Wood Cutting Question

[lil171]

Hi all. Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but thought it may fit here. Anyways, I have just one simple question regarding wood cutting. I am new to cutting wood for my own pleasure, but have been wondering how to best cut wood to the same length? I am jealous of everyone else having their wood all very close to the same length, while mine somehow vary quite a bit. I would just like my little wood pile to look nice and uniform, not as ugly as it does now. I do not feel like marking every piece I cut, and was hoping there was an easy answer. Thank you.

[KEC]

Don't think you should worry about perfect length wood as long as it fits in the stove.   I like some variety in length so I can chose a piece to burn to suit conditions i.e. short stuff during the day and longer at night. Cut hard to split stuff a little shorter if you split by hand. In time you'll get better at eye-balling it. In the meantime, cut an expendable stick (or 3 or 4). to lay on your logs the length that you want like a yard stick.

[barbender]

Some use the bar length to measure, it's a little tedious but it works. There's attachments that can go on your saw, the one replaces your bar nut with a fiberglass rod of the correct length. Another type uses a magnt to attach a rod to your bar. I haven't used either, I can see myself losing the magnet typen and getting sick of my saw being unwieldy with the bolt on one. One I just saw on here the other day, I can't remember whi posted it. It was just a wire tied around the handle, with a straight piece that added to the body of the saw equaled the wood length. It folded out of the way when not in use. Simple is good, I'm going to try that one next time I cut firewood👍

[ButchC]

I am with KEC, a little variety in the pile comes in handy. 

Probably the best set up I have seen involves a wheel with a paint marker attached. You roll it along the log and it paces a mark every X amount determined by the diameter of the wheel. Search "Mingo Marker"

[mike_belben]

Take a piece of scrap pvc pipe say 3/4" or so, maybe 3 bucked pieces long.  put a sheetrock screw through each end so it protrudes about an inch.   Spray some orange or red on the ends so you know not to grab there.  

Mark the cut lengths with electrical tape wraps along the pipe.  Different colors for different graduations. Plop it on, tap it down, walk the length with your saw and put a little ding at each spot then unhook the one end, swivel it around down the next segment, tap it in, ding ding ding your marks as you walk back to buck off the starting end.  You can always shift it to get around crotches you dont want to bother hand splitting. 

[lil171]

Thanks all for the tips and advice. I will search the Mingo Marker, and like the other ideas. Thanks again.

[John Mc]

Here is my wire on the handle gauge which Barbender mentioned. I got the idea from a retired instructor of the Forestry and Natural Resources program at a local career center. He had a commercially made unit that worked the same way. Mine is just a coat hangar with a couple of bends on the end and zip-tied to the handle. (Spring wire would probably be better, but if it gets bent, I just unbend it.) I like it because it's always on the saw, yet it adds no bulk and stows out of the way when not in use.

 

 

Attach detail: The end of the coat hangar is bent into an L shape, with the short leg about an inch long. Bend the last 1/3 or so of the short leg back on itself, but not quite crimped tight. Zip tie the short leg to the handle. I used two zip ties. The upper one slipped inside the bent over end of the short leg (It keeps the short leg from just sliding out from under the zip tie and falling off the saw).
 

After mounting on the handle, flip it out as shown in the "In Use" photo. Measure a length out from the bar about 1/2" longer than the size log you want to cut. Bend that last half inch over, so you have a rounded exposed end (so you don't poke yourself with the sharp end).

This gauge works easily if you are starting at the left end of a log and moving right as you cut. If you are starting on the right, just look where the wire end is as you are making a cut. That spot is where you need to make your next cut.

[John Mc]

A simple trick when you don't have any fancy gauge or marker with you:

Cut an approx. 3/4" diameter stick about 6" longer than the length of the log you want to cut. For example, if I want 16" logs, I cut a stick about 22" long. Make a mark 16" from the end (the length of the desired log). Grab both the stick and the front handle with your left hand, with the mark lined up over the bar. Flip the stick over if you want to measure to the left of the bar vs to the right of the bar, keeping the mark over the bar. If the end of the stick is over the end of the log, your saw will be 16" in from the end.

