How do you like your chainsaw ??

[bhelms]

Hi all! This is an unusual topic perhaps. I am celebrating the fact that I got my firewood chores completed this season about 2 weeks ahead of schedule! I have a fireplace in the living room that we used to use on occasion mostly for looks but I have not used it for the past 10 years or so. I also have a Fisher "Poppa Bear" woodstove in my basement that we have used a LOT in the 28+ years I have lived where I am. I estimate that we get about 1/2 our heat from that stove, burning 3+/- cords a year, and for the most part that wood all comes from my "back 40" (actually, 13 acres). And that means about 6 days of backbreaking work every fall getting it cut, split (by hand), loaded, hauled, unloaded and stacked in my basement. Working (primarily) by myself I can't do much more than about 1/2 cord in a 5-6 hour day (plus the unloading time). I usually don't get done with this until around Thanksgiving, where I often take extra time off to finish-up the season. But due to very accommodating weather this year and other factors I was able to finish last Sun. by doing 2 full loads each of the past 2 weekends! Perhaps I'll keep on cutting and get a head start on next season...and the inevitable electric rate increase in 2010!

One of my best investments ever, and a major contributor to this story, is my Echo CS-452VL chain saw that I bought in 1983 with about $300 in bonus money. It replaced a POS Craftsman (Homelight?) saw that was just not up to the task and gave me nothing but trouble for 3 years until I literally junked it! The Echo, OTOH, has seen rugged service for 25 seasons since then (I missed one year with an ACL injury, but otherwise every fall without fail) and it never spent a day in the shop. I have maintained it myself, what little it needed. I can still get many parts and have had to fab a couple. The most drastic thing I have ever had to do is tear apart/clean the Weber carb (several times). I have gone through 3 bars and probably a dozen chains. I replaced the S59 type with D60 some years back (larger tooth) and that improved the cutting performance substantially. I usually pay a professional to sharpen my chains (after 1-3 days cutting ea. depending on how often I "ground" it) as that is something I never really learned to do well myself. The saw is cantankerous, but I know its every idiosyncrasy and thus never really have problems starting or running it. (When I do, I know it's time for another carb cleaning!) I often need starting fluid to get it going, but that saves countless extra tugs on the starter cord. And it will run 3-4 tankfuls through in a cutting day mostly trouble-free from there. One trick I learned early on is to never leave the house until that saw is serviced and running well. Much too hard to work on it once I'm up in the woods, even tho' I have learned what tools to always carry!

Anyway - I guess I was once again marveling at how well this saw and I have "bonded" over 26 seasons! Someday something will break that can't be replaced and I'll have to "put 'er down" for the final time, and that will truly be a sad day. But until then, we have a wonderful experience together (personifying there a bit!).

Here's a photo that pretty much tells it all. It's dated, but for the most part nothing has changed! (That load is about 5/8 cord, a bit more than usual, I replaced that S-10 with a Silverado last fall, but everything else is the same.) And I do this 6+/- times a year, hopefully for many more years to come!

Do any of you have a similar experience to relate ??

Tks for "listening" and BRgds...!

 

[Inno]

That's quite the load of wood for an S-10.
Mine is a Stihl 044 which is way more saw than I need but it's what I have. It was my Dad's saw and he was a professional logger. It's probably 15-18 years old as it was his last saw and he passed away in '95. It will cut through a 8-10" log in 2-3 seconds like nothing!! As long as it's kept sharp it'll just pull itself through almost any piece of wood.
I've had to rebuild the carb and replace the fuel line and filter as the old one just turned to mush inside the tank. My brother rebuilt the engine a few years ago and other than looking beat up(from a couple years in the bush) it runs like a champ!
I don't burn wood but I've been doing some clearing for horse pastures around home and knocking over the occasional poplar that gets between me and a satellite I'm trying to get a signal from.

 

[navychop]

Yes, I've heard great things about Stihl. I used to borrow when I (rarely) needed one. Today I only have a small electric. Sufficient for what little I do.

 

[bhelms]

LOL re: the Stihl! "A couple of years in the bush" sounds ominous! Was the saw actually left out, like "behind the woodshed"? I suppose when the time comes to replace the Echo (assuming they don't replace me first!) there could be a Stihl in the offing, or perhaps a Husky. The newer Echos I looked at seem like junk in comparison to my venerable 452. I too had a fuel line "turn to mush" and bought a spare when I replaced the one that disintegrated. Prior to that replacement tho' I ran for at least a season with a piece of fish tank air tubing as a substitute with no issues, so I'm not worried about the eventual failure of the ones I have. I have replacement gas/oil filters but have never had to use them. When the old ones plug-up, some air blown through seems to clear them just fine. I have only 2 air filters that are both very ugly, and that's one item that I can no longer source. But the saw seems to run fine with the ones I have, so I keep blowing them out and reusing them!

