I am such a p***y.

[Guest RedLights&Sirens]

Surely there's something in Obamacare that covers tree removal and chipping?

I mean, if the population can get free cell phones, health-care, foo stamp, section eight, WIC, earned income, three hots and a cot... Surely some tree cutting and removal is in there somewhere for free?

Come on... Do a little paper work, fill out a few forms, and let the government take care of it.... :rofl:

I dont think there is much in Obamacare to help people who work, especially doing manual labor :-D

I wish I could say that was sarcasm Edited May 20, 2013 by RedLights&Sirens

[Guest Lester Weevils]

So I was futzing with the chainsaws. The little 30cc Makita 16" cuts good for its size, and it doesn't rev up like a model airplane motor from hell like my similar sized Echo would do (the one that prematurely burned up).

 

The "barely used" 45cc 18 inch Homelite old dad gave me. He got too old to use it shortly after buying it, so it is "near new". Web-searched that homelite model and most commenters agree that the saw is shoddy crap. So am gonna use the little Makita for trimming and use the Homelite for ripping smallish logs til it burns up or breaks. Maybe it will last a long time just occasional ripping for an hour at a time, or maybe it will go out real soon, dunno.

 

So was "planning ahead" to decide what kind of small log ripping saw to get if/when the Homelite falls apart.

 

Stihl sells three lines of saws, home, farm/ranch, and pro. IIRC, about the biggest home model is 45 cc, and the farm models 45cc up to 60-ish cc. Pro models in all the smaller sizes and then some models bigger than 60 cc.

 

Ripping is a slightly different task than felling or bucking. I'd probably get tuckered out ripping more than an hour at a time, but running a saw "near full time" ripping for an hour might put the hurt on it just as bad as doing it all day? Also it stands to reason, even ripping small logs, that a bigger engine wouldn't be stressed as bad as a smaller engine?

 

So a "home" 45cc stihl goes for maybe $300-$400, a "farm" 60-ish stihl goes for about $500 up, and a "pro" 70-sh cc stihl gets up around $1000. It would be a bummer to get something too small and burn it up, but OTOH if a $500 saw would run for years no problemo, it would be a bummer to buy a $1000 saw I didn't really need. :)

 

Was asking my tree man about saws (all his saws are stihl), and he said some of the older big models (dunno if anybody makes this kind any more) didn't wind out like a banshee on crack, but had lots of "lugging" low speed power. He never ripped logs but was guessing a "lugger" might be more durable for a ripping task.

 

Or is there something about Husky's that would make em more suitable than Stihl for this task?

[Spots]

Husky 372 xp. We have a 371 xp which is almost identical and basically built my sisters log home with it. It'll rip for years and never notice it

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Thanks Spots!

[Spots]

Thanks Spots!

No prob. Its a little more expensive and may be a little bigger than you need, but you'll never need another saw. It'll cut anything you wanna cut, rips good. Little heavy but enough low end power to rip all day without burning out

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere

[Caster]

You just lack the proper motivation.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdXQJS3Yv0Y

[Guest Lester Weevils]

No prob. Its a little more expensive and may be a little bigger than you need, but you'll never need another saw. It'll cut anything you wanna cut, rips good. Little heavy but enough low end power to rip all day without burning out

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere

 

The price is a little lower than an equivalent sized stihl, and unless stihl and husqvarna weigh their saws differently-equipped, it looks like that husky is a pound or two lighter. It would be good to get a size/model that somebody I know has found out "fit for the task", but I'm gonna burn up that Homelite before getting that Husky. Maybe anyway. Unless I get overly ambitious.

 

Today finally got around to testing that alaskan small log mill attachment. Not wanting to worry about burning up dad's Homelite 45 cc "first time out", tried it on that 33 cc Makita 16" for starters. The Makita bar is so narrow, it was "just barely possible" to mount the Makita without squashing the chain grooves. The 16" bar was just barely long enough to try ripping a 10" or 12" small log.