I've played with several different methods of measuring, but I generally don't sweat it if the logs are different lengths. My stove will take a 19 or 20" log. I shoot for 16" because that leaves room for better air circulation around the fire. It also gives me some "slop" if my cut length is off.

[lil171]

Wow. These are great and easy ideas that I will definately be trying out. I am not worried about an inch or two, but a good amount that is cut are 6" give or take. And if you think that is bad, when my dad cut some up, his varied about a foot or so..... As well, I am completely new to cutting wood, so I am sure as well that with some cutting under my belt, it will get better as well. Thanks all for the help and tips.

[brianJ]

I had your same problem when I started sawing.   I gave a half hearted attempt with a couple different methods for measuring.   My first years was mostly cutting tops or limbs sticking out from the hedgerow.   So smaller stuff and my experience showed it was not worth the nuisance to be spending 15 to 20 seconds nicely measuring out for a 40 second or even 20 second cut.     

My random lengths were as bad as you would imagine.   The method I eventually worked out was using my bar to  measure with.   Its already attached to my chainsaw and just rotate 90 degrees with a flip of the wrist.   So measure one & cut then eyeball one & cut.   

Even after years of experience I still take a "hasty" measure once out of every 6 cuts or so.

That Mingo Marker sounds slick but that will only work on main stems.

[John Mc]

The method I eventually worked out was using my bar to measure with. Its already attached to my chainsaw and just rotate 90 degrees with a flip of the wrist. So measure one & cut then eyeball one & cut.

Even after years of experience I still take a "hasty" measure once out of every 6 cuts or so.

I still do that from time to time. The twisting gets old after a while, and I've got some neck and upper back troubles that get aggravated from the leaning and measuring, which is why I started trying other methods.

A friend gave me this 16" Woodcutter's Helper - a rod with a very strong magnet on the end which you can stick to your bar when bucking firewood. They make them in different lengths. They also make an adjustable model. I've tried the 16" fixed model a couple of times. I find it somewhat useful (worth the $14 it would cost to buy it), but only when I'm working on the landing, cutting up a pile of logs in one place. I have yet to figure out a simple way to carry it in the woods, so I don't bring it with me when I'll be moving from place to place. (They do include a little metal clip which you can put on your belt. The idea is to just let the magnet hold it to the clip. I know I'd knock it off in seconds in the woods, so I haven;t even bothered trying that.

I've often wondered about the Mingo Marker. It's another thing I would not want to carry around with me in the woods, but it might be useful on the landing. Not sure I'd want to deal with buying paint for it, especially when I have other tricks which seem to be working out for me.

[TKehl]

I only worry about lengths if I'm selling wood.  I stack what stacks well under cover.  Longs go in a pile by themselves or get recut.  Shorts and uglies go in a bin to get used first.  I'd rather have quantity quick than take much time measuring.  ;D  Pretty wood doesn't have more BTU, but might stack better if space is an issue.

The fiberglass rods break from everything I've heard.  Either from impact or just vibration.  I have the magnetic one, but can't find a place to mount it on the bar without it getting in the way while cutting.  (I use the tip and the back of the bar as I cut.)  Best way to use it is to put on, layout the log with "scribes", then pop back off to cut. Fine with bigger stuff.  Tedious with small stuff.

Best option I've seen for cutting to the right of the stick is John's.  Best option I've seen for cutting the left of the stick is a bar nut with push fit plastic tubing with a wire or copper tubing run through the middle.  Saw it in New Pioneer magazine, but haven't tried it myself yet.

[John Mc]

Here's a picture of the commercially sold firewood gauge that inspired my coat hangar version. Unfortunately, it's no longer made. I've thought about trying to 3D print some parts to recreate this, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I haven't figured out how to attach the wire to the plastic part. I suppose some epoxy might stick well enough to both the plastic and the wire. For clamping the plastic to the bar, I could use a piece cut from an old inner tube for the rubber strap, but I'm thinking that won't be as durable as the custom made piece on the original.

