Chainsaw for turners?

This inquiry goes out primarily to the wood-turners out there. LOML has given me the "thumbs up" for a chainsaw purchase. Mainly, because she wants a bunch of vagrant trees growing in an area she'd like to put her garden in. Nothing big, so a small saw would do. BUT, I'd also prefer something with enough gusto for some serious blank cutting, as in, burls found on felled or downed trees. I've pretty much decided on Stihl for the flavor, but now it's, what size should I buy? Most of them come with the 16" bar and that's what's recommended by Stihl, until you get into the MS290 or better range. Will a 16" bar suffice for most blank-making and extrication of said burls? Yeah, I realize it depends on many other variables, but I guess I'm asking for "real world" experience. If the majority finds 16" suitable for the bulk of blank cutting, so be it. If I should need to go to 18' or 20" bars, then I think I'd have to go for a bigger saw. I'd rather not, as they start to get quite a bit heavier then. Recommendations?

A lot of folk's in our woodturning group use the Stihl 290 "Farm Boss" with a 20" bar (that's what I have). Having a 20" bar installed instead of the 16" bar only runs an extra $20. Another chainsaw to have is a 14" electric Remmington and keep it in the shop; usefull for small blanks or for carving flat spots for face plates or for the tailstock to get a good grip.

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Originally Posted by Steven Wilson

A lot of folk's in our woodturning group use the Stihl 290 "Farm Boss" with a 20" bar (that's what I have). Having a 20" bar installed instead of the 16" bar only runs an extra $20. Another chainsaw to have is a 14" electric Remmington and keep it in the shop; usefull for small blanks or for carving flat spots for face plates or for the tailstock to get a good grip.

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'Ya know, Steve, believe it or not, that's one of the main ones I looked at today! It's on some "special" right now, so I may just have to pull out the plastic and just go for it. I was leaning a bit toward the 20", just for the sake of pulling larger burls off of trunks. As it happens, I already have a 14" electric, used just for that! It's a Craftsman, but think it's produced by Remington. Handy little saw, but where some of the "real" wood is, there's no power and I simply don't have a couple thousand feet of extension cord handy! :rolleyes: (I know...Couldn't do that anyway...) Thanks for the input! :cool:

John,
I've got both a Stihl 025 with a 16" bar and an old Sears saw with a 10" bar. I use the Sears about 80% of the time because it can be a "one-hand" unit and is good for tree limbing and small stuff like that. The Stihl 025-16 is MORE than enough for the amateur to handle. Remember that you can cut 32" blanks with a 16" bar. Also remember that the 025 Stihl has more power than most "occasional" users can handle. Chain saws are great but dangerous. Leave the BIG ones to the Pros. Even with all of the safety features installed, the kind of power generated by the 025 can REALLY make a mark if you get "kickback", which is not unheard of and even quite common with amateurs. A bit of an untrained "twist" and BANG!! Major damage. Even with the 025, I borrow my neighbor's "chaps" when I cut. I know that it is kind of a "woos" thing but check out "chaps" before you cut.

Lastly, Spring, when you get that omnipotent Stihl, remember one thing. According to an old lumberjack whom I met some years ago, the very WORST thing that you can do with a chainsaw is NOT use it. The chain will survive, tensioned properly, cutting dirt, stumps, sand and all kinds of other stuff. The chain will get dull but it is easy to replace. Leaving old gas in a chainsaw is the saw's worst enemy. Just a thought. Don't be cheap! With your money it should not be a problem. ;) :)

Dale T.

John, I have the Stihl 029 FarmBoss and put an 18" bar on it...and sometimes wish for a longer one (it will take a 20" as long as you understand it's not powered best for one) when working with larger hunks of log. But the 18" works out well for me. While it gets used for general grounds maintenance, most of the time, it's cutting turning stock. I also have an 18" Remmington electric chain saw that I keep in the shop for "indoor" use where a chain saw is needed.

I have the 250 and I had a choice between the 16 or 18 inch bar. I went with the 18 inch. I have had no issues with it being under-powered with that size bar. With a sharp blade, it cuts fast and smooth. I see no reason to have a more powerful saw for our application - unless you want a larger bar. It just depends on what size blanks you will be cutting. My 18 inch bar seems to be cutting blanks that get me 10-11 inch bowls. I am sure with a little more chainsaw experience, I could learn to cut larger blanks for larger bowls.

Stefan

John, I have two Stihl saws. My little saw is an 026 with a 20" bar. It is slightly smaller than the 290 you mention, although it is a professional saw as opposed to the homeowner variety. Now, a Stihl homeowner saw is still head and shoulders above the rest, so don't worry on that score. However, if you really want to be prepared, then you need a saw like my big one, whcih is a Stihl 046 with a 28" bar!

Good luck with it.

