Been hand tool woodworking for years, and very familiar with paying attention to grain direction. I still never made the connection to chainsaw use until this video - makes a ton of sense. Thanks for sharing!
Our local utility cut down a large oak tree because it was a danger to the powerline. But they left huge rounds. I bought a ripping chain to cut them in half, and all I did was burn my saw on just one of the rounds. Now I know how to get the job done right. Thank you so much.
Thank you for this video. I tested it this morning and can attest that this method absolutely works. I cut a locust a few years ago that had horribly interlaced grains and was virtually unsplittable. I could spend 20 minutes wearing myself out with maul and wedges splitting a single 15 inch round. I was down to a dozen of the largest rounds and was prepared to haul them to the woods and dump them. I had already tried splitting them from the top and it just roacked my chain in no time. But I saw this video last week and gave it a try. In an hour I had them all sectioned about 3/4 way through into burnable pieces. I can now split them the rest of the way with a wedge.
We absolutely love this comment. What better way than to draw upon bad previous experiences, and then test out a slightly different technique with great success. Thanks so much again for your comment. We will share this with many of our audience 😃
Thanks Dan, this was really helpful! As a DIYer who has inherited a small orchard, but never been taught how to use a chainsaw, I would never have learned this any other way.
This is awesome that you posted this as I had to cut a round in half this past weekend to move it and I noticed that instead of chips being produced I was seeing sawdust and my chain quickly dulled. Thank you for posting this video!
It makes so much sense, and I literally experienced that situation firsthand just a month or two ago and didn't realize what was going on... even noticed the long squiggles vs the fine sawdust as I switched my cutting approach.... yet I didn't connect the dots! Thank you!
Glad this video connected the dots. Having done this for so long, sometimes we forgot to explain the basic things that many people aren’t aware of, but thought of this the other day as we were chatting about it at work.
@@ClimbingArborist it also explains why chainsaw milling slabs out of logs is such a slow arduous process with such fine dust! aaaaand kills chains. Appreciate the video bro!
That was a great lesson. I've got big rounds & was trying to cut from the top of the original cut & only dulled my chain & made me very frustrated. Tried your recommended method & what a difference! Thank you SO MUCH for this video. Stay safe...
I’m actually doing this with big red oak right now. Only twenty five feet to go, sixteen inches at a time. 😂 Your tip is spot on. Thinking your way through the process sure pays off. Be safe and mind the back! You only have the one.
Great video. This is how I am splitting my firewood lately. As a regular homeowner with a fireplace, most of my firewood is from the craigslist ads 'free firewood', all of it is freshly-cut green wood trees that people want to get rid of, and using a wedge and sledgehammer is becoming too much work to split those logs. So, I am simply cutting it along the grain with my battery-powered EGO 18-inch electric chainsaw now. Works like magic. A bit slow, but nearly effortless, and I don't even care if the piece is all knotty (used to scare me when I was doing it the conventional way). I was using the chainsaw exactly the way you recommend, but only because I found it to be more stable, as the log won't tumble when it is lying on its long edge. I didn't even realize that it is also the more efficient way to cut it (still have questions to be honest), but live and learn!
Wow. I never knew the difference! This will save me time when processing wood on the job site. And less sharpening is a time saver as well. Dan, thanks! That is absolutely useful and much appreciated.
Brilliant! Probably old info to the experts out there but I've only been using a chainsaw fairly regularly for about eighteen months and this is new and valuable. I still have some rounds I can barely lift that have been in the shed for a year or more, thanks to you I now have a solution, and a neat way of lighting my log burner with those shavings too, thanks!
GREAT VID DAN--I'VE BEEN IN THE TREE INDUSTRY FOR OVER 25 YEARS AND NEVER HAD SOMEONE TEACH ME THIS NOR DID I EVER REALIZE ON MY OWN...CAN'T REMEMBER LAST TIME I CUT WITH THE GRAIN BUT NOW I LOOK FORWARD TO IT IF NEEDED. I'M IMPRESSED WITH HOW MANY COMMENTS YOU REPLY TO--BE SAFE --CHEERS👊
Well done as usual Dan. I also liked how you wiped away the dirt after flipping the round. A lot of people don’t seem to realize that is a chain killer as well.
Very informative and I learned something that I did not know. By the way at 7:55 and 11.30, it's easier to finish off the cuts by putting the bar into the cut and coming up using the pushing chain. You would rarely come across a holly trunk as thick as what you have there. Big thumbs up.
I've done both types of cutting to make a knotty section easier to handle. I have noticed everything you have described about the materials rejected. But today you have illuminated and certainly edified my understanding. Never connected the dots before. Thank you.!
I have used saws for many years and not realised that. I have a large sycamore that I have to cut down in the garden. Your advice is very helpful and I will definitely try this method.
Thanks for the info. I’ve got some rounds from a tree that fell and I’m a little too old to split them. I’ll try cutting them the way you instructed. Great video, keep them coming.
