That is disturbing. A few years ago I cut into a big dying white oak. Most of the canopy had died back and leaves were growing out of the trunk -- a bad sign for oaks. It gushed probably 100+ gallons of brown liquid out of what turned out to be a hollow trunk that was apparently collecting rain water. It got the saw wet but I got out of the way in time to let it drain. I was amazed that the inside of the trunk could be completely hollow and rotten, with the sapwood still clinging to life.
What powerhead do you have attached to that big TsuMura bar? Looks like my saw (above), but I have got a skip tooth chain on it right now. That cuts down on sharpening time when cutting dirty wood.
I bet that was some funky water! Trees are endlessly interesting. I’ve run into many trees with large water filled voids. Usually it’s from branch union separation/splitting. Some folks don’t realize that the heartwood of trees isn’t living tissue anyway. While it does provide strength it isn’t completely necessary for the tree to live. The tree does its best to protect this heartwood material with the dead bark, live bark and cambium layer which produces both live bark and new growth sapwood throughout the growing season. But when fungus gets into the heartwood through a wound it usually difficult for a tree to compartmentalize and halt decomposition. This was a perfectly healthy and sound cottonwood though and the sap explosion was likely the result of the release of root pressure. Good eye! It’s one of my favorite saws a Dolmar 7900. Ported by huskihl of course. I have three and hopefully enough parts to keep them running for the rest of my life.
Barcroftb Almost the same saw / bar combo I've got then, except mine is not ported and I've got the Makita catalytic exhaust (EPA crap), which supposedly restricts the power a little as compared to the original Dolmar. It's still plenty powerful with a sharp chain, especially with the skip chain. I don't hesitate to use it when I need a 32" or 36" bar. But I use it's little brother -- the Makita version of the Dolmar ps-6100 -- 10 times as much as the 7900. It's a few pounds lighter, sips the gas, has great throttle response, an awesome air filter, and cuts plenty fast, especially with a .325 setup. It blows away similarly priced semi-pro saws in my opinion. Only thing I don't like about the 6100 or 7900 is that I've got the full wrap handles, which make noodling a pain in the azz. I like putting a 16" bar on the 6100 (second photo below), or an 18" bar on the 7900. Big engine small bar is the recipe for fun.
Barcroftb I keep photos from when they were new as part of the family photo album. These were my first two "real" chainsaws. Having saws that are a pleasure to use is a lot of what got me addicted to cutting and burning wood. I bought the 7900 to fell and buck that very substantial burr oak. A good way to break in a new saw.
That big oak going down. I had to fell it against the lean with about 10 wedges and a sledge hammer. Once it started cracking I had time to run back, drop the saw, grab my cell phone, and start recording just as it went down. https://photos.app.goo.gl/WgBoNWUXK334bYxh8
The 6100 is a fantastic 60cc class pro saw. No question about that. It’s well liked by those who really know saws. here’s some pics of one of my 7910s when it was brand new: Look what this cat drug home lastnight! here’s a thread about gutting the epa crap out of that same saws muffler. It’s not just a power thing. It keeps the saw running cooler thus extending the life of the saw. Gutting the Dolmar 7910 Muffler After dropping thousands of trees that never gets old for me.
You use your Dolmars for professional tree service work? The guys I know who cut trees for a living say the 7900 is a great saw, but they'd rather spend $2000+ for a Stihl that's a little lighter. I understand paying to save your back if you're using the saw hundreds of hours a year, although no saw is light with a 32" or 36" bar and chain on it. One advantage of Stihl over Dolmar / Makita is parts availability. With all the Stihl clones, you can get cheap aftermarkets parts for popular Stihl models, and only buy OEM parts for key components where quality really matters. The Dolmar / Makita parts are expensive. I really want regular (not full wrap) handles for my 7910 and 6100 saws, but I can never bring myself to pay almost $100 for a piece of bent metal tubing.
While I use my saws professionally, it’s more in the capacity of an arborist vs. a traditional tree service which tends to be more removal oriented. I only do 12+ or so tree removals a year. The majority of the work I do is tree pruning and tree health consultations/treatments and tree risk assessments. I understand the thought process of the average tree service professional using Stihl or Husky equipment though. Most of those guys don’t have time or the inclination to work on their own saws and it’s easy to find a dealer. As far as the $2k Stihl ms500 being better than the Dolmar 7900/10 only in parts availability at this point. Before anyone gets their feelings hurt by that statement realize it’s simply my personal opinion. If I liked the 500i significantly better than a 7900 I’d have a couple of those instead. Again my personal opinion. I have a variety of other Stihl, Husky, and echo saws. Saws are a very small part of my equipment expenses.
Jonathan Y put up a want ad here and over at the ope forum: Parts Only someone is bound to have a 7900 half wrap handlebar laying around. There may even be a compatible husky handlebar as well, but I cannot remember off the top of my head. Or am I just misremembering huskihl
If you have a wood fired smoker, cottonwood is pretty good. Mild flavor, smokes a long time and is cheap to acquire. It’s number three on our list of preferred wood right behind vine maple and then alder. Owl
I don’t believe there is a husky crossover, but I have actually never tried it either. There are a bunch of parts from a 372 that will fit because husky did help them design it. It’s always possible I suppose that a 372 handle might fit. Like you said though, I bet somebody on OPE has one
Good for you. I always snicker when guys call themselves arborists and all they do it tree removal. Don't get me wrong -- tree removal requires a lot of skill, equipment, and hard work. And you can probably make more money, around here at least, doing pure tree removal vs. arborist work. But if all you do it tree removal, you're not really an arborist. I love trees, and no not just for firewood. I've grown many from seed -- what my friend calls "a young man's game," which isn't exactly true. Trees (all plants, really) do so much better when they grow from a seed and are never moved. You never disturb the root system, which adapts, from day one, to the local conditions in terms of soil type, water availability, sunlight, etc... Lots of guys on my street have bought big spruce transplants from tree farms with sandy soil, and they drop them into holes in our poorly draining clay soil. Half or more end up dying and they don't know why. I don't grow evergreens from seed, but I buy the smallest transplants available, usually 6-8" 1 year bare root transplants. They adapt wonderfully to the local soil when transplanted that small, and I've got 8 to 10 foot tall white spruce and Norway spruce after just 4 years. They cost me less than 50 cents a tree. I'm rambling on here, but I share your passion for caring for trees, and not just burning them.
We are kindred spirits when it comes to trees. I’d much rather climb them than cut them down. I will happily admit when a problem tree needs to go though. Which is why I do still do some removals. Many of those are sick Colorado blue spruce. This is not a good environment at all for them. you are spot on about tree transplants from nurseries. Failure rates are much higher the larger the tree gets. Sure there are some steps you can take like mycorrhizal, chelated mineral, or humic acid treatments that can help, but going from drastically different soil conditions is usually too much of a shock on top of an already stressful event for a tree. It’s typically a death sentence.
About 5 years ago a tree service dropped me off a huge cottonwood with a dead raccoon included. By the amount of poop in the hollowed out trunk, it had been living in there for a while, and apparently decided to go down with the ship. I didn't discover the raccoon until it got bucked together with the log, after about a week of marinating in a cottonwood tomb. Fresh cottonwood smells like a urinal, but ever since I bucked that raccoon, when I smell cottonwood my brain registers dead raccoon as well. Maybe I need a psychologist.
My thoughts on big cottonwood is 6' lengths, 42" bar to bore cut a square hole through it for a big azz Swedish candle. Speaking of which, I better get some cut and drying. I know I need a Doctor and a strait-jacket... this ones a little shorter.
