A chain saw chain is just like a band mill blade . Once you learn how to sharpen it you can make some saw dust 
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Hey Tom,
That is exactly feel about you guys with woodgas. You have put in the time and are sharing your experience and expertise. If I can share what I have done and know works for me you can choose to try and see if it works for you.
When I first got my bandsaw mill I was cutting wavy inaccurate boards and my father in law thought I made a huge mistake but as I learned to run it properly it turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made. It depends on how deep you want to go though. Wayne built his own and learned to run it and has a deeper understanding of the limits and capabilities (sawmill and trucks ) but not everyone has the option of spending that amount of time to reinvent the wheel and nor should we but if someone has, we would be foolish to ignore the lessons. That is a lot of what I have gained from this site is sharing the thoughts and procedures and tweaking them to present realities. I am proud to say I am starting to sound like Steve.
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Iād be curious to hear what you think of this much newer Buckinā Billy Rays chains sharpening video, Darrell.
Turns out he is coastal B.C. too.
This video you have to get halfway through to realize he is being encouraged to try this Baby C type tooth profiling by Eastern Canadian and U.S. hardwoods guys. He even tries his filing cutting not on conifer wood, but a supplied to him butt of 2 years hard dried maple.
I did cut this year a whole bunch on an 3-4 year old downed cottonwood. My 13/64" filed teeth profiles worked. But dulled after every 2-3 full bar bucking cuts. Lots of minerals dulling in a cottonwood it seems. Surely ashes to beat the band, burning it. 10X as much ash versus D.F.
May have been better cutting with this BabyC tooths profile?
Maybe a starting with a new chain and file just for my minority maples and cottonwoods. Maybe.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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You can dig WAAAYYYYYYY down the rabbit hole on filing with buckins videos. I love his approach to here let me show you the hand motion the file size the angle this is what it does as it sharpens and now lets go take it out and run it to see what it does. As of late he has been learning to hand square file along with his traditional full house grind on his personal grinding machine. Even a video of lets see what happenes with hand filed on one side ground on the other? No disrespect to anyone specially those to live a life of coastal logging! But there is a lot of āfudd loreā out there about chain sharpening. Raker height this, same amount of strokes that, dull your file this, file size that. Buckin shows every last myth of hand filing there is and what it does I mean HUNDREDS of video, even close up view of watching the working corner coming back as you file, taking the gullet out, baby c, big c, the "boat stroke " and more. I can watch his videos all day but there is nothing like time spent with the file in hand. The biggest thing I have come to understand from him is a quick scrub in the bush is not the same as a vice in the shop and a perfect sharpening. My buddy set up a bar in his shop, screwed to the edge of the bench and will lay the chain in the bar and his foot holds tension in the chain from under the bench while filing. In my old shed I setup the same way and it is a world of difference from leaning over a stump or sticking the bar in the corner of the tailgate and going to town on her which is how i was raught by my dad to do it. Im not pro at hand filing, but I have learned a lot and my saws cut a hell of a lot better now then they ever did before. As a example of proof in the pudding that buddy did a tune up in his shop on the chains for my dads little 029 during covid when we found out our local saw shop owner had passed away and we had no where to get chains locally ground. My dads eyes about came out of his head big as dinner plates the first cut into a downed pine tree, he pulled the saw out and about threw it at mike screaming explatives about having it that sharp was flat out dangerouse and his saw had never cut like that and on and on. Mike and I had a good laugh and I later showed dad the videos of how buckin does it. He doesnt let mike tune his chains anymore, but come a big nasty dad will grab one of mike or my saws knowing how fast it can cut if he needs to steer the tree quickly before the hinge breaks. He knows it will cut faster and it took him some time to learn how to cut with a chain that aggressive, even cutting the corner off the hinge the first time and almost losing a 4ā cottonwood into the road as a result. Dad has been running saws going on 50 years now, you can teach an ol dog new tricks. Once again absolutely no disrespect meant! Im a green horn when it comes down to it and I do this as a weekend warrior, not as a professional. Even that being said a lot of the pros I do know, are very secretive about their hand filing techniques
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I have cut a cord and a half with my new Echo with the Oregon chain on it. All Ash. It is still pulling nice chips and I havenāt touched it with a file. Iām afraid I would screw it up if I did. Iām going to see how far it will go before it dulls. I donāt let anyone cut with my saws because I like the rakers a little lower than factory and if you arenāt ready when you hit wood with that chain it will surprise you.
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Nice reading mr Norman, i like it 
As you say: a bar mounted on the workbench, or a chain-vice makes a lot of difference, chain clamped steady when filing gives better control, and feels like the file ābitesā better.
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As long as we are on the topic of B.C. logging and big trees, here is a quick one from a remote helicopter specialist i watch bucking a behemoth cedar
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The swamp behind my property is full of Cedar. Hence the name of the town. Cedar. They name towns here by their primary wood stock. Next town to the west is Maple City. Iāve never seen a tree that big and most of that swamp was never logged.
