Your favorite saws or saw

[jmssaws]

Is it complete?

 

[Canadian farm boy]

@jmssaws I don't know much about the old poulans. As far as I know all it's missing are the felling spikes. It's my buddies saw. He wanted me to fix it for him. It hasn't run in at least 10 yrs. I told him what all I figured it would need just from taking a quick look and he decided he didn't want it fixed and told me to do whatever I wanted with it. I'm at work now. I'll send you a PM later tonight. This is the saw. Only decent picsI have of it on my phone.

 

[Windthrown]

Douglas fir is technically a pine ...........

DF is in the pine family, but it is not a pine. DF is closet to larch. It has been classified as a true fir, pine, cedar, and hemlock in the past, but it now occupies its own genus. The pine family of conifers includes the cedars, cathaya, true firs, larches, pines, hemlocks, and spruce species, as well as Doug firs.

 

[MustangMike]

Hemlock we got upstate and around here, and they grow a LOT slower than Pine!!! (but they can get very big) Unfortunately, they are also getting hit by a bug.

The Catskills used to be covered with em, till they clear cut them to tan leather during the civil war. They also used Hemlock for barn siding, w/o any stain. Seems like it absorbs minerals from the rain, and gets harder & harder over the years. The old barn siding sells for a premium.

 

[MustangMike]

I haven't done a side by side. I just dropped that tree, made a couple bucking cuts, and noodled a little. I am impressed by the power, though.

I will do them side by side with the same 28" bar and chain, when I get a little free time.

Unfortunately, we don't have any Doug Fir around here, so I have no reference, except that Brian has made clear it is a lot tougher to cut than Pine.

I'm glad you like the new saw, looking forward to further comments.

 

[Ron660]

Unfortunately, we don't have any Doug Fir around here, so I have no reference, except that Brian has made clear it is a lot tougher to cut than Pine.

I'm glad you like the new saw, looking forward to further comments.

Try cutting some live oak! It's almost twice as dense/hard as red oak and even harder than hickory. It's not that hard when you're using a mastermind 372 or 660 though. It's hard to split.

 

[Windthrown]

Unfortunately, we don't have any Doug Fir around here, so I have no reference, except that Brian has made clear it is a lot tougher to cut than Pine.

I'm glad you like the new saw, looking forward to further comments.

Depends on the type of pine that you are comparing it to though, and what type of DF. Eastern white pine cuts like tissue, western white pine is not much denser. Ponderosa, Lodgepole and western hemlock are all somewhat easier to cut than DF here, but not by that much. Then there are the Monterey/Bishop/knobcone pines and crosses that are all harder than DF. And then there is pinyon pine that is a LOT harder to cut than DF. It also depends on the age of the trees. DF can get to be several hundred years old and they get tougher when they get older. I have cut and split old growth DF and hemlocks, as well as silver firs, and they are more dense, harder, and burn longer with more heat. Also there are several sub-species of DF, and the stuff in California and in the Rockies is not as strong and does not command nearly the premium that we get for DF here west of the Cascades (or larch on the east side).

Jenka hardness for eastern white pine is only 380, and for Pinyon pine is 860. Big spread there. For comparison, DF is typically 620. Western Hemlock is 540. Monterey pine is 710.

 

[stihl sawing]

460.

 

[Ron660]

Depends on the type of pine that you are comparing it to though, and what type of DF. Eastern white pine cuts like tissue, western white pine is not much denser. Ponderosa, Lodgepole and western hemlock are all somewhat easier to cut than DF here, but not by that much. Then there are the Monterey/Bishop/knobcone pines and crosses that are all harder than DF. And then there is pinyon pine that is a LOT harder to cut than DF. It also depends on the age of the trees. DF can get to be several hundred years old and they get tougher when they get older. I have cut and split old growth DF and hemlocks, as well as silver firs, and they are more dense, harder, and burn longer with more heat. Also there are several sub-species of DF, and the stuff in California and in the Rockies is not as strong and does not command nearly the premium that we get for DF here west of the Cascades (or larch on the east side).

Jenka hardness for eastern white pine is only 380, and for Pinyon pine is 860. Big spread there. For comparison, DF is typically 620. Western Hemlock is 540. Monterey pine is 710.

All that wood isn't hard compared to the firewood I cut. Red oak starts around 1300+, hickory 1800, and live oak 2200+! Best I remember from the Janka scale and my college Forestry days.

 

[stihl sawing]

 

[stihl sawing]

036 pro

 

[Windthrown]

Well, I cut hard woods here as well. Oregon ash is 1160. White oaks here are around 1350. Local Madrone is 1500. Pacific yew is 1600. Black locust is 1700. Apple is 1730. I have cut and burned a lot of euc (blue gum) which is all over California, and that is 2,300. I have also cut lots of California live oak, which is off the charts.

All that wood isn't hard compared to the firewood I cut. Red oak starts around 1300+, hickory 1800, and live oak 2200+! Best I remember from the Janka scale and my college Forestry days.

 

[cgraham1]

I only cut green madrone.

It cuts and splits easier than any other wood I've ever cut. Once it's dry, it sucks big time.

 

[stihl sawing]

 

[stihl sawing]

 

[Windthrown]

I only cut green madrone.

It cuts and splits easier than any other wood I've ever cut. Once it's dry, it sucks big time.

The Madrone I get here is usually semi-dry in slash piles with BL maple and white oak. 'Trash trees'.

 

[Locust Cutter]

I like this wood hardness pissing match... Osage Orange (or Hedge) that I routinely cut and burn is 2760... Around here you tend to see larger powerheads with shorter bars with the experienced folks. The only real exceptions are the people with ported toys (like myself) where a 28" bar on my 372 is about the max in Hedge. The other extreme are the folks who don't have much experience and are running a 24" bar on a MS291 because their dealer told them it was a good idea... They're interesting to watch and usually get a weird look on their face(s) when I pull up (especially with any other CAD sufferers) and start my toys... About the only time you see much over a 28" bar is for a large Hedge, Oak or damn Cotton Wood and in each case it;s usually a better bet to be armed with a 90cc+ saw and a skip chain.

 

[Locust Cutter]

View attachment 9123

Pin Oak by the looks of it?

 

[stihl sawing]

Pin Oak by the looks of it?

It was 45 inches across.

 

[Windthrown]

I like this wood hardness pissing match... Osage Orange (or Hedge) that I routinely cut and burn is 2760... Around here you tend to see larger powerheads with shorter bars with the experienced folks. The only real exceptions are the people with ported toys (like myself) where a 28" bar on my 372 is about the max in Hedge. The other extreme are the folks who don't have much experience and are running a 24" bar on a MS291 because their dealer told them it was a good idea... They're interesting to watch and usually get a weird look on their face(s) when I pull up (especially with any other CAD sufferers) and start my toys... About the only time you see much over a 28" bar is for a large Hedge, Oak or damn Cotton Wood and in each case it;s usually a better bet to be armed with a 90cc+ saw and a skip chain.

Yah, lots of 290 'pro fallers' here as well. But also paid pro idiots. I was salvaging old growth hemlock here last year in the burbs for an arborist company. They left me 6 foot logs to cut myself, because their 441 with a 32 on it was duller than crap and the groundie could not even cut through 24 inch sections. I pulled out my stock 361 with a 25 on it and buzzed right through them. Hemlock is rather easy cutting when its green. Anyway, the guy was completely stumped as to why the 361 could out-cut a 441. Yah think maybe it's the razor sharp RS chain I run? Or maybe that 441 needs a tune up? Or better gas? Or a larger bar?