I suspect that most Ubi Libertas Blog readers don’t run a chainsaw, at least not the way I do these days. And it occurs to me that the ritual of hand-filing each tooth and raker on a saw chain is a task foreign to lots of folks.
I mean, is it worth the trouble? Does a sharp chain make that much of a difference?
Time for an illustration. Here’s a photo I posted earlier this week, the day I cut two massive chunks from the roadside oak:
On the right is the first round I took on Monday. The top surface, facing up, shows the final cut I made the week before, after the Husqvarna’s chain had gone deadly dull and (as a result) the saw was pulling badly to the right.
Let’s zoom in on that fugly face:
It’s easy to see that I was fighting the saw, rocking it back and forth, muscling it through the material instead of letting the tool do the work.
Now compare that to the top surface of the other round in the bed of the Ranger, which shows Monday’s second cut:
Like a baby’s bottom. No scoring, no gouging, no wandering — just one clean cut.
The difference? A sharp, hand-filed chain.
(I probably don’t have to tell you which one went quicker.)
For several reasons, the trunk of this tree was rough on a chain. First, it’s oak. Second, the closer I got to the base of the trunk, the denser (and harder) the wood became. And third, this oak tree flourished for decades within 20 feet of a dirt road — airborne grit was embedded in the bark, and in the outer wood as well, acting as an abrasive that accelerated wear on the chain.
Even though the rule is to sharpen after every tank of fuel, this cruel tree blunted my Husky’s chain in just ten cuts. I should’ve stopped and filed the moment I felt it starting to go south, but I didn’t.
Next time I will, because a sharp chain makes all the difference. Damned right it’s worth the trouble.
Rain’s comin’ — heavy rain, they say. Between nine tonight and four tomorrow afternoon, we’re supposed to get two inches. Maybe as much as three, depending on the track of a system barreling out of Texas.
It’ll be unseasonably warm, though. In fact, we don’t expect to dip below freezing (even overnight) for ten days. And Sunday’s forecast promises 70°F and sunny.
Such is winter in Ozarkansas. It’s Forrest’s box of chocolates, truly a hell-or-high-water proposition.
This morning, aiming to wrap work on the north slope, I drove back to the site of yesterday’s “lumberjack stuff” and picked up where I left off. Two slender hardwoods I’d felled — a four-inch hickory and a seven-inch oak — awaited me.
I went all-electric again, and I want to be clear about something here: I don’t believe that battery-powered chainsaws can (or should) replace gassers. They’re simply another tool in my arsenal, perfect (for me) when tackling pruning, limbing or light felling.
Truth is, that’s most of what I do, which is why you see our yellow-and-black DeWalts pictured so often.
There’s another reason I choose battery-powered saws whenever they suit the task in front of me — they’re quiet. My time in these woods, even on woodcutting days, is respite and reverie. The whirr of an electric motor disturbs my personal peace less than the snarl of a two-stroke.
Now, if these DeWalts weren’t up to the job, I wouldn’t bother with them. But they are.
Liberating and bucking that pair of trees today was an undramatic exercise. The trunks were solid. I took some branch wood, too, but I didn’t go nuts with that.
Naturally, I used winch and sled to skid the result upslope to the trail, where I piled it next to what I cut yesterday.
While loading my tools into the bed, I spotted a slim “dead leaner” near Deb’s cousin’s tree stand. I grabbed the chainsaw, walked over and gave it a shove — it stayed rooted, but the pithy crown broke off and fell to the ground.
Just for fun — and yeah, this is my idea of fun — I dropped and bucked it. Hollow at the base. Rotten at the top. Solid in the middle. In five minutes’ time I got six woodstove-worthy lengths out of it.
I still need to bring what I cut the last several days down to the wood yard. But unless I see some irresistible deadfall or standing dead up there, I’m done on the north slope for a while. I did what I set out to do.
My next woodcutting target will be a sizeable wind-downed oak on the eastern shoulder of The Mountain. I have no access to it with the Ranger, however — I’ll have to clear a buggy trail before I can do much else.
The rain tonight and tomorrow will give me a chance to slump some. It’s been a long time since I’ve slumped. I deserve it.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable