Andy U

Hi, I have only been carving for just over 2 years now. I do it as a hobby but sell my produce to raise money for a wildlife garden charity in Norfolk. Apart from MS261 which I use for general forestry work I use 3 Stihl cordless saws for carving. I have a new MSA220 with 16” bar for blocking out. A MSA200 with 14” bar for initial carving and a MSA 160 with a Sugi R7 12” bar for fine work. I find that the 200 and 160 combination are excellent saws and with 4 batteries I can keep up good work rate. I am aware of two other chainsaw carvers in my area have converted to using cordless saws My main issue is that my choice of bars is limited because currently only Sugihara make the R7 open ended mount for the Stihl fitting to the cordless saws. (1/4 PM3 chain). I have been liaising with Rob at Chainsawbars to source a Canon bar to try but we don’t know if it will fit. None available at present. Does anyone have experience of suitable carving bars for these cordless saws. Also, anyone else using cordless for carving? I am an amateur but love carving. I attach a couple of photos.

I used Danish oil in the past but I found that it tended to go black in some environments. It is a harder finish and does not protect against fungal attack. I still recommend Osmo extra but Rustins clear decking oils is also good. As others have stated oil helps prevent the timber drying out and reduces splitting. Ash is prone to splitting.

I never thought that I would feel sorry for a Laylandii. I rather suspect that the person employed to remove this tree on a village hall car park (public place) was not qualified or insured to undertake this work.

I would recommend Osmo Extra uv protection oil (420). This also gives protection against fungal attack. I’m a chainsaw carver and I’ve found this to be very good. It’s a tad expensive though! Available from Brewers Decorators centres.