IMPO if he's having trouble separating (he is not splitting) the 2 halves he is not cutting far enough, i have had oak halves pull apart by hand when cut through far enough.
That's not the point. I mentioned that I sometimes noodle all the way through. That's a no-brainer that the halves just fall apart, and even before you get there. The idea is that if you can just noodle part way down and then easily split it with a wedge (or wedges), you can save wear on a sharp chain.
I'm not cutting into the ground and dulling the chain. I thought you were worried about hitting the ground. Sorry!
I asked in my post what wedges you are using, but I use Estwing metal wedges with a "flare" on each side. If those won't push apart a round noodled halfway, I'm not sire what would.
Sometimes on really big rounds , I cut part way through then I have a 42 inch long pry bar I use to pry them open rest of the way, sometimes I pound a wedge in after cutting and then use the pry bar
You don't need a wedge. If you make a nice cut noodling go down about halfway or so....maybe slightly more than half for a larger round...and the hit it with a maul, not an axe. The wedge part of the maul will split the round in half for you. Doesn't take a powerful stroke - it takes an accurate one. I was able to do this easily on 34" rounds of hickory that were 5' long that I bucked up into 16". Once into 16" I noodled and split it in half with the maul. The cool thing about fresh hickory is the bark can peel right off when the round splits in two. I would say just noodle most of the way since you have the saw out already. Why "save" a chain - I'd just use it! I have a short video of me using the Stihl 034 S and a 20" bar on the hickory. On this particular round I went all the way down but you can see the bark split at the end after I swing the maul. My neighbor said his Echo saw chain was sharp but it was spitting out sawdust and going at a snail's pace so I grabbed my saw.
Only problem with that is that I am always on the chainsaw and my helper is doing support stuff and he has terrible aim with an axe. But I could do it. I assume you are talking about a splitting maul. As for why 'save' a chain, well, I want the longest 'run time' that I can get on a chain in any cutting session so that I can make the most rounds. The most important task in any session is making rounds. And having a sharp chain makes cutting rounds so much more enjoyable. And having a continuous session without having to sharpen is the goal. I have more than one saw but on the big logs, I'd rather use the biggest saw. With a sharp chain! Even if I had to abandon the session for whatever reason, at least rounds are done. I could even go back later on a non-cutting session and pick up the rounds. I will try it. I don't recall if we have tried the splitting maul on this particular task, this is good info!
Just add my opinion. I don’t think noodling dulls a chain. Should be all fresh wood your cutting. No dirt like on the bark. What noodling does do is let you know when your chain is dull. It’s real good for that
Buy 1 or 2 of those and give them a go. I don't know if it would finish the split, or break off a chunk to the bottom of the cut, but they're the best wedges I've ever used.
If you've already noodled 2/3rds or 3/4s of the way through, why would you stop, switch tools or methods?? Prop the round so it won't fall over or roll. And noodle.
Let us know how you do! Yeah I was referring to a splitting maul. I use the Fiskars x27. Also I always carry a 2nd chain for whatever saws I bring to buck. And I always bring at least 2 saws so that just in case something goes wrong I have options. I try not to resort to sharpening in the field unless I absolutely have to. But typically the stuff I do in the field is really short relative to most since I can only take home what fits in the bed of the truck. I'm not out bucking for 7 hours straight. I do have a stump vise though and I always bring my round and flat files. Was watching yt and this popped up randomly. https://youtube.com/shorts/P2RFUddTiqw?feature=share
