Leveling the field
Stock saw event key element of STIHL TIMBERSPORTS
It's been called the great equalizer of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS competition. Historically, it produces the closest and most carefully-reviewed finishes out of all Professional and Collegiate Series events.
We call it the stock saw.
For almost 25 years, this skill event has showcased the world's top lumberjacks as they race to make two, errorless cuts through 16-inch, matched wooden logs with identically-tuned chain saws. Adding to the pressure that comes with competing in a heat, each contestant has just 4 narrow inches to make their cuts to avoid event disqualification.
"The saws were matched using STIHL's factory dynamometer, and fine-tuned on-site by STIHL technicians," STIHL Event Marketing Specialist Brad Sorgen said. "This lets us know that the only variables in the event are the skill of the contestant and the fiber of the wood."
During the 2008 Pro Series season, the responsibility of maintaining a level playing field for competitors fell to STIHL product specialist Louis Cassarella and applications specialist Ian Hunt.
Just like the vaunted Stanley Cup and the dedicated chaperon who accompanies hockey's premier trophy across North America, Cassarella and Hunt were present at each U.S. venue to assure each chain saw stayed fair and square. With a long background in assembly and mechanics, the two men have a thorough knowledge of every STIHL chain saw model, a vast understanding of components and strong grasp on the overall history of the brand.
"These saws have been on the circuit for about two years," Cassarella said, as he observed the event during the Columbus, Ga., stop. "But they still only have about 100 total man-hours on them."
According to the product specialist, competition saws only get replaced if STIHL introduces a newer chain saw model or as other circumstances require.
Before each Pro Series event, Cassarella and Hunt take the chain saws out of storage and run them in the STIHL's Virginia Beach headquarters. Each saw is tested for maximum power on a dynamometer or "dyno." The saws are then tuned, and each is calibrated in the same exact manner as the other before being packed up again and sent to the venue.
"They really don't see much work, other than the competitions," Hunt said.
But Cassarella and Hunt's work doesn't end when the chain saws leave the factory. Due to fluctuations in altitude between site locations, adjustments must be made to the engines with regard to air and fuel mixtures once the chain saws arrive at the venue.
"We had to recalibrate the carburetors going from Virginia Beach to 4700 feet in Lehi," Cassarella said. "And again we had to recalibrate them here in Columbus, where we're more or less at sea level."
The effectiveness of Cassarella and Hunt's collective toil becomes clear when looking at the competition results. Average competition times in the stock saw event were within a hundredth of a second between the two competitions.
Ultimately, the outcome of the stock saw event determines where a lumberjack lands during that day's competition standings. But because of the way a STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Pro Series event is structured, one misstep in the stock saw event could mean a bad time, a disqualification or potentially even a blown chance at advancing to the next round.
"The saw doesn't determine the winner," Sorgen said, in summary. "But rather the competitors' skill in using that saw."
