Cutting logs in consistent lengths?

[Will_C]

I have used most of the methods mentioned-from a stick and paint, to a stick and hatchet, to using the bar when I am using a 16" saw, to the Mingo, which my brother bought a couple years ago. Like most things in life, I have found the slower the method, the most accurate the results. In my case, using a stick and paint gives the most consistent results-but is the slowest.

Will

 

[Cedar Row]

I cut 20" for the shop stove and 18" for the house stove. I use two magic marker marks on the bar or body (depending on which saw), turn the saw sidways like several others in this thread. Works well for me. I also have several 1/2" x 3/4" sticks marked 20 and 18 as a check if a piece doesn't look right before I stack it or put it in the stove.

 

[Garmins dad]

I'm single, I guess I better go find a wife to mark my trees then

rent one.. cheaper in the long run..

 

[SpiralAcacia]

rent one.. cheaper in the long run..

Sure thing.
Ask a woman these days if she'd like to "Measure your wood" and you'll get in jail for harassment .

SA

 

[mikefunaro]

The mingo is great if the wood is fairly straight. If you're cutting something twisty like cherry then it becomes more trouble than its worth. You start wrapping it around complicated branches but sooner or later you start logging the left right travel toward the distance and it gets out of calibration. There also comes a point when you'll approach a crotch and want to start over etc.

I prefer to precut a few sticks of wood of the target length (think like a 1x2 or a leftover scrap of quarter round or something), and then notch out with a hatchet or just spray with a can of spray paint the edge of where the marker is.

Marking and working visually with a bar or a mark on the bar works too. I get more precision the later way. The thicker the logs the more time I will take to get it right.

 

[mikey517]

I like to use a precut stick and some paint. I mark up most of the tree while doing the thinking on what to cut etc. Then I can go to town, then or next week!:hmm3grin2orange:

+1
I mark as much as I can with a pre-measured 1X1 or a tape and orange marker spray paint. Then....I just cut until I need to repeat.
Got my neighbor doing it the same way now....

 

[Maxgussam]

Got this pic from another forum.
It is pex pipe taped to the handle. View attachment 269825
Haven't tried it yet, but seems like it would work!

 

[howellhandmade]

I also have a Mingo marker. Like others have said, it only really works well if you've got a long, straight section of trunk. Since I don't sell firewood, the only measurement that has much meaning to me is "too long." It's nice to have uniform lengths because it makes your stacks look really nice, but it seems that the wood I get for free is mostly crotches and knots so my stacks look like fieldstone walls anyway. I usually cut a 16" stick and use it every once in a while to make sure I'm not cutting too long.

 

[Brushwacker]

I put a mark on the bar (or clutch cover) at the length I need. Cut, turn the saw sideways, eyeball where the next cut needs to be made.... repeat. I also have a top loading stove where the opening is not full width. May I suggest you cut your wood at more like 18" ? I think you'll find you can fill it pretty close to the top with 18s, and the longer wood will give you better burn times than 14 or 15 inch wood.

Do the same, I don't check every 1 though but primarily as diameter changes I check my work. Use my foot also like a 12" ruler, for 16" wood I imagine the width of a 2x4 with it.

 

[Iron Head]

Don't cut too short because it's hard to stack and the stack can be very unstable.
My stove fits 18" long wood but I cut my wood 16" to allow 1" front and back to play with.
It loads alot easier for me that way.
As to measure my cuts I use a piece of wood trim or dowl 1/2" diameter and run a skinny 2.5" long screw through one end, then I measure 16" from this screw to the other end and cut it off. File down the screw tip and spray paint the stick orange.
I lay the stick down on the fallen tree and the screw sticking out serves as an anchor mark at zero. Then I memorize the bark patern at the 16" end and cut away with my measuring stick in my hand or side pocket. I don't like goofy stuff hanging on the side of my saw.

 

[kybaseball]

I have 2 Stihl MS290 with 20 inch bars. We measure to the 2nd bar nut which put peices at 24 inches. Me and my son can cut 2 logs at the same time and when we get it back to the splitter they are right on the money. It also makes for a very nice stack of wood!!

 

[stihlguy]

I like just marking the bar. Simple, easy, quick.

 

[bigblackdodge]

You mean marking the logs? Numerous ways, you can start with just a tape measure and some chalk! they make commercial log markers as well, with wheels, etc and some guys here make a PVC pipe contraption that has a little slit at one end and bleeds marking chalk poweder.

Fastest is two ways..just develop an eye and get close enough If you or real actually practice and check it weith a tape or stick, youll get it pretty easy.

second is, use your limbing saw. I fell with a big saw, then immediately switch to a small saw. some have 14 inch bars, some 16. I use the bar length as a quick eyeball guide to back up my normal guesstimates. works fine, start at the butt end, make some little test cuts, walk it over that tip bar, do it again, etc. Walk it right down the trunk takes like 60 seconds tops to walk down a large log. But I only ever actually measure the big trunk with that method, or a tape measure and a mark, everything else is a fast eyeball. I start cutting out at the branches, without removing the branches from the tree, as much as possible, and work my way back down to larger diameter then larger saws..

I think the worst way is to quick get nuts and drop all the big branches before you cut the smalls off. I cringe when I see vids of guys doing that, just trashing all that good firewood. Makes a much bigger mess, more dangerous as you are fighting your way thyrough big branch crap on the ground where you want to walk, and you wind up wasting wood and/or having a lot of difficult cuts that could have been easy.