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These posts make me think of something else. Behind my property at the start of the swamp is a railroad bed. It was somehow build though that gnarly ass swamp in the 1890ās to haul all the logged Cedar out of the area. I donāt really know why they went through the swamp except that the area is all hills and the swamp is flat being the back waters of a lake. Anyway the rails were pulled sometime in the 1950ās and the bed was just used by hunters that bought up the swamp land for pretty much a private game reserve. Naturally trees fall across the bed and the hunters keep everything well clears
ed for their access. One day my neighbor and I were walking my dogs down the railroad bed and we saw where about a three foot diameter hemlock had been cut off the railbed. Part of it was clear of the bed on one side and on the other was a trunk about 15 foot high cut flat across as was the top section on the other side. We looked at that for a couple years with no idea how or why someone would climb up that high and be able to top off that tree with a perfectly flat cut. Finally we ran across one of the hunters and he explained that when they cut the fallen tree, the root ball somehow dragged the big stump back to vertical. We would never have figured that out. Once the roots were back in their original place you could not tell they were ever disturbed. Now that I look back over this I realize itās kind of boring but since I spent the time writing it Iāll just let it be.
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No not boring at all as you described a conifer tree hazard to work it up.
Many conifer trees on rocks, or fragipan, or clay soils will develop root structures that flattish splay out in a horizontal plain. These ātall-shipsā then wind blown over; this dense pie of roots-plate is 3/4 torn loose tipped up vertical trunk attached. Quite a bit of force is being held in balance then.
You cut that trunk stem loose, those forces released makes for sudden dangerous movements.
That cut loose trunk stem can compressed limbs pushed pop-up; roll twist down; as well as just falling straight down. The freed-up root pie-plate, and stump will suddenly move too. Which way?!!
Guys get killed.
My adult Nephew got air launched once cutting loose a big windfall.
We tease him a lot about that one. āDid you see Angelās?ā. " 'Cause since, you aināt ever been the same?" True. His is now super cautious.
Now off the flats on mountain sides and steep hill sides is where things get a whole dynamic more trees working up dangerous āinterestingā. Take years to see and experience all of the possible; Oh! Shitās!!.
S.U.
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Hey Steve,
Watched most of the video. No question he is competent and knowledgeable. Those baby c files are pretty thin and dull quickly. I use just a regular 7/32. Lots of light strokes is key. Chains have a thin layer of chrome over the steel and if the chrome is peeled back the chain will not cut for long until you file back to it and get that burr. I have to file with glasses now to see what is happening. I noticed that Husky that he ran was hopped up. Most of the fallers send a new saw away to get a free flowing ( read loud ) muffler put on and all the passages are honed and ported. They can get a third or more power than a stock saw. Makes a huge difference. Also key is to keep the saw free revving. A saw will run 11 to 14,000 but come down to around 9 000 rpm when loaded properly. ( That is 150 revs per second! Amazing they last. ) Dog in and pull and the saw is working too hard and is cutting slower.
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Been there done that. 20 years old and cutting firwood for a living permit states can only cut on trees down and within 50ā of the road. Daily mountain drive after windstirms to find the tipped with rootball attached and be the first one to it. Had 15ā of doug fir stand up on my as I was young and stupid and started taking rounds from the top down, bout took my head off and I was by myself that day, no one would have found me. From then on always had a cutting buddy and buck the stump off FIRST. Thought I was being slick with most the tree supported off the ground by limbs and no chance of rototilling the chain and it bought cost me everything. Young and stupid I had to learn the hard way and got lucky. Same year my uncle who is a gypo one man crew had 2 windblown firs laying on a house and managed to eject himself from the roof up about 20ā before tossing the saw and coming down through the already broken open roof of the house, dislocating a shoulder on a truss on the way through. Compression and tention, they can kill you in a heartbeat in many different ways
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Yeah and then there is barberchairing and sweeping and chain reactions. It all happens so fast that it is amazing that we live long enough to know when not to push it. But it is our adrenalin rush. I do wish that I went falling for a while.
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Like this?
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Hey DonM,
Yeah that is one way to take a log fling alright.
Horse people and even cow people have to learn that those critters can kick out sideways. Falling trees can sweep backwards to.
The nephews air launce was different. We here as fire wood cutters have evolved down to (or up to) 28" bars. Then learn to make-do rounds bucking out to even 50 inches. Watch the middle of this video of how-to skipping forwards to ~13:15. He transitions from a too short falling saw with a 36" bar to his āP-51ā (all-purpose set up saw)
Twice you will see him doing the needed reach over and saw down narrowing cut. 15:50 shows him transitioning to standing on top to do his offside narrowing down cut. This is your first cuts, perfectly āsafeā, and must be done deep enough for bar reach trough. Nephew did not go deep enough. Ended up not fully cut through and last then he jumped back on top to finish cutting trough. WRONG! BAD! He thought standing on the tilted sideways butt end would keep him safe. Safe from any trunk head freed up movements. Finally cut free the butt end like TomHās description tipped back down launching him. He was early 20ās sawing alone. Marcusās story.
