Felling Saws

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

O.K guy's how many of you run a modified saw when felling the bigger tree's??I'm getting ready to send out my 385XP for some more horsepower...Also buying a new 395XPG for this winter...So who's modified and who is'nt??

          Later Rob....

[Kevin]

No mods here Rob, can`t say I have a need for it but maybe some day I`ll get the Husky 262 hopped up.

[Corley5]

My 395's stock.  I don't really see a need to have it hopped up.  Cuts good the way it is.

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

My 385XP is not having any trouble but it's a little slow pulling a 36" in certain hardwoods,but it still gets the job done thats the only reason I want to hop it up a little nothing radical just a good woods saw,I ran my friends 395 last week very nice saw definetly no problems with power there,I think I may buy one of those next week gotta go to my dealer and see what the prices are for one with a 36"..


                          Later Rob......

[Oregon_Rob]

As if "Need" has anything to do with it! :D

[smwwoody]

hi

I run a hopped up 372 most of the time and I love it thinking of doing a 385 soon.  i never realy liked the weight of the 394/5's and the 288's well I wont go there but that 285 I think that will be my new saw

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

The 372's are a very good saw,but if your looking for a good felling saw the 385's are the ticket I use mine all day with a 32" bar and chain in Oak and Maples and it still has plenty of power to spare.

                    Later Rob...

[smwwoody]

Hi Rob

I cut about 10000 bf of oak and cherry today that measured about 30 to 36 inches across the stumpwith my little 372 and a 24" bar.  but that little extra power in a 385 would speed me up quite a bit in those big cherry's
I could cut them from the back insted of boaring all of them  and not worry about splitting them.  this would be a lot faster and when one tree sells for about 4 to 5 thousand dollars you don't want to take any chances of splitting one or I might be looking for a new line of work.

[HORSELOGGER]

Rob, I'm confused.... Stihl magnum one, but you use all husky?    I had a 372 xp that I had power tuned by Madsens saw shop in Washington. It was a nice saw and really screamed but I have been a stihl man for so long I sold it and bought a 046. Just couldnt get comfortable with the layout I guess.

smwoody,   sounds like a good day in the woods.   I like to keep a 28" bar on my saws and plunge cut everything no matter what size. I like to have as much control of when the tree goes down as possible and never liked racin the notch with a back cut. Even if I have my Jonsy 2095 out with the 32" bar I plunge cut.

Reminds me of a story.... Last winter I was logging a small patch of mixed hardwoods, mostly oak and some ash.  A small mill owner came out to bid on the logs at the end of one day and came down into the timber where I was skidding out the last log I had down with the team. He saw my saw laying there and asked if he could carry it out for me and I told him I was going to drop one more little ash tree before I called it a day.  He sized it up and said " I'll lay it down while you pull out that one"  I figured he must know what he's doing so said go ahead.  I got just about up to the landing when I heard that awful CRACK and the only thing I was wondering was if he was still alive !   I ran back down and sure enough, there was a 13' tall barber chair and and a very embarrassed ( and lucky) mill owner. Nobody touches my saw anymore but me!

[smwwoody]

horselogger you are right.  I keep trying to talk myself into bigger saws because the power is cool right ?????
but I always remember that no matter what I am cutting and no matter what saw I am useing I will still bore or plunge cut them all any way so why should I drag around anything bigger than a 372 or 046

[HORSELOGGER]

Yeah, thats what i was getting at I guess. Why drag any more weight around than you really need?  I have found that sharp is almost more important than displacement. What good is a 32" dull chain on 95cc of saw?

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Rob,

Currently Im not modified, but I do want to get the muffler done on my 038, for a start.  A cooler running saw is a happier saw, I always say!!  ;D :D
Cheers
Charlie.

[ADfields]

Charlie can you still get 038's and 041's down ther?
Andy

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Horselogger,


      I still use my 064AV on a daily basis,I just never had any Husqvarnas and now that I got a few I'm starting to like them,but that does'nt mean that I don't stihl like my Stihl's I have always been a stihl fan I plan on buying a 088 mag in the near future...

                                   Later Rob...

[smwwoody]

rob
if you are going to use that 088 for felling hardwood do yourself a favor and find a good used 084 they seem to have a little more snap. some times you can even still find a new one at a shop a friend of mine just found a new still in the box 064 at a shop last week

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

I don't really like the 084's I'm just thinking about getting a 088,but I might not I only use saws for the bigger than 22" stuff otherwise I use my HydroAx feller buncher.Finding a 064 was a good finf though..