Great tip! Found out the hard way, when I was trying to cut up the remainder of the stump (too cheap to buy a grinder). Tried cutting it in sections, because the base is all over the map, and my saw has a mere 20" bar. Cutting from the top is just what you described, DUST, along with an overheated saw/bar/chain. Just trying to keep my chain out of the dirt!
Thanks for the video I was curious about how these cuts would look. Of course they’re not ideal but if it’s necessary to do so the techniques you showed will help. Thanks again
Been doing this over thirty years and it never occurred to me thanks. Three things, I think there are actually ripping chains. When finishing the cut i put the bar into the kerf and cut upwards. Your chain is really sharp.
Many people think that. Ripping chains are designed to make a smooth cut so that when you slab up a trunk you get a much smoother finish. The cross cut chain leaves a much rougher finish an makes a lot more work to plane down the surface.
I guess I have heard of a ripping saw blade like some kind of myth. I have never seen one. It sounds logical enough. Such a specific type has never jumped off the shelf at me. What are the main differences in the two designs? Do ripping chain blades have more ,or fewer teeth? Is the filed angle of the cutting blade different too? The game changer in this video is the direction of attack. I've seen the long excelsior like ejection materials when going at a log section that way. In fact that stuff can really bind up the insides quickly if using the bottom of the bar to do this. At least in my experience. That is one reason I stayed away from doing it. But I did always realized how much the grain affected cutting against it end to end. Killer friction and heat that way for sure. But those long materials ... Just like small twigs and brush shred if you try to use a chainsaw to do that kind of cutting (not recommended) Top of the bar cutting shoots material away from the tool.
Dude killer video, believe it or not imo this is one of the best pieces of information I’ve gotten regarding chainsaw use as I actually made this mistake once I was using a smaller saw and man was my chain dull like I’ve never seen, im not a professional arborist tho, rather just a homeowner that had a crab apple tree fall in my yard and needed to cut it up but I learned a lesson on that one bit until now I really hadn’t connected the dots, thanks
I found this out pretty quick when I started cutting bowl blanks ! if you angle your saw downwards, once you have established your line, it goes a little better.
I am a bowl turner. I went to the local chain saw store, where the loggers go, for getting my first chainsaw. They asked me what I was going to use it for and I told them bowl blanks. They suggested a skip tooth chain. Can't remember where I learned that ripping was far easier than end grain cutting. The skip tooth chain does an okay job of cross cutting. End grain is a pain, even with a hand saw. One turner used plastic straws to illustrate why the difference was so huge. Nice piece of holly there. Turners love it for the white wood, but you have to cut it up and dry it out immediately or it goes to an ugly grey color, Well, not ugly, but rather blah.... Those long shavings do clog up the chip port, but if you have the piece off the ground a bit, it isn't as much of a problem.
Wish I'd seen this sooner. I've been cutting big stumps up (the wrong way) and thinking my chain was blunt as soon as I started. Got some more to do tomorrow and now I'm looking forward to it!
Awesome video mate 🤙 Was taught this method but seen a clip of a Russian fellow making slabs a couple years ago, instead of sinking the length of the bar through then coming in from the opposite end, use the bottom quarter of the tip of the bar and go slowly down at say a 45 angle at the end further away then slowly bring it back, cutting a small groove even to help guide you in thick bark. Also putting a old slab you have handy or something to lift and stabilise the log your slabbing. Saves chains even more 🤙
Great video! I recently had some large rounds to split that were 36" diameter following hurricane Idalia. This would have been a great help . Just wait till next time!👍
I seem to remember seeing that chains used for making boards with chain saw mills use a different chain/sharping angles for cutting a log with the grain from one end down the length.
I had 4 seventy foot Leylandii trees, that we cut up into firewood rounds. After trying to split a couple of dozen of them with an axe, I gave in and sent it all to the bonfire. I only split knot free timber nowadays... Even Oak is difficult, but worth it because it burns quite well.
Well there you go! All the wrong things to do and the results of them, was what I just experienced a few days ago. Now it won't happen again thanks to your video. Thank you for your time.
I find your vid. and comments very interesting. Mainly because I've been ripping my huge size rounds of red oak and white maple down to a liftable size for meany years. I thought it was common practice. I rip them through until almost all the way and finish splitting with a wedge. We refer to the wood chips / saw dust as noodles and use them as mulch on the gardens or starting fires. Please keep up with any informative vids.
I’ve spent hours milling white and red oak (both seasoned and fresh) with an Alaskan mill. Both using a standard and milling chains. I’ve noticed my standard chain cuts the ribbons for about 2 passes (15” wide by 6’ long) then starts putting out the dust. Milling chain (granberg 10* special skip tooth) just puts out small chips almost dust the entire time. I just think cutting down the grain dulls the chain faster.
Hey Daniel, Great video and facts many, even the experienced aborist, often are not aware of is how chainsaw chain works and is depended on the grind angle and placement in the wood to be cut... For what it is worth, and perhaps warrents a remaking or additional video, is a more succient explanation (this video was a bit too pedantic) technically of what is going on...and...the other applications for cutting wood with a chainsaw... I was an active arborist for over a decade (still part time when needed) and I also have owned and operated several saw mills. A key feature that some commenters have perhaps missed is that a "chainsaw mill" uses a very specific chain type and tooth grind pattern, and that if..."FREE HAND MILLING"...a plank or beam our of a bolt section of log the work is typically done with a standard chain (though specially chains do work better for this too) and is executed precisely the way you have illustrated so well in this video...Thanks again for a great channel!!!
