What Size Chainsaw For Cutting Up Trees

Table of Contents

How to Choose the Correct Size Chainsaw
- The Proper Size for a Chainsaw
Recommended Chainsaw Sizes for Each Task
If Your Chainsaw Size is As well Long:
If Your Chainsaw Size Is Not Long Enough:
What Size Chainsaw Do You Need?

If you lot're thinking about buying a chainsaw, and so you're probably wondering what size chainsaw do I need?

With then many dissimilar sizes of chainsaws available, information technology tin be hard to know which one to purchase.

Should y'all but go for the longest chainsaw length you can afford or is a shorter chainsaw actually a better buy?

To help you find the best chainsaw for your upkeep, I'll assistance you lot figure out how to select the correct chainsaw size for your needs.

By the end, yous'll know exactly which size chainsaw to purchase for the jobs at manus.

And then, let'southward get into information technology!

How to Cull the Right Size Chainsaw

The respond to the question, "what size chainsaw do I need?" depends mostly on the length of the guide bar.

The guide bar (or blade) is the metal bar which the chain of the chainsaw rotates around.

The full measurement of the guide bar is often displayed on the side of the blade, in the product manual, or institute in the online specifications.

However, if y'all already own a chainsaw and are unsure of the length, here'southward how to measure it:

Using a tape measure out, carefully measure from the tip of the chain at the furthest end of the bar to the base of operations where the guide bar enters the housing of the engine.
If the measurement is an odd length, just round to the nearest fifty-fifty number, like 14″, 16″, 18″, etc.

The Proper Size for a Chainsaw

A basic guide is that the chainsaw should exist at least 2 inches longer than the thickness of any branch or tree is existence cut.

For example, if the branch is 8 inches thick, the guide bar (or blade) of the platonic chainsaw should exist at least ten inches long. This ensures that the wood can be cutting through in one like shooting fish in a barrel pass.

Another factor when considering the size of the chainsaw is the power of the engine.

Typically, the ability of the engine is proportional to the length of the guide bar. Meaning, the longer the guide bar, the more than powerful the engine is to support it.

About chainsaws allow yous to swap out the bract for a longer or shorter piece; however, you don't want to go more than one footstep up in the guide bar that's supplied with the tool.

The reason being is that the engine may non be able to support a guide bar longer than 2 additional inches than the blade from the manufacturer.

Recommended Chainsaw Sizes for Each Job

For the safest cutting, every woodcutting task calls for a specific length of a chainsaw blade.

Below, are the recommended chainsaw sizes for each type of job.

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Pruning limbs – half dozen″ to x"

If about of your chainsaw needs involve pruning small-scale branches or trees with relatively thin branches, a half dozen″ to 10" chainsaw is the tool for the task. Nevertheless, if the branches are but a couple of inches thick, or even thinner than that, a small handsaw may exist more than appropriate for the task.

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Removing branches – 8" to 12"

When removing branches from larger trees at dwelling house, the branches are often about 6-10" thick. Thus, your guide bar should be at least 8″ to 12" long to brand the task quick and painless.

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Felling small trees – 12" to 14"

Cutting down small-scale trees in a thou or garden volition require a chainsaw of about 12″ to xiv" depending on the thickness of the tree trunk.

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Splitting firewood – 14″ to xvi"

When splitting logs into firewood, a chainsaw of about xiv″ to 16" volition commonly practice the flim-flam, unless the logs you lot are cut are very big.

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Felling medium trees – 16" to xviii"

Cutting downward medium size trees with a trunk of about 14″ to 16" volition crave a larger chainsaw of about 16″ to 18" to fell the tree in one piece of cake pass.

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Felling large trees – 20″ and larger

Cutting down larger trees is a chore that'due south often best left to the professionals. However, if you accept chainsaw experience and can safely handle a larger chainsaw, yous want a guide bar that's at least twenty" long.

More Chainsaw Buying Guides:

My best gas chainsaw guide
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If Your Chainsaw Size is As well Long:

Information technology may seem like the best solution is to buy a large chainsaw so that it'll be prepared to handle whatsoever sawing demand that arises.

Simply using a chainsaw that's too long for the task can be unsafe.

Only a few inches too long is typically no trouble but larger saws have increased vibration and greater weight that tin be difficult to manage.

For simpler, detailed work, it's of import that your called chainsaw be a manageable size to allow yous to cut or prune just what needs to be removed and nothing else.

Additionally, kickback is more than likely to occur with longer chainsaws. Kickback is when the chain rotation is blocked causing the chainsaw to "kick dorsum" towards the chainsaw operator.

For these reasons, avoid purchasing or using a chainsaw that'south too long for the task. Save money by purchasing the advisable size from the kickoff.

If Your Chainsaw Size Is Not Long Enough:

On the other paw, y'all may notice that your chainsaw is not the recommended two inches longer than the wood yous need to cut.

However, information technology's still possible to successfully apply a chainsaw that'due south smaller than the diameter of the wood. In this instance, it'll but take a few passes to cut through completely rather than just one pass from the longer chainsaw.

Using a chainsaw that's as well modest will involve cut from opposite directions on 1 side of the tree rather than starting at one side and cutting all the way through.

If the bore of the woods is still thicker than double the length of your chainsaw, then that chainsaw may not be upwardly for the job.

In this example, where the chainsaw is far too modest for the task, it's fourth dimension to consider purchasing a larger chainsaw to simplify the job or hiring a professional who's able to safely consummate the large project.

What Size Chainsaw Do You Need?

Equally y'all discovered, the reply to the question, "What size chainsaw practice I need?" really depends on the task at hand.

If you're cutting small-scale branches, then you'll want a smaller chainsaw, and if yous're cutting down thick copse, then you'll want a larger chainsaw.

Equally a reminder, if you're in the market to buy a new chainsaw, be sure to visit my free buying guides.

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Happy sawing!