Chainsaw for camping

[whert]

Do you find you need a chainsaw when camping for a few days?

Blocked roads? Enough campfire wood? Other things I'm forgetting?

Putting together "the kit" to do more camping. In the past a mate has brought some firewood with us because he had to get rid of it, all spent now. Never looked for more while I was out there

Needed or not?

One for the blokes in the Victorian forests maybe, but open to all advice

[Warrigul]

I am in TAS, I usually take a small 16" 40cc Dolmar saw and a drag chain whenever heading off the main road and I ALWAYS have a sharp axe behind the seat, I don't always use them but they are handy on occaison. If only to take advantage of a bit of free firewood on the side of the road on the way home. Twice I would have been stuck down a single acess road.

[WesleySnipes]

Get yourself a good tomahawk and you're good to go!

Mine makes short work of some pretty big logs with minimal effort

[Chronos]

we have always made do with a hatchet and or a bow saw for camping and 4wding and have always had enough wood for fires.

last year I bought my first chainsaw (stihl MS180 cheap from ebay) and it was a great afternoon activity dragging some larger timber out and putting the stihl to work. we had more than enough timber for the three nights and did the right thing and left a small pile of timber for the next lot of visitors arriving in the dark (private block)

of course safety is most important

Chronos

[tom604]

if you are going to be there for a few days they are a good thing,just for overnight there is usually enough laying around on the ground, a drag chain is handy for dragging the big bits to camp

[chilliman]

yep, take a small chainsaw and a small crow bar. tomahawk is a good idea as a back up. fresh fuel each time you go out also a good idea.

[teekay0]

Yep to make light work of chopping wood, fuk swinging a axe, im bloody lazy, save myself for the hunt and carry :p

[on_one_wheel]

Im a massive fan of quality chainsaws, Personally I run a Husquarvana 455 rancher for most of my cutting, runs so sweet every time and starts easy as EVERY time. I found the latest still stuff to be targeted at a different and much bigger market than what they were previously known for, the non proffesional market wich has made them cheeper and evolved them into a light duty pile of cr@p.... Husky are headed down the same path with thier smaller saws now but thier motors are still top notch...... not a fan of quick release bars, dont like the way stills run and have seen new ones fail more than once.

But..... I did go out of my way to buy a el cheep o saw, http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Baumr-AG ... 1e717b12ae had it for 2 years now, It's so compact, used it heaps, and I ca'nt kill it... for a laugh I ran it and tuned it on 15% nitro hobby fuel, it needed a heap of enrichment on both low speed needle and high speed needle to get it to run well, and when it did !!!!! sounded like an extra 50 % rpm and easly dobble the power and twice the cutting speed. I could'nt stall it out ! The plume of eye watering, utube worthy white smoke was amazing and it killed a massive patch of lawn where I was cutting !

Anyhow As far as a cheep, small, pack it away and forget about it, dilligaf saw goes that one is great, my only advice is take the chain off before you use it and have 2 quality ones made to suit at a chainsaw / mower shop then throw the original in the bin... the links on the el cheep o are likley to break when you least need one to.
I also tuned my el cheep o saw to run on 50:1 instead of the recomended 20:1........ 20:1 is way too much oil and makes small 2 bangers run hot and dirty.

But what ever saw you get, keep it in the back of your 4x4 with no bar oil or fuel in to stop it making a mess and fuming out your buss, keep a kit with fuel, 2 stroke oil bar oil and bar / plug wrench and sharpening kit.
Familiarise your self with how to tune a 2 stroke saw, and give it a propper " heat cycle " run in.... it will reward you with great engine life.
I dont like using old pre mix fuel so I always mix it fresh witch means I keep a 1 ltr container of fuel, a measured amount of 2 stroke oil ready to go in a Flashlube bottle and a bottle of bar oil.

[Warrigul]

The newer smaller stihls don't appeal to me, my brother has one so does the local handyman.

I downsized to an 038 Magnum stihl years ago for general duties.

I also run a Dolmar saw for the back of the ute and a Makita(exactly the same except blue) for work. These have never missed a beat and have been worked hard at various times

To get around the old fuel issue I run stabiliser and have had no issues since, the 038's are renown for sticking carbeurettor fuel valves and I experienced this three times but have had no issues since using stihl oil exclusively

I also bought a cheap 38cc ROSS for $89 and it has been up the shack for over a year now and hasn't missed a beat until the last trip- I have kept it on 25:1 and the exhaust port did clog up, a change to 40 or 50:1 and a retune are on the cards.

You get what you pay for.

[VICHunter]

Think I've only ever had a tree blocking a road happen once when the chainsaw was useful.

Not going to spend hours (and wouldn't have enough fuel anyway) if a huge tree blocked the road.

For firewood though, can't be beat.

Find a downed tree and it only takes 3-4 minutes to get a nights worth of logs done and dusted.

Save yourself half an hour of foraging for suitable bits, or the back ache of having to move overly large pieces back.

[RealNick]

If you're travelling light a small hatchet works in a pinch.

Doesn't beats a chainsaw though if you have the wheels to carry it for you.

[whert]

Thank guys.

I could do with a hatchet at home so that's as good as an excuse to buy one as any.

I'll give one trip a go with it and see if I can put up with it

[Lyam]

I'll give one trip a go with it and see if I can put up with it

You'll be back

[Chronos]

I'll give one trip a go with it and see if I can put up with it

You'll be back

As I said I "made do" without a chainsaw for years, wouldn't go back though. The hatchets good for splitting kindling


Chronos

[Warrigul]

If you're travelling light a small hatchet works in a pinch.

