There's a lot of knowledge scattered out there in the hills. Do you have hints about carving, tools, marketing. Know where to get the best deals on tools? Want to try to buy things in bulk as a group?
I have started using Canola oil in my carving saws a few weeks ago & I will use iot from now on. Even after some real hard carving I can grab right a hold of the tip of the bar & it is just warm = no smoke, less wear, environmentally sound & cheaper. Just a warning from Neils in Denmark that if the saw is going to sit (which I don't normally have to worry) for a period of a month or more to run some chain oil through the saw as the Canola will gel in the pump & it is hard to break down to clean it out. I am going to run it in all my saws now & I am looking to buy it in bulk (5 Gal) also.
Thanks, Robbin
it has got to be better and renewabl as well,I have used wesson oil when in a pinch but my wife was so pissed at me for useing it all up that I got scared to use it again...........
Hi Robbin!
Just wondering if peanut oil will work as well as canola oil. (I've never tried either) Seems that it's easier to find 5 gallon jugs of peanut oil than canola oil. B!
Hi Brad, Not sure but I would be talking with Niels from Denmark first to see if it has been tried. What would be critical are two things. First the temp at which the oil starts to burn & 2nd would be it's lubrication factor. I have just tried the Canola so far & it has impressed me but the other oil products would be worth a try. Niels addy is niels.ejnar@get2net.dk if you would like to shoot him a question & I am sure he would be a willing help!
Thanks, Robbin
Might make you crave peanuts when carving though?
Peanut butter sandwich in one hand and a chainsaw in the other-might be dangerous! I don't know if he reads this forum-I'll give it a little while and see if he chimes in.
Thanks for the reply!
B!
Hi Brad, E-mailed Niels this morning already but I htink we are about 8 hours behind so I think he is sleeping on it right now! As soon as I hear I will post.
Thanks, Robbin
The chain oil I use is manufactured especially to use with chainsaw bars and is not pure rapeseed oil. The manufacture has added various additives (secret recipe) to make the rapeseed oil stickier so the chain also is getting lubricated on the underside of the bar and so the oil doesn’t get rancid. The only vegetable chain oil I know of is based on rapeseed oil and I think the reason is that rapeseed oil is the vegetable oil that stands heat the best. The rapeseed oils ability not to get burnt also makes it excellent in the kitchen. When you fry anything on your pan it is essential that the oil doesn’t burn, because the burnt fragments cause cancer. I don’t know how peanut oil stands the heat, heat resistance vary very much between different sorts of plant oils. I am sure that the good qualities in rapeseed oil as chain oil are due to the heat resistance.
The oil I use is called Biostar Bar 80 and is manufactured by HydroTexaco – the European branch of Texaco.
Thanks to you both for the followup. I will try to find out more about the properties of peanut oil. We use it to deep fry turkeys so it should handle the heat okay. Don't know about the lubricity though. Robbin, are you using the same oil as Niels or just straight canola oil?
Thanks again!
B!
Hi Brad, So far I have tried straight Canola oil & first thing I had to do is crank the oil pump setting right down & it is working great. Niels has said in his letter that the additives make the oil "kling" to the chain & bar better. I have found so far, no problem with using it pure & the addititves also stop the Canola or rapeseed from gelling in the oil tank if it sits for a while, something to be carefull of. One other advantage I have found also is my saws look like new as compared to using regular chain oil as the Canola actually puts a coating on the saw that doesn't cause the sawdust to pack itself to the point of having to scrape it off especially around the front of the saw where it normally gets impacted on. Even the dog likes to lick it off, safely now!
Thanks, Robbin
I will be looking for these products around here now!
Thanks again Robbin for the update. I'm gonna give 'er a try! Sounds like the ticket. I read an article the other day about a guy that's making biodiesel from french fryer oil that he collects from restaurants. Says if you stand behind his truck the exhaust smells like french fries. Might make the dog chase cars?
Seeyalater!
B!
Probably most people already do this, but I've saved myself some trouble when someone orders a carving by getting the box first, and making the carving to fit into it. It took me awhile to figure that one out.
One way to get those little slivers out, the ones that you can't even see, let alone get your tweezers onto, is to coat the area with super glue. In a few days, peel it off and the slivers come with it.
Another, of course, is the indespensable Duct Tape solution.
"Tiny Slivers": Teensy ones can be left in to slough off with time. Embedded ones, the ones that bug / hurt? Well, for me a pointy tipped exacto knife blade works best---just kinda poke or cut in under and stand them up and out.
Bar oil:
TufOil is the slipperiest lubricant on earth according to the Guinness book, and by personal experience, I know. I have been using it in my vehicle engine oils since 1984---way before Guinness noted it. You can expect snappier crank speeds, significant increases in engine rpms---enough to back off the timing (older engines) and mpg increases of 5%, depending. It even seems to double the life of my 30,000 rpm router bearings.
My old '78 Bonneville, bought at 113k, has run 300,000 miles. Tufoil freed a very bad knocking lifter. I think there is another original 100k in this engine ....but someone goofed head bolt tightening (not me) so there's water in the oil...
Just the other day, on a round trip to Portland (300mi) I averaged 30.5 mpg in a 350cu" Cad engine. About 180 miles were on I-5, as the rest were back country SRs with occasional slow - stop 'n go sections. After a recent telecon with the Tufoil founder, Frank Reich (he didn't figure a downside), I decided to run 0wt30 in winter / spring oil and 5wt30 in summer (not recommended by Cadillac).
Slipperier is better.
I keep a 2 oz bottle in my toolbox for spot lubing. With a little squirt of WD40 as a chaser there isn't much that TufOil won't find it's way into.
As a bar oil additive? I don't know. Maybe Nils (Niels, Neils?) can run a test. Does he read here?
I have been mixing kerosene, which is about like JP-4 (jet fuel), in all my small 2 and 4 stroke engines for years, so ....rather than keep spending for Cad recommended premium, I'm thinking about mixing 2 quarts kero / 20 gallons regular. This ratio would add $.10 / per gallon to the cost of unleaded regular. I think why it works is because the flash temp is higher, which makes for more compression at combustion.
Before running 87 octane in my '91 Cad (bought last with just 39,000 miles!), I'll check with Frank at Tufoil for any downside to 87 octane (other than power loss) - kerosene - et al octane boosting additives.
Where'd I get this idea? ....from an old time friend of Clessie Cummins, founder of Cummins Diesel.
rubber maid garbage cans, drill holes in the bottem and keep them handy for picking up carving scraps as you carve,easy to wheel around with a handtruck,easy to dump into dumpsters,or trucks,get in the habit and keep two or three around,and you would be amazed at how much nicer it is to walk around you area..................another good tip is, dont plant your corn early............
When at MacDonalds grab extra straws . Slip your file into them , makes a good sleeve , keeps rust out . Plug up the ends with your choice of materIal . I use paper towel with a squirt of WD-40 .