Dan, good video as always. Just FYI, the techniques you're describing are called "noodling" and "milling" respectively. The "noodling" technique is as the name implies; the chain travels *with the grain* generating those long "chow mein" style noodles, while "milling" is the generic practice of having the chain travel across the tops of the grain (much like getting a "crew cut" hair cut) and generates powdery sawdust. The latter technique, "milling," is used with chainsaw mills -- e.g. Granberg Alaskan -- to make boards and planks, because obviously there's a limit to the size of a chainsaw's bar. You can't cut sideways on a 12-foot long log because you don't have a 12-foot bar nor an engine powerful enough to drive it. (Vintage large-bore chainsaws with e.g. 3:1 gearboxes would, as these were common in the heyday of big lumber like redwood, sequoia, etc., but those are rare collector's items these days. Today's chainsaws -- even the mighty Stihl MS-881 -- are not powerful enough to drive a bar the same length as a standard piece of lumber. So in a chainsaw mill, that's why the "milling" technique -- going across the top of the grain and make powdery sawdust -- is used to make lumber from logs.) Noodling -- generating those "chow mein" noodle chips -- is a great technique for getting through big, knotty rounds fast. I have been doing the noodling technique for decades on extremely large trunks and logs; see my picture on the left, with my McCulloch Super Pro 125 with 52-inch bar.
Hence why some loggers refer to cutting a round lengthwise as "noodling it," as in "That one ain't gonna split; we'll have to noodle it up." Also hence why chainsaw milling always makes fine dust no matter how sharp your chain is.
Another positive of that cut you advise, IMHO, is safety. A bucked section standing up really wants to tip/flip toward you as you start the cut. Your dogs become very important. Do it wrong and the section is jumping right at you. Laying on its side (on the bark) is much more stable. The center of gravity is more to your advantage relative to the pull of the cut. You can (most often) start your cut on an angle on that far edge and lay the bar down into the bark. I've cut gnarled sections that way without ever engaging the dogs.
@@ClimbingArboristAs a homesteader I work with a 372XP torq. With the same bar length when needed. Switching to 20 inch bar for smaller diameters. Good machine.
Wish I would have known this sooner. I have noticed there were times when I got the long slivers when I cut a log long ways. Sometimes you have to cut longways because they would be to hard to split for firewood. I split my own wood by hand otherwise.
Thank you for sharing that knowledge! Examining the type of sawdust - now it seems important and logical, but I had never considered it. Seriously, thank you very much. (I subscribed)
I figured this out over time, processing firewood. If you keep a couple of wedges and a mallet or baton handy, most of the time you won't need to flip the log and complete the cut.
If you rip your rounds as he suggests, You will have several bowl blanks for those wood turners to buy or use. Woodturners love wood with lots and Lots of knots. Just cut through the center or pith of the log and it will be more useful to Woodturners. They will LOVE you
Many thanks for this info. I’m in the process in cutting a massive tree up at the moment which came down in the last storm. I did not know this. Really useful for crotch and large rounds, both of which I have 👍🏻 Edit: nice Husky BTW, mine would have stalled out long before getting through that round
@@ClimbingArborist just a homeowner with a smaller less powerful Husky. Don’t get me wrong, nice saw, especially for a part timer. Yours is in a different league
My grandmother was a logger' she showed this to me 50 years ago' my job was to gather up the shavings and we'd use them for bedding for the animals around the farm.
I'll also add about chain type which I don't think was mentioned. You are using a full-chisel chain here. They are more aggressive but dull quicker. Better used on cleaner woods. Semi-chisel chains I recommend for for cleaner wood as they will hold their edge for longer, but aren't as aggressive at cutting.
Great tip bro! You earned a spot on my very small list of channels that I follow!☮✌🏻 I’ve been doing that for years since my neighbor showed me the trick, he calls the longs strings noodles 😂. Keep the videos coming!
I have several trees that are cut down ready for bucking. They will need cross cutting as well. I would definitely have done it the wrong way without your advice. Looking forward to trying your method.
Very helpful. Didn't realize that it could be such a drastic difference if you rip it from the side instead from the top. The only question is: if you have a smaller saw with the bar which is shorter than the log do you still able to do the rip (not sure how) or you have to shorten the log? Thank you.
Now I know why cutting in the top of a stump is so difficult. I cut down a dead oak tree a couple of months ago and it is too tough for my small log splitter. I'll give this a try to see if it cuts better than it splits. Always wanted to try a chain made for using on a mill set up. Do they make much difference?
Ripping wood vertical to the grain (the bad way) with a crosscut chain also wears the bar and chain as the chisel direction pushes the chain to its max, end. up with a burr pretty quick. Get that with normal use too but not as fast.
