Ha, the red oak is more impressive, the bar pinching is embarrassing. I'm telling myself I had a woodsman workshop at the School of Hard Knocks - the knocks are hard but tuition is free.
Update: First thank you all for all of the ideas! Here's a list of everything suggested: parallel cut extra bar/chain extra saw plastic wedges sticks as a wedge wood wedges buck towards the pinched bar support the log from underneath with limb pieces / small rounds scissor jack plunge cut I ended up using wedges to free the bar and chain, then used wedges and support to buck the log. When the tree went down it took a young cherry tree out so I cut that up into 2' sections and used as support on either side of the log. Bucking went much smoother with wedges in the kerf and the support from beneath. The result was 15 rounds cut today with about 7' left plus 2 knotty sections that still need to be cut down to size. The log was about 40', 28" at the cut and 20" at the top end. All in all a good day considering my experience and knowledge. Saw was MS251 with 18" bar. Again, thank you all for the help! The depth of knowledge here and the generosity in sharing it is unmatched.
You're doing a heck of a job on one heck of a log. It's not easy dealing with the behemoths, and extracting rounds as they're getting progressively larger gets tiring quickly. You're getting it done though.
I've done that .... I've used a bottle jack, too. I've used a fence post as a lever and sometimes some limb wood, not always to get a pinched bar unstuck but to get some support wood under so I don't pinch a bar. It sure would be nice if they were all easy.
3 things I never go cut without are a couple plastic wedges, a Fiskars axe (to drive them) and a log Peavey/jack. It's much easier to prevent pinching than fighting with a stuck bar. Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk
Sorry but for some reason, I can't see any pictures here anymore. Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk
Well shoot. That takes out alot of the fun.... for you. It's a quote of Benjamin Franklins, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
I don't know why it's like that. I can't see any pics in any thread I follow. Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk
I'd be getting that fixed. It used to be.... post a picture or it didn't happen. Haven't read that here in quite a while. I can describe in pretty good detail most times but a picture tells 1000 words. Add to that people's tendency to call the same thing by a different name depending on the region they're from, things are much more easily explained with less confusion when a picture is used. Just being funny here but..... sucks to be you!
Probably the Tapatalk...I think that app has had issues for quite a while now, many have stopped using it...just log in without using the Tapatalk, see what happens...
You're probably right about tap talk being the problem. I used to follow a few boards that leaned towards chainsaws but I can't even get them to come up anymore. Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk
I deal with this fairly regularly it seems. If I remembered to put my brain in my skull, I use a small plastic wedge to hold the kerf open. You don't need a hammer necessarily in the woods...lots of them laying around usually, sometimes needing to be cut to proper length. If I don't have a wedge I will start on an end and cut as deep as I can until the kerf starts to close. I'll then start another cut, and then another, etc. Most times I can find the 'high spot' in the log that will actually open as it's cut. That's the one to power through on. Typically that will take the tension out of much of the other log, or allow the log to be rolled over. Sometimes there is no releif cut to be made. I've tried all sorts of voodoo cuts to deal with that. Quick & dirty method is to actually cut a half moon wedge out of the log itself to be beaten into the kerf to hold. Easy mode is to nudge/roll with the tractor. I have dug a hole under a log before to facilitate and upwards buck, but it's not a prefered method at all. You can also cut these kind of logs with a D shaped cut if the pressure is straight down, leaving the wood closest to you as 'holding wood', that way only the tip is in danger of being pinched when you finish the cut. A tip can usually be coaxed out even if pinched. If you are able to judge the tension on the log (not easy and I'm still not very good at it), sometimes a / or \ cut can make it happen. I have also just cut a massive 'face cut' out of them. LOL Far as I know there is no magic pill. Absolutely no shame in geting your bar grabbed. I have left bars & chains in the woods before more than once and I couldn't tell you how many times I've been pinched in a buck. Sometimes I chalk it up to arrogance, other times I just get flat surprised.