 

Tried it on that box elder that's about 9 months old since cut. Dolomite said it probably wasn't rotten yet, but the logs looked pretty dern rotten on the outside. But he was right, it was in great shape inside. Beautiful grain.

 

I ripped one 10" or so log (box elder is so knobby on the outside, the diameter varies a lot with all the knobs and such on the logs). And ripped several 8" or so box elder logs, and one hackberry log. The Makita was just barely up to the task on that 10" +/- log, but didn't work too hard on the 8" logs. Even the 33 cc was cutting faster than I'd expected, and I didn't get tuckered out as much as expected. There are some youtube videos of old guys running chainsaw mills where they look like they are suffering pretty bad.

 

So next time will try the 18" 45cc homelite, which might do better still or one would hope.

 

I was ripping 3" slabs, intending to cut them into boards on the table saw. But box elder is a kind of maple, and the wet box elder 3" thick was putting the hurt on my table saw. Does dry hardwood cut better on a table saw than wet hardwood? I turned a couple of the 3" slabs into boards on the table saw but was almost afraid the table saw was gonna burn up. So actually the little 33cc chainsaw was running thru that stuff quicker than my table saw. Surprising.

 

So anyway next time will try slabbing that box elder 5/4" or 1 1/2". Might even try squaring the log with the chainsaw rather than squaring slabs on the table saw. I'd been thinking the table saw could square slabs quicker than the chain saw, but that might have been an error to think thataway.

[Lumber_Jack]

It's ford vs Chevy. I've ran a Sthil 440, 460& 660 and the Husky equivalent to the 440. All will do the job. Personally I like the way a Sthil disassembles vs a Husky but that is mostly for tree felling and cleaning. For your application I'd buy the biggest HP saw you can afford and do work!

[Reaper]

It looks like there are plenty of potential volunteers to help me get rid of part of a tree that the storms took out. lol

[Guest nra37922]

I still say Mex's are cheaper and you don't have to worry about storage, gas or your neighbors borrowing and never bring back.

[tnhawk]

In the words of my Staff Sgt. "hydrate hydrate hydrate!" Dont know about where youre at but its hot and humid in Memphis today.

That describes almost every day in memphis

[Guest Lester Weevils]

It's ford vs Chevy. I've ran a Sthil 440, 460& 660 and the Husky equivalent to the 440. All will do the job. Personally I like the way a Sthil disassembles vs a Husky but that is mostly for tree felling and cleaning. For your application I'd buy the biggest HP saw you can afford and do work!

 

Thanks Lumber_Jack.

 

Here are the first experiment slabs from the small logs of box elder and that one small hackberry at the right side--

 

Cut 3" slabs intending to cut 2X3 boards on the table saw, but it was a mistake because the table saw doesn't like cutting it 3" thick, but the table saw doesn't much mind cutting it 1 1/2" thick. Took awhile to cut a few boards out of the narrower slabs. Will just dry the wider slabs as-is and figure out something to do with em later.

 

Anyway, the grain patterns would probably be optimized slicing the rest of the box elder 5/4" or 1" rather than fat narrow boards.

 

 

 

[Guest PapaB]

Those would make some nice turning blanks.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Those would make some nice turning blanks.

 

Yep, Dolomite said he had made some bowls out of box elder, and there are web pictures of spectacular bowls, because the colored grain pattern is so "3D" and if you cross-section the wood in 1 inch disks, every piece shows a completely different grain pattern.

 

When wife had the trees taken down last fall, the fella wasn't instructed to keep as long logs as possible and so most of it is in 3 to 4 foot sections. I'd been thinking of ripping some wood for years, but didn't expect the tall skinny trees to contain very interesting wood, and didn't think to ask my friend not to buck it into small pieces. However, there are a couple of other tall skinny box elders and black walnuts that we will probably cut, from that same vicinity behind the back yard. They shade the back yard too much and all it will grow is weeds. They are in a valley and have to grow real tall and skinny to get any light. So next time will cut in as long logs possible.