If anyone owns one of these and could get detailed photos of the plastic part, I'd appreciate it

 

 

[KEC]

Just feel compelled to add that, so I've heard, one should be careful with pieces of metal near a running chain saw. Should a measuring device crawl over to where you're cutting,  an  expendable stick has some appeal. Not knocking anyone elses  ideas, guys.

[Kindlinmaker]

I'm sure that there are a dozen rules against it but I use a simple measure stick of scrap stock from the shop, sometimes a 1/2 inch dowel, sometimes a tiny branch from a tree if I forget to bring an official scrap version. I have the stick in my palm between my hand and the top saw handle while cutting.  You don't even notice it is there.  I never reach across the bar to measure - just rest the saw bar farther down the log while measuring if working left to right; not an issue if working right to left. When measuring, just put your hand with stick against the log, tip it so the stick end touches and make a rub mark indicating cut. Most guys I know do something similar. I've been using it for 45 years; my father taught me and he used it probably 70.

I paint the ends of the sticks as they just seem to disappear the first time I set my saw down if they aren't marked.

As far as equal lengths....just eyeball your log length on the last couple cuts and add or decrease an inch or two to make it work out relatively even. If that doesn't work, short cut the last piece and throw it on a pile of day burning as suggested by someone else.  You won't have many pieces that exceed the eyeball test. 

[lil171]

Well, thanks again. I liked the thoughts of the wire measurement idea. I did not honestly think about if it happened to disloge and get picked up by the chain. I do nlw have a few things on my mind to try out this week. Now I just got to his the store to pick up a couple supplies. Thanks again for all the tips.

[GRANITEstateMP]

I drilled a hole near the end of my bar and used an old plow marker/whip cut down to either 16 or 18 inches. It worked for me, but I also was running 2 saws most of the time, one to mark, one to cut.  This was all wood being sold, so it needed to be close to uniform.

I have a Mingo too, or as I call it, "The Dingo".  Its great on the landing for stems, a bit of a pain on tops.  Certainly helps make consistent sizes.  I wouldn't bring it in the woods with me.

[John Mc]

Well, thanks again. I liked the thoughts of the wire measurement idea. I did not honestly think about if it happened to disloge and get picked up by the chain. I do nlw have a few things on my mind to try out this week. Now I just got to his the store to pick up a couple supplies. Thanks again for all the tips.

For my first draft of the wire gauge, I just wrapped the end of a coat hangar around the handle. I did catch it on some brush while sawing, and part if it ended up getting hit by the chain as I was cutting. No severe damage (the coat hangar is not particularly hard steel). I did have to resharpen, but it was not as much damage as even a light graze on a rock.
I've not had any troubles since I made the attachment with the zip ties as shown in the photos. I'm sure there are far better ways (such as is shown in the commercially produced version), but I haven't gotten around to experimenting further yet.
On advantage to the wire is that mounting it on the side of the handle where it did, the wire does not have to be very long: the width of the saw already makes up some of the distance from the bar. I'm cutting 16" logs. It might be more of an issue if I were cutting 20 or 24", but I've never made a gauge for that. (When I'm occasionally cutting for a friend who uses 20" logs, I just think of a 2x4 and eyeball the extra 4" - which also happens to be roughly the width of my knuckles gripping the front handle of the saw.)

[lxskllr]

@John Mc

A hoseclamp with the wire going through a wormdrive slot might work. Adjust the tension so it's easy to stow but holds firm. While typing, I also thought of a plastic fitting clamp for garden hoses. The kind you use to retrofit connectors to a broken hose.

As for me, I just eyeball it. I don't sell wood, so as long as I keep it to <=24" I'm good. Most of the wood I get is gnarly, so circumference is highly variable. Even with perfect lengths, my stacks would be ugly. I don't worry about it.

