No, I didn't file the rakers down. I filed the safety devices. The yellow highlighted portion in the pic below.
Firewood?
- Thread starter D'Animal
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
No, I didn't file the rakers down. I filed the safety devices. The yellow highlighted portion in the pic below.
I've been enjoying cutting with sharp chains since getting one of these:
www.stihlusa.com
I also have a Oregon grinding wheel sharpener sitting in a box but may never need it as the 2 in 1 is so easy. If so it will get eBayed.
2 in 1 Filing Guide | STIHL
<p>The STIHL 2 in 1 Filing Guide simplifies the process of sharpening your saw chain by completing two functions at once —sharpening your saw chain cutters and lowering your depth gauges. The ease and accuracy of this unique accessory makes it the perfect system for maintenance of your STIHL...
I also have a Oregon grinding wheel sharpener sitting in a box but may never need it as the 2 in 1 is so easy. If so it will get eBayed.
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2021
- Threads
- 12
- Messages
- 233
Ah, thats wild! Never even seen anything like that before. Crazy looking rakers, too. Thank you for the pics! And do forgive
Started building a sawbuck today so I don't have to cut logs laying on the ground. Everything was designed in CAD, cut with a bandsaw, and welded up on my welding table. The "Y' will be the log holders, which will be welded to a horizontal piece of 2x3" square tubing, with adjustable-height legs at either end. This should handle a 24" diameter log up to 9'-4" in length. We'll set the logs on the sawbuck with the tractor prior to cutting.
Nice project. Any concerns of it tipping over when the log is loaded on it?
The legs will be upside down Ts that are quite wide to prevent it from tipping over. I still need to pick up 2x3 square tube for the cross-bar and 2x2 tube for the legs.
Last edited:
I 'd never seen or heard of it until I saw that video yesterday. I didn't know what he was doing at first.
You can split good sized chunks of wood with hatchet using that method.
You can also use a rock as a chopping block without damaging the edge.
Sawbuck is done! Legs are 2x2" tube, cross bar is 2x3" tube. Both 3/16" wall, mainly for rust resistance more than strength. The Y's are 1.5x1.5" 1/8" tube as I have a lot of it. All tube is capped/sealed. I designed the flanges that make it height-adjustable and had SendCutSend laser-cut them.
Went and used the new grapple (which a great toy) to get a log out of the woods....
....And success! Dropped the log right on the sawbuck with the grapple. Cut it within minutes. About 10X easier/safer than cutting on the ground.
....And success! Dropped the log right on the sawbuck with the grapple. Cut it within minutes. About 10X easier/safer than cutting on the ground.
Sawbuck was a huge success. It was about 3X as fast as cutting logs on the ground, as we cut enough for winter '26/'27 in about 2 hours (Mrs. Rednexus ran the tractor while I cut). The MS 261 C-M was slow in some of the aged ~18" red and white oak logs but otherwise flew though the smaller stuff.
Not having to crouch/kneel/bend over hundreds of times, and being able to pick up the rounds from waist-high to move them also really reduced the amount of fatigue vs. last time we cut.
Not having to crouch/kneel/bend over hundreds of times, and being able to pick up the rounds from waist-high to move them also really reduced the amount of fatigue vs. last time we cut.
How much wood do you burn in a season?
Only ~1 to 1.5 cords. It's not our main heat source but we have fires most every evening and all weekend when it's chilly out. We cut ~1.4 cords today but I'll verify actual volumes after we split and stack it (next weekend).
Had the grand kids here last week splitting wood and stacking. Load logs into the 8N bucket and drop them back at the splitter. A sawbuck is the way to go. I’d spent 45 years crouched over a log and a saw.
I see so much arguing about what a cord is online. I thought this addressed it well.
For entertainment purposes only.
MS 261 Budget Wrap Handle
Got tired of lugging around a 462 with a 28” bar. Somebody mentioned a 362 handle had been adapted to the 261 handle. Couldn’t find any info.