So I guess when chainsaw milling maybe a good compromise would be to mill at an angle, if possible? Many times I see people milling perfectly perpendicular to the grain. Or do you think the different tooth shape (10 degree ripping chain cutters) makes up for this? Wonder what the best approach is when milling.
Milling is a different beast. The whole point is to get a smooth finish, hence the chain tooth angle. If you started creating long noodle chips (not that you could with the chain) you might make a rougher surface than going straight. Although I do remember from milling, I used to find it would move a little better doing angles but that might have been a placebo rather than actually being quicker
I've been ripping your way for years, didn't know there was a wrong way. Use the shavings on my wife's flower gardens. Also I cut on a big old tarp ,makes clean up easier, no raking just pull the tarp to the location.
I’ve been cutting both ways, never realized one way is better. I cut a lot of blocks in half, to make bowls on a lathe. HOWEVER, I also use an Alaskan mill occasionally, the only way it will cut boards is the “bad” way. Never noticed the chain getting dull quickly, but maybe it’s because I use a ripping chain, teeth ground to 10 degrees, instead of the 30 degrees for cross cutting. Is this correct? Of course if you are milling boards with an Alaskan mill, you need to be very good at sharpening. If the sides of the teeth aren’t sharp, the boards will have a rougher surface, usually needing more planed off. You already loose more than wood than a bandsaw mill, because the chain is much wider than a bandsaw blade.
I only rip a groove in the top of some rounds deep enough to get a steel wedge in it to help split it with a sledge. Some wood has such tight grain that you could never split it, otherwise. I usually make the groove about an inch deep.
Been hand tool woodworking for years, and very familiar with paying attention to grain direction. I still never made the connection to chainsaw use until this video - makes a ton of sense. Thanks for sharing!
Glad it was a useful bit of information 😃
I've cutting firewood for 8 years enough to heat my home, thanks for sharing that ,cheers
Be doing tree work for year's, just didn't realise this. Every day is a school day. Thanks
You’re welcome buddy 😀 glad it will help in the future
This is a great tip for woodworkers who mill logs on the bandsaw.
😃
Our local utility cut down a large oak tree because it was a danger to the powerline. But they left huge rounds. I bought a ripping chain to cut them in half, and all I did was burn my saw on just one of the rounds. Now I know how to get the job done right. Thank you so much.
Yeah, it will do that to your saw cutting from the flat side. Good luck with sharpening the chain and with round 2 or ripping the wood
His boots don’t saw safety rated.
@@claudegosselin2449 They look like either Pfanner Tyrol or Arbortec Scafell chainsaw boots to me.
@@MrGorehound Wrong. They are Meindl Airstream
@@daniel_913 didn't think about them. ;-)
Never too old to learn. I'm an 81 y/o occasional chain saw user and didn't know this.
Thank you for this video. I tested it this morning and can attest that this method absolutely works. I cut a locust a few years ago that had horribly interlaced grains and was virtually unsplittable. I could spend 20 minutes wearing myself out with maul and wedges splitting a single 15 inch round. I was down to a dozen of the largest rounds and was prepared to haul them to the woods and dump them. I had already tried splitting them from the top and it just roacked my chain in no time. But I saw this video last week and gave it a try. In an hour I had them all sectioned about 3/4 way through into burnable pieces. I can now split them the rest of the way with a wedge.
We absolutely love this comment. What better way than to draw upon bad previous experiences, and then test out a slightly different technique with great success. Thanks so much again for your comment. We will share this with many of our audience 😃
Thanks for more relevant and informative content Dan. I especially appreciate that even in the rain and ick that you still take time to shoot video.
It was a little damp 😂 but a little water won’t scupper my plans
Thanks Dan, this was really helpful! As a DIYer who has inherited a small orchard, but never been taught how to use a chainsaw, I would never have learned this any other way.
Awesome! Glad it was helpful!
This is awesome that you posted this as I had to cut a round in half this past weekend to move it and I noticed that instead of chips being produced I was seeing sawdust and my chain quickly dulled. Thank you for posting this video!
Glad it helped! 😃😃
The long rippings are brilliant for starting your fire when dry.
Good for mulching too.
...and chicken nesting boxes.
It makes so much sense, and I literally experienced that situation firsthand just a month or two ago and didn't realize what was going on... even noticed the long squiggles vs the fine sawdust as I switched my cutting approach.... yet I didn't connect the dots! Thank you!
Glad this video connected the dots. Having done this for so long, sometimes we forgot to explain the basic things that many people aren’t aware of, but thought of this the other day as we were chatting about it at work.
@@ClimbingArborist it also explains why chainsaw milling slabs out of logs is such a slow arduous process with such fine dust! aaaaand kills chains. Appreciate the video bro!
Totally, milling takes forever, but also it leaves a somewhat smooth finish because it’s hardly taking off any material each pass of the tooth
That was a great lesson. I've got big rounds & was trying to cut from the top of the original cut & only dulled my chain & made me very frustrated. Tried your recommended method & what a difference! Thank you SO MUCH for this video. Stay safe...