Bill

Greatly appreciat all the input. I went and pulled the trigger on one today. Stihl weighed in as the "heavy" favorite. The votes seemed to go toward the 16", though quite a few 20's and a few 18's. I figured I'd "play it safe" and go right for the middle and got the 290 with an 18" bar. Picked up the case at the same time and the dealer threw in an extra blade. I dug up my single gallon plastic gas container, which I'll label dedicated to the chainsaw. That way, it may not hurt as much when I go to the gas pump to put "Premium" in it! Thanks again! I'm sure it will serve us well. :cool:

John,
You can't go wrong with a stihl. I like the new blade adjustment too. Just remember to break that pupppy in real nice. As the manual says you won't develop full power for a few tanks of gas and Don't give it full rev's with out being under load for a couple tanks either. You will notice the difference as you use it. I just use the 066 when the going gets tough(yawn).

Dale,
As you know, I'm very new on the spinny side, and therefore even newer when it comes to chain saws. I got a 16" electric saw to use in the shop to saw up blanks that I was able to easily carry home. Even this thing scares the daylights out of me. You mention cutting a 32" blank with a 16" bar. Doesn't this require one to "bury" the bar in the blank? Doesn't this cause a kickback? How do you avoid it? I'm not ready to try this yet, but am just curious.

Mark

John, just a few pointers. (I worked in the woods sawyering for a while- I married into a lumber family.) ALWAYS keep your thumb wraped around the wrap handle. A common misshap is to neglect wrapping the thumb and when the chain starts to get dull, folks tend to push down on the bar with their palm and its more comfortable to slide the thumb up on top of the bar. When a kickback happens your forward hand can slip off the handle and if you miss the chain break you can be seriously injured.

If you are felling trees always be aware of 2 or three escape routes CLEAR OF DEBRIS AND TRIPPING HAZARDS should something go wrong with the direction you intend the tree to fall you have alternative routes already picked out. As the tree starts to fall and you pull the saw out of the trunk, lock the chain brake and move away from the tree's line of fall quickly but in an orderly fashion. It's a good rule to always lock the chain when walking from tree to tree.
Most of the time when I notch a tree for felling, the angled cut angles upward toward the horizontal cut. The reason for this is so 6"-8" of butt are not lost to square up the end of the log. With pulp this doesn't matter as much and it's eaiser to cut down to a horizontal cut. The notch should be between 1/4 and 1/3 through the diameter of the tree. There are several ways to notch and fell a tree. I usually side cut lumber and veneer trees before making the back cut. This helps reduce tearout. Be very careful with odd shaped, hollow or dead trees. I knew a 70 something year old sawyer killed by a barber chair in a 10" dia. maple. This guy had been cutting since forever. I visited the site of his accident. His notch was too shallow and his back cut was about 3" above the notch. The stress in the tree might have been due to windy conditions???, but the tree split straight up the middle for about 6 ft. and then broke and hinged. The back section of tree snapped back and broke about every bone on one side of his body. We also noticed that he had no escape routes. He had maybe 3 ft. of room behind the tree as there was two tops piled up there. ALWAYS make your back cut even with the notch and cut the back cut standing or kneeling to the side of the tree!

When the tree is down be very careful about tension from limbs that are in bind on the ground or from an adjacent tree. Don't get in a hurry. Also be aware that large limbs hanging in the air have a lot of weight causing tension that is not 'normal' to what the limbs saw when they were in an upright position. I think most fatalities in the logging industry are caused by cutting tensioned limbs. I lost a friend that way. He was cutting a limb at eye level after a storm knocked down some of his trees and got hit in the head when the branch was cut loose. It wasn't all that big, about 2" in diameter.(about the size of a baseball bat)

I get a lot of wood for my addiction from local farmers needing a tree cleaned up after a storm and the like. If you work in a safe and careful manner you tend to get invited back. I always clean up the branch debri and when I can, and clean up the broken stub if there is still a chance the tree remaining will survive. I got some real nice boxelder from my neighbor a month ago and dropped off a beautiful bowl for them last Sunday. You should have seen their jaws drop when they saw that bowl from that 'junk' wood. :D I told them that if they ever lose the 4 ft diameter boxelder in their yard I would be glad to clean up the mess. Burls all over it!!!! :D Be safe.. check out www.forestryforum.com and www.woodweb.com for more info.

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Originally Posted by Mark Stutz

Dale,
As you know, I'm very new on the spinny side, and therefore even newer when it comes to chain saws. I got a 16" electric saw to use in the shop to saw up blanks that I was able to easily carry home. Even this thing scares the daylights out of me. You mention cutting a 32" blank with a 16" bar. Doesn't this require one to "bury" the bar in the blank? Doesn't this cause a kickback? How do you avoid it? I'm not ready to try this yet, but am just curious.

Mark

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Mark,
I'm NOT a chainsaw expert. I was only trying to make a point. If you think about it, cutting a 16" tree with a 16" bar will also cause you to "bury the bar. I would NEVER attempt it but I would guess that an expert could fell a 32" tree with a 16" bar. Mark, even if you are cutting an 8" blank, a face shield and "chaps" are a very good idea. I'm sorry if I mislead you as to my personal chainsaw experience. My Stihl 16" scares the heck out of me also. Check out the other posts in this thread to get some "expert" advice.

Dale T. :o