Cutting the small stuff

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Someone sent me something like that to try. I sent it back. Really slow, and not anywhere as convenient as it looks.

There is an enormous amount of wood, and BTUs, in tree tops, especially large crown hardwood trees. No need to waste it, and you have to get rid of it somehow if you are not going to burn it in your stove or fireplace.

Philbert

True, though I don't think anyone wants to deal with a cord of sticks! Bad enough to cut, but then to try and stack it, and then burn it. A small amount mixed in isn't too bad to fill in "holes" when packing the stove though.
 
True, though I don't think anyone wants to deal with a cord of sticks! Bad enough to cut, but then to try and stack it, and then burn it. A small amount mixed in isn't too bad to fill in "holes" when packing the stove though.

When I'm cutting dead trees in my woods there is another reason to take the small diameter wood.

It reduces the fuel load present in case of forest fire.

I still don't take anything under 1.5 to 20 inches in diameter.
 
True, though I don't think anyone wants to deal with a cord of sticks! Bad enough to cut, but then to try and stack . . . .
Different strokes . . .

I live in the city and burn recreationally in a fireplace insert. Most of my wood is scrounged from helping neighbors (have to turn a lot away); left over limbs have to be hauled to the compost site. So the type of wood I get, and the small insert, means that I am happy to burn smaller stuff, as well as use it to get things started. Keep it in my garage in boxes from the warehouse clubs, repurposed Rubbermaid totes, etc. which I just carry into the house.

I get that this is not the same as someone who keeps an OWB going all winter as a primary heat source. But lots of folks in-between these extremes too.

Philbert
 
Here is a photo that was posted here on the site. I don't know who's photo it is but it was highly regarded as a good design at the time.

View attachment 621211
Great with straight wood but here it is often not straight enough to fit on one of those, I've tried, then you end up just using a carbide chain on the ground and messing around and that sucks. I take it all and chip the smallest stuff because I have to leave everything clean and clear. I think the chain saw on a stand looks the cleverest, what are the safety issues? Safer than a circular saw as far as I can see?

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L22 using Tapatalk
 
When I'm cutting dead trees in my woods there is another reason to take the small diameter wood.

It reduces the fuel load present in case of forest fire.

I still don't take anything under 1.5 to 20 inches in diameter.

We make slash piles and either chip, burn or bury it. Though a typical job for us is 50-150 acres.
 
Different strokes . . .

I live in the city and burn recreationally in a fireplace insert. Most of my wood is scrounged from helping neighbors (have to turn a lot away); left over limbs have to be hauled to the compost site. So the type of wood I get, and the small insert, means that I am happy to burn smaller stuff, as well as use it to get things started. Keep it in my garage in boxes from the warehouse clubs, repurposed Rubbermaid totes, etc. which I just carry into the house.

I get that this is not the same as someone who keeps an OWB going all winter as a primary heat source. But lots of folks in-between these extremes too.

Philbert

If the small stuff is from my property it usually gets chipped and turned into mulch or (sometimes) burnt right away in an old oil drum. With the soil issues we have here mulch is a Godsend.
But I need small wood to get the fireplace going. Less than half a cord a season is more than enough: once the fireplace is hot enough you can burn pretty much anything you want in there.
I use pretty much whatever I can cut and transport without too much effort. Small birches dead due to transplant shock, leftovers from laburnum pruning, laurel trunks broken by the snow... if it's small and dry enough it's good to get the fire going together with a ****** and then you can start feeding the fire standard firewood.
 
Great with straight wood but here it is often not straight enough to fit on one of those, I've tried, then you end up just using a carbide chain on the ground and messing around and that sucks. I take it all and chip the smallest stuff because I have to leave everything clean and clear. I think the chain saw on a stand looks the cleverest, what are the safety issues? Safer than a circular saw as far as I can see?

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L22 using Tapatalk

The only people I've seen moan that such a thing is inherently dangerous are the ones who've not tried one tbh. Obviously there is the potential to trip over onto it but that could happen with whatever tool you're using and that isn't a fault of saw on a stand.