Yeah, I buried the rear tires of that old S-10 into the wheelwells on quite a few occasions, but I would never take it on the road overloaded like that. In anticipation of that kind of work I ordered it with the extra load capacity springs, and with the "Z71" type suspension (Z86 on the S-10, IIRC) they do fairly well in the rugged terrain. It's only 1/2 mile up and back over woods roads to the farthest corner of my property and it's slow going at best. I would always buy 6-ply rated tires to help protect the sidewalls from that kind of abuse nonetheless, and fortunately (KOW!) never had a problem. The Silverado seems a whole lot less stressed...or perhaps it's simply that I can't load quite as much anymore...!

Best to all...!

 

[dfergie]

I have a wood stove, just need to install it... and would have to get a permit to cut wood in the local forest...(Pinion, Cedar and Juniper) when I first saw this thread I thought of Clark W. Griswold with a hockey mask and chainsaw...

 

[Inno]

LOL re: the Stihl! "A couple of years in the bush" sounds ominous! Was the saw actually left out, like "behind the woodshed"?

LOL, no, like I said my Dad was a professional logger so the saw was out cutting probably 15-20 chords of wood each day.

 

[Van]

Used my brothers husky early this year and I hated it mostly because it would eat chains and let the bar oil pour out like it was a faucet. I want to get a stihl but lack of funds killed that idea.

 

[Inno]

The husky is likely a good saw, just sounds like it needs some maintenance.

 

[stogie5150]

A childhood/young adulthood of cutting wood cured me of a fireplace for the rest of my life. In the early 80's we burned upwards of 10 cords a year. I HATED cutting and stacking wood! Luckily we had a tractor and splitter so at least I didn't have to swing an ax....

I still have my Dad's old Homelite XL Auto with a bow on it, fantastic saw but dangerous in inexperienced hands, so I rarely use it, but it runs like a top.

My saw when I need to cut a branch or something like that is a Stihl 290 FarmBoss with a 20" bar. All the saw I will ever need. And more. Husky's are nice saws but have a bad rep down here, a few mechanics I talked to all told me to buy a Sthil if I wanted it to start everytime I grabbed it, and buy the Husky if I wanted the most powerful saw for its size, but at the expense of a little reliability.

For the couple times a year I start it, the Stihl is more than enough. I had to use a Poulan after Katrina for awhile because some lowlife broke in my shed after the storm and stole my first Stihl.... the Poulan was like a toy next to my Stihl.

 

[Inno]

A childhood/young adulthood of cutting wood cured me of a fireplace for the rest of my life. In the early 80's we burned upwards of 10 cords a year. I HATED cutting and stacking wood! Luckily we had a tractor and splitter so at least I didn't have to swing an ax....

That sounds VERY familiar except for the tractor and the splitter. I swung many an axe, or was it a splitting maul? We kept breaking the wooden handles so my Dad got one with a metal handle. He handled the cutting and brought home a pickup full every time he came home from the bush. It was our job to split and pile and bring it into the house. I have a healthy respect for my gas furnace and fireplace now!! I only burn wood for recreation. A nice fire in the backyard in the evening is nice every so often.

 

[navychop]

I want to get a stihl but lack of funds killed that idea.

Yes, they do take an appraising look at your first born when you try to buy one.

I used a Poulan once. Decided not to bother in the future.

I've split some wood, maybe 1/2 to 1 cord, using a wood grenade and wedges and a sledge. Didn't get the hang of the axe, didn't have a maul. This was over a weekend. Never again. Next time I borrowed a friend's electric splitter. Yes, electric. Very old. Worked great until the last piece, and it broke. No chance of repair. Could not find a replacement, save for hydraulic, which he declined. Only seen an electric once since then, in a returns pile. Still feel bad about that.

Decorative gas fireplace today.

 

[Derwin0]

That sounds VERY familiar except for the tractor and the splitter. I swung many an axe, or was it a splitting maul? We kept breaking the wooden handles so my Dad got one with a metal handle. He handled the cutting and brought home a pickup full every time he came home from the bush. It was our job to split and pile and bring it into the house.

Ah that brings back memories...
I remember them so fondly that I bought a pellet stove for my house.
My father has since replaced his wood stove with a pellet stove as well.

 

[bhelms]

Lotsa "fond" memories I can see! When I moved into this house 28+ years ago, part of the upside was the dual wood burning capability and the ready availability of "free" firewood. I made a commitment at that time to this whole process and have largely lived by it for the duration. If I were to look at my total cash outlay over that span including wear and tear on the truck (that I would own anyway for multiple reasons), I'm probably in at ~$1,000+/-. One time I calculated my energy savings burning hardwoods in that stove (estimated at only 50% efficient) and even with a riduculously low electric rate of about 7-cents / hw-hr, I was still saving something like $300 a year by burning that wood in place of the equivalent electricity, or nearly $8,000 over that almost 3 decade span. Is it "worth" it ?? Well, I still think it is, even tho' given my time investment (not to mention the pain!) I'm working for something like $5 per hour! But I'm getting some great exercise, another great chance to spend "quality" time out in the woods (in fact anymore, that comprises the bulk of my "woods time"), and there's something really satisfying standing back looking at those ~4.5 cords of wood stacked near the stove like I did last Sun. evening (I hold about 1.5 in reserve at any given time plus the current haul, and FIFO the lot) waiting to keep me toasty warm during the nastiest winter weather, and realize that that's as good as at least $300 "in the bank". Besides, when the power goes out (rare, but we did have a 4-day outage in Feb. '05) I know I'll still be plenty warm and have no problem cooking my food! I really need to "re-do the math", but I won't be a whole lot different now. Then in ~14 months when our current rate cap expires and electricty cost skyrockets 40% it will be a whole lot easier to justify! It's all part of my Mojo...!