I’m actually doing this with big red oak right now. Only twenty five feet to go, sixteen inches at a time. 😂
Your tip is spot on. Thinking your way through the process sure pays off. Be safe and mind the back! You only have the one.
Good stuff! Have fun 👍
Thanks a lot. Though I'm not a novice in cutting firewood, I didn't know that trick.
👌
Great video. This is how I am splitting my firewood lately. As a regular homeowner with a fireplace, most of my firewood is from the craigslist ads 'free firewood', all of it is freshly-cut green wood trees that people want to get rid of, and using a wedge and sledgehammer is becoming too much work to split those logs. So, I am simply cutting it along the grain with my battery-powered EGO 18-inch electric chainsaw now. Works like magic. A bit slow, but nearly effortless, and I don't even care if the piece is all knotty (used to scare me when I was doing it the conventional way). I was using the chainsaw exactly the way you recommend, but only because I found it to be more stable, as the log won't tumble when it is lying on its long edge. I didn't even realize that it is also the more efficient way to cut it (still have questions to be honest), but live and learn!
👌
Wow. I never knew the difference! This will save me time when processing wood on the job site. And less sharpening is a time saver as well.
Dan, thanks! That is absolutely useful and much appreciated.
👌 awesome buddy
Brilliant! Probably old info to the experts out there but I've only been using a chainsaw fairly regularly for about eighteen months and this is new and valuable. I still have some rounds I can barely lift that have been in the shed for a year or more, thanks to you I now have a solution, and a neat way of lighting my log burner with those shavings too, thanks!
Awesome, have fun out there ripping it up 😁
GREAT VID DAN--I'VE BEEN IN THE TREE INDUSTRY FOR OVER 25 YEARS AND NEVER HAD SOMEONE TEACH ME THIS NOR DID I EVER REALIZE ON MY OWN...CAN'T REMEMBER LAST TIME I CUT WITH THE GRAIN BUT NOW I LOOK FORWARD TO IT IF NEEDED. I'M IMPRESSED WITH HOW MANY COMMENTS YOU REPLY TO--BE SAFE --CHEERS👊
Nice one buddy, so happy you gained something from the video, it will be cool next time you are ripping wood to test both ways so you see first hand 🤙
Now someone needs to teach you how to use the caps lock key.
Well done as usual Dan. I also liked how you wiped away the dirt after flipping the round. A lot of people don’t seem to realize that is a chain killer as well.
Just a subconscious thing for most of us experienced chainsaw users I think. I’m sure you are the same
Very informative and I learned something that I did not know. By the way at 7:55 and 11.30, it's easier to finish off the cuts by putting the bar into the cut and coming up using the pushing chain. You would rarely come across a holly trunk as thick as what you have there. Big thumbs up.
I've done both types of cutting to make a knotty section easier to handle.
I have noticed everything you have described about the materials rejected. But today you have illuminated and certainly edified my understanding. Never connected the dots before. Thank you.!
So glad the video helped connect the dots 👌
I have used saws for many years and not realised that. I have a large sycamore that I have to cut down in the garden. Your advice is very helpful and I will definitely try this method.
Awesome! Glad you found this video
Thanks for the info. I’ve got some rounds from a tree that fell and I’m a little too old to split them. I’ll try cutting them the way you instructed. Great video, keep them coming.
Fantastic, glad you came a across this video, good luck 👍
Great tip! Found out the hard way, when I was trying to cut up the remainder of the stump (too cheap to buy a grinder). Tried cutting it in sections, because the base is all over the map, and my saw has a mere 20" bar. Cutting from the top is just what you described, DUST, along with an overheated saw/bar/chain. Just trying to keep my chain out of the dirt!
👍
That's a FANTASTIC bit of info' for us home owners. Many thanks for sharing your experience 👍
Glad it was helpful! 😁
Thanks for the video I was curious about how these cuts would look. Of course they’re not ideal but if it’s necessary to do so the techniques you showed will help. Thanks again
Been doing this over thirty years and it never occurred to me thanks.
Three things,
I think there are actually ripping chains.
When finishing the cut i put the bar into the kerf and cut upwards.
Your chain is really sharp.
👌
Little details count! Thanks for educating. Sharing data and being a professional.
thank you, We appreciate that 😃
Never thought of that. I always thought you needed a rip chain when you did not cut cross grain
Thank you..
Many people think that. Ripping chains are designed to make a smooth cut so that when you slab up a trunk you get a much smoother finish. The cross cut chain leaves a much rougher finish an makes a lot more work to plane down the surface.
Big saw and the method you show. We resaw lumber as well so we use a ripping chain which also seems to help. Good info
Awesome 🤙
I guess I have heard of a ripping saw blade like some kind of myth. I have never seen one. It sounds logical enough. Such a specific type has never jumped off the shelf at me. What are the main differences in the two designs? Do ripping chain blades have more ,or fewer teeth? Is the filed angle of the cutting blade different too?
The game changer in this video is the direction of attack.
I've seen the long excelsior like ejection materials when going at a log section that way. In fact that stuff can really bind up the insides quickly if using the bottom of the bar to do this. At least in my experience. That is one reason I stayed away from doing it. But I did always realized how much the grain affected cutting against it end to end. Killer friction and heat that way for sure. But those long materials ...