[realzed]

I just used a Sharpie to put a mark on my bar at the 15" or 16" piece length I wanted to be close to and anytime I feel I need to reference it all I do is lean the bar sideways (it's a 20 incher) next to the log I'm bucking to get an idea as to whether I'm getting off track or not..
After cutting for a while you should be able to eye it pretty closely just from all of the practice you are getting!  
Anything else will just get in the way of doing the job.. or put a hand or worse often in an area where it shouldn't be.

[mike_belben]

John, the plumbing section at big box store will have a clamp repair for each size copper pipe.  Its formed tin with a hinge on one side, a rubber sleeve and a carriage bolt or two to bind over the rubber leak stopper on the other.  Theyre a buck or two.  Tack weld a springy metal whip or even plop on a telescoping mechanic's magnet and youre good to go.  I think 3/4" copper would be right for a handlebar.  I use 1/2" repair clamps for clamping mirrors on the truck door tube.

[Runningalucas]

My 2 cents matches a few others; I'm not too concerned with length as long as it's worth picking up, but not too heavy.  I'd think my average length is around 16"; shorts as small as 12", and longs no more than 19".  

It's like almost all things, you do it enough, and the 'tape measure' magically transfers to your brain.  Cut enough, and regularly enough, and you'll get your desired outcome.

If stacking is throwing you off, make one of these: Building Round Wood Piles - YouTube

You mark out your diameter, stack around, then infill the center; stack around neatly, infill the center; wash, rinse, repeat till at desired height, then do the cap for weather proofing.  This will definitely make a neat stack out of multiple length logs.

[Logging logginglogging]

its funny, i have just cut so much firewood, I just somehow know the length, and the *DanG things seem to come right out the exact length. Occasionally i get a funny on on the end of a log, but usually they are right on. You just get a feel for it.

[warmhart]

Lil 171, I am rarely faced with a long, clean log. I harvest usually in neighborhoods, where
a tree has fallen, or been cut and left. I mark ~4' lengths with a measuring stick and
"sidewalk chalk" (dollar store for 12 pieces of fat chalk), then cut. load, and take home.
Then, I use another stick to lay out 16" lengths cut, then split.
If I had anything attached to my chainsaw, I would mutilate, lose, or stab myself with it!
Yes, this does require separate motions, and must be a little less efficient.

[Bthomasb3]

I took a 2in round flat magnet with a hole in the middle and take a half inch piece of PEX pipe fasten it to the magnet cut the PEX pipe off the length you want your firewood Stick it to the side of the bar at the very tip  mark and then you can cut through the log if you're bar is long enough if not just Mark your whole log pop it off and go back and cut

[upnut]

A carpenter friend of mine uses an eight foot piece 1x4 firring strip drilled at desired length with a 1" spade bit, then paints thru the hole to mark exact lengths on the logs. I used his method on a pile of logs in the yard to make sure I had maximum length chunks that still fit in the splitter. Ran out of paint, so used the spade bit to mark cuts. A bit cumbersome, but uniform lengths. In the woods I use the chainsaw bar to measure cuts on the main body, tops get the eyeball method.

Scott B.

[mart]

I'm OCD enough about my firewood to want it all pretty close. My new stove is pretty tight with a 16" piece so have dropped back to 14". I just use a story stick and a piece of driveway chalk, the kind kids use to color on the sidewalk or driveway to mark each cut down the log.

[albirk]

I have a stick that fits in the stake pocket of my truck limb wood is all different lengths between 2 to 4 feet once I get to the log grab the stick out of the stake pocket and a can of spray paint and walk down the long making marks and yes you will have a short or long piece at the end. Once I get a load of limb wood it gets loaded in the truck and goes in the stove all week long. My stove does not care if it is a foot long or 4 feet long. All of the crotch pieces get tossed in with the limb wood.  