 

[bhelms]

...I've split some wood, maybe 1/2 to 1 cord, using a wood grenade and wedges and a sledge. Didn't get the hang of the axe, didn't have a maul...

I had one of those early on. Occasionally it worked well and would actually split a log into 3-4 pieces with one swing of the sledge. Most of the time it just got stuck in the wood! Once I was trying to free it out of a piece of white oak and it sprung out and knocked me squarely between the eyes and I was seeing stars for about 10 mins. Then I added a nasty headache to all the other traditional pains of the day and that one ended early! I kept that grenade (made of aluminum IIRC) as a "souvenier" and never used it again. That was about 25 years ago. I migrated to mauls and broke a dozen handles or so until the fiberglass ones became commonplace. I now have 3 of them (2 8-lbs and 1 6-lbs) that I have been rotating for the past 5 years or so. I swing an 8 and my daughter uses the 6 on rare help-out days...

I have some shagbark hickory and some locust. But my wood abundance is red and white oak, cherry, elm, and various maples which are probably most common in the mix, tho' in this year's harvest I have far more cherry. Red oak splits the best. White and cherry tend to get nasty twists in them that confound splitting. Maple is easy too, but it is a much softer wood overall in my experience. My limit is about 12" in dia. and that comprises the bulk of "my" woods. I cut everything to 24" length as much as possible as that handles best for me (the stove can take up to 30"). Longer = harder splitting, but fewer pieces to handle. I cut only really dead stuff, lots of which is already on the ground due to blow-down and gypsy moth kill. We had a serious gypsy moth outbreak in the early 80s that put enough wood down over the years to last me about 25 years of fairly easy harvest. That of course does not all come down at once. To me a sad but beautiful sight is a 60' red oak dead and still standing with all its bark off. That tree will not rot any further and will remain solid until I finally get it, maybe 5-8 years after it dropped its last leaf! Over the years I have sometimes hauled, cut, and burned slabwood. I could get a whole truckload (~1/2 cord) for $10 at the local sawmills. Sometimes it was already cut but usually it was bundled in 10' lengths. That was an economical alternative for some years early on. But the local sawmills all closed-up shop and the distant ones still in operation now sell all their scrap to those who make the byproducts like pellets! In 28 years I can remember having all of 1 cord of wood cut/split/delivered/stacked for about $75. But when I have to pay that kind of money for it, most of the economic justification is gone...

Good "chat"...Tks....!

 

[brownover]

I used to do a lot of wood cutting as a youngster and then after I got married. Wood warms you 4 times, cutting, splitting, toting and then in the fireplace or heater. Then as finances got better, I switched to lp gas and electric. Now I have the gas basically cut off except for a hot water heater and bathroom heater because that is so expensive. We do not have natural gas here. As for my chain saws, they were homelite and poulan. Now I have a small electric. Cord is aggravating, but the saw starts easily!

 

[KAB]

I learned the hard way the key to keeping chain saws running well is never let the gas get too old, especially with Stihls.

 

[bhelms]

I use a Poulan type of pre-mix oil that includes stabilizer. I have several pre-mixes at any given time, 20:1 for the saw and rototiller and 40:1 for the line trimmers. At the end of the season I drain the saw's tank but do not run-out what's in the fuel line and carb (entirely too hard to get it primed the next season!) then just store it. At the beginning of the next season I will start with a fresh batch of pre-mix and the aforementioned starter fluid and that's all it takes for me to get 'er running again! Over the course of a year I'm re-balancing the pre-mixes as needed for the equipment in use at the time so gas doesn't sit around for more than a few months...

 

[bhelms]

...Wood warms you 4 times, cutting, splitting, toting and then in the fireplace or heater...)

I never thought of it that way but of course you're right! I wear longjohns and double socks, and one or two flannel shirts while cutting. (See the photo in post 1.) A coat is too restrictive. When I first head out on a brisk morning (temps. in the low 40s with a breeze like last Sat. and Sun.) I'm cold at first, but it doesn't take long before I'm as warmed-up as the saw, and possibly shedding that top shirt! I probably lose a couple of pounds over the course of a day sweating, and it doesn't matter how cold it is outside, my inner clothes are always warm...and damp!...at the end of the day...!

 

[Inno]

I have some shagbark hickory and some locust. But my wood abundance is red and white oak, cherry, elm, and various maples which are probably most common in the mix, tho' in this year's harvest I have far more cherry.

Sounds like you've got some very good wood there for smoking food with! I'm a little envious.

 

[Inno]

I learned the hard way the key to keeping chain saws running well is never let the gas get too old, especially with Stihls.

Especially with today's gasoline and it's added alcohol. Wherever possible I use the non-oxygenated stuff, it doesn't turn to goo as quickly as the regular gas does when mixed with mix oil.