 

What size are typical turning blanks? 6 X 6? 8 X 8? There are a couple of short maybe two-foot long, bigger-diameter pieces, real odd-shaped and knarled, cut from just above the stumps. Those knarly lumps of wood ouldn't be much good for boards but might have neat "burl" patterns to cut into big turning blocks. The only time I turned any wood was in junior high shop class a zillion years ago. Was fun to do as best can recall.

 

Was thinking today that some 2" slabs might make beautiful electric guitar bodies, but dunno if a "semi-hard" maple like box elder would be considered a good tone wood. Never built an electric geetar. Or it could be resawn into thinner sections to overlay an ash body or whatever.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Time for another dumb question-- Asking here might be more effective than web-searching.

 

Tried some ripping with that Homelite 45cc 18" bar saw that old dad gave me. It obviously has more power than the 33 cc Makita, and didn't tend to "bog down" as easy as the Makita, but it was cutting slower than the makita and the cuts were lots more rough and less even than what the Makita was delivering. The Makita made surprisingly smooth boards for the "first time out". Maybe I wasn't holding the saw as steady today, or maybe the boxelder log I was cutting on had a different nature, but am wondering about the chain.

 

Both chains are "factory" what came on the saws. Crosscut chains, but from web-searching, supposedly crosscut chains will work fine but the cut is a little rougher than a rip chain. I read some comments claiming that, though the cut is rougher, a standard chain will rip a bit faster than a rip chain, but dunno if that is true. The makita chain is pretty narrow kerf, and the homelite chain is visibly wider (though I haven't measured them), and the cutting teeth have a more drastic "outward cant" on the homelite chain.

 

Also found instructions on how to resharpen a chain to different angles to make it more like a rip chain.

 

But what I learned long ago about harbor freight bladed tools-- Some of the tools are apparently built as good as "name brand" chinese tools, and probably built in the same factory as name brand tools, but the blades are crap. The most sane thing to do on harbor freight saws as far as my experience, is drop by home depot or lowes after buying the cheap harbor freight tool and buy a high-quality blade, remove the factory blade and never even bother to use it. Saves a lot of frustration.

 

Could the same thing be possible with this Homelite saw? Maybe I'd just be wasting time trying to sharpen and/or reshape the homelite chain, and the biggest favor I could do for myself is go out and buy a high quality chain? Or would it be worth it to try grinding on the homelite factory chain?

 

Are chain sizes pretty standard? If I take the saw to the local stihl or husky servicing dealers and ask em for a high-quality chain for the homelite, are they likely to have something in stock?

 

What are some typical brand names (other than stihl or husky) of high quality chains?

 

Thanks

Edited June 22, 2013 by Lester Weevils

[Bassoneer]

I got a Stihl Farm Boss a couple of years ago and it is great - 20" bar.  Great for cutting trees.  However, it gets heavy if you're just cutting branches and dismantling the trees that you cut down.  For that, I bought the smallest Stihl (like a 170 or something) and it was less than $200.  It has a 16" bar and would have a hard time with a big tree, but does great with small stuff and is a lot lighter.  So, my advice would be to get a couple of chain saws (maybe not all at the same time).  A good size one to cut the big stuff and a baby one to cut the little branches - I spend a lot more time cutting branches once the big cuts have been made.  Best wishes, B

[Spots]

Do yourself a favor and buy a rip chain. Standard chains suck for ripping. If you can find the manual I'd look up the chain size. Go to Baileys logging supply, they carry everything for saws you can imagine. We use oregon chains if I remeber right, but I'll ask my old man today to make sure.

sent from the backwoods

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Thanks Spots. Will call bailey's next week and pick their brains about it. Possibly they would also recommend another bar that might be better for the task, dunno.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Bassoneer, I have a little 33 cc 16" Makita that seems a pretty nice small saw for limbing and such. If I had it to do over again might have got a stihl or husky small saw, but the quality seems pretty good on the Makita. Actually wife had bought the Makita for me after I burned up the Echo small saw, but apparently the salesman gave her good advice and the saw turned out pretty good. I didn't have very good luck with that previous Echo small saw, though Echo has a pretty good reputation AFAIK. Maybe the echo saw was a lemon. Makita sounds like a japanese brand but supposedly they are made in Germany.

