Cutting ice with a chainsaw..

[Artist]

Is there anything specifically unique about cutting ice with a chainsaw?...
...need special oil... a special chain? ... or is it just a matter of firing-it-up and havin' at'r?

[Big Red 250]

Have at er, but don't stand directly behind it. Depending on thickness of ice, have a long enough bar.

[ROAD HAMMER]

I cut many holes a season with a chain saw make sure your bar is long enough to get through the ice and get all the bar oil out before sawing . The oil will make a big mess and hard to get rid of the film in the water.

[Daceminnow]

i sure hope all you ice sculpture makers mark your swimming pools well when you leave the lake. would'nt be very cool to have someone hit the ice berg or fall into your crater especially on a snowmachine.some guys push them back in but i've seen some pretty big chunks left on top the ice and they are not easy to spot till your right on top of them.

[Got Juice?]

I cut many holes a season with a chain saw make sure your bar is long enough to get through the ice and get all the bar oil out before sawing . The oil will make a big mess and hard to get rid of the film in the water.

Use vegetable oil :) Biodegradable.

[Got Juice?]

Have at er, but don't stand directly behind it. Depending on thickness of ice, have a long enough bar.

*L* Darnit, you should have told him to stand right behind it to make sure the saw was straight!

Then again......

:snapoutofit:

[Big Red 250]

Have at er, but don't stand directly behind it. Depending on thickness of ice, have a long enough bar.

Been a long time since I sawed a hole I forgot about using vegetable oil instead of chain oil.

[Got Juice?]

Been a long time since I sawed a hole I forgot about using vegetable oil instead of chain oil.

*L* I did as well until I remembered it from flooding lakes for hockey in my younger days.

[HunterDave]

Ya better have a long bar if you're gonna cut into the lakes around here if you don't want to put your motor into the flood water. There's allot of snow weight on the ice.

[gordfishing]

poor choice of tools, last time I was on the ice after someone used a chain saw the whole was so big my dog feel in it, poor choice and taste
whole was 18 inches square

[Kingfisher]

i sure hope all you ice sculpture makers mark your swimming pools well when you leave the lake. would'nt be very cool to have someone hit the ice berg or fall into your crater especially on a snowmachine.some guys push them back in but i've seen some pretty big chunks left on top the ice and they are not easy to spot till your right on top of them.

Your right they are hard to spot. I'm sure Jts1 will remember the drive he and I made on Gull Lake last year. Not sure why or how they did it. But there were a couple of huge chunks of ice that were cut out and just left on top of the ice. We saw them in time. But someone going out there later at night, or traveling in a snowmobile might not have been so lucky. I can't imagine the damage that would do to a sled doing even 40 kmph or more. Not to mention what would happen to the person that was driving.

Rob

[Mike_W]

I have never done it myself but I heard you don't need bar oil as the water/ice lubricates enough ...same as ice sculpters. Check out youtube there's some good videos on there.
Personally I don't get it, cutting a hole big enough for any man, woman or child to fall in should be illegal. Are there any rules out there that outline proper marking of ice and hole for saftey purposes? I have seen cut outs that would allow a quad to fall in ......this just seems stupid.

[Big Bull]

I've heard that filing the cutting teeth to 10 degree angle is ideal for cutting ice,
might have been Miskosky that told me that. I've never tried it, as I haven't needed a dedicated ice chain.
Tip: Wear rain gear!

[Ray]

chainsaw + snowmobile = trolling (just kidding)

[Penner]

Use vegetable oil :) Biodegradable.

I'm fairly certain that bar oil sold these days is Biodegradable. I doubt any would be needed anyways as water/ice should keep the chain operating nice and cool.

[nicemustang]

I'm fairly certain that bar oil sold these days is Biodegradable. I doubt any would be needed anyways as water/ice should keep the chain operating nice and cool.

Well it all isn't...but that is certainly an option.

[secretspot]

I think that it is illegal to to fish from anything bigger than a 10" hole don't quote me but might want read up on this one
Used to chop hole through the ice with an axe for the old man as a kid got real messy real fast tried the saw thing too and found that using the top of the saw works better as the chips and water are thrown the opposite direction
Please mark any such holes with large branches frozen into it sticking up......