1st attempt, I used a broken 461 handle. This gave the direction for the second version. The second version uses a $50 ish dollar MS460 handle that can be purchased multiple places.
After two full days of felling, bucking, and limbing, this setup stayed tight. The setup was very light and easy to use. Flipping the saw for limbing was the best improvement. Later, I may experiment with a 24” light bar. This setup will handle the majority of what I encounter. The 20” bar will make for great double face cut practice.
Parts list:
3 - Hose clamps. Around 1.75” diameter when tightened. Make sure there is enough grooves to tighten fully. Grab extra clamps of various sizes. Hose clamps groves vary from vendor to vendor. High quality stainless is best. Return what you don’t use.
1 - MS460 full wrap handle
2 - 7/16” Nylock Nut
2 - 7/16” x 1.5” Bolt
Step one-
Cut the top of the 460 handle off. Keep it long and adjust as necessary.
Step two-
Secure the bolts in the plastic portion of the handle. Wedge a screwdriver between the plastic and nut to tighten. A socket will not fit.
Step three-
Cut the bottom 3rd from the top tube of the new handle so that it can be wrapped around the old handle. See pics. Take a little at a time to get the closest fit possible. Spread the opening so that it fits around the stock 261 handle.
Step four-
Flatten the inside of the wrap handle, where it butts up against the stock 261 handle. Flatten until it fits close to completely flush. It won’t be perfect. Maximize the surface area.
Step five-
Secure the hose clamps and cut the extra length off each. Extra length of the clamps will make fitment easier….make sure there are enough groves to tighten.
The clamp on the top of the handle does not affect holding the saw at the balance point. I added tape to keep it from hanging up on my gloves and anything else that could catch.
Periodically check for tightness with your scrench.
There are other ways to integrate the handles that came to mind like using rivets, custom brackets, and sleeves. This was the easiest and quickest assembly method that could done by basically anyone.
Got tired of lugging around a 462 with a 28” bar. Somebody mentioned a 362 handle had been adapted to the 261 handle. Couldn’t find any info.
1st attempt, I used a broken 461 handle. This gave the direction for the second version. The second version uses a $50 ish dollar MS460 handle that can be purchased multiple places.
After two full days of felling, bucking, and limbing, this setup stayed tight. The setup was very light and easy to use. Flipping the saw for limbing was the best improvement. Later, I may experiment with a 24” light bar. This setup will handle the majority of what I encounter. The 20” bar will make for great double face cut practice.
Parts list:
3 - Hose clamps. Around 1.75” diameter when tightened. Make sure there is enough grooves to tighten fully. Grab extra clamps of various sizes. Hose clamps groves vary from vendor to vendor. High quality stainless is best. Return what you don’t use.
1 - MS460 full wrap handle
2 - 7/16” Nylock Nut
2 - 7/16” x 1.5” Bolt
Step one-
Cut the top of the 460 handle off. Keep it long and adjust as necessary.
Step two-
Secure the bolts in the plastic portion of the handle. Wedge a screwdriver between the plastic and nut to tighten. A socket will not fit.
Step three-
Cut the bottom 3rd from the top tube of the new handle so that it can be wrapped around the old handle. See pics. Take a little at a time to get the closest fit possible. Spread the opening so that it fits around the stock 261 handle.
Step four-
Flatten the inside of the wrap handle, where it butts up against the stock 261 handle. Flatten until it fits close to completely flush. It won’t be perfect. Maximize the surface area.
Step five-
Secure the hose clamps and cut the extra length off each. Extra length of the clamps will make fitment easier….make sure there are enough groves to tighten.
The clamp on the top of the handle does not affect holding the saw at the balance point. I added tape to keep it from hanging up on my gloves and anything else that could catch.
Periodically check for tightness with your scrench.
There are other ways to integrate the handles that came to mind like using rivets, custom brackets, and sleeves. This was the easiest and quickest assembly method that could done by basically anyone.