 

Studied the bigger huskies and stihl's. Visited a local servicing stihl dealer who appears to have the old "retail trade not invited", "if you ain't a pro quit wasting my time" attitude. Got a bad vibe from the guy like he was intentionally trying to make me mad so I'd go away. Or maybe he's a great guy and I read it wrong, but have seen the same attitude from "retail trade not invited" plumbing and electrical supply houses and such. I figgered if it was so unpleasant just trying to give the guy money for a saw, it might be real unpleasant getting the saw serviced if necessary.

 

The chatt Ace hardware way out on hixson pike is also a servicing dealer, and that guy was friendly, informative, enthusiastic. A fella who does a lot of wood cutting himself, but not ripping. I'd narrowed down to about three stihl models and he helped a great deal in deciding. When I mentioned ripping he first assumed I was talking about monster trees and big bars, recommended a 660 which is entirely correct as far as I've been able to find out. Then when I explained logs in the max 18" vicinity were what I was shooting for, he admitted that a 70 cc 441 would probably cut it, but thought a 76 cc 461 might be a better choice. A little more power, adjustable non-automatic carb.

 

He was of the opinion that the "automatic adjusting" carb on the 441 might be a hassle in case the saw might work better tuned customized to the task. He also mentioned that the 441 has the wobbly anti-vibration handles which might be an annoyance in ripping, and that the 461 doesn't have the spring-loaded handles. That also made perfect sense because that little 45 cc Homelite of dad's has the anti-vibration handles which I didn't like at all. Made me feel like I didn't know if I was pulling "up" on the saw to keep it level for ripping, too much or not enough.

 

So I got the 461. The fella spent a lot of time answering all my dumb questions about how to best avoid mistreating the saw.

 

So anyway had been ripping a smallish about 10" red oak, that the 45 cc Homelite was going real slow and making bad rough non-straight cuts on, even after I sharpened the chain as best I could follow the instructions. Had given up on the Homlite in disgust til I could get a better saw.

 

Anyway, with a full-chisel stihl blade and 20" bar, that 461 vastly exceeded expectations. I was expecting it to cut smoother, straighter and somewhat faster. Wasn't expecting it to cut remarkably fast, just steady. But that thing ripped thru that smallish size of oak like a hot knife thru butter. An agressive saw. Going down the log faster than I can feed 1" oak thru my table saw. Well, maybe if I was to time it, maybe the table saw would be faster. But it was cutting pretty dern fast. At least comparable to the table saw feed rate, and on much thicker material that the table saw would burn up on for sure.

 

It will obviously be slower on bigger logs, but am pleased and surprised how fast it was slicing that oak. The surface of the cut with just the full-chisel chain looks fine to me. The cut-lines are small enough that it wouldn't take more than one or two passes thru a thickness planer to take em out, and I was just assuming from the get-go that any ripped boards would get fed thru a thickness planer before use, for furniture/cabinet type uses anyway.

[mav]

I finally broke down and solved my problem.  I took a half day from work and went on a shopping spree.  The first place I went to was really a bummer.  I was a customer ready to spend some cash, and I couldn't get anyone to take an interest in helping me out.  I finally got irritated and decided to go elsewhere.  I guess my money wasn't good enough.

 

I finally made it up to Homestead Tractor, http://www.homesteadjohndeeredealer.com/ in Cleveland.  They were every friendly and had no problem helping me decide on what I needed.  I ended up buying a John Deere X320 with a dump cart.  I also got a bunch of Stihl stuff.  I got a chainsaw, pole saw, trimmer, edger, and a hedge trimmer.

[Wingshooter]

Cutting wood is tough work. I want one of these behind the tractor...