I do, but I don't know why.
Do you mark your firewood logs as you buck them?
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Iska3
Addicted to ArboristSite
For years we cut all of our wood 16 inches long and never marked a log. Now that I have the OWB, I'd like to buck my logs around 20 inches and I start out doing good but before long I'll be around that16 to 18 inch mark again. In the past, I would sell around 40 to 50 cords of wood per year and not one customer ever said that my wood was too short or too long... If anything, they might say that I gave them too much wood because their old supplier never gave them so much. If I had to take the time to mark my logs, I'd never get done.
homemade
Certified Chainsaw Tester
I would but I haven't seen a mingo mark at 30" for a OWB. And why would I want to carry around yard stick when I'm cutting, much less have it attached to my saw. I usually just eye ball. Anything around that long is a good length because it easyer to cut around crotches. I actually stack three wide in my pile. The two out side are nice "eye"crometer 30" pices. And the middle of the three are the 20" prices that are too heavy at 30 inches or are the end of a log or whatever. I never split anything that fits in the door. Everything that big goes by the neighbor that has a wood furnace.
jaroh
ArboristSite Operative
Usually take a piece a kindling with me and lay it down for the next cut. Use the kindling and a hatchet if I am cutting with somebody else so we can work from both ends of the downed tree.
flyboy553
Oakaholic
I guess that is a large forum such as AS. I can read all this stuff and see how some folk do things in their corner of the litter box. And make a personal note as to who I would and would not cut with! lol
Ted
Ted
jrider
Addicted to ArboristSite
I sold 100 cords last year bud- no weekend warrior here so nice try. I have many requests for 16" wood and since I care if all the pieces I deliver fit in a customers stove, I take a little time to make sure it's all cut to the same size. This is something I do on top a full time job so time is crucial but it just doesn't take that much damn time. I also haven't gotten any owes either.
My saw is 16" from the end of the handle to the bumper spike. I just lay my saw on whatever I'm cutting, pick some kind of marker on the bark, and cut there.
So simple. So low-tech. So brilliant. You, sir, just changed my life!
Poindexter
ArboristSite Operative
i stuck some sidewalk chalk in my daybox because of this thread. i find out in a few hours.
Fred Wright
Addicted to ArboristSite
Nope. There's no need to.
Maybe it's me... but how on Earth can the simplest things become so darn loaded with unnecessary baggage? Markers, paint, sticks, chalk. Why? It's just a block of firewood. What's next - a smartfone GPS app that tells you where to cut?
We cut to 16" and use the guide bar as a reference. From the tips of the bumper dogs to the tip of the bar is 16". Lay the bar sideways with the dogs at the edge of the last cut. Pivot around where the tip rests and cut. I get a uniform length every time.
If you're running a longer bar, mark it with a reference point. It ain't no rocket science.
Maybe it's me... but how on Earth can the simplest things become so darn loaded with unnecessary baggage? Markers, paint, sticks, chalk. Why? It's just a block of firewood. What's next - a smartfone GPS app that tells you where to cut?
We cut to 16" and use the guide bar as a reference. From the tips of the bumper dogs to the tip of the bar is 16". Lay the bar sideways with the dogs at the edge of the last cut. Pivot around where the tip rests and cut. I get a uniform length every time.
If you're running a longer bar, mark it with a reference point. It ain't no rocket science.
bert the turtle
ArboristSite Operative
It depends on the wood. If I'm using my 260, the bar is the right length that I can use it as a guide. If I'm using the 441 the wood is big and marking it is a very small added amount of time compared to splitting and stacking. So I use a tape and either a lumber crayon or hatchet. It is also a task my young son can do and I like to get him involved wherever I can. The wood just stacks easier for me if it is all the right length.
No, I do not mark them. never have. I don't have a moisture meter either.
066blaster
Addicted to ArboristSite
I do on the big stuff I just lay a tape measure locked at about 18 inches on top of the log. I cut them at 16 or 15.5 and move down the log. I eye ball the smaller stuff and get close enough.
zogger
Tree Freak
Pretty much what I do, tape out and mark the big stuff, smaller wood just eyeball or do the bar pivot deal.
