Firewood length gadget from

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JW51

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Didn’t have much success in the shop this weekend with my project saw, but did make up this little gadget.

Took a couple modifications from first prototype but I used it a lot yesterday and happy with the result. Two strong magnets. A piece of scrap cedar. Doubled up mason jar lids. A couple screws.
 

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Somehow that posted before I got the title typed and now I can’t figure out how to edit.

Sorry for the weird title.
 
You cut with it attached to the bar?

Not trying to start anything, but am curious.
My firewood pieces seem to have a wild variety of lengths.

No I don’t cut with it attached. Just mark up a whole log, pull it off and put in my pocket. Then buck it.

Took me a bit to work out a technique where it wasn’t constantly in my way. Ended up putting it middle/rear of bar. Lay bar on log. Roll saw backward so the tip is touching and make a quick rev to mark.

I know many would argue that equal length firewood is a waste of time and effort. And that’s a valid argument. I just like the way it stacks. This is a significant upgrade over my previous method....a tape measure and sidewalk chalk.
 
I think some thing better is to use your brain. You cut 16" blocks then train your eye to see 16" and cut it. Same if you do 18" or 20 even.

I can do it because when I started bow hunting there were no range finders on the market. we trained our selves looking at an object and guestmateing The distance then measureing.
Since I am not a stacker I don't really care if they are a inch or so off as long as they are less than 25"

there is a guy with a YouTube chanal that uses a section of car/truck radio antana made the same way and sells them.

I do that marking by guestmate to cut logs into sizes my tractor will skid then cut. After I do the skidding so how all those marks can't bee seen.

Might just as well have used a stick and a can of spray paint to mark the cut spot.

:D Al
 
Didn’t have much success in the shop this weekend with my project saw, but did make up this little gadget.

Took a couple modifications from first prototype but I used it a lot yesterday and happy with the result. Two strong magnets. A piece of scrap cedar. Doubled up mason jar lids. A couple screws.
How long is your bar, that's what general use to guesstimate lengths on the fly

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Yeah, I should have mentioned that I didn’t “invent” anything here.

I’ve seen various devices like this for sale and this is my attempt at making something for basically free.

Clearly not everyone needs this. I’m just really, really lousy at guesstimating length with any sort of accuracy.
 
I really don't have too much problem "eyeballin'" it, as I am usually cutting up crooked tops, and it is just a matter of getting 3 longer ones, or 4 shorter ones, out of a length before the branch makes a turn, so for me, taking time to make marks isn't worth it. Perfection isn't needed for my task.
 
I use to not care about the length of my firewood, til last year when my stack came crashing down. A uniform length looks better, stacks higher, and is more stable.

I have a 16" length stick and with an upside down spray can, with which I mark up a long log in minutes before bucking.
 
No I don’t cut with it attached. Just mark up a whole log, pull it off and put in my pocket. Then buck it.

Took me a bit to work out a technique where it wasn’t constantly in my way. Ended up putting it middle/rear of bar. Lay bar on log. Roll saw backward so the tip is touching and make a quick rev to mark.

I know many would argue that equal length firewood is a waste of time and effort. And that’s a valid argument. I just like the way it stacks. This is a significant upgrade over my previous method....a tape measure and sidewalk chalk.


Estimating the 2-3 inch range I need in firewood is not my strong suit. Just saying. My ancient Silent flame takes 19" max and narrows in the back to 14" firewood. I cut for 16" , previously I was doing the marked stick with the crayon or hatchet system. These old eyes sometimes cannot find the red marks or find that the hatchet marks are 4" wide:crazy2:. I copied the Youtube guy and used a 45Lb pull magnet , since I left the measure rod unglued so I could change length if I was cutting wood for my bud I had the Red saw vibrate it out in short order. Just drilled and put a fence tie to hold it in so I can quick change if needed. This also has the added advantage of doubling as a guide when I back up the short tongue splitter since I cannot see it over the tailgate of the T100.measure rod a.jpg measure rod d.jpg measure rod c.jpg
 
^^^
My original intent was to use PVC like you did. But I didn’t have all I needed to make that work, and was determined not to spend any money.

One thing I learned was that the magnet needs to be several times stronger than what you “think” will work. Even though these little buggers are quite strong (very tough to pull off a flat surface), with the leverage the stick has on them, they could stand to be even stronger.

My first prototype a few weeks back was made from a hunger clip magnet. Not even close to being strong enough.
 
I once used magic marker (or paint pen) to mark a 17" length on the bar, but after a while, I found that I could eyeball it to within 1/4" or 1/2" most of the time.

But then when I switched from using a 361 with 20" bar to a 660 with a 28" bar, I found that all my logs were too long when I eyeballed it. DOH!
 
The bars I cut firewood with are 16" to 18". So, I use them to set the next bucking position. If it's a 20" bar, I just back down a couple of inches. This estimation method is close enough for me and I usually pack in four rows of logs inside a 6' box.

BTW, if you load firewood into the truck bed and pack it in rows, you can get 20% more wood in the load than a randomly thrown load. Random loading might save some time but it wastes a lot of space.
 
Took a couple modifications from first prototype but I used it a lot yesterday and happy with the result. Two strong magnets. A piece of scrap cedar. Doubled up mason jar lids. A couple screws.

I like it because you don't have to carry anything but the stick. My dinky splitter won't take anything longer than 18.5 inches. Also seems easier than turning the saw sideways to put the tip at the last cut. Guesstimating will invariably leave me with a few rounds that have to be split with maul and wedges, and I'm not as young as I used to be.
 
I like it because you don't have to carry anything but the stick. My dinky splitter won't take anything longer than 18.5 inches. Also seems easier than turning the saw sideways to put the tip at the last cut. Guesstimating will invariably leave me with a few rounds that have to be split with maul and wedges, and I'm not as young as I used to be.
It also assumes that you buck cut the log from the same side all the time, If not, the device has to be removed and then re-attached to the other side of the bar or you have to go to walk around to the other side of the log being cut.

I like using my bar length as the ruler. It's easy for me to use and always available when measuring to the right or to the left.
 
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