Wood Gloat Maybe

[Jonathan Harvey]

I am needing a bit of help. I was driving through town today and saw a huge Manitoba maple down in a yard. Of course I had to stop in and ask what they were doing with it. They said I could have it if I wanted it but I would need to take the whole thing.

The problem I am having is that the girth is so large I have no idea how I would cut the tree up. The diameter of the tree is 54" and My chainsaw only has a 15" blade. My FIL has a saw with a 20" blade but I still don't see how it is possible to cut this log up. The section that has this girth is only 6 feet long if that helps any.

I'm looking for ideas and suggestions.

Thanks

[Jim Becker]

You can chunk it out with the 20" bar if you need to; it just takes care when the tip is embedded in the tree. Be sure that the material is well supported while you work, too, so there is no chance of pinching...and use soft wedges as appropriate.

[Kim Ford]

Sounds like a lot of fun, wish I could be there to help. Jim is right, you can do it with a shorter bar, just kept the chain sharp, evaluate the blanks as you saw, have lots of wedges and use them wisely.

Oh yeah, lots of anchorseal also, along with ear and eye protection, and a good size truck to haul everything off.

I had a 40" diameter limb come off of one of the maples in my yard this summer. Fortunatley my chain bar is a little longer but the thing that amazed me was the weight. I have a tractor loader that can lift about 1,800 lbs and I tried to lift a 10 foot section of the limb and could not. I cut it in half and it was still a struggle. Of course the wood was very wet, but that's usually the way you find them when they are blow downs.

Good luck and be safe.

[Mike Vickery]

Why dont you just rent a bigger chainsaw?

[Jonathan Harvey]

Why dont you just rent a bigger chainsaw?

Thats on heck of a good idea. Only problem is I just called rental place and the biggest chain saw they rent is 21"

I'm gonna keep looking.

[Reed Gray]

Most rental places don't like to handle the bigger saws because of laibility. You may be able to find a bigger saw at a place that is more industrial, rather than home oriented.
robo hippy

[Steve Schlumpf]

Johnathan - whatever you figure out to cut that monster I hope you remember to get some photos of before and after as it sounds like a great wood gloat!

[curtis rosche]

cant you just order a bigger bar? once you have a certain size engine is doesnt really matter what size the bar is does it?
if the tree/log is straight, you could split the log in half and then cut it up. its not like you have a lathe to fit a full 54inch peice on, do you?

[Nathan Hawkes]

[quote=curtis rosche;938320]cant you just order a bigger bar? once you have a certain size engine is doesnt really matter what size the bar is does it? quote]



Yes; a saw sold with a 15" bar is probably not going to run a 20" bar very well, except for the occasional log, and isn't going to safely run a 28-36" bar. You might be able to eventually get through the log, but not quick enough to safely fell a tree of that size, and even if it didn't matter how long it took, you'll probably burn the piston up before you got through it.

If I were closer, I'd love a piece of that, and I'd bring my 394XP with a 42" bar. I have a 20, 32, and 42" bar for it, but it'll run a 50" without a problem. I'm not a logger or anything; I bought it for using a chainsaw mill to make table tops.

[Dick Strauss]

Jonathan,
Box Elder (aka Manitoba Maple) trees often rot in the middle when they get that large so it may be a non-issue. Your small saw may go right through it with no problem. A bigger saw is the easiest solution but there are alternavies...

I cut down a 4'x5' willow with a 16" 35cc chainsaw. I used what I call the "staggered cube" and "wedge" methods.

Staggered Cube Method
You basically cut cubes out starting at one end and following the length of the trunk. You cut three cubes in one row, two cubes in the next row (offset) and one cube from the next row, etc. Then you use the chainsaw to cut stair-stepped cubes out of the row one, offset, cut row two cube, offset, cut row three cube...This method is dangerous because it requires plunge cuts for the center of the log.

Wedge Method
You can also use the "wedge" method. First you cut wedges from the sides like you are felling the tree. Then you use the space where the wedge once was to enable your saw to cut deeper into the tree. If you do this from both sides, you should be able to get through a 52" tree with the saws on hand.

I hope something here helps!

Good luck,
Dick

[Brian Brown]

I think Jim had the right answer. Having just gone through what you are, I think I would like to have had a bigger saw, but my body did not. When my wife got me a saw. she asked if I wouldn't rather have a 20" instead of the 16". I knew the 20" would just let me get into back trouble. I did the whole tree with a 16". It wasn't always the prettiest cuts, and I did waste some wood, but I got a lot of MM Burl out of it. Good Luck.

[Bob Hamilton]

Another option would be to split it with wedges before trying to cut it into blanks. Once it is split you should be able to handle it with your bar.

Good Luck!
Bob

[Dean Matthews]

I would get a friend and a couple of timber jacks...

I would cut in as far as you can with the FIL's 20" then use your friend and some timberjacks to rotate the tree some and do another cut... keep doing that until you get more or less all the way through. if you do not get the center out you can probably crack off that section with a wedge and a hammer.