[Al_Smith]

I just guess at it

[zinc oxide]

 I tried a variety of ways, but simple is always appealing. I first started out using half-inch EMT conduit, mash the ends flat in a vise , close with a hammer, and then bend to 90° in the vice. Actually started making one leg longer, this one would catch in the saw kerf, and the shorter tab hit the log at an angle, leaving just a point on the 90 where the saw body would rub and not interfere with the set of pruning saw.

>I
In a 'Eureka' moment, (none of my various length conduit pieces were with me) I just screwed a fender washer into the end of a scrap piece of wood that I cut to length. It works so well that I made several of them for different lengths. It never hurts to pre-drill to avoid splitting. Don't have to worry about  hurting the set/dulling the teeth on the wood.

You can make a mark at least halfway around the circumference of most logs with one pull swipe. Very handy for when the log rolls when you're cutting if that is the case. With very little practice, you can mark the whole length in very little time. Don't even need to look at the washer, with a little practice, it will just automatically 'catch' in the kerf from the previous cut and you will be done in no time.  actually better that the saw is a little dull now,  a deep kerf did catch the washer too much from time to time, but still lightning fast comparatively speaking.

It certainly doesn't hurt to paint them a bright color either, still  end up hunting for them sometimes when I get in a hurry.


 


But probably the most productivity enhancing contraption I slapped together was this:
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Of course, the idea was stolen from the Internet. ( The version I saw), It looked like an orange newspaper tube that had triangular tabs punched inward, I believe on all four sides.


 

I had some off cuts from a lumber drying rack I made out of an old house trailer frame, and the 1/8 inch flat bar and 1 inch angle were in the scrap pile. I sharpened the angle iron on the top to give my prototype some chance of success, but I didn't even clean everything else as I would normally before welding, 'just a proof of concept' I was thinking to myself. I sort of had my heart set on constructing one that worked on the cantilever principal, I think 'Wranglestar' had a pretty good build video, and I like complicated, .

Don't pay attention to the hole being in the wrong place where it slides into the receiver, probably was alcohol involved there also, but to tell the truth it's been so many years I can't remember.


 

I think it's like a six-inch opening on the big end and goes down to approximately 2 inches, these dimensions are allowing for the teeth, etc. 'in the way'.

there is a lot of perfect firewood in branches, but they are difficult and dangerous to cut even with two people to some degree.

Without going on and on, anything that you can fit in there it will at least hold securely. Even  bowed branches will 'bite in' and hold 'upright' fairly securely.

I'm glad I made it swivel. You can build up quite a stack in just a hurry to the point where it is dangerous. Just swing the mouth over a little bit... Clear ground.  it works so well that I never built another... Properly.

really long branches sometimes touch the ground. At that point I just put a log (I use to carry around Jack stands but too heavy) to provide clearance. I generally use my body to brace the log anyhow, at least until I get a nice 'bed' of logs down which helps immensely.

[armechanic]

I personally don't worry about length, I have been cutting wood since 1962, so I cut what I cut.  Has anyone tried one of those measuring tapes loggers use ? It attaches to the belt and has a hook on the end to hang on the end of the log.  

[mike_belben]

I eyeball firewood but for bucking sawlogs i use a beat up carpenters tape with a sheetrock screw threaded through it.  Tap that into the butt with my hatchet so it holds, and then just use hatchet marks in the bark for cut marking. 

I prefer the carpenter tape over a loggers tape so that i dont have to do any math to mark out every log on a whole tree.  

[woodworker9]

I mark my bars with a red thick sharpie at 16".  I'm selling firewood, and I want neat bundles and stacks.



 

[Tacotodd]

WW9, I saw that red mark on your bar in another topic in the chainsaw threads, and was thinking " that has to be for measuring!" 

If my joints worked that way, I'd give myself a pat on the back, but in private.

[gspren]

My OWB will take 44" long and the splitter 24" but I've settled on 18" being my target length. Early in the cutting season I will mark some at 3' and it's easy to eyeball the middle to get 18". After I've cut a few I quit marking and just eyeball, it's usually pretty close but not a big deal when I wander off a bit.

