On Tue, 4 May 2021 10:13:19 +0100, "NY" wrote:

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I've snapped two pruning saws when the blades got seized in branches on
the
push stroke.

Were they 'good' ones? (Silky etc)

I think one of them was a cheap one,

I would expect a cheap one to blunt quickly and bend rather than snap
as they generally use a lower grade steel.

but the other was a Wolf.

I would consider Wolf a branding exercise than a real make as such
(although they may well be).

If you do enough pruning (to justify the cost) I would suggest having
a look at the 'Silky' brand saws as they are very good (and what the
pro's generally use). It was an eye opener to me when I saw daughter
first remove a fairly substantial limb with one where it was easier /
safer to do by hand than with her chainsaw. I thought we were going to
be there a while but ... ;-)

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I spent much of my youth sat on or holding timber for Dad as he was a
keen woodworker and it was important that I *held* any unsupported
'end', not lifted (or it would pinch his saw) or it be allowed to drop
whilst being cut though.

I did a lot of the work during the day time when my wife was at work,
otherwise I'd have got her to press on the branch to keep the cut open.

It is handy having a helper for all sorts of things as it often makes
the job easier and often quicker (even if the helper isn't actually
doing much of the actual work), especially if they are a 'good' helper
(thinking ahead, staying alert, not actually getting in your way). ;-)

Surprisingly a cut on the upper side of the branch (having made an initial
cut on the underside to prevent splintering) tended to close up, despite the
weight of the branch which you'd expect to open the cut.

I think it's surprising how much sideways movement you can get in
green wood and so if there was any weight on the limb past where you
were cutting that can cause the cut to close (sideways) sufficiently
to pinch a saw.

I found the best trick was to remove the blade from the cut after I'd pulled
it towards me on the cutting stroke, and then re-insert it at the other end
of the stroke, rather than trying to push it away from me, because that was
when the blade got stuck.

Turning it into a 'pull saw' etc. ;-)

This was cedar, which seems to be a very hard wood compared with pine/larch.

I think it's a good carving wood (red cedar?) and I think it's used a
lot for untreated external cladding for it's long lasting properties?

It was still alive and so was green rather than dry wood.

I have often used an old panel saw on hanging dead wood as the blade
can be better suited than a saw 'designed' for use in green timber
etc.

When splitting wood I learned just how strong wood can be, if you
don't have a nice straight section of grain.

With a straight bit of timber in the hydraulic splitter it would
regularly split pretty quickly easily as soon as there was any real
pressure between the blade and anvil. Something with a side branch in
it might split up to the joint but the rest would often resist all the
force of the splitter (10 tonne?).

I split about 5 x 1 tonne bags of ash going from about 6 to 24" in
diameter and made the mistake of leaving all the bits that looked
likely to fight back to the end. ;-(

Cheers, T i m