I’ve a friend who wants to use one to clear out some roots.
I said chain saws should never touch dirt; he has a friend who says it’s ok.
I recommend an ax…what do you recommend?
It’s VERY bad on the chain, and perhaps a bit dangerous.
I’d think the main danger in cutting roots with a chainsaw would come not from the roots or dirt, but rather from rocks that might lurk nearby.
Dirt can and will dull a chainsaw blade faster than you can say stupid idea. It doesn’t take long at all. A dull chainsaw blade is dull and ineffective. Withing minutes, you will just make burn marks of the roots rather than cut them if they are thick.
Plus, putting the tip of the chainsaw into anything, dirt included, is a recipe for kickback. Give your friend a stern talking-to.
That’s what I was going to say. It’s been decades since I used a chainsaw, but I remember the lectures on the dangers of kickback. Digging around roots with a chainsaw is an injury waiting to happen. I’d go with the Axe.
Nothing worse than dirt to change your chainsaw from a fine cutting tool into a gas powered stick.
An axe is good but I always have a pick axe on hand for cutting and prying.
My tool of choice would be a grub axe, unless you have a tool beloved by wildland firefighters-the Pulaski. A variant of the grub axe, it’s blades are file sharpened and do the deed on roots nicely. Keep a mill file handy for redressing the edge.
I recently replaced the bar and chain on my saw. One of the main tasks for the new stuff was cutting down the remains of a tree that had rotted in the middle. I was very careful to keep clear of the ground. But less than half way thru I noticed the cutting speed was falling off rapidly. It really too some work to finish cutting thru a fairly softened up tree.
Once it fell I discovered the problem. Termite tunnels inside the hollow. Dirt covered termite tunnels. My brand new chain was crap.
Keep the saw away from any and all dirt.
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Not by me. Pulaskis are for short people.
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I did that once and it did kick back something fierce when it hit part of a buried brick.
Welcome Can I change my answer? And no… you can’t.
Not only will dirt destroy an edge in **seconds ** you can also dull a sharpened chain by cutting a few inches above ground. Trees will pick up gravel as they grow.
I would use a good mattock or mattock axe for root removal. Fire rakes are great for 1/2 size roots.
By the way, if you’re clearing out a nuisance plant like Honeysuckle a mattock works very well because of the shallow root system.
Am I the only person who was afraid to open this thread?
Pulaski’s are king. (but then again I’m a short guy who used to dig firelines for a living).
I introduced my wife to the wonders of the Pulaski a few years back when she asked me what she should use for her gardening work. She loves it…
Ugh. My brother in law borrowed my chainsaw to cut wood. He just laid it on the ground and cut through it, cutting up the lawn. He complained at what a p.o.s. my chainsaw was. When I found out about his cutting style, I have managed to find out that I have a super power that involves keeping my mouth shut. My wife is fond of that super power.
You must have some wimpy honeysuckle up there in Dayton. I live in Cincy and I’ll tell you that unless your talking about Honeysuckle less than two year’s old, the root system is well established.
In my opinion A good pickaxe followed by a cross cut saw works best. You use the pick to dig it out and pry the roots loose from the soil. Don’t buy one of those with a thin flat blade, they just bend. Once you’ve got it loose; go at the roots with a cross cut saw (also called a bow saw in some places). The blades are cheep and sharp. I have no problem ruining a $5 blade in the soil. You’ll have that root out in no time. As an added bonus it will save your back from the pain that will come from trying to chop through thick taproots.
We might very well have wimpy honeysuckle up here but I cleared over a 100 feet of the buggers by hand. I’m assuming they were new “old growth” because they would have been planted over a hundred years ago. They were probably 8’ tall with 2" branches and a radius of 10’. I was cutting them down and then digging them up when I discovered how easy it was to grub them out with a mattock. I was yanking them out almost intact. It’s not a tough plant to cut through. The hoe side of the mattock moves a lot of dirt if the weight of it is used. I was able to trench a circle around them cutting the roots as I went. There wasn’t a center stem to any of them so once I made a circle it was pretty much over. I was able to lever the plant out with one big swing to the center.