Just like small twigs and brush shred if you try to use a chainsaw to do that kind of cutting (not recommended) Top of the bar cutting shoots material away from the tool.
Thanks for reducing the sound of the chainsaw.
No one needs all that noise on a video
Dude killer video, believe it or not imo this is one of the best pieces of information I’ve gotten regarding chainsaw use as I actually made this mistake once I was using a smaller saw and man was my chain dull like I’ve never seen, im not a professional arborist tho, rather just a homeowner that had a crab apple tree fall in my yard and needed to cut it up but I learned a lesson on that one bit until now I really hadn’t connected the dots, thanks
I found this out pretty quick when I started cutting bowl blanks ! if you angle your saw downwards, once you have established your line, it goes a little better.
👍
The long strips or shavings are great for animal bedding. I use it for nesting with our chickens.
Definitely looks like a hamster’s paradise 😄
Exactly what I was looking for!
I am a bowl turner. I went to the local chain saw store, where the loggers go, for getting my first chainsaw. They asked me what I was going to use it for and I told them bowl blanks. They suggested a skip tooth chain. Can't remember where I learned that ripping was far easier than end grain cutting. The skip tooth chain does an okay job of cross cutting. End grain is a pain, even with a hand saw. One turner used plastic straws to illustrate why the difference was so huge. Nice piece of holly there. Turners love it for the white wood, but you have to cut it up and dry it out immediately or it goes to an ugly grey color, Well, not ugly, but rather blah.... Those long shavings do clog up the chip port, but if you have the piece off the ground a bit, it isn't as much of a problem.
👍
Wish I'd seen this sooner. I've been cutting big stumps up (the wrong way) and thinking my chain was blunt as soon as I started. Got some more to do tomorrow and now I'm looking forward to it!
👍
Good tip 👍 Same difference when using a plane. Planing along the grain as opposed to planing across end grain. Massive difference
Right on 🤙
Thank you - great explanation and demo, don't often cut this way but now I know a better way.
Glad it helped 👍
Enjoyed the video. Nice demonstration, Dan.
Cheers, glad it helped 🤙
Works great cutting lengthwise like that on a dry log, makes an excellent fire starter! Good video, thanks!
Right on 👍
Great information in this video. I need to do this exact thing with some quite large rounds. Thanks!!
Awesome video mate 🤙 Was taught this method but seen a clip of a Russian fellow making slabs a couple years ago, instead of sinking the length of the bar through then coming in from the opposite end, use the bottom quarter of the tip of the bar and go slowly down at say a 45 angle at the end further away then slowly bring it back, cutting a small groove even to help guide you in thick bark. Also putting a old slab you have handy or something to lift and stabilise the log your slabbing. Saves chains even more 🤙
If you remember the Russian fella’s video, send the link over, I’m kinda interested to see what you mean exactly
Great video! I recently had some large rounds to split that were 36" diameter following hurricane Idalia. This would have been a great help . Just wait till next time!👍
We were just a little late on this one 😆
I seem to remember seeing that chains used for making boards with chain saw mills use a different chain/sharping angles for cutting a log with the grain from one end down the length.
Thanks for sharing! Been doing it wrong for many years. Will be trying this out soon. Thanks!!! 👍🙂
Glad to help 👌
What a great demonstration! Thanks very much for the education.
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I had 4 seventy foot Leylandii trees, that we cut up into firewood rounds. After trying to split a couple of dozen of them with an axe, I gave in and sent it all to the bonfire. I only split knot free timber nowadays... Even Oak is difficult, but worth it because it burns quite well.
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To learn something new every day. Thank you sir.
Very welcome 😁
I was cutting a large stump for firewood today and learned this the hard way. Already sharpened my chain ready to fell some trees tomorrow. 😄
Hope this helps tomorrow 😃
That video came just right in time!
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Well there you go! All the wrong things to do and the results of them, was what I just experienced a few days ago. Now it won't happen again thanks to your video. Thank you for your time.
Sorry you found this a couple days to late, but glad you find the video for future cutting 😃
Awesome video Dan , very useful, that’s another thing I’ve learned from ya 😀cheers bud 👊🏻👊🏻
So glad to hear you’ve picked up some useful stuff from us, that’s pretty cool 👍
I find your vid. and comments very interesting. Mainly because I've been ripping my huge size rounds of red oak and white maple down to a liftable size for meany years. I thought it was common practice. I rip them through until almost all the way and finish splitting with a wedge. We refer to the wood chips / saw dust as noodles and use them as mulch on the gardens or starting fires. Please keep up with any informative vids.
It seems so simple and obvious, but that’s when you know, or figured it out by trial and error. For those that don’t know… well you see the comments
I usually cut it the good way probably without knowing, just because I liked the long fluffy shavings. Who knew.