Doesn't beats a chainsaw though if you have the wheels to carry it for you.

A very versatile tool is a hatchet, mine is kept clean and sharp and has often been handy when butchering and breaking down a carcass. Plus you can carry it with you on a walk.

[Chronos]

If you're travelling light a small hatchet works in a pinch.

Doesn't beats a chainsaw though if you have the wheels to carry it for you.

A very versatile tool is a hatchet.

To the op, keep your eyes open, there's bargains going all the time if you're happy to buy used. just today i picked up a near new Stihl MS180C not running for $50. the bar looks unused and there's no dust around the motor or filter. just so happens i already have a well used MS180 that can donate it's ignition to get the new one running and i'll have a spare bar, chain, carby, case, etc to keep the new one running for years. these are bottom end stihl saws but i paid $150 for the first one and $50 for the other not running

set up a search on ebay that will alert you when a used one comes up in your area

Chronos

[on_one_wheel]

You'll be back

I traveled across the middle in a Kingswood when I was young dumb and full of rum, kept a hatchet in my kit for over a year before I went to use it for the first time, had just cashed my pay check at the Kalkarindji road house and headed out for a cuppa, found the only little piece of dead wood for miles around and climbed this spindley little tree with my hatchet in hand to get wood for the billy... first swing it snapped the head from the handle.....Moral of the story is, if you buy a hatchet ffs get one with a metal handle or go without a cuppa and weld one on when you get to the next station.

[Aster]

Warrigul, Chronos.

Edited a bit there to avoid bringing up some old junk, I suspect you remember what?

Any doubt PM me.

[Chronos]

Warrigul, Chronos.

Edited a bit there to avoid bringing up some old junk, I suspect you remember what?

Any doubt PM me.

No worries, sad it's come to that

Chronos

[Warrigul]

Warrigul, Chronos.

Edited a bit there to avoid bringing up some old junk, I suspect you remember what?

Any doubt PM me.

I have just re - edited my post to skirt around the offending name.

Yes it is a shame as I have only ever had good experiences with the "old junk" and still go there.

[Warrigul]

I traveled across the middle in a Kingswood when I was young dumb and full of rum, kept a hatchet in my kit for over a year before I went to use it for the first time, had just cashed my pay check at the Kalkarindji road house and headed out for a cuppa, found the only little piece of dead wood for miles around and climbed this spindley little tree with my hatchet in hand to get wood for the billy... first swing it snapped the head from the handle.....Moral of the story is, if you buy a hatchet ffs get one with a metal handle or go without a cuppa and weld one on when you get to the next station.

That was originally a beech handled Sandvik, a very expensive little item back when it came out(pre the days of mass produced Chinese craaaap). Mine was left in the garden for a couple of months (thanks kids) and the handle easily broke. I saved the end of an axe I rehandled and grafted it on to the hatchet.

Has been good for years now.

[Aster]

Thanks guys.

[Chronos]

I hear good things about the huskys but also the makita from bunnings. A few fencing guys around running them no worries.

Warrigul I agree the small stihl saws are not mush chop, the ms311 would be the smallest one I'd buy If I was buying new

Chronos

[Lorgar]

A regular camping buddy of mine has one of the baby Husquarvana's.

Pretty small and light as far as chainsaws go and has enough grunt to take on anything you'd reasonably want for firewood.

It handles any trunks/branches up to about 30cm well. Any thicker than that you start to get stalls and sticking blades.

[tucked]

A few fencing guys around running them no worries.

What, chainsawing peoples fences so they get repair work?

[Chronos]

What, chainsawing peoples fences so they get repair work?

Ha ha, might be the case

I've seen these colourbond crews turn up to a job where there's a timber paling fence, back the trailer up to the fence and get the chainsaw out. The paling fence is gone in five minutes.

Chronos

[headspace]

If I'm out for a week or a few days I'll take my Husky, but for really longer trips, particularly into the Outback I don't bother.

A decent sharp axe is handly but not for cutting firewood. Make sure you carry a pair of decent leather gloves for firewood gathering. Some of that old dry stuff is very brittle and when you snap it off you often get a very sharp and very hard point.

By the way, if you use a chainsaw try to cut wood that's easy to either split or won't need it. Having a great lump of a stump and belting it with your hatchet will only get you frustrated and it's a waste of rum o'clock time.

JD

[Monty]

What, chainsawing peoples fences so they get repair work?

Ha ha, might be the case

"Chainsaws through your fence? Call Steve's fence repair.

*Chainsaw servicing also available.

Call now!"

[SendIt]

Make sure you carry a pair of decent leather gloves for firewood gathering. Some of that old dry stuff is very brittle and when you snap it off you often get a very sharp and very hard point.

Or a splinter that goes under your finger nail.

That's always great.

[Warrigul]

Left arm straight people- I grew up with big saws in the days before chain brakes and have been fortunate in that I have suffered no injuries, mainly due to my grandfathers instruction. I have a big old direct drive muffler less Danarm I fire up to impress people occaisonally but I would never use it in the bush.

My pop was very impressed when chain brakes(quick stops) first came out and bought a new Stihl as soon as one was available, even though he was a bushman from way back. Dad never had the luxury of a brake when he was falling big trees for the public works department and it was after a couple of close calls that he quit and got a job in town.

This link is a no nonsense introduction to kickback, worth watching for those new to chainsaws, as many people are damaged by little saws as big saws.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBEUYs6I6vU