counterweight for cordwood saw

[penfrydd]

I picked up a older, used cordwood saw today.  3 point hitch.  PTO shaft powered.  I've been doing firewood for over 40 years, but never had one of these saws.  I hooked it up and it cut fine, but it seems to me that it should have some sort of counterweight on the end of the shaft opposite the blade.  Obviously, it would have to be of a fairly small diameter so that it doesn't interfere with the incoming wood.

Should there be a counterweight or not?

[hedgerow]

Some of the cord wood saws had a flywheel but most didn't. I have had several three point PTO driven and none had a flywheel. The one I use currently use I made  it runs a 13 HP gas engine and I don't run a flywheel on it and it cuts fine.

[47sawdust]

A google search of cordwood saws shows hardly any with a flywheel.Mine is pto driven by the tractor and I think the tractor pto system is flywheel enough.

[North River Energy]

I think the flywheel is a holdover from the flat belt drive era. Those were run loose, and the flywheel would 'carry' the blade through the slippage.

I've a LaFont buzzsaw powered by a 16hp motor, no additional flywheel, works well.

[TKehl]

That and it wasn't uncommon to run them off of hit and miss engines which are often <5HP. 

[Corley5]

Flywheels also smooth out the impulses from single cylinder engines especially the hit and miss variety.