THE firewood thread

[Ole and Lena]

http://www.lowes.com/pd_41169-86886-531300082_0__?productId=3562428
I use this Husqvarna set, have used one for years including Fire work and production logging. Simply the best conventional filing system there is. The Oregon "file bars" are junk, the Stihl and Carlton filing plates work well but leave too much room for error in filing angle and allow the file to bind or "cut out" of the tooth. Yes, it still uses files, but with some practice it is fast and effective. The guide and rollers are almost foolproof to set angles and get a proper edge on your cutters with minimal effort. The price is right and it fits easily in a tool roll in your saw box. My chains are SHARP.


The Timberline tool looks very good, but I just can't stomach that price point. I'm sure it is a quality tool, maybe next Christmas. My biggest complaint about all the electric grinders is too much material removal and cost of stones/non-portability. This tool seems to solve those issues.

 

[Beekissed]

I wanted to build a rocket mass heater stove here and it would have looked lovely in the cabin, but Mom was nervous about trying something new and wanted to stick with her black angus(that's what I call it!

).

I think the rocket mass heaters are a great idea for wood efficiency and I can see where they'd come in handy when they get around to outlawing wood burning even out here in rural areas, as those rocket stoves emit no smoke or so little it wouldn't be too visible from the air. I love the concept of them and I had wanted to create one with some rustic beauty.

The barrel stove does use more wood than I would like, but old folks get stuck in their ways and so it will remain.

I love some of the artistic design they put into the RMH setups...

 

[Beer can]

I bought a Harbor Freight model chain saw grinder, for when you just cant seem to get it right hand sharpening, or hit a stone, dirt, nail, I used it quite a few times but I cant recommend it because it was cheaply made and to use it you better understand sharpening by hand to get it right. Sloppy and had to adjust the depth when changing to the other side, shouldn't have to do that. The name brands are probably much better but this one cost me $35 on sale.

This is their new model maybe they addressed some of the bad on their old one that I have. Does eat away some tooth, and take some time, but if you hit something that eats away a bunch of teeth it sure is better than hand filling them all down.

 

[Beer can]

I used to have a problem with 'butterballing', saw cutting one way. Most people are better sharpening the side that they are hand coordinated. My problem was that I knew that and concentrated on the otherside. I don't have that problem anymore. My father gave me a old big bench vise, saw a young guy taking one to a scrap yard with a bunch of other metal. He asked for it and the kid said he could have it, didn't work. Turned out someone used the slide part for hammering like a anvil and mushroomed it. Dad smacked the handle a few times with a sledge hammer and filled down the mushroomed slide part and gave it to me because he already has one. I looked them up on EBay they go for $500+!!! I now have sharpened chainsaws by hand, with just a bare file, from new down to no tooth left with no problems, just put the bar in the vise.

 

[Beekissed]

That's how Dad did it too. His old bench vise is still up there in the shed...don't know how old it is, but it's pretty big and old.

 

[wyoDreamer]

@Ole and Lena We use those Husky Saw sharpening sets also. Have one set-up for each saw. DH believes if I have my own saw, I need to be able to sharpen the blade myself. They do make it easy to keep cutting all day; when the chips get too small, I just go back to the truck, sharpen the blade and have a cup of hot chocolate (I can't stand coffee). My saw is a Husky, DH's are both Stihl's.

 

[wyoDreamer]

@Beekissed I love those pictures of the Rocket Mass Stoves; I just need to convince DH to open his mind about them. He thinks that they are hippie-dippy and just dismisses them as one of those foolish things they do. I am thinking of building one into my greenhouse and using the benches to keep the beds warm. Maybe that would convince DH to consider putting one in our cabin someday...

 

[Beekissed]

@Beekissed I love those pictures of the Rocket Mass Stoves; I just need to convince DH to open his mind about them. He thinks that they are hippie-dippy and just dismisses them as one of those foolish things they do. I am thinking of building one into my greenhouse and using the benches to keep the beds warm. Maybe that would convince DH to consider putting one in our cabin someday...

The one feature I don't necessarily like is that you cannot bank them up and have a fire waiting for you hours later. And they need more frequent feeding from what I've read and seen on vid. But they do seem very heat efficient, wood efficient, utilitarian and less pollutant than typical wood stoves. I LOVE the idea of the mass, with the benches and all....such a wonderful place for many things to stay warm~bread dough, seedlings, people, animals, blankets, etc.

 

[Cold Canadian]

My neighbour has a double stacked barrel stove in his shop , but the barrels are longer and narrower in circumference ? I would venture they were old oil barrels ? I have seen the door etc kits at TSC and have pondered buying a kit ......never know ? prices will go up eventually so buy now for later ? I heat with a wood boiler system and have radiant heat and use a fair amount of wood .........will be designing a smaller system with a larger wood capacity , right now I heat about 120 gallons of water , thinking of reducing it to 40 to 50 gallons , actually have considered trying to a barrel system as they are readily available , will see what I can come up with ......always thinking

 

[Beer can]

I always thought the double stacked barrel kit would be awesome to make the top barrel into a oven.
I have a outdoor wood boiler, circulates water through a big stainless steel radiator (looks like a car one) in the phlenum of our hot air oil furnace. The thermestat kicks the blower on the furnace when the house calls for heat. I've heard more water makes them more efficient. The boiler holds 130 gallons. I heard you can make them more efficient by putting a water tank in the cellar. Brought home a 330 gallon plastic tank with a cage around it from work. Never gave it a thought, can't get it down there. So now the plan is to use a new 275gallon upright oil tank or build one out of plywood with a liner and insulate it.