I'm just starting to haul all my equipment to another site,I just finished a 25 acre selective cut of all Maple,and some good sized Oak's,now all I gotta do is go back and get my buncher before the days out....

                      Later Rob..

[TJACK]

SMWWOODY,

I see you are from PA by the flag and pesky Elk statement.  I live in Elk County!  The PA Game Commission is making a ton of cash on the sale of Elk applications to control an animal as wild as an escaped farmers cow!

As far as a felling saw, I use a 372xp.  My Husky dealer said he sells 10 to 1, 372xp to 395xp.  The 372 runs at higher RPM and the extra weight of the 395 is tough to justify.  The 385 specs look good, although I have not used one.

TJACK

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Andy,

I have not seen the 041 here, but you can still get the 038 easily, as well as the 090.  The firewood guys here really like the 038, it goes and goes.  I believe you can get the 038 in Canada also.
Cheers
Charlie.

[Ron Scott]

I just switched from Sthil after all these years to a new Husky 351 for my use ald lighter weight. The large dealer I go to handled both Stihl and Husky.

I was surprise to see no more Stihls when I visited. He tells me that Stihl took all his Stilh products away because he was selling too many Huskys. So I went with a Husky because of the good dealer and service.

The Husky 372xp seems to be the most poplar here also.  

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Ron,

       These Husky's are a very good saw I love my 385XP that I bought a while ago very good power to weght ratio there not much heavier than the 372's and have more ci's.I still like my 064 and other Stihl's but from now on all I'll probally buy will be Husqvarna..

                           Later Rob...

[ranger]

I run a stock 046 mag and it does o.k. would be nice to get a little more power out of it but I get paid by the hour! Actually if I used it for mainly falling I would get it hopped up but the saw is being asked to do  three things. Limbing, bucking, and falling the bigger trees. By the sounds of things the 385xp should do me really good , haven't had a chance to try it yet though.

[Seth]

Rob
I have a couple of 084's and a new 088 out west getting worked over by Ken Dunn . The 084 is a little smaller than the 088's and the new 088 out of the box are kind of a turkey.If you are looking for a big gun, Try to find a used 084 or Sachs Dolmar 166

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Hey Seth how did the cant cutting go ???

                Later Rob..

[Seth]

Rod
 It went great.Here's a shot of me with Steve Melzers 088kd woods saw, 10x10 Apen cant 3 cuts 0:07 02

                 

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Seth,

        Who's Rod I never met him  :D,cool pic nice 088KD,I've been debating on sending my 385 to Dennis or Dunn...

                   Later Rob....

[Seth]

 Rob
 Sorry I don't know rod ethier. I am tryin to post some pictures but having  problems

[Jeff]

Seth,

Instructions for posting pictures can be found here.

https://forestryforum.com/tips/tips.cgi?display:1021999910-6825.txt

the path you are using is to your computer. Not to a picture on the internet.

Not sure how Rob saw your picture unless he hacked into your computer. ;D

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

I'm pretty sure saw his picture's on another board...but I'm not gonna say which one  ;D

                  Later Rob...

Hack into someones computer,I barely know how to use one ;D

[Seth]

 Jeff
 Thank you 044 with a 24" Cannon &  034Av Super 24" Cannon

[Jeff]

Hey, no chaps, no eye protection, no hearing protection that I can see.

10x10 Apen cant 3 cuts 0:07

Right knee to the bone 0.003

[Tom]

I think I like Kevin's outlook on chainsaws better than the split second sawing of a 10" cant.  Not that sawing little blocks off of a cant might not be fun but Kevin works with these big saws in the air and on the ground.  He's developed a real appreciation for what a saw will do and wears safety equipment from head to foot. It even follows over into his milling operation.

It takes a lot more gumption than I have to stick a big chainsaw into a horizontal tree expecting to get boards out of it.

Not too long ago he was encouraging me to wear ear protection along with several others on the board.  They were right.  When the hearing is gone, it's gone. The same can be said for a leg an arm or a neck.  I think if I were to be using a chainsaw in an attack mode, I would be protected to the hilt like Kevin does.

I guess I miss the importance of a souped up chainsaw.  It seems to me that it is a lot more important to be able to take a tree down dropping it on a dime, leave a flat, short stump and do it with as much safety as precision.  

There is an instance on the board right now where some of the more experienced loggers are concerned about a members chainsaw use.  He will learn something from them if he listens but the real concern is his safety.  Cutting a leaning tree is not only an art that needs to be learned but is seldom done without equipment or ropes available.  It's the thinking part of a "falling' job that intrigues me the most.  The really good guys approach a tree as if it were a chess game.  There are all kinds of stresses they have to recognize, even in a tree that is on the ground.  Loaded limbs and raised trunks and root balls.  

I guess souped up saws may be fun but it just seems to me to be analagus to spinning doughnuts in the street with the family car.

I like the way Kevin approaches saws best.

[Seth]

Tom
 lumberjack sports is my hobby and chainsaw racing is part of that. those saws in the pic are woods saws not hotsaws.I do have a nother pair of Swede pro chaps on the way form Ohio and usually where them. In's&out's of directional falling
 it to is important to have a sharp saw that cuts fast and enough snort to bore (leaners and frozen stems).

[woodbeard]

I can't say I'm speaking from much experience, but it is my understanding that the quicker you can make that final cut, the safer you are, especially where leaning stresses are involved. Also if you can make a smaller saw work harder, and cut faster, it seems you might get less fatigued than if you were wrestling with a heavier saw or an underpowered one.
Just a thought,
George

[Kevin]

Every chainsaw manual has several pages of safety precautions printed in them because of accidents caused from carelessness or from ignorance of just not knowing.
We tend to forget these rules from time to time and must be reminded periodically.
When one person gets hurt with a chainsaw it effects everyone in one way or another.
It`s the resposibiliy of the people that know to educate the ones that don`t .
Get the safety gear and wear it, there are no excuses for not using it.
Once you get cut it`s too late to put the stuff on.

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Nice felling pics Seth,I prefer the Husky protective logger pants instead of chaps

[Seth]

Rob
 I have never seen the Husky pants nor have I ever ran a Husky saw,The swedepro chaps are full ankle wrap and ul approved. Jeff Sikama can get good deals on them.The same as Stihls chaps but without the logo. Chaps are made so that they fill the tooth when the chain comes in contact with the chap reducing the injury but not always stopping it. The racing chap has a double leg(right) for the higher chain speed with high tooth count sprockets. Seth

[Tom]

What are chaps made from that will fill the chain.  Does that mean that the chain doesn't stop, it just won't cut because the teeth are filled or does the material actually stall the saw?

What can someone use to protect from kickback?  I know......not letting a saw kick is the best way, but if it did kick, it could take your head off or do a wonderful job of bisecting a juglar vein.  Is there a vest made to protect ones neck?  How hot is this stuff?  Do professionals not wear it because it is uncomfortable?  

I guess the everyday chainsaw operator doesn't own much safety gear because the saw is not their everyday tool.  I trim stubbs from logs for the sawmill and seldom do that. Cutting logs to length and squaring ends is the bulk of my use. If I were to have to split many logs, I suppose chaps would be in order.  I've gotten to where I really like the hardhat/earmufflers that my wife bought for me. Perhaps if I broke down and bought chaps, I would stop long enough to put them on.  It's probably a good idea.

George,
It does make sense to have a saw that is up to the job, but I wonder if a hopped up saw is as important as a dependable one and a feller that knows what he is doing.  I've been told that the hinge is the most important "last cut' and you don't cut it but let it guide the tree.  If you cut the tree loose from the stump before it is totally committed, it will go where the elements send it.  It is more important to commit the tree and then use your exit path.  I hate to get logs with split and misshapened butts on the sawmill too. They cause me lost boards and wasted time as I have to square them to keep from damaging the mill and to make the board stacks even.

I like your profile picture.  :D :D

[Kevin]

Seth,
Who sets the rules with regard to safety in the hot saw events?
Is there a governing body?

[Seth]

 Kevin,There are many lumberjack associations. But basic rules are eye,hearing protection and chaps usually layered with ballistic nylon. 084 stock woods saw with 42" Cannon bar

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Seth,

      I have a couple set's of chaps and a pair of Husky logger pants,I just wanted to buy a pair of the Deluxe pant's.Thanks for the heads up on Jeff I should get another set of chaps anyway the ones I have now are about junk...
Nice 084 how do you like those Cannon bars??
                   Later Rob..

[Seth]

Rob
 I really like the Cannon pricey but worth it, They have very hard rails and not only is the tip hardened around where the replacable oregon sprocket tip goes but they harden the heels too. I am having a custom belly bar made right know at Cannon $260usd for the hotsaw. Seth

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Seth,

      I've been thinking of trying one on my 385 and maybe my 064 where can I get them from?Are'nt the Woodsman Pro's that Baileys sells actually Cannon bars with a different name...

