Saw needed with 24" bar

[xyz123]

Trees were blown down by storms recently. One huge maple tree snapped off about 10 feet from ground and one oak snapped about 5 feet from ground, tossed around 30 feet from stump before landing.
Thanks for your safety concerns. If these were standing trees I would not even consider doing it but I have been using chainsaws for more than 30 years so it's not like I haven't had to do this with smaller trees before.

I heard there was some bad storms last week in TN near the cooksville area. One of my friends says he never goes to the basement and he said he ran an hid there.

 

[arrow]

Trees were blown down by storms recently. One huge maple tree snapped off about 10 feet from ground and one oak snapped about 5 feet from ground, tossed around 30 feet from stump before landing.
Thanks for your safety concerns. If these were standing trees I would not even consider doing it but I have been using chainsaws for more than 30 years so it's not like I haven't had to do this with smaller trees before.

Ok then. Be careful when limbing the crown. If you are prone to not want to spend anymore money on a chainsaw, you can cut up the stem with your 18" bar. First clean up the jagged ends. Make 4 plunge cuts forming a square at the center of the tree with the center of the tree in the middle of the square. This square should be large enough to have the bar reach these cuts so if the tree is 48" wide, this square would have 16" sides. Start at the middle and fan the saw left and right then square off the plunge cut.Your rounds or chunks will be the width of your bar or shorter. Proceed to buck the tree toward these plunge cuts. Make the finish or freeing up cuts as large as you want the pieces you care to deal with. Cut the "cube" off and now you have access to the bottom round which will need to be cut off last as you will not be able to rotate the stem without a piece of equipment. You have effectively eliminated the center of the tree from holding on to the wood because you have cut it with the plunge cut. Repeat this process until you get to the part of the tree narrow enough where your saw will cut through the tree with standard bucking procedures. Do not make cube larger than your bar as you will want to cut this off from one side. Your saw will get the workout of its life as it will be buried most of the time but you could do this and not have to buy any saw if yours holds up. Methodically, the job will soon be finished but you may have wished for a more powerful saw. Good luck and be careful about those chunks you are cutting off as they are quite large.

I know you've cut trees for a long time but please do not get lulled into the fact that this is just another tree to be cut up. Big trees are a whole different animal on every level.

 

[mjonesnh]

Never stated I did not want to buy another saw for this task. First post was asking for opinions on 2 different Husky models and 1 Stihl that have the needed 24" bars priced in the 500.00-600.00 range. I know the other suggested models would probably do a better job in big wood but the prices of 800.00 or more are just not just reasonable for maybe 4 hours work. The 2 trees that were blown down were 2 of the 3 biggest trees on the farm with 1 large maple in the 3.5-4 foot size left.
The rest of the trees left standing on the farm could easily be handled by the 18" Stihl if the need ever should arise.
Right now I believe the choice will be either the Stihl MS 391 or the Husky 460 Rancher. If it takes an extra hour of saw time to do the job, that will be fine. The several hundred dollars left in my pocket from not purchasing a pro model saw will offset the extra time involved.
I do appreciate the tips and opinions you guys offered to my questions, very helpful info was received.

 

[art]

I sold husky till two years ago and still sell Stihl and for what you have given for options are to small to run a 24" bar well.

I'd look for a used saw to do the large work you have that needs a 24" bar! The money would be the same and the work would be done so much faster!!! A good clean used pro saw would last as long if not longer as a non pro saw being worked with a bar that is to big!

 

[Chilly807]

If it were me, I don't think I'd even buy a bigger saw for the small amount of use it'll get. Are there any "pros" in your area, that do this for a living? It would be worth it to approach one of those guys and ask what they'd charge you to buck up a couple of stems. The rest you can cut yourself if you haven't already.

If they work for somebody else, e.g. a company, most guys will do a little work on the side for cash, especially something like this.

Since you're not going to be doing this much at all, having a new big saw sitting around doesn't make much sense.

Any local rental places with bigger saws? Anything that's 60 cc or bigger will run a 24" bar, but you'll have to go slow since it won't pull the extra teeth very well at a normal cutting pace. We had a 262XP that I'd try it with, but the rakers would need to be pretty high to get some of the load off the saw.

It's too bad you're not close to me, I'd drive 100 miles for a chance to really let the 044 chew on a tree that size

What do you have for machinery to deal with the blocks? There's a better than even chance you'll jam the saw a few times unless the stem is die straight. Something that big is hard to deal with when that happens, it really doesn't want to move without serious encouragement.

edit: I noticed after I posted that you had already looked into getting someone else to cut them, I wasn't sure if you'd exhausted all avenues yet. Might be worth posting a want ad for someone with a bigger saw to cut it for you. I know a few guys from a chainsaw forum that would help you out, but none are in Tennessee.

Sean

 

[arrow]

Never stated I did not want to buy another saw for this task. First post was asking for opinions on 2 different Husky models and 1 Stihl that have the needed 24" bars priced in the 500.00-600.00 range.
I do appreciate the tips and opinions you guys offered to my questions, very helpful info was received.

And is why I said "if". You can keep more money in your pocket by having a look at xyz123's offer and have a much more capable saw for this task in the bargain.

 

[xyz123]

You can keep more money in your pocket by having a look at xyz123's offer and have a much more capable saw for this task in the bargain.

Maybe I need to take a pic of the used saws on the shelves already gone through and waiting and willing.

 

[xyz123]

Well I was curious of my used saws on shelf. Here is a pic I just took. :licking:

I used to have 2 more shelves full but I been working my way down to manageable numbers. :confused2:

 

[arrow]

Well I was curious of my used saws on shelf. Here is a pic I just took. :licking:

I used to have 2 more shelves full but I been working my way down to manageable numbers. :confused2:

Brings a tear to my eye. This is the way my shed looked before I retired from logging. I didn't work on chainsaws beyond normal upkeep. If I got a couple of years out of a chainsaw before it was wore out, I was happy. They were and I guess are a part of me like my own fingers and toes so you could understand why I needed 20 of them. My wife never could. I logged for over 30 years and the next 25 years were what I call the Great Divide meaning I had to whittle my collection down to five as the wife did not hold to my finger and toe reasoning.

 

[mountainlake]

I'd get a Makita 6401 or a Echo Cs 680, both around $600 and built a lot better than a Husky 460 or Stihl MS391, more power also. Steve