How'd it go today?

[brendonv]

How often do you come across burl, Stig?

I've only happened on a handful, though I'm not in the woods even 10% of the time you are.

 

[stig]

Quite often, because after 20 years of woodturning, I have a network of arbos, loggers, foresters and forwarder drivers that save them for me, when they come across them.
When they need a gift or just would like a nice bowl for themselves, it is payback time.

Also I laid about 10 tons of fine elm burl up, when DED killed off the elms. I have sold about 2/3 in large blocks, the rest is getting cut up into small blocks.

I have sold wood to various craftsmen for years and have developed a good eye for what they want.

One turner pays 5 bucks a block for wood with nice color /figure cut into 4"x4"x20" blocks which he uses for salt/pepper grinders. Easy way for my apprentices to turn clean-up into money.

It doesn't amount to a whole lot of money, maybe 2-3 grand a year, but it makes sure that some fine wood gets utilized and allows me to go to California once in a while.

Back when I had time to mill wood, I sold for way more, but I quit milling about 5 years ago.Too few hours in the day.

 

[Tucker943]

Cool rig, Chris.

What does it have for an engine? Gasser? There is a lot of those style trucks around still, must mean something good.

Just a 366 tall block. Nothing fancy. However we have a local junkyard full of asplundh trucks nearby. Parts out the wazoo for this style of truck. Parts availability has become a priority for me.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Well, today I went over and finally sorted out that ox of chains I got with that saw and Silvey deal earlier this year and looked at one of the free dead 044s I got from the local dealer. They gave me 2 One with a 32" 050 Stihl bar and the other with a 28". Hell, just the bars being in good shape and I know I can make one run. The other I would want a new case on. It's been patched with JB weld and has a broken 3/4 wrap handle. But for parts... why not. The other one just needs a jug and piston set. So the chain sorted out to about 12-32" loops of .063 Full skip square chisel, 4-36" loops of .063 full skip square chisel, 2-28" .050 full comp round chisel with safeties, 3-28" .050 full skip round chisel, and enough chain to make at least 2 more 32" .063 full skip square chisel. Not bad Some were new, some were sharpened used, some used not sharpened. Silvey will make short work of the square chisel loops

 

[woodworkingboy]

Speaking of chains, I have been trying to get a number of different style and length chains from Bailey's, for myself and some people that I am helping out. I ordered a few Woodsman Pro brand, which used to be Carlton. They are out of stock on some, and couldn't guarantee a delivery date. I have waited some weeks but they still haven't come in, so I switched them all to Oregon. Fifty bucks more for six chains of one style and length by doing that. Sam Bailey tells me that Oregon has been bought out by the same company that took over Carlton, some company called Blount. He informs that they (Baileys) are really in an inconvenient position because of now having to deal with the big company that gets away with certain inadequacies now that they have much of the market covered. Stihl chain is looking more attractive now, but unfortunately for me in my location, it is expensive to get. I suggested to Sam that they make some arrangement with a chain maker in China, and have rigid quality control. I would purchase it if it was up to what Blount is putting out with their approach to keeping consumers waiting an indefinite period. I wish Bailey's sold Stihl brand.

 

[Bermy]

Passed Brigade basics two weeks ago, went to my first fire yesterday...just damping down a huge pile of vegetation some vandals set fire to, nice controlled situation for the newbie. Ran out the 64mm hose, water and foam...its all I can do to hold it on 260lpm, definitely needs two to walk it around!
At 5pm we dressed the fire trucks with balloonsand did the 'Santa Run' to the sports club so he could give presents to the kiddies..I drove the Land Cruiser, all decked out in station uniform... after the club we drove around the village and the caravan park blipping the sirens and tossing sweets to anyone who came out.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Balloon sand?

 

[Cobleskill]

Stihl chain is looking more attractive now, but unfortunately for me in my location, it is expensive to get. I suggested to Sam that they make some arrangement with a chain maker in China, and have rigid quality control. I would purchase it if it was up to what Blount is putting out with their approach to keeping consumers waiting an indefinite period. I wish Bailey's sold Stihl brand.

I bought Stihl the last few loops I bought. It really does last a lot longer. I have run mostly Husky and Oregon and was amazed how long I could go before I had to sharpen the Stihl. I guess it wouldn't be worth double.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Carlton is some tough stuff as well.... Hope they don't screw it up. Be buying all Stihl if they do and it would be a shame to burn up Stihl chain in the brush. Might have to go Forester for that. Cheap enough that it almost won't matter. Get decent life out of it. Just not real quality chain IMO. You can really see it in the cutters. Some are rather unevenly cast.

 

[Al Smith]

I don't practicularly care for Forester chain nor that stuff Baileys sells which I think is Carlton .Oregon at least for my needs has served me well although I will admit Stihl branded chain us certainly harder . Contrary to popular belief it will rock out just as bad as any of them .It's a beech then to refile and save it .Most of what I have in Stihl are loops Tom's boys have trashed and I've saved but it took me hours with a file to do so .