Ha! My own, Coming-To -Humility story sawing is different. On a 35 degree slope, firewood round bucking up a big old growth wind fall tree rolled with the middle wedge up against another tree at midway point. Dumb-dumb me cut too may rounds off of one end unbalancing. My end appeared to start rolling up hill chasing me while down deep in the middle of a new cut. Sucking in that 'ol 056 Sthil saw. I finally had to let go and scamper backwards uphill. Crushed destroyed that borrowed saw. My glove still in the hand grip when I dug it out and jacked it up.
The tree was actually pivoting around that holding tree. The remaining top end then heavier than the butt end. Rolling because of off centered north slope growing.
I was solo.
All lessons. Have a second experienced safety man to tap you out. Smack you on the head. Even and old, aged-out, busted up guy can have an important purpose.
I once by the belt dragged back my bestest b-i-l (the nephews father) once from a big 'ol windfall log weād found laying up&down on a 35 degree slope. Once we had cut off enough rounds lost itās slammed down trough-grip. It talked. Then began to move. Picked up speed quick. Went freight-training down the hill. I saved him. He saved his saw.
Leaf wipe your browned shorts, and say; woodās down closer to the road now.
S.U.
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Bringing back memories Steve
Same season i almost got smacked, your scenario happened to my now always with me cutting partner and best friend. We had near a full load for the truck and I was getting fatigued so I called my own time handed off the saw to Clayton and started rolling rounds out to the truck where we would always half moon split and stack the truck before heading out fully loaded. Clays girlfriend at the time was with us and after rolling out a good many rounds I was teaching her how to split rounds when I got that creepy feeling. My ears went from full of 2 stroke scream to instant shut down, kill switch from wide open throttle and I just knew. I took off into the bush to find the saw thrown to the uphill side of the cut and the log had let loose from the counter weight being removed and chased clay down the hill into a hole. Only took 3 steps backward before into the hole he went and tryed to get the saw away from him. Down it came through the cut and right into his carharrt double knee padded jeans and into his knee cap. As I was running up he was just getting to his feet and didnt know he was hit at all, adrenaline will do that. We bailed for the s10 and I ripped a shirt sleeve off and bound him up with electrical tape and then commenced a probably unsafe and definitely extremly fast run off the mountain. Made it to his house where his dad took one look at the stains on his jeans and straight to the hospital we went. 37 stitches to put his knee back together. The unexpected happens fast
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Nobody is ever going to mistake me for a logger and I"m glad that none of my firewood trees are bigger than maybe 24" in diameter. This whole area was clearcut at some point. If I am in doubt, I have a couple half inch, hundred foot long steel cables that I will get up the tree about 15 foot. Then I will cut until there is maybe an inch or three quarts of an inch of hinge left and then pull it down with the truck. Also helps because they never fall exactly where I want them to.
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Yeah when the trees get bigger than my 16" bar can handle we call a tree felling service.
I wish we had got that oak bucked down to shorter pieces but my uncle Otis wanted to play pretend sawyer.
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Iv seen that one and many others like it, some call it an amazing shot, I find it to be some luck cutting the stump, and pure luck when it hits the ground. You can get a tree to go almost any direction you want, even steer it to the ground by controlling the hinge, different cuts ( humbolt, church step, swizzler, dutchman, swanson ect) but once that tree touches down you dont have any control over it it can kick up back forward sideways roll slide or stick. You can mitigate it SOME. But not control it.
That tree in particular for my skills I would have climbed it speed lines the limbs off, lower the top out and take short logs off till about 15-20ā and then dropped the stem.
But every tree service will attack that tree differently. And if your not standing at the stump eyeing the thing up you dont know the full story, my plan of attack may change if I was there with eyes on it. May have been bone heavy out one side, may have had a bad kickout, a double top, powerlines nearby and so on. Its real hard to be a arm charm arborist and not look like a fool to the guy on the ground doing the work 
But I would not have had the steel set between the legs to drop the whole thing in that window. I would have liked a look at the stump to see how it was set up on the face cut, Iām guessing a humbolt with a swanson on the front face to make it drop hard and fast and off the stump before it shot away from the stump hoping to use the limbs to peg the log to the ground and prevent movement left or right to the shed or house. Judging by the fact they pulled the last log on video with a skidder and there were plenty of brush around this looks to me like a small logging operation and some professionals.
That being said, there is a strange disconnect in Washington from being a logger to being a arborist. Guessing pacific northwest area by the fact it is a doug fir they were cutting. They donāt seem to like each other, a logger will blunder through what should be a arborist job of being hard headed and made of steel and often get away with it without damaging anything but not always. And a arborist wont take on a logging job with a ten foot pole, to elite to bring themselves that low. Its interesting to say the least. Then there is the hybrids like my dad has always been where its just called āTree serviceā whatever you need done we can do it. But a few hundred miles south into Oregon its the are high dollar arborist everywhere working in the cityās on big fancy houses with ornate trees. few hundred miles north into bc Canada and its the same there. This is just my experience though
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