Show me how you hold short logs

[D6c]

I keep getting people wanting me to saw short pieces of walnut and it's a real pain.  I'm thinking about building some type of sled to lay on the bunks of my WM.  My first thought is a frame I can clamp to the bed that has two pair of low profile sharp dogs that I can screw together and grip the log.

What have  you done to make it easier?

[terrifictimbersllc]

As long as it spans the center two bunks, I just lay a 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 8' soft wood board I carry in the truck, on the bed as a fence. Put the side supports up just high enough so they don't clear the fence. Cut two or three sides of the small log then take the fence board off onto the sawdust pile and finish. Put the board back on, Customer rolls the next short log on. Clamp saw clamp saw clamp saw finish repeat. No need to use the side supports for the short log, just for the fence. You can save some time just cutting natural edge. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   I saw them as TT describes if they are shorter than 40". Once I get a flat surface sawed, and even better if squared, as long as they are over 29" long and fit across my bed rails, my 2 plane clamp will hold them. 

   Below are comments I posted on a sister thread regarding my mill specs and such that relate to this.

Minimum length of a log - my bed rails on either side of the clamp are 29" apart outside to outside so I could probably squeeze out a 27" "log" on it.  My internal side supports are 40.5" so if the "log" is less than that I have to add a board longer than that on the side for support at least till squared. With a square edge the 29" length would apply.

Cookies - without a cookie mizer or jig of some kind I can stand a long (Think firewood chunk) up on the base of my 2 plane clamp and squeeze it tight. There is a plate there about 1.5" wide I have successfully used. It is a couple of inches below the bed rail so can stand about a 34" log on it and squeeze tightly and cut cookies down to about 1" from the rail with a 3" waste cookie at the bottom. It works better with a helper to either hold the log upright or activate the clamp. I can cut such cookies up to 23" wide.

[Crossroads]

I notched a piece of 6" aluminum channel  to fit between the bunks, then clamped it and cut about 3/4" off the top (I think I used a 7/34 blade).  I rest the short pieces on this and can clamp them against the longer piece of channel that rests against the side supports. I have cut a lot of 16" slabs with this. I slab about half way down, flip the chunk of wood so the flat is down. Then lay the longer channel down and clamp against it. Sorry the picture isn't very good with the mill in travel mode.

[Walnut Beast]

 

 

 

[GAB]

I had a new to me customer show up with two fairly large cookies (in the 20" range) that had been cut with a chainsaw wanting them smoother than a chainsaw cut.  I did similar to WB above.  The board on the bedrails I called the support board and the board against the log stops I called the sacrificial board.  On the first piece the sacrificial board got narrower as I got to the 4" thickness.  Doing the second cookie the sacrificial board was my gauge for a matching height.  New customer left very happy as she had spent hours with sand paper trying to do what I did for her in a few minutes.
GAB

[Southside]

Well, I managed to hold off for several days...  :D

 

[handhewn]

I have some trophy manzanita here that I used to saw on the woodmizer. Beautiful wood but small and crooked. I learned to place small stuff SIDEWAYS between the clamps. I can cut anything that fits in the clamp with no trouble. Manzanita is hard like ironwood but still cuts nicely. It takes a second person to hold them in place as you set the clamp. I cut a pile of those and never had a problem. I must admit I never cut anything bigger than one foot dia.

[caveman]

 

 

[Daburner87]

I need a similar system on my mill.   The first tree guy I allowed to dump logs on my property screwed me over.   Everything was 2'-4' chunks when i told him everything had to be over 6 feet long.   Theres one good chunk of maple but the rest is firewood.   Still over a year later and I'm not done clearing it up.

[doc henderson]

 



this was to make octagons, like for a flag pole with taper

 



 



cookies

 



cookies on a tangent

 

 

 

 

Burl,...Milton Burl...  mesquite
simple wooden back stop and support.  can be modified as you can see, and screws can be placed to help support the chunk.

[Guido Salvage]

If it won't span the bunks I have a 1" board I lay down. A scrap piece of wood against the stops and I clamp it down. Just did a short piece of walnut for a gun stock on Sunday this way.