 

[HolmenTree]

When you rock out a Stihl chain those hard cutters 9 out of 10 will lose a good chunk of that working corner, at least the more forgiving Oregon will just round off a little.
I hear so many wood cutters say "how they like how long their Stihl chains stay sharp before refiling".
I'm wondering "how sharp are those cutters, for that length of time before resharpening?"
A blue discoloration on the bottom rails of their bar usually tells the story"

 

[Al Smith]

Tom just considers wrecked chains as the cost of doing business .He can file pretty good but not one of his crew has a clue .If they wreck one they just grab another new one .A grinder would probabley save him some money in a years time .

Now I think I can file better than a grinder but one certainly would be handy at times .

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I can see you guys in the brush screwing with chain every 5 minutes and the frustration on your faces.

 

[Cobleskill]

I don't think I ever blued a bar. If I did it was when I was young and dumb. I realized a long time ago how much easier it is and how much more life you get out of a chain if you file when it just gets a little bit dull.

 

[Al Smith]

It isn't every 5 minutes now . You don't usualy screw them up in the woods .It's that cutting near building foundations and discovering hidden treasures in yard trees where you learn to cuss in 4 different languages .I'm only capable of two at the moment ,English and hill billy .

 

[Tree Reb]

I suggested to Sam that they make some arrangement with a chain maker in China, and have rigid quality control.

Do they sell GB chain? It's made in China now but from what I've been told it isn't too bad. A bit of trouble at first but it's ok now.

I stocked up and have enough old GB and Carlton to last me a while, except for 325 and I don't use that much.

 

[Al Smith]

I think Willard has enough .325 to about encircle the globe .

 

[Tree Reb]

He can keep it.

 

[Al Smith]

I've only got two or three saws that run .325 chain myself .3 cubers that are kind of nice in a way for their intended purpose .Funny the older I get the more I seem to like light weight saws .Geeze those old gear drives were heavy when I was a young man and they seem about twice as heavy now as does some of the others which aren't nearly as old .

 

[woodworkingboy]

I din't think that Bailey's sells GB chain. They sell some Husqvarna chain in addition to Woodsman Pro and Oregon, but it is more expensive.

 

[HolmenTree]

I think Willard has enough .325 to about encircle the globe .

Al, no at last count I have more 3/8 chisel
Baileys had a good sale on Oregon 72 LGX .050 for $269 a 100 ft roll. So I bought a couple. I decided to get away from the 73- .058 chain that Husqvarna supplies here and just run .050 on everything. I got Stihl bars from 16" to 36" in .050 so I'm just running them on my Huskies with the little adapters. Also bought a bunch of .050 bars from Baileys with prices lower then what I was paying locally 30 yrs ago.
I'm still gonna run .325 on my 338 top handle and 346XP, maybe the new T450XP too whenever it comes out.

 

[Al Smith]

Now that brings up another bone I'd like to pick .McCulloch and Homelite used the same driver count for decades then here comes Stihl and Husqvarna to screw it up .

A 20" loop of Stihl is 72 drivers and a Mac is 70 .They are close enough it doesn't take much to get confused if you snag an extra going out the door on the way to the woods . Now that is a bone to get in the woods and need an extra chain and the SOB is either two drivers short or two drivers too long because they will not interchange .

What a deal that is ,a 16" loop is the same driver count but a 20" and 24" are not .Nobody uses a 16" in the woods but Stig .

 

[Cut4fun]

Now that brings up another bone I'd like to pick .McCulloch and Homelite used the same driver count for decades then here comes Stihl and Husqvarna to screw it up .

A 20" loop of Stihl is 72 drivers and a Mac is 70 .They are close enough it doesn't take much to get confused if you snag an extra going out the door on the way to the woods . Now that is a bone to get in the woods and need an extra chain and the SOB is either two drivers short or two drivers too long because they will not interchange .

What a deal that is ,a 16" loop is the same driver count but a 20" and 24" are not .Nobody uses a 16" in the woods but Stig .

I'm running into that with these bigger poulan and echo saws. 70dl 20 and 81dl 24.

Dont even get me going with these 64dl 66dl 67dl 325 bars. :roll:

 

[Tucker943]

I will agree that the hardness of Stihl chain is a blessing and a curse. I simply run Oregon. Its fair priced, fine quality, sharpens well, and is not brittle or extremely prone to losing chunks of itself when it hits a rock. I could be more fussy, but my saw dealer is 3 minutes down the road and always has what I want in Oregon sizes. The simplicity of that alone keeps me buying that brand.

 

[Cobleskill]

I used to have a guy that would spin me 10 loops of Oregon for a deal. If he was still there I would still be buying.

I did notice Stihl takes longer to get loose on the bar too. Knock on some wood, I don't hit rocks often. I was stumping a co dominant maple and they had thrown rocks in the crotch when it was small. I couldn't get away from them. Just about ruined a 24" chain. It was hot out and I was sucking fumes and hitting rocks. Not fun.