think of how much money I save by not playing golf, paying exercise club or gym fees, hotel and travel bills to ball games, ticket costs, etc. I did that for years also, and believe me, it adds up big time rather fast.

 

[Ambull01]

It's a cheap hobby as hobbies go, and has productive payback. Say..what does a round of golf go for? Or go watch some pro sports game? Those tickets oe greens fees and membership are not cheap...and it isn't considered weird or obsessive to most people. Once spent with those sorts of hobbies, gone. Gym membership, what does that cost? Chainsaws and firewood payoff in firewood, which can be sold (I did 4 bundles today, paid for my diesel I used to go into town and snagged some good cheese I normally wouldn't afford......), and if you take care of your equipment and learn to work on them, you can fix busted saws and sell them, and pay for the saws you want to keep, plus it helps keep ya in shape. To me, firewood is my number one physical therapy to keep from gimping up.

Just hang onto your heating bills, once you start burning for heat, see how much you save there.

Your saws should more than give a real return on investment.

You go around carrying four chainsaws? Jeez, I thought I was bad.

That is true about gym memberships/hobbies. That stuff can add up real quick.

Cutting, carrying, stacking, and splitting is a beast of a workout. I've said it before, I have some serious respect for all you older guys still doing this stuff. I made myself a sort of HIIT workout (High Intensity Interval Training). It was just a hastily assembled scrounging related workout. I whacked the round with the Fiskars as fast as safely possible until I split a manageable chunk off, picked up the split then ran through the woods to my van, stacked the split in van, then ran back to repeat the process with the Fiskars. Almost gave myself a damn heart attack after five minutes. I'm not really in wood splitting shape yet.

Ditto to Zogger. I figure a just about break even on the Revenue--firewood sales, used chain saw repairs and sales, chain loop sharpening and home heating bill savings vs. the Cost--equipment purchases and repairs, fuel, parts, supplies, and part-time labor. There is no money in it, but as Zogger says, think of how much money I save by not playing golf, paying exercise club or gym fees, hotel and travel bills to ball games, ticket costs, etc. I did that for years also, and believe me, it adds up big time rather fast.

You only break even? Are you buying needed equipment or just wanted equipment? I think the only way I just break even is if I go batshit crazy with buying chainsaws. Anything will be better than electric baseboard heat.

 

[sb47]

The starting setup will set you back a few bucks, Including maintenance cost. Saws,split er. Oil and gas.These cost dissipate over time and the actual cost dropped over time.

 

[artbaldoni]

Great idea, should have thought it before. I always take an extra saw or 2 for stuck saw ( it happens rarely ).
Better to grab an extra B&C along.
Thanks.

I wish I would have thought of that...wait, I did...in post #8...

Beautiful property! Harmon is a great brand and your 026 will be a start. Get a second bar and chain just in case you get pinched. You can then just swap the powerhead off the pinched bar to the spare and cut yourself free. Also get a pair of chaps, cheap insurance for that inevitable oops... Sharp chains are a must. The Husqvarna $15 kit works well. Look for a good splitting axe or maul. My preference for that size wood is a Fiskars X27.

Mostly search this forum and read all you can. There is a wealth of knowledge here, most learned the hard way!
Welcome and prepare to be assimilated, resitance is futile!

 

[Wood Doctor]

You go around carrying four chainsaws? Jeez, I thought I was bad. That is true about gym memberships/hobbies. That stuff can add up real quick.

Cutting, carrying, stacking, and splitting is a beast of a workout. I've said it before, I have some serious respect for all you older guys still doing this stuff. I made myself a sort of HIIT workout (High Intensity Interval Training). It was just a hastily assembled scrounging related workout. I whacked the round with the Fiskars as fast as safely possible until I split a manageable chunk off, picked up the split then ran through the woods to my van, stacked the split in van, then ran back to repeat the process with the Fiskars. Almost gave myself a damn heart attack after five minutes. I'm not really in wood splitting shape yet.

You only break even? Are you buying needed equipment or just wanted equipment? I think the only way I just break even is if I go batshit crazy with buying chainsaws. Anything will be better than electric baseboard heat.

Zogger and my bottom lines: Truck expenses take almost all firewood profit away. At least 80% of the mileage on my truck, its repairs, its taxes, and its licensing is for processing the firewood. Oh, and I forgot about the log splitter. Please don't ask us to add up more. It get's ugly after awhile.

 

[Chris-PA]

Zogger and my bottom lines: Truck expenses take almost all firewood profit away. At least 80% of the mileage on my truck, its repairs, its taxes, and its licensing is for processing the firewood. Oh, and I forgot about the log splitter. Please don't ask us to add up more. It get's ugly after awhile.

If I had to haul with a truck or buy a log splitter it would make it a lot more expensive. I can haul most of my wood with an old 12hp WheelHorse and a cart, I split by hand and my saws are all cheap ones. Still, heating oil is expensive, and so are tanks and maintenance.

 

[farmer steve]

Zogger and my bottom lines: Truck expenses take almost all firewood profit away. At least 80% of the mileage on my truck, its repairs, its taxes, and its licensing is for processing the firewood. Oh, and I forgot about the log splitter. Please don't ask us to add up more. It get's ugly after awhile.

same here. not sure what the fuel bill was last week but pushin $150. diesel for the tractor, gas for the F-150,gas for the saws and gas for the splitter. oh and a couple of donuts at the gas station. like my dad tells people when they ask how much a load F/W cost. "the wood is free,your paying for time, gas and delivery".