My chainsaw bar pinched so hard on a red oak in St. Louis that I had to crawl under the log to wiggle it loose for 20 minutes before I could finish the cut, anyone else ever get stuck that bad from a compression pinch?

I was limbing a leaning tree near the creek and the weight shifted just wrong, now I always check the bend before dropping the saw in.

3 comments

3 Comments

clairen8529d ago

Oh wow, you actually crawled under a log while it was pinched? That sounds like a pretty risky move to me. I usually just give the saw a good yank or cut from the other side if I can. Maybe it's just me, but I've never had a pinch that bad where I couldn't just muscle it out in a minute or two. Seems like you might be using too aggressive of a technique on compression wood.

terryw6729d ago

Honestly, that whole "muscle it out in a minute or two" thing really gets me, @clairen85. I see that same thinking everywhere, like people are convinced brute force always works just because it worked for them once. But crawling under a log when it's pinched is just asking for a bad day, same way folks will push through a stuck drawer or a rusty bolt without stopping to think if there's a smarter way. Ngl, I've learned that the hard way too many times, and now I'd rather take an extra minute to find the right angle or come at it from the other side than fight it head on. It's like that old saying about how you don't need to be the hardest worker, just the smartest one in the room.

kellyjones28d ago

And that's the thing, right? The whole "muscle it out" mindset is basically a gamble every time, and sometimes you lose big. I've watched guys try to force a pinch with a bar and then the whole tree just twists, or (worse) the saw kicks back and they almost lose a hand. It's not about being a wimp, it's about knowing that a few seconds of planning (like figuring out where the weight is actually sitting) can save you an hour of hospital time. That stuck drawer analogy is perfect too - I've broke a good drawer pull yanking on it when all it needed was a little wax on the runners. Really, the smart move is just to walk away for a minute, think about where the tension is, and then pick your spot.