Ice Carving

[Philbert]

Saint Paul, MN has a winter carnival with ice carving every year. Almost every carver uses corded or battery electric chainsaws (my kind of people)!



Since I have spent so much time defending those types of saws on sites like this, I asked a few of them ‘why’ today.



Lighter and quieter than gas was a common response. Less vibration and easier to control. Easy On/Off for intermittent use. Etc.



Chain speed was not an issue. One guy said he ground his depth gauges way down. None of them use bar oil when cutting ice.



Brand performance was not judged to be a big factor: STIHL, Jonsered, and Makita were seen today.



Philbert

 

[pbillyi69]

i used to work with a guy that carved ice and he made wood carvings too. he is a master chef and has worked in some of the fanciest places all over the world. he also used an electric saw and filed the rakers off completely. i asked him why he said because you dont need any power and it doesnt cut the ice like it does wood. he had the smallest saw and bar he could find. its pretty cool how they make such amazing sculptures.

 

[257roberts]

I cut ice for divers with a 660 24" hard-nose bar full comp chain with rakers ground off and teeth flat (0 degrees). Works good.

 

[Ketchup]

Makes sense to me. I’m on the lookout for an electric saw so I can carve inside my shop.