Same deal here, top and front loading, the top just swings up, so I can be off a little and get atter or longer pieces and it will still fit, although in practice, conicidently verified yesterday while cutting, my eyeball is pretty good, made some marks then ran the tape against them, half inch either way was the spread, and thats moving *fast*, close enough for personal firewood. I I was selling it I would get one of those mingo markers or make the plastic contraption, etc..

They make actual logging tape measures, but I don't have one.

I put a mark on the bar (or clutch cover) at the length I need. Cut, turn the saw sideways, eyeball where the next cut needs to be made.... repeat. I also have a top loading stove where the opening is not full width. May I suggest you cut your wood at more like 18" ? I think you'll find you can fill it pretty close to the top with 18s, and the longer wood will give you better burn times than 14 or 15 inch wood.

My guide bar is 18" and an exact 16" from the bumper dog tips to the roller tip. While bucking I simply turn the saw sideways and spot for the next cut. Makes for a consistent round every time.

As these members have said, this is the simplest, quickest, easiest method. Hook a tape measure on the tip of the bar and if there isn't something such as the spike teeth, or a bar nut or even a moulded in mark on the chain cover, then make a mark with a sharpie at the desired length on the saw. Then, if you're cutting the wood loose to your left, then hold the bar tip at the cut end, and put your eyes on the wood, at the mark, step back, rev it up and lay into it at the spot you're staring at. If you're cutting the wood loose to your right, then hold the mark at the cut end, and put your eye on the wood at the bar tip, take a step left and lay into it at the spot you're eyeing. It really is the simplest way.

Do the same, I don't check every 1 though but primarily as diameter changes I check my work. Use my foot also like a 12" ruler, for 16" wood I imagine the width of a 2x4 with it.

I prefer this method if I'm bucking up a larger trunk that I can walk on top of. I wear a size 9 boot, it's 12" long, I just put my left heel near the butt end where I'm gonna start my first cut, imagine a 2x4 laying perpendicular across the end of my boot at the toe and make a quick nip with the tip of the bar. Then I just move my left heel to that mark, and repeat, as far along the tree as I can walk. Turn around, walk back to the butt end, hop down and buck it up!

With all that said, I have found that 'eyeballing' is fairly easy at smaller diameter wood. But when you try eyeballing 30"+ wood, you will end up with rounds much longer than you wanted! Guaranteed! Try these two out, they work great and you have nothing to keep up with.

 

[sb47]

I cut several lengths for deferent customers, I just use a stick and some chalk if I want to be precise, but most of the time I just eyeball it. Once you have cut several thousand logs it’s easy to just eyeball it.

 

[taskswap]

I always carry a chopping axe, which I use for driving wedges, knocking off nuisance brush, etc. I marked the handle with a Sharpie at 16", 18", and 20". When I want to buck, I just walk down the trunk and hold the handle against it. Wherever the mark falls, I use the same axe to make a quick notch in the bark. Simple, fast, and easy.

That Mingo looks nice but I can't figure buying and carrying a single-purpose tool unless you're actually in the business. For home use I don't mind if I'm a half inch off here and there. I do that anyway - if I'm near a crotch I might shift the mark a bit to avoid it if I can. No biggie. It all looks the same once it's coals. =)

 

[macpolski]

My Tap n Cut

I made a tap n cut based the video I viewed. Very simple construction using pvc. Here's a pic and of course I used orange line chalk. I cut to 16" so that the 'To Line' and 'Chalk' distance is 16". BTW, the instructions are for my main helper, my wife. She's an excellent marker as well as a pretty good stacker. On the chalk end, I used a hacksaw and cut approx. 1/3 of the way into the PVC to create a kerf for the chalk to exit after a tap on the log. On the handle end I have a threaded cap which can be removed so I can add chalk to the marker. Needless to say, it works quite well and is inexpensive to construct.

My consistent estimating of lengths has gone seriously downhill over the years especially if the logs vary in diameter. One more piece to carry but worth it in the end for me.

 

[roberte]

I just use some straight sticks, willow is prefered. I keep a few on the dash in the various lengths. Branches are free and if you lose one, O well, go get another. Try to keep them under 1/2" in diameter, it really doesnt interfere with me holding the handlebar. The old timer I worked for, way back, when cutting for presentation, if your selling your product at say 18" it had to be +- 1/4", its not that hard just practice.

 

[Foxfire]

I'm a gear dork which so i really like the Tap n Cut idea. I'm not selling any wood and my stove can take 24" logs so if my cuts don't need perfect which is why i use my saws as a ruler. But the simplicity and diy spirit of the Tap n Cut is right up my alley. More than likely i'll be putting one together sooner rather than later.

 

[roberte]

I'm a gear dork which so i really like the Tap n Cut idea. I'm not selling any wood and my stove can take 24" logs so if my cuts don't need perfect which is why i use my saws as a ruler. But the simplicity and diy spirit of the Tap n Cut is right up my alley. More than likely i'll be putting one together sooner rather than later.

Nothing wrong with being a gear dork. My wife and kids tell me I'm just regular dork.

 

[Foxfire]

Nothing wrong with being a gear dork. My wife and kids tell me I'm just regular dork.

Yeah, I guess I was being nice to myself by implying that I'm only one kind of dork.