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How do you determine length ?

Started by Hoosier_1963, September 18, 2017, 09:59:04 AM

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Hoosier_1963

I am curious how others measure the length of the cut of the wood they are sawing. I have always just eyeballed it and called it good enough until recently. It seemed the longer I cut, the longer the pieces became!  :o

I have started taking a tape measure and a piece of my kids old side walk chalk with me. I simply lay the tape down the tree and go down and mark the tree with the chalk. Makes cutting a lot faster and my pieces are a lot more uniform.

What are some other quick and handy methods used to make sure wood is cut to the proper length?

dcast99

I need to cut wood in 4 different sizes. I run an 18" bar on my saw. I scratch a line on the bar for 16" cuts(paint doesn't last). 18" is a full bar and for the 24" cuts I have a line on the cover. For the little 12" pieces I mark out the 24" then eyeball ithalf way.

jmur1

I have a hole in the bar of my saw that lines up exactly with 16".  (when the saw is laid sideways on the log you can visually match a spot on the log for the next cut).  I suppose you could drill a hole in the bar to make it permanent ;).
Easy does it

dave_dj1

I mark all (almost all) of mine at 24". It makes it so much easier to stack and load etc. I think it's well worth the time, I use Dewalt lumber crayons in blue and yellow. I'm hoping to one day be able to pick up the logs with a grapple to a comfortable height and cut off both ends, I hate bending over to cut.

Corley5

  My eye worked good enough most of the time and as long as it the wood wasn't too long I was happy.   I know a couple guys that had these http://www.themingomarker.com/ and liked them.
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hedgerow

Quote from: dave_dj1 on September 18, 2017, 07:15:46 PM
I mark all (almost all) of mine at 24". It makes it so much easier to stack and load etc. I think it's well worth the time, I use Dewalt lumber crayons in blue and yellow. I'm hoping to one day be able to pick up the logs with a grapple to a comfortable height and cut off both ends, I hate bending over to cut.
If I have enough help around when I am bucking wood we use the skid loader with a grapple to buck the logs. Once you used a grapple you never want to go back to bucking on the ground. I usually mark my logs also. My one buddy has a bad habit of making the pieces too long later in the day if I don't mark them.

GRANITEstateMP

When we saw the big stuff up I've got a couple methods.  I've got a mingo, if your doing a bunch of would with a chainsaw and splitter and your stove requires a certain measurement, buy one, it's worth it.  That being said, it's got a small learning curve, mostly common sense stuff.  I also have a piece of sticking that's 32in long and I painted bright orange.  I've got that marked off at 15in, 16in, 18in, and 22in.  Those are my most popular firewood sizes.  Most of the time when we hand cut it's 22in long stuff, the little stuff goes through the processor.  One guy will hold the stick, the other marks with the saw.  Then cut up the log, stack, repeat.
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GRANITEstateMP

I also have a plow whip that I marked to different lengths.  I drilled a hole in an old bar and if I'm alone I'll use that to mark my wood and a different saw to chop.  It's not the most efficient but sometimes you need the efficiency in the wood length not your time chopping.
Hakki Pilke 1x37
Kubota M6040
Load Trail 12ft Dump Trailer
2015 GMC 3500HD SRW
2016 Polaris 450HO
2016 Polaris 570
SureTrac 12ft Dump Trailer

TKehl

I've got a magnetic do-dad that is supposed to be here Saturday I'm going to try.

There is a product called quick sticks that replace one of the nuts the hold the bar on.  Most reviews say they break very fast.  However, one review I found interesting said the nut was worth it and he replaced the plastic stick with all thread and was happy.

There is a slightly earlier post showing zip tied wire on the handle. 
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,97536.msg1506174.html#msg1506174

I've used marked PVC pipe and went back to eyeballing it instead.  Good enough for my use.  I'm looking for something now as work is slow and I may start selling firewood.
In the long run, you make your own luck – good, bad, or indifferent. Loretta Lynn

John Mc

I mentioned this in another thread on here. It was inspired by a friend's commercially made unit. His had a little slider on the wire that you could move in or out for differently lengths. Mine is just cut to make 16" lengths, since that's 95% of what I cut. I just eyeball more or less from there on the occasion I need something else. I like it because it's always with me (and I don't have to wonder where the heck I left it), yet it stows out of the way when not in use.





Attachment method is pretty simple. Bend an "L" in the and and put on a couple of zip ties. I also bent the end of the "L" back over one of the zip ties to make sure it couldn't fall out. You can just see the top of that bend in the photo. (At one point, I had a couple of extra zig-zag bends in the part of the L that is inside the zip tie. This had the effect of axting like a detent to hold the wire in either the open or closed position. It worked for a while until the zip ties loosened and/or the soft wire lost some of the zig-zag.)


If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

62oliver

My lengths are all over the place, but it doesn't really bother me, I generally don't stack my wood so that part doesn't matter, the only thing I need to do is keep it under 22".   I like John Mc's idea though, cheap and easy   ;D ;D
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John Mc

I added a photo to that post showing the attachment detail. It's pretty simple.  In the other thread on this design, I was trying to come up with a better method of fastening it to the handle. IF I ever figure that out, I'll probably upgrade to some stiffer, tempered wire.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Wallys World

I have the "Mingo". It works great on the wood that too big or too small to run thru the processor. I am going tomorrow to work on our church's firewood ministry wood and the processor is staying home so the wood will be "Mingo'ed".
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John Mc

Just found pictures of the commercial version of the wire holder which inspired my low-budget copy. I could probably 3D print the plastic block (I'd have to figure out what material to use to insure enough strength in the little knobs). The rubber strap is another matter. I'm not sure a piece of inner tube would hold up.



If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

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