Been wondering about this for a while. A quick search on google and youtube did not show anything specific. So, I thought I'd ask the ultimate authority on things big and small: MUD! I have done a bit of chainsaw cutting but am no expert by any means, so hoping for more knowledgeable opinions.
Picture you are bucking a tree. Let's say medium size for a homeowner, like smaller diameter than the length of your bar.
I have seen discussions suggesting that it's better not to push down hard on the saw but rather to let it do its work with maybe a bit more pressure than just its own weight. Both to avoid excessive wear and maybe even to speed up the cut. I can buy that. Intuitively that sounds OK, especially the less wear bit. (Although not necessarily obvious. As a counterexample, think drilling in metal. You want enough pressure.)
What I am curious about, don't know, and have not yet experimented with properly, is this. What is going to give me the fastest cut: keep the chainsaw bar at a pretty much constant angle to the horizontal -which would maximize the number of teeth cutting wood- or do a rocking motion (tip up then tip down etc) which would mean a smaller number of teeth in contact and probably more pressure on the teeth? Or does it not matter? What do you think? (And, yes, I realize there are more important issues going on in the world right now...)
Picture you are bucking a tree. Let's say medium size for a homeowner, like smaller diameter than the length of your bar.
I have seen discussions suggesting that it's better not to push down hard on the saw but rather to let it do its work with maybe a bit more pressure than just its own weight. Both to avoid excessive wear and maybe even to speed up the cut. I can buy that. Intuitively that sounds OK, especially the less wear bit. (Although not necessarily obvious. As a counterexample, think drilling in metal. You want enough pressure.)
What I am curious about, don't know, and have not yet experimented with properly, is this. What is going to give me the fastest cut: keep the chainsaw bar at a pretty much constant angle to the horizontal -which would maximize the number of teeth cutting wood- or do a rocking motion (tip up then tip down etc) which would mean a smaller number of teeth in contact and probably more pressure on the teeth? Or does it not matter? What do you think? (And, yes, I realize there are more important issues going on in the world right now...)