How To Cut Firewood With A Chainsaw?

Before you cut firewood with a chainsaw, you should make sure that you have chosen the right size of the chainsaw, which is appropriate for that purpose.

It is vital to understand your requirements to cut firewood with a chainsaw. As all of you must know, there are many types and sizes of the chainsaw. Each one is suited for a significant purpose and designed for specific usage. So, you must be aware of which one is best suited for you.

Although the size of the chainsaw used to cut the firewood will entirely depend on the size of the firewood.

If you want your firewood to be sliced for an indoor fireplace, you need to keep the pieces small. Ideally, you should make 16-inch pieces of the firewood for an indoor fireplace. To cut firewood with a chainsaw into pieces of 16 inches, you can use an 18-inch chainsaw.

However, if you are cutting a big and wide piece of wood, the 18-inch chainsaw will not work. You will need a chainsaw of approximately 20 inches to 24 inches. The bigger size of the chainsaw is for getting through the thick chunk of wood.

Suppose you are a newbie and are not very familiar with sizes and types of chainsaws, no need to worry. You can follow a simple trick to determine the perfect size of the chainsaw suitable to you. You should always choose a chainsaw, which is two inches longer than the wood you will cut with it.

If you are working with a power tool, you must be alert all the time. Power tools can be hazardous if handled carelessly. It is highly advisable to be very careful and takes all the necessary precautions before you start working with the chainsaw.

You must have safety gear to protect you while you cut firewood with a chainsaw. You should always dress properly. You must wear thick jeans to protect your legs. Also, wear a pair of cut-resistant gloves to protect your hands from cutting or getting chaffed while working.

When you work with a chainsaw, the dust particles are emitted from the object you cut. In this case, when you cut the wood, excellent particles of wood dust will be emitted. This dust might go in your eyes and irritate. It may also get inhaled by you and cause respiratory problems. So, to avoid this, you should cover your eyes and nose with protective goggles and a mask while cutting the firewood with the chainsaw.

Moreover, chainsaws are very loud devices. Working with it for long hours can impair your hearing. To protect your ears, you must use ear muffs while working with a chainsaw. You can also wear a helmet. The helmet will cover the eye, nose, ear, and head at the same time. Thus, it will be useful for you.
So, to sum up, some of the essential items for your protection are:
– Thick pants
– Cut-resistant gloves
– Protective goggles
– Face mask
– Earmuffs
– Helmet

It is of utmost importance to check the area you are working on before cutting the tree. Generally, there is a good chance that the tree has scattered many branches, leaves, etc. around the area where you are going to see it.

So, before you start with the chainsaw, you should make the area clean and free from debris, branches, bushes, etc. The reason behind doing so is quite simple, the clearer the area, the safer the sawing. If there are branches, twigs, bushes, etc., in your way, then there are chances of you tripping on them while sawing, which may lead to very severe hazards.

When you are willing to cut the firewood, you also must be aware of the situations that arise while performing it. Sometimes, trees have a lot of branches. It is easier to slice a big, thick, straight log of the trunk into smaller pieces.

But, branches make our task difficult. It is advisable to get rid of the branches beforehand. The branches are undesirable mainly because these increase the risk of tripping and damage. Moreover, if you clear the branches, it will help you in producing quality firewood.

Now the question arises on how to cut off the branches. You can use either the chainsaw or a small forest ax. Both ways are quite good and effective.

The next step is to cut the tree trunks. Keep in mind. You have the goal of cutting the huge trunk of the tree into smaller sizes to make them useful. Now that you have the appropriate chainsaw and you have taken all essential safety measures, you are ready to do the chopping.

The first thing to remember before cutting is to get a convenient measurement. It is advisable to first cut the trunk of the tree into equal parts. The ideal length of each part is approximately 4 feet; however, it depends on the entire length as well as your preference. If you want, you can take a rough estimate and cut the trunk. On the other hand, you can also use a measuring tape, mark the required length, and then cut it. It will improve precision.

Once you have start to cut firewood with a chainsaw, it is important to understand how you should proceed. Tree trunks are very heavy. So it is not possible to usually lift them and put them somewhere. Most of the time, the cutting of the trunk is carried out while it lies on the ground.
Now, if your tree trunk is also on the ground, then you must make sure that while cutting it, your chainsaw should not touch the ground.

Touching of the chainsaw to the ground while cutting the trunk may damage its blade. So, to avoid such a situation, you should cut only three-fourths of the trunk in one go. Once the three fourth parts are cut, then use a felling lever to turn the trunk over. After turning it over, cut the rest of the portion.

However, if you have kept the trunk on some elevated surface like a sawhorse, you can go ahead and cut through the wood entirely in one go.

Now that the huge trunk of the tree is converted into 4 feet length, it is time to move on to the next step. You need to cut the logs into much smaller pieces that are practical to be used as firewood. The size of the pieces may vary, but ideally, you should cut the wood into 16-inch pieces.

You may use a sawhorse, or you can keep the log on the ground as well. To do this, first, you have to split the log into two equal halves. Now you might find it difficult to cut the log into half because it tends to roll on to its sides while cutting. So, to avoid this problem, place pieces of wood on either side of the log before cutting it. These pieces will provide extra support and keep the log from rolling away.
Now, use the chainsaw to cut the log vertically.

Now you have exactly double the number of logs you had previously. The length of each log is the same as you cut it vertically, but its width is half. Now it is time to cut the existing pieces of wood furthermore. You should now cut the logs into other halves. This time you will cut it horizontally.

Place its flat end on the surface and cut it into two halves. Now you have cut the log into a quarter.

Now that you have understood the process, it is advisable to repeat the same steps until you get the desired size of the firewood.