I've hit a few milling. Plow right through a nail but a screw will halt operations. Ya got lucky for sure.
How does oak or any wood give a warning? Genuine question. I don't really have to worry about nails or metal in my trees. There really isn't anything in the woods around my property, though I know on FBM it's a risk. Seen some, too, but always been lucky. Is there a way to 'read' the wood to know if metal's in there?
The stain shows up on the end of a log after it's been cut. Usually the only thing you'll see on the outside of a log is just abnormalities or lumps in the bark.
Anytime you see three or four evenly spaced scars at fence wire hight(s) just assume it's wire and junk it! When I see any suspicious formation in the bark of a log I proceed with extra caution.
Cant get much closer than that although i do recall coming fractions of an inch from a roofing nail. I spotted the rusty head after i made the cut.
As WW said red or white oak have that staining that extends above and below where the metal is present plus its usually broader too. If you see the chips being ejected change color, beware and slow your chain speed to a crawl. Most other trees will have only a small area of discoloring around the metal IME. I have a really good pic of it that ill dig up.
Notice the stain on the end cut and how it extends in the split? All pics from same tree. There were some splits that were entirely the purplish color. Most metal ive ever run into in one tree. This was a 36" pin oak i bucked using the 36" bar and it was teeming with metal. Barbed wire, guy wire bolt and nails. It was a miracle i didnt hit any. Ever sharpen a 36" chain? Not fun on a normal sharpening let alone hitting metal.
For sure. The chain saw gods were looking out for me. IRONically it was the 500's inaugural run back in 2021.