I love the long stringy, curly woodchip , it is a Hamster’s paradise
I’ve spent hours milling white and red oak (both seasoned and fresh) with an Alaskan mill. Both using a standard and milling chains. I’ve noticed my standard chain cuts the ribbons for about 2 passes (15” wide by 6’ long) then starts putting out the dust. Milling chain (granberg 10* special skip tooth) just puts out small chips almost dust the entire time. I just think cutting down the grain dulls the chain faster.
Hey Daniel, Great video and facts many, even the experienced aborist, often are not aware of is how chainsaw chain works and is depended on the grind angle and placement in the wood to be cut...
For what it is worth, and perhaps warrents a remaking or additional video, is a more succient explanation (this video was a bit too pedantic) technically of what is going on...and...the other applications for cutting wood with a chainsaw...
I was an active arborist for over a decade (still part time when needed) and I also have owned and operated several saw mills. A key feature that some commenters have perhaps missed is that a "chainsaw mill" uses a very specific chain type and tooth grind pattern, and that if..."FREE HAND MILLING"...a plank or beam our of a bolt section of log the work is typically done with a standard chain (though specially chains do work better for this too) and is executed precisely the way you have illustrated so well in this video...Thanks again for a great channel!!!
Thanks for your detailed comment, it is much appreciated
Thanks legend. Very handy. Always learning!
Awesome 🤙 thanks for the comment
I actually realized this just last week. My rakers are a bit low and it's jumping around a lot unless i do this. Good tip 👍
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I'm not new to running a saw and I never knew that. Thank you!
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Dan, good video as always. Just FYI, the techniques you're describing are called "noodling" and "milling" respectively. The "noodling" technique is as the name implies; the chain travels *with the grain* generating those long "chow mein" style noodles, while "milling" is the generic practice of having the chain travel across the tops of the grain (much like getting a "crew cut" hair cut) and generates powdery sawdust. The latter technique, "milling," is used with chainsaw mills -- e.g. Granberg Alaskan -- to make boards and planks, because obviously there's a limit to the size of a chainsaw's bar. You can't cut sideways on a 12-foot long log because you don't have a 12-foot bar nor an engine powerful enough to drive it. (Vintage large-bore chainsaws with e.g. 3:1 gearboxes would, as these were common in the heyday of big lumber like redwood, sequoia, etc., but those are rare collector's items these days. Today's chainsaws -- even the mighty Stihl MS-881 -- are not powerful enough to drive a bar the same length as a standard piece of lumber. So in a chainsaw mill, that's why the "milling" technique -- going across the top of the grain and make powdery sawdust -- is used to make lumber from logs.)
Noodling -- generating those "chow mein" noodle chips -- is a great technique for getting through big, knotty rounds fast. I have been doing the noodling technique for decades on extremely large trunks and logs; see my picture on the left, with my McCulloch Super Pro 125 with 52-inch bar.
Wow, such great and in-depth information. Your comments and knowledge are very much appreciated.
Thanks for that. Even though I’ve used a chainsaw for 50 years! I didn’t know that.
Hence why some loggers refer to cutting a round lengthwise as "noodling it," as in "That one ain't gonna split; we'll have to noodle it up." Also hence why chainsaw milling always makes fine dust no matter how sharp your chain is.
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❤one excellent point my friend!
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Another positive of that cut you advise, IMHO, is safety.
A bucked section standing up really wants to tip/flip toward you as you start the cut. Your dogs become very important. Do it wrong and the section is jumping right at you.
Laying on its side (on the bark) is much more stable. The center of gravity is more to your advantage relative to the pull of the cut. You can (most often) start your cut on an angle on that far edge and lay the bar down into the bark. I've cut gnarled sections that way without ever engaging the dogs.
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Wish I'd seen this video a month ago when cutting oak logs - the wrong way. Thanks, learnt the lesson.
Glad it was helpful! 👍
Hi, thanks for sharing your knowledge,amazing!!! What kind of husqvarna do you use, and what length is tha sword?
That saw is a Husqvarna 572 , absolutely love it. The bar is 28”
@@ClimbingArboristAs a homesteader I work with a 372XP torq. With the same bar length when needed. Switching to 20 inch bar for smaller diameters. Good machine.
Really helpful. If never thought I'd that. Didn't look like nice weather for the filming!
Glad it helped! Was pretty crappy weather for filming 😃
Wish I would have known this sooner. I have noticed there were times when I got the long slivers when I cut a log long ways. Sometimes you have to cut longways because they would be to hard to split for firewood. I split my own wood by hand otherwise.
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Thank you, extremely useful info.
Awesome, glad it helped 👍
Thank you for sharing that knowledge! Examining the type of sawdust - now it seems important and logical, but I had never considered it. Seriously, thank you very much.
(I subscribed)
Glad it was helpful! 👌
Dang.. the long grain saw dust is great to have around the workshop, thanks! 👍😎✊
I figured this out over time, processing firewood. If you keep a couple of wedges and a mallet or baton handy, most of the time you won't need to flip the log and complete the cut.
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Well done, very useful information,Thanks
Glad it was helpful! 😃
Learned something, thanks for the video..
