Tractors and wood! Show your pics

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
I've seen those mentioned before. They might bear looking at. My chain has two consecutive LH teeth, so it's easy to keep track of where I started... as long as I remember to file those first.

 

[DieselBound]

^^^^
I've seen those mentioned before. They might bear looking at. My chain has two consecutive LH teeth, so it's easy to keep track of where I started... as long as I remember to file those first.

My attention span is so short that I...

I suck at freehanding, but these have made all the difference for me.

I prefer to sharpen over swapping chains, out in the field. Gives me a little more time to give myself and my saws a rest My main saw runs an 18" bar, so fairly quick work to sharpen.

 

[Skeans1]

My attention span is so short that I...

I suck at freehanding, but these have made all the difference for me.

I prefer to sharpen over swapping chains, out in the field. Gives me a little more time to give myself and my saws a rest My main saw runs an 18" bar, so fairly quick work to sharpen.

That’s what gassing up is for a drink for the saw and a drink of water for you then back to setting them up. Don’t feel bad I carry a lumber crayon too but I use to make qualities and sizes on the butts as I’m cutting.

 

[Jstpssng]

That’s what gassing up is for a drink for the saw and a drink of water for you then back to setting them up. Don’t feel bad I carry a lumber crayon too but I use to make qualities and sizes on the butts as I’m cutting.

I generally run the file across the teeth at least every other time that I fuel. I also only have an 18" chain, so it takes less time than a western saw. Unless I rocked the chain badly, t doesn't take much longer than it would take to swap it out.

 

[Skeans1]

I generally run the file across the teeth at least every other time that I fuel. I also only have an 18" chain, so it takes less time than a western saw. Unless I rocked the chain badly, t doesn't take much longer than it would take to swap it out.

We have a couple of small saws that have 20’s on them and I can swap out a chain quicker then my guy can file that 20. If you guys were doing it for production you wouldn’t be filing in the brush it’s more of a break more then anything.

Can I ask why everywhere east of the Rockies runs such short bar? Doesn’t it bug your guys backs having to bend down all the time well limbing?

 

[Hilbilly]

I don’t like hand filing the rakers. I usually just give them a quick bump on the bench grinder. Once the grinder marks wear off I give them another bump. About the square grind it sounds like you’re using the wrong wheel. Probably the one made to grind rakers.

The wheel I'm using has a rounded edge but it still produces a relatively flat face on the tooth. I will take another look at it since I have only used the grinder once. Maybe the grind is closer to hand filing than I remember. Memory is not what it used to be, lol.

Unless you've got some sort of funky sharpener that I can't picture, you should be able to get round-edge sharpening wheels for it, or dress the wheel you have to be round edge. It still won't exacty match what you get hand filing with a round file, but it's closer than square grinding.

You might be right and I will check to see how close it is to hand filing by holding my file to the tooth to see how it compares to the electric grind.

I went through all sorts of filer guides and just before I was going to break down and get a grinder I ran across these:

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/filing-tools/2in1file/

Easy to pack out into the field. I also pack a marking crayon so I know when I've made a trip around the bar (makes it easier on tired eyes).

I've got 2 of these. One for each chain size and use them all the time for hand filing. The only thing I don't like is that they don't do a good job of filing the rakers at the same time they file the teeth. I think they are meant to do both at once. I also think they don't take enough off the rakers and usually end up taking the flat file out of the holder and using it by itself, to take more off the rakers. The files they come with are very good quality though.

 

[Skeans1]

The wheel I'm using has a rounded edge but it still produces a relatively flat face on the tooth. I will take another look at it since I have only used the grinder once. Maybe the grind is closer to hand filing than I remember. Memory is not what it used to be, lol.

You might be right and I will check to see how close it is to hand filing by holding my file to the tooth to see how it compares to the electric grind.

I've got 2 of these. One for each chain size and use them all the time for hand filing. The only thing I don't like is that they don't do a good job of filing the rakers at the same time they file the teeth. I think they are meant to do both at once. I also think they don't take enough off the rakers and usually end up taking the flat file out of the holder and using it by itself, to take more off the rakers. The files they come with are very good quality though.

If the wheel is producing a flat face are you going down far enough in the gullet? Have you checked the profile of the wheel with a profile gauge? What’s your head angle set? How about your downward angle?

 

[John_Mc]

Can I ask why everywhere east of the Rockies runs such short bar? Doesn’t it bug your guys backs having to bend down all the time well limbing?

Lots of reasons:

• Smaller trees than out west
• Small bars (and smaller saws) are lighter. We don't have the monster trees you have out west, so the need for greater length for felling and bucking is far less. Why carry around that extra weight if you don't have to? 20+ years ago, that was not as much of an issue for me as it is these days. (Though an old college wrestling injury to my neck and upper back has always been bothered by long days of chainsaw use.)
• The shorter bars make a better match for the power required to cut dense hardwoods. The vast majority of what I cut works just fine with a good pro-level 60cc saw and a 16 or 20" bar. If I'm doing more than just an occasional cut in someting bigger, I might bring a bigger saw.
• More easily maneuverable: When limbing the trees I deal with, a long bar just gets in the way more often than not.
• I'm almost never walking on top of the tree while limbing. I understand that is more common out your way. If I were, a longer bar might make more sense to me. I walk on the ground beside the tree. limbs are generally within easy reach. If I'm doing a lot of limbing and bucking (such as when cutting up firewood), I'll drop a tree crossways to the others first to set up a bench to hold the next ones to come down at a convenient height. I'm also relatively short (5' 8"). Standing on the ground next to a tree, a long bar would require me to reach out with it to cut, rather than working with gravity and reaching straighter down.
• It's poor body mechanics to reach out to cut with the end of a long bar: you are working at the wrong end of a long lever. A longer bar just tempts me to push this even further (and sometimes requires me to work further out on the bar, since there is no room to get the powerhead close to the cut for some limbs when the tree is on the ground). The longer the bar, the more strain you are putting on a wide range of muscles to cut out at the end of it. (I my case, it also means getting another lecture from my physical therapist wife when I ask her to fix me after straining something).
• I try NOT to bend my back to get low. That's another example of poor body mechanics. I use my legs to lower myself. (... or risk another lecture and my wife getting fed up and sending me to the chiropractor, rather than fixing me herself.) Having tried both ways, I find this is easier on my back than a day of reaching out with a longer bar.

When I was younger and in better shape, I could just bull through a lot more than I can these days. These days, I find I can get more done and over a longer period of time by using good body mechanics and using the lightest equipment appropriate for the job. I'll admit that my opinion on exactly what is the "lightest equipment appropriate for the job" has changed over the years.

I'm not trying to say that my way is the right way or the best way. It's just what works best for me in the type of woods where I find myself working. I'm sure that if I were working in similar conditions on similar-sized trees as you (and were as young as you), my methods would probably more closely resemble yours. You have obviously spent some time learning your craft and adapting your techniques and your equipment to what works for you and in the conditions in your area.

 

[Bearsixty7]

I went through all sorts of filer guides and just before I was going to break down and get a grinder I ran across these:

https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/filing-tools/2in1file/

Easy to pack out into the field. I also pack a marking crayon so I know when I've made a trip around the bar (makes it easier on tired eyes).

That's what I bought when I bought my Stihl back in March.

The Stihl chains I have have a colored link (Green or Yellow) so I always find that and start there so I know when I have made a trip around.

 

[Loaderman22]

Who the heck is Rick? And how do they all fit in that single cab? How many cords do you think? Do you have to unhook the trailer to dump?

I think you answered your own question, 6 Ricks unload the wood so you don't have to remove the trailer....