[woodworker9]

WW9, I saw that red mark on your bar in another topic in the chainsaw threads, and was thinking " that has to be for measuring!"

If my joints worked that way, I'd give myself a pat on the back, but in private.

Yeah, I've been doing it that way for as long as I can remember.  Works well for me, and nothing in the way of working.  I don't think I'd like one of those long measuring rods in the way, but I shouldn't really say, because I've never tried it.  All 3 of my saws have the 16" mark......

[Spike60]

Lot's of interesting ideas here; fun to read. When I want to measure I do the same as mart; just use a stick and some playground chalk. I don't like any gizmos hanging of the saw though. OK on a clean log maybe, but if your in the woods or doing a top, it's bound to get in the way. And if you cut with several saws, then what? I'd also guess any of those paint can devices would require that the spray nozzle has to be cleared frequently? But whatever works is cool.

But after 30 years of cutting to 16", my eye is honed in to the point where it's very accurate and there's no need to measure. This probably applies to most guys. But the reverse is also true in that if cutting to a different length than you are used to, it's hard to stay on target. This usually comes up when guys are helping each other and I've never seen anyone that won't drift back to what they normally cut. Not too much help when the "helpers" wood won't fit in the stove.

[doc henderson]

I use the mingo marker some and shoot for a 16 inch log.  If you cut at a slight angle some will be longer after split than others.  my stove will take 24 inch sideways and up to 18 inch wood front to back.  I put a fire started in the middle of the stove or a little to the front where my air intake is.  then the wood can rest on the air intake box, and allow some space under the sticks to get the fire going.  at night I can stack to the top of the stove, and shut down the air, to burn all night long.  If I mark the central area of a top, it gives me the visual for the rest of the limbs.  if a limb looks 4 feet, it gets thirds to shoot for 16 inches.  my big log roller saw buck, is spaced 16 inches apart, so if I cut in the middle they come out ok.  and occasionally longer piece will go in when the fire is not too hot sideways.  



 

holding tree top over baskets



 

 

goes fast on standing dead trees.  ready to burn.



 

 

[mike_belben]

I spy belt conveyor giblets.  :laugh:

[Nebraska]

Depending on what device I cut for I shoot for a footish(small wood burning insert) or  from16 to 30 inches (wood furnace) depending on how heavy it's gonna be to handle to split. The fronts of my piles look fairly uniform,  just don't look at the back of the stack. :D
I have cut a stick and marked by one means or another before but not often.

[Nathan4104]

I had a pulp measuring whip mounted sideways on a bar nut.  Helped me eyeball until trained.   Then I bought a processor.   Now it comes out exactly the same, every time.  And adjustable in 1" increments!    (I love burning the short bits that are leftover) I've got some customers who were trained to be fussy, so now they 'need' 14", or 15", or 17", or heaven help us if we can't get 18".   Makes it hard to keep ahead on seasoned wood without preorders!  I love throwing in a stick that's an inch or two longer every now and then to the special customers, knowing they'll be fighting it as their stoves won't take anything a 1/4" longer than they asked for! 

[cutterboy]

 I love throwing in a stick that's an inch or two longer every now and then to the special customers, knowing they'll be fighting it as their stoves won't take anything a 1/4" longer than they asked for!

:D :D :D Nathan, shame on you.  :D :D :D

[mike_belben]

I routinely disrupt, scramble and interfere with my childrens plans so they can adapt to normal life and avoid snowflake syndrome.   


Drill instructors loved to flip your whole foot locker.  And in hindsight it was good for me to learn how to deal with that early on.  Crises are pretty easy for me to manage. 

[SFires]

I spy belt conveyor giblets.  :laugh:

I've never heard them called that before. Always known them as traughing rollers 

[carloscs]

I use this to mark my cuts: #91 Perfect Stick Firewood Measuring Tool Review - YouTube