There are some videos on YouTube where chain brake handles have been extended etc to add another layer of safety. I did not believe it to be useful when making mine and having used it a lot since I haven't changed my mind.

The only other thing is add is to make the legs wide enough to make it as stable as possible there are a few videos out there where the thing is barely staying upright that would make me very nervous using it.
 
SVK,if you are in contact with him,tell him to drop by more often.My opinion of him is that he is a good man.
(I don't do the F/B thing)
He does every so often but the threads on this site gobble up his limited amount of data per month. He said 15 minutes on here trying to catch up on the good threads takes as much data as all of his other usage during a month. I can tell him you said hello.
 
The only people I've seen moan that such a thing is inherently dangerous are the ones who've not tried one tbh. Obviously there is the potential to trip over onto it but that could happen with whatever tool you're using and that isn't a fault of saw on a stand.

There are some videos on YouTube where chain brake handles have been extended etc to add another layer of safety. I did not believe it to be useful when making mine and having used it a lot since I haven't changed my mind.

The only other thing is add is to make the legs wide enough to make it as stable as possible there are a few videos out there where the thing is barely staying upright that would make me very nervous using it.
You have pretty much sold me. I'm going to build one, preferably one that folds so I can take it with me to the fire wood site. I have an Italian peril of a chainsaw that looks beautiful runs awesome, and sheds bits and lets me down every single time I use it and this would be the perfect way to get some use out of the pretty, and useless thing

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L22 using Tapatalk
 
I use one of these types, found a utube link for the logosol, but there made for makita, stihl etc. Got mine from fleacebay.



Tried steel and wooden saw horses/ holders, but the wood would jump around and so would the saw.
Tried cutting on pallets and stacked wood, just too dangerous.

Have a pto belt driven saw bench for the tractor that is excellent too, but only for when I have a large lot of smaller bits to cut up.
for the few here and there, the smart holder or something like that is excellent.
Only complaint is that its just a few inches too low, a little higher, and it would be the perfect cutting height too.
Folds flat, easy to set up, cut up small to medium branches safely and quickly.


Thank me later

T
 

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We burn a lot of "Rocket Fuel" in our maple syrup evaporator.
Mostly dead standing ash, maple and hickory.
I can easily drag, cut and load the trailer with a full cord in under an hour, and there is a lot of energy in a load.
I won't burn it in the furnace - way too hot.

Wear your chaps and face shield - a full chisel chain will catch and toss whole sticks.

IMG_0485.JPG IMG_0487.JPGIMG_0490.JPG IMG_0890.JPG
 
. . . a full chisel chain will catch and toss whole sticks.

Smaller branches is where the 'dreaded' tie-strap bumper, low-kickback chain excels. It was originally designed to fill in the spaces between cutters, to make a smoother cut, and, apparently, reduced kickback was an unforeseen benefit. It is also good for pole saws, for the same reason, since pole saws are often cutting smaller diameter branches.

Screen shot 2018-01-02 at 12.08.31 PM.png

The saw bucks shown in Posts #28 and 35 would also help.

Philbert
 
I use one of these types, found a utube link for the logosol, but there made for makita, stihl etc. Got mine from fleacebay.



Tried steel and wooden saw horses/ holders, but the wood would jump around and so would the saw.
Tried cutting on pallets and stacked wood, just too dangerous.

Have a pto belt driven saw bench for the tractor that is excellent too, but only for when I have a large lot of smaller bits to cut up.
for the few here and there, the smart holder or something like that is excellent.
Only complaint is that its just a few inches too low, a little higher, and it would be the perfect cutting height too.
Folds flat, easy to set up, cut up small to medium branches safely and quickly.


Thank me later

T


I've seen some imitations of it, considerably cheaper but they look downright rickety.
 
That logosol thing should be easy to weld up with some scrap metal. I just can't make up my mind if its easier to wrestle the log up into that thing or
just cut it on the ground being careful to keep chain separate from dirt.
 
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