I find it is a near negligible amount of time to lay out some cutting marks compared to the total time and effort of cutting and processing that it falls into the "why not" category. Really, it is like maybe one to two minutes total per entire large tree.
chads
ArboristSite Operative
When I get down to about 4-5 foot left of the log I will just cut marks with the saw sometimes to see how many pieces I have left working around the knots etc.
If it don't look right I adjust one way or another to get it more even.
Generally I get them within 2" or so and don't worry about it much.
I only will do that on the larger pieces.
Chad
If it don't look right I adjust one way or another to get it more even.
Generally I get them within 2" or so and don't worry about it much.
I only will do that on the larger pieces.
Chad
1project2many
ArboristSite Guru
I mark mine. The woodshed is designed for 14" logs. The woodbox in the house is designed for 14" logs. The sawhorse has an adjustable stop so I can cut at 14". When I'm out cutting longer pieces to throw into the truck, I use a paint mixing stick and roll it down the log three, four, or five times then mark and cut. Then when I cut the log in the sawhorse it comes out right, no waste. Logs too large to lift or put in the sawhorse get marked and cut before loading. I generally start marking from large end and cut to small end, so smallest piece is headed for the "ends" pile. Sometimes I'll cut out Vees or pieces that would really take a while to stack around in the shed.
I work pretty hard and can do a fair amount alone but the days of lifting a saw a million times, bending over a log to eyeball the bar for marks, and not considering making extra cuts are gone. I'm nowhere near helpless but what might seem like extra work marking and making just enough cuts isn't that much extra compared to sitting in the truck and wondering if you'll be able to work tomorrow to finish what you can't get done today. Imo better to plan the attack and then get it all done. And carrying extra equipment? What's to carry? Two paint mixing sticks and a box of sidewalk chalk. I know guys that load three and four saws into the truck. Talk about extra work.
The only part of marking that seems tough is that it breaks your rythm. You can't just fire up the saw and cut, cut, cut. Unless you've got a helper you've got to stop and mark from time to time. Yes, the pace is slower but at the end of a day I get cut what I can get cut with no accidents and rarely any damage to the equipment. I know there's a whole lot less time spent fixing equipment or trying to make it work the next time out and that surely makes for higher production overall.
I work pretty hard and can do a fair amount alone but the days of lifting a saw a million times, bending over a log to eyeball the bar for marks, and not considering making extra cuts are gone. I'm nowhere near helpless but what might seem like extra work marking and making just enough cuts isn't that much extra compared to sitting in the truck and wondering if you'll be able to work tomorrow to finish what you can't get done today. Imo better to plan the attack and then get it all done. And carrying extra equipment? What's to carry? Two paint mixing sticks and a box of sidewalk chalk. I know guys that load three and four saws into the truck. Talk about extra work.
The only part of marking that seems tough is that it breaks your rythm. You can't just fire up the saw and cut, cut, cut. Unless you've got a helper you've got to stop and mark from time to time. Yes, the pace is slower but at the end of a day I get cut what I can get cut with no accidents and rarely any damage to the equipment. I know there's a whole lot less time spent fixing equipment or trying to make it work the next time out and that surely makes for higher production overall.
I use my bar on the saw, tip to bar nut is right for my stove. That being said, I only use it for the first few cuts of the day until my eye-crometer warms up then Im good for the day. Or if I move to a large log then I might make the first few cuts with it. Takes a split second to turn the saw and eye the end of the tip for a reference. Anything more than that is crazy IMO.
No unless I'm cutting a log that's already been partially bucked so I don't end up with an overly short or long piece when I get to the end. Otherwise everything is by eyeball.
blacklocst
ArboristSite Guru
Maybe at the next GTG someone can try the eyeball saw twisting method vs the mark and cut and see what the results are. I'd bet the latter would come out better overall. I use the mark and cut because I want to pack my stove with more btus during high demand times.
If I have a kid with me who wants to help, I'll give him a tape measure and a bow saw and have him make marks for me. I rarely do that for myself, but I admit it's nice having all those marks there. It helps the rhythm.
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