                   Later Rob....

[Kevin]

A quick and dirty response.  ;D

What are chaps made from that will fill the chain.
Kevlar.

Does that mean that the chain doesn't stop, it just won't cut because the teeth are filled or does the material
actually stall the saw?
Doesn`t always stop it before the damage is done but it jams up the chain and reduces the damage significantly.
                              
What can someone use to protect from kickback?
Cut with the rear end of the bar and not the tip.
Never allow the top of the tip portion of the bar to come in contact with anything.

Is there a vest made to protect ones neck?  How hot is this stuff?  Do professionals not wear it because it is
uncomfortable?
There is but I think for the most part it is viewed as over kill on the part of the pros.
Saw handling and  inertia brakes are better accident prevention when it comes to kickback.  
                              
 I guess the everyday chainsaw operator doesn't own much safety gear because the saw is not their everyday tool. Anyone that owns a chainsaw should have the basic safety equipment.

[Seth]

Rob
 Right Woodsman Pro that Bailey's sell are Cannons with different paint.Madsen's sell Cannon as well.Seth

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Seth,

         Thanks that's what I thought.

Kevin,

       I'am a everyday  logger that uses my saws to make a living and of course I think that you should all have safety gear I always wear my Logger pants,Peltor helmet system,Husky ProTec logger boots,gloves and yes a vest,I know that all this is'nt very comfortable but it's protection and I also know that the saw will still bite thru whatever you have on just not as bad or severe I should say,I have been cut a few times even with my chaps etc but it only required 30 stitches instead of close to 100 due to my chaps..just my thought's

                        Later Rob...

[woodbeard]

Tom, thanx, I think he's the Quaker oats guy's cousin- the one they don't talk about. What I meant was cutting up to the hinge, not thru it. My saws are stock, I don't do a lot of felling, but I think if I did, I wouldn't mind having a little more power in the same package. There are differences between the modifications for racing saws and "bread and butter" felling saws, one is meant to get you through a few logs real quick, and the other is more power, and durability. I think some of the others could describe this better, though. Anyhow I'll probably invest in some protective gear before anything.
George

[Kevin]

Rob,
It seems to be the general contractor and home owner who neglect the safety wear, every serious logger I know won`t take any chances, there`s enough danger with working in the bush without being properly suited up.

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

Now that is the truth...Seth know's all about safety gear he's a sawyer and a good one at that...Seth got any other good pics??
This topic is really active tonight..
                     later Rob..

[Seth]

Rob
 Thanks I have a few pictures.Here's a shot of my 044 with the muffler opened up 2 half inch ports, runs cooler and 10% gain in performance.The mufflers and carbs are so detuned now with the Epa standards.I run all my saws at 32:1.The only reason the manufacturs claim 50:1 is for the emissions.

[TJACK]

Rob,

Which chaps do you use and recommend.  The Husky Catalog shows 3 different chaps, Pro Forest Logging Apron Chaps, Pro Forest Woodsman Chaps and Pro Forest Logger Wrap Chaps.  

I have the Pro Forest Logging Apron Chaps I use while cutting firewood.  They seem OK, although I haven't needed to see how well they work, thank god!

Thanks,

TJACK

[StIhL_MaGnUm_1]

TJack,

       I use the Pro Forest logger wrap chaps,I would recommened any of the above there all good,it's good to hear you have not put them to he test..


Seth,

      Good shot of the muffler on that 44,I opened up my 385's muffler a few weeks ago big difference,I tend to run my saws at 40:1 a little richer than the lean 50 they call for I might make the switch to 32:1 on the next saw that I buy though..
    
                           Later Rob...

[KiwiCharlie]

G'day Guys,

A mate of mine works on a felling crew, contracted to one of the largest forestry companies here.  To give you an idea of the safety required of contractors, if a worker is found sawing without one piece of safety gear, they are instantly dissmissed, even something like sawing with your visor up.  Once a week they all go for eyesight and hearing tests, provided by the forestry company.
On a side note, the crew of 7 guys use 066's with 20 inch bars as their choice.  The head feller uses an 088!!  
They work from 7.00 to 3.30 with one 1/2 hour break for lunch.  Only other stops for refuelling/filing etc.  At the moment they are working in a very sandy area which is proving hard on the saws.
Cheers
Charlie.