Glad it was helpful! 😁
If you rip your rounds as he suggests, You will have several bowl blanks for those wood turners to buy or use. Woodturners love wood with lots and Lots of knots. Just cut through the center or pith of the log and it will be more useful to Woodturners. They will LOVE you
Hopefully many people who read this will start making new contacts with woodturners
Many thanks for this info. I’m in the process in cutting a massive tree up at the moment which came down in the last storm. I did not know this. Really useful for crotch and large rounds, both of which I have 👍🏻
Edit: nice Husky BTW, mine would have stalled out long before getting through that round
Awesome👌 sounds like your saw might need tuning , carb reset, filters etc
@@ClimbingArborist just a homeowner with a smaller less powerful Husky. Don’t get me wrong, nice saw, especially for a part timer. Yours is in a different league
My grandmother was a logger' she showed this to me 50 years ago' my job was to gather up the shavings and we'd use them for bedding for the animals around the farm.
Awesome
Awesome Tip. Thanks, I was not aware of this. North Carolina, USA. It would be great for you to tell us what saw you're using also!
Husqvarna 572xp
I'll also add about chain type which I don't think was mentioned. You are using a full-chisel chain here. They are more aggressive but dull quicker. Better used on cleaner woods. Semi-chisel chains I recommend for for cleaner wood as they will hold their edge for longer, but aren't as aggressive at cutting.
Great tip bro! You earned a spot on my very small list of channels that I follow!☮✌🏻
I’ve been doing that for years since my neighbor showed me the trick, he calls the longs strings noodles 😂. Keep the videos coming!
Awesome! Thank you! 😃
That's some great info!! Thanks Dan.
This kind of info can be so simple, but often if nobody explains it you can go years without knowing. Glad you now know 👍
Very informative! Thank you.🇺🇸
Glad you enjoyed it 😃
Brilliant tip mate thank you so much for that!
No problem 👍 happy to help
I have several trees that are cut down ready for bucking. They will need cross cutting as well. I would definitely have done it the wrong way without your advice. Looking forward to trying your method.
Right on, happy cutting 😃
Very helpful. Didn't realize that it could be such a drastic difference if you rip it from the side instead from the top. The only question is: if you have a smaller saw with the bar which is shorter than the log do you still able to do the rip (not sure how) or you have to shorten the log? Thank you.
Glad it was helpful
Had no idea, thanks for sharing this.
Glad this will help 👍
Thank you very much for that very helpful advice.
Glad it was helpful! 👍👌
Brilliant tip, thanks. Off to split some chunks I couldn't lift. 😂
Awesome, have fun, be safe out there 😁
Now I know why cutting in the top of a stump is so difficult. I cut down a dead oak tree a couple of months ago and it is too tough for my small log splitter. I'll give this a try to see if it cuts better than it splits. Always wanted to try a chain made for using on a mill set up. Do they make much difference?
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Very helpful, thank you.
Awesome 👍Glad it was helpful!
Ripping wood vertical to the grain (the bad way) with a crosscut chain also wears the bar and chain as the chisel direction pushes the chain to its max, end. up with a burr pretty quick. Get that with normal use too but not as fast.
So I guess when chainsaw milling maybe a good compromise would be to mill at an angle, if possible? Many times I see people milling perfectly perpendicular to the grain. Or do you think the different tooth shape (10 degree ripping chain cutters) makes up for this? Wonder what the best approach is when milling.
Makes sense that you wouldn't want to approach it perfectly perpendicular.
Milling is a different beast. The whole point is to get a smooth finish, hence the chain tooth angle. If you started creating long noodle chips (not that you could with the chain) you might make a rougher surface than going straight. Although I do remember from milling, I used to find it would move a little better doing angles but that might have been a placebo rather than actually being quicker
@@ClimbingArboristThanks for these insights, I haven't done it myself yet and am preparing. These comments have been helpful.
Very helpful. Thank you!
Awesome, glad you liked it 👍
I've been ripping your way for years, didn't know there was a wrong way. Use the shavings on my wife's flower gardens. Also I cut on a big old tarp ,makes clean up easier, no raking just pull the tarp to the location.
Tarps are king 👑
Tarp definitely needed noodleing makes a lot of mess
Valuable tip, thanks
Great advice
Thanks from Australia
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I’ve been cutting both ways, never realized one way is better. I cut a lot of blocks in half, to make bowls on a lathe. HOWEVER, I also use an Alaskan mill occasionally, the only way it will cut boards is the “bad” way. Never noticed the chain getting dull quickly, but maybe it’s because I use a ripping chain, teeth ground to 10 degrees, instead of the 30 degrees for cross cutting. Is this correct? Of course if you are milling boards with an Alaskan mill, you need to be very good at sharpening. If the sides of the teeth aren’t sharp, the boards will have a rougher surface, usually needing more planed off. You already loose more than wood than a bandsaw mill, because the chain is much wider than a bandsaw blade.
Very useful information. THANKS🙏
Glad you enjoyed it
I only rip a groove in the top of some rounds deep enough to get a steel wedge in it to help split it with a sledge. Some wood has such tight grain that you could never split it, otherwise. I usually make the groove about an inch deep.
Good tip