looking for an ice saw

[fishin4tales]

i have a friend coming over from washington. he is wanting to do some spearing and wants me to find him an ice saw. ive never speared so dont have one of my own. just seeing if anyone knows anywhere around great falls that has them in stock

[redneckrance]

Just use a chainsaw!

[JayHelfrich]

i have a friend coming over from washington. he is wanting to do some spearing and wants me to find him an ice saw. ive never speared so dont have one of my own. just seeing if anyone knows anywhere around great falls that has them in stock

Scheels had some.

Jay

[coldcreekchris]

like rance said.. just use a chain saw...but i have augered holes in a progression like a five dice and used a spud bar to open the ice...but a chain saw sure would be easier......so it would be so easy to auger your 4 corners and boom...connect the dots with your chain saw..done....

[icefishinnut]

To cut spear holes in the past, I've just drilled 6 holes right next to each other (2x3 ) with my auger and then used a spud bar to clean up the edges.  A chain saw works too, but if you try that method be sure to bring a dry set of clothes!

[chucknduck]

Chainsaw works but bar oil is not good for lakes.  I know sheeles in billings has them bet they have em in great falls

[coldcreekchris]

bar oil???unless you are on a no motorized of any sort of body of water..are you kidding me...i am probably one of the most liberal guys on this site and can't imagine what an ounce of bar oil would do....with so many of us in boats in the summer and 4 wheelers in the winter...seems like a drop in the bucket.....

[redneckrance]

bar oil???unless you are on a no motorized of any sort of body of water..are you kidding me...i am probably one of the most liberal guy on this site and can't imagine what an ounce of bar oil would do....

well your not going to need bar oil cutting through ice. and i would think the amount of oil contamination would be incredibly minimal. I dont consider myself poluting going out getting firewood or even ''worse'' driving my boat around on the lake! are you kidding?

[lundin-loading]

The bar oil as a "pollutant" isn't the real problem, it creates a rainbow like film on the water surface impeding the visibility slightly, and its nearly impossible to clear it out once its your hole.

[redneckrance]

I bet if you put a drop of dish soap in the hole it would kill the oil sheen

[coldcreekchris]

so then augered holes cleaned up by the spud bar is most logical....

[redneckrance]

I concur

[JayHelfrich]

How about just use the right tool for the job?  Chain saw's are for wood and an ice saw is for ice!  C4 would work too.

Jay

[chucknduck]

I never thought about boats. A 2 cycle prob puts more oil in the water than a chainsaw would. The point is if you have a cleaner way to do it them why not. I'm not a liberal tree hugger just like to not pollute lake and rivers. 

[coldcreekchris]

I never thought about boats. A 2 cycle prob puts more oil in the water than a chainsaw would. The point is if you have a cleaner way to do it them why not. I'm not a liberal tree hugger just like to not pollute lake and rivers.

right on....

[fishin4tales]

thanks for alll of the replies and ideas of how to get it done. ill give scheels a call and see if they have any. kinda stirred stuff up a bit there. the guy is 65 or so he used to live in minnesota i think. he used to fish a lot there and now wants to get back into it a little. im goin to spend a couple days helping him get set up, but i think he plans on fishing for a week atleast. he made it sound like an ice saw was one of the only things he couldnt find in washington and had asked me to try and find him one.

[snotsickle]

Forget the ice saw -clear the thought from your head.  That was great 1910's technology -and a heck of a lot of work.

Use an ice auger and drill slightly overlapping holes.  Before finishing the square or rectangle -drill a hole in the center of the ice block to be removed.  Finish off the hole.  Take a 3 ft section of light chain and attach it to the middle of two 18" pieces of rebar like this l-----l .  Drop one end thru the center hole.  The rebar will go cross-wise and you will be able to pull the block out whole (with no binding like you would get using a ice saw or chainsaw).  Square off the hole with a spud bar.  It is also helpful to make a large dipper.  Take an old aluminum scoop shovel and perforate it with 1/2" holes.  That makes quick work of all the slush.

I have nothing against using a chainsaw -oil wise.  I have tried a chainsaw (even with no bar oil) numerous times and the oil slick is a pain when you are staring down a spear hole for hours on end.  Don't forget to shove the ice block back in the hole or break it up when you are done -seen a few people get hospitalized after they smacked an ice block with their snowmobiles.

Good luck!

[sbschindler]

Ice saws are the cats meow, makes nice clean cuts and very quick, and you don't have to wear ear plugs

[Quantoson]

The Amish way
http://www.crownofmaine.com/paulcyr/stories/amish-ice-cutting//

[snotsickle]

I suppose they need all that ice to keep the horse meat fresh.  After they beat them to death trying to pull out that ice 

[Smoov iced]

Carefull what you say the "Mafia" will come after you.

[sbschindler]

After they get done cutting ice I could use my boat and troll for fish,

[fishin4tales]

i ended up finding one saw in great falls. called the guy and he said he had something figured out. so guess he decided against the saw. will probably have to do as some of you have suggested. we fished nelson last year for a couple days with some of my family, but he doesnt want to travel all the way over there. he said he wants to concentrate on the lakes north of great falls. which lake would give him the best oppurtunity to spear some pike.

[Papa John]

Easy there Snotcicle, the Amish take very good care of their horses and with slabs of ice like this that team won't even break a sweat or a huff. The edge ice is slid out on is either beveled or a flat skid pushed uder the slab to get it out. No beating going on here. What precipitated that comment anyway? I admire these folks and their work ethic.

[double_a85]

The Amish way
http://www.crownofmaine.com/paulcyr/stories/amish-ice-cutting//

Now that is neat!! We forget how easy we have things in life compared to the old ways that this state was settled on... and it is always interesting seeing the Amish hard at work.

[bowhtr]

he said he wants to concentrate on the lakes north of great falls. which lake would give him the best oppurtunity to spear some pike.

I would think that pishkin or arod.  Arod would be my first choice shallow bench. going up there Sunday to perch fish

[untouchable]

In order not to contaminate the lake water with bar oil, what if it was replaced with vegetable oil?  A couple years ago when the IWA Snowmobile Watercross Racers were in Billings I talked to a few guys in the pits how they were able to run the sleds on the water (mind you this was in August so the water was definitely in the liquidous phase) without upsetting the EPA with chemical contamination? His reply was the chaincase oil was actually replaced with vegetable cooking oil in case of a leak.  It makes sense a tank of vegetable oil in your saw would still provide lubrication for the bar and chain, yet make everybody happy.  Just a thought

[coldcreekchris]

In order not to contaminate the lake water with bar oil, what if it was replaced with vegetable oil?  A couple years ago when the IWA Snowmobile Watercross Racers were in Billings I talked to a few guys in the pits how they were able to run the sleds on the water (mind you this was in August so the water was definitely in the liquidous phase) without upsetting the EPA with chemical contamination? His reply was the chaincase oil was actually replaced with vegetable cooking oil in case of a leak.  It makes sense a tank of vegetable oil in your saw would still provide lubrication for the bar and chain, yet make everybody happy.  Just a thought

just a thought..but what a great thought....some cooking oil that we use to fry fish..used in our saw to cut some ice...now we're thinking..great post

[Papa John]

Actually no need for any lube when cutting ice with a chainsaw. Water acts as the lube and cools at the same time. You'll not wear a bar or chain cutting this way. Used to do lots of this in the midwest as a kid. Your legs might get a bit damp, but that's the worst of it.