I can't disagree with you. I am fine with BE as long as it's growing or only recently cut before splitting and stacking it. If left in log form, without bucking and left on the ground, it sure rots quickly.
My dirty logs were drug around a lot with very sandy soil as well. I have been cutting on them the last two days, and it seems like sandy soil doesn't dull the chain as fast as the clay that I've got at my house. I would have thought that since sand grains are much bigger than clay particles, sand would dull the chain faster. But maybe the chain sort of throw the sand out of the kerf? Who knows. It's still dulling my chain pretty quick. Each time I fill the tank I touch up the chain, cut some bigger logs first while it is still sharp, and once it starts getting a dull I run down the tank on smaller stuff. I've cut about 10 tanks worth so far without too much drama. All with the Dolkita 6100 and .325 semi chisel. I'm going to have to run the 7900 soon though since I'm running out of logs I can cut with an 18" bar. I'll run a 32" bar through these.
When you noodle big rounds, do you keep the bar parallel to the ground? Or do you cut at a slight angle with the saw handle closer to the ground than the tip? Even with a skip chain my saws often have problems clearing 16-20" long noodles which quickly get jammed up under the sprocket cover. I sometimes think that by noodling at a slight angle (maybe 15 degrees?) it makes shorter noodles and the saw clears them better. This may just be my imagination, however, which is why I ask.
Absolutely not your imagination, it's fact. Angle to reduce noodle length. I usually go right down the middle, 12 o'clock to 6. When you start getting close to the ground, use a wedge to complete the separation. That way you keep the chain out of the dirt. And... if you can, use a bar longer than the wood. If the clutch cover gets clogged, noodles will sling off the tip:
Thanks! I came to this realization when I was noodling some rounds from the trunk of a huge maple. It was a big enough tree that it had formed wavy growth rings at least 8 feet up the trunk. I don't know how to explain it, but it has something to do with the tree flaring at the bottom for strength and stability. If you've cut logs like that you know that I mean. I've seen it on oaks and maples, but especially on huge maples. In any event, I noticed that the saw noodled better through the flared / wavy grain parts of the log since since I wasn't cutting through even grain. I figured that tilting the saw a little when noodling straight grain would have the same effect, and that did seem to be the case. As for throwing noodles, they do sling off the tip for a while after the clutch cover gets clogged, but sometimes it gets so clogged up the saws bog down and has to be cleaned out. One technique I use is to noodle about twice the width of the bar from the top of the round, then roll it 180 degrees, insert the bar into the cut, and noodle the rest with the top of the bar. This can be a real back breaker with a heavy saw and a 32" or 36" bar, but no clogging this way and it sure is fun to shoot noodles across the yard.
I saw on your youtube channel that you do some milling. (I also noticed that you are quite a noodling enthusiast.) Here's my question: Can the same concept be applied to milling (but in reverse)? In other words, rather than cutting directly across the grain, can you mill at a 10 or 15 degree angle? I know that this would limit the milling width with a given bar length, but it seems like the cutters would be able to take slightly larger bites that way.
That concept can hold true, especially if you're milling small logs. The saw is pulling hard to keep this part of the mill against the log, so it takes a lot more effort to try and keep it angled.
Your recommendation and video sold me on the log doggies. I'm going to give them a try tomorrow. Shipping was $15 for one dog or a whole pack of dogs, so I got 8 of them. There must be some magic in the shape of the spike for them to hold as well as they do. In any event, thanks for the tip!
I hope they work well for you. Just remember what campinspecter said though. If the round or log you are pulling towards you hangs up, they can/will pop out so keep your eyes on them.
I read where you have a FEL on your tractor, we welded a couple hooks on top and use log tongs to move big rounds to the splitter.
I already welded a few hooks to the top of my bucket so your approach is another good idea. What attracted me to the log dogs is the possibility of lifting the log up again after running the splitter through it to allow for repositioning. The huge rounds almost never just split in half on the first try. Once a big round is under the splitter it can be a real hassle (and sometimes nearly possibly) to muscle it around until it finally starts splitting into pieces. I've got a big stove that takes 24" long splits loading north / south, so I try to cut rounds 20-24" long. A 24" long round of oak is that is 4' across is extremely difficult to move by hand once it's under the splitter. I've tried using the backhoe on my tractor to move the around, but that doesn't work very well. So my goal is to get a log under the splitter -- whether by dragging it in with a winch of using my tractor -- run the splitter through it, pick the log back up, reposition and drop it down, run the splitter through it again, etc... The log tongs + tractor FEL will no doubt move big rounds to the splitter, but I can't see being able to pick the round back up to reposition like I hope to be able to do with a winch and one or even two log dogs in it.
The Beaver with a Log Dog and winch works pretty good with large rounds! To the original Question of the thread about dirty logs , I wait for some warm dry weather then the mud a dirt brushes off really easy . An older brother would never cut in wet weather because he said to much sawdust would stick to the wood!
campinspector turned me onto the log dogs some years back when I was pulling large rounds up onto a horizontal splitter. They certainly do the job. It will all come down to which works better/faster for any specific operation. I understand why he uses them in his situation. For me with a horizontal splitter and more manageable size rounds I ended up using a set of tongs. The need to repick the round wasn’t so great, I could wrassel em around standing up. Splitting vertical I would want to use the dogs. As woodwidow has said be careful. If one pops out there can be lots of stored energy to make them go flying, usually right back at you. Had a few come by my face working in the horizontal position. A tip I learned reading somewhere to remove a dog the original method was a metal rod into the eyelet and twist it right out. Never tried that method, didn’t know about it until after I had moved on to the tongs. I usually split them out or tap with a hammer side to side. No idea how well it works but supposedly that was the method used by the loggers that use them. As you can see I didn’t even drive them in that deep. They hold quite well,,,,until they don’t LOL
If you look at the bottom picture in my post, you can see the edge of a platform we use in the vertical position. Made from pipe and angle iron, rounds slide pretty easy on it. We made a pry/chop bar to help finish splitting rounds, also a cant hook will help spin rounds to new position. That round on the splitter is 43-44"...
These rounds were 20" long, don't remember dia, average weight was 975 lbs. 8 rounds on trailer was over 7500lbs. All split vertical with 25ton Yard Machine (MTD) splitter and that platform. Chud has pics of a better platform he uses...
Good to see I'm not the only one happy to go after the monster logs. Earlier today I bucked some red maple that was very close to 6' diameter. I know because I just barely made it through it with a 6' bar. Good thing, too, since I don't have any bigger. I have cut a little bigger than that, but I had to notch the log in order to get my saw deeper into the cut. Those big rounds are a challenge but getting a cord of splits out of 4 or 5 rounds is a thing of beauty. Not much sap wood either, so lots of very high quality firewood. I was checking out your ground platform before you mentioned it. At first I thought it had rollers almost like a conveyor belt which would be a cool idea. I do something similar by placing huge slabs of granite on either side of the splitter when it is in vertical position. My friend words at a cemetery and he gets me granite slabs with chips or other flaws that would have been made into head stones or grave benches. The slabs are 4" thick which is about even with the bottom of the splitter, and they are polished on top so fairly slippery. Even so, it can be a real challenge when I get a big thick round that doesn't want to split cleanly. The grain of maples and oaks often gets very wavy towards the ground on the monster trees, and that wavy grain is something else to get a splitter through. In any event, thanks for the photos and ideas. Good practical advice and inspiration.
