I was messing around with my Kapwing video editting skilz and came up with this.....
Speaking of trees, I had a little SNAFU earlier in the week. There was a good sized tree leaning over the fence line and field. As soon as I started the notch it clamped onto the bar of my chainsaw. SHIT!
Luckily, I have a Ryobi 40V one that I use for small limbs and such so I used that to cut into backside of the tree. I wanted to let the tree down easy so that it wouldn't damage the electric fence.
As soon as I started cutting with the Ryobi the load of the overhang took over.
Turn up the volume. The sound of the wood fibers tearing was louder in person. It sounded like gunshots and a few echoed.....
That saw is from 1996 and the only thing I have had to repair was the bar oil pump.
As the tree crushed the bar it crimped the chain guide slot. They had a new one in stock at
the local hardware store.
I made a few more cuts with the Ryobi and this is the final stand for ye olde tree.
That 'Timber" sounded like it was followed by a question mark. (chuckle) Glad you got it down safely!
ReplyDeleteThat kamal toe business, I refuse to listen to that insignificant, whiney so and so.
ReplyDeleteYou have to watch my "doctored" video.
DeleteThat's about the size of the one limb we lost on our ash tree this Spring. Had a late storm with heavy, wet snow, and it broke.
ReplyDeleteSounded like a cannon going off when it snapped....
The timber at the end was awesome! It did sound like a question though as Patrick D says. LOL
ReplyDeleteA couple of comments from an armchair logger (retired in 2003):
ReplyDelete-If it was me I'd have taken the powerhead off of the saw to avoid risking damage to it when the tree came down. Strange things can happen in situations like that, and often do.
-You can probably open up that pinched bar if it's not bent. The only thing that's important is that the chain's drivers have the clearance to slide easily and without resistance.
And come to think of it, if you had a spare bar and chain but not a second saw you could take the powerhead of the pinched bar and install the spare to get out of the fix you were in. I've used that trick before.
This advice is worth every penny that you paid for it. :-)
Thanks elmo, I do have a couple felling wedges but I doubt they would have helped.
DeleteI was only a bar width or so into the cut and CRUSH. it was all done. I will admit I didn't estimate the weight and figured trying to cut anything else on that side would have spelt disaster.
I appreciate the tips!!
No worries. Stuff like this happens to everybody, except the Carhart wearing metrosexuals that would put the chain on backwards and then wonder why it's not cutting.
DeleteBTW, I admire your choice of saws. Stihls are all I've run since Dolmars went away. I just wish I was still young enough to be able to throw my 362 around like I used to. Sigh.
Happy cutting!
I usually drop my powerhead off before cutting out a pinched bar - reduces the monetary risk to just the bar and chain (I usually have spares on hand of each, except the 32" bar). Things get less predictable with multiple points of a tree in contact with the ground... the twist as the top settles can fling things around a fair piece. Saw looks like an 023 or 025, good saw, cut a lot of wood with a couple before moving to 026/036/066 pro series.
ReplyDeleteGood job letting it down gently and thanks for taking us along!
Mike the EE
Nothing like fresh air on a nice fall day. Beats work, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteLMAO!
ReplyDeletetimber.
That could have been much uglier very easily.
And that's why a tree guy ALWAYS takes two saws of each size. BTDT. At least your see wasn't totaled. A few months ago I went into the hardware store and a guy was dropping of an orange and white pancake that used to be a brand new, very large, very expensive Stihl chainsaw. Had it for a few hours and one of the hired hands set it down where a massive trackhoe was working...
ReplyDeleteNext time remove the powerhead and leave just bar & chain.
ReplyDeleteMy 030av had a similar bar oiler issue. Spit oil everywhere but on the bar. A small length of 1/8" copper tubing rectified that issue though. It's very close to the output/drive sprocket. It's neat to see those old saws still in use. Ohio Guy
ReplyDeleteI was thinking maybe instead of yelling TIMBER!!! You could just spell it.....
ReplyDeleteMan, that was a slow boat. Hope the repair parts are up to the quality of the original tool.
As in previous comments ... have a second saw ready, or at least a spare bar and chain (which you can then use to release the trapped one. Alternatively, this is what felling wedges are for ... keep the backcut open so your bar doesn't get pinched. You can also use the wedges to help direct the direction of the fall.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to see you swinging the axe.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great comments and the suggestion to remove the power head from the bar. The new replacement bar was 39.00 so I will go get another one to have "in stock" if I have any similar mishap going forward.
ReplyDeleteThe notch must have been too deep for the amount of lean, or the tree was dead and rotten in the center. If the lean is severe I notch, then plunge cut thru then pull up and cut my way out with the top of the bar to the opposite side. I cut for 10 years in the 70's with an 051 and an 075 southern michigan hardwoods, and I don't miss it one bit. Today all logging is from the seat of a tractor.
ReplyDeleteA few decades ago I was "helping" a friend cut a tree down in his yard. He had a brand new small Stihl saw that was a gift from his wife. As he's making the back cut, a small gust of wind pinched the saw just as the cut was almost complete. The saw stayed stuck for several minutes as we tried to free it. Just then the wind changed direction 180 degrees. Saw fell out and rolled nearly into the intended direction and the tree started to fall. As the tree is falling it kicked off of the stump, right on top of the saw, which ended up crushed beyond salvage.
ReplyDeleteNemo
That sucks :(
DeleteBeen cutting down trees for fifty years. Your mistake was to even start cutting on the side that was leaning. The purpose of a wedge or notch cut is to make the tree fall in a specific direction. The tree was already leaning so no notch cut was necessary. All you had to do was cut on the opposite side of the lean and you would have had no problem.
ReplyDeleteMornin' Matt. Ya, I realized the error of my ways a bit too late. It won't happen again. :)
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