The mingo firewood marker

[saginaw22]

Well I am wondering if anyone uses the Mingo firewood marker.

themingomarker.com/

Well I am a home owner and I have been cutting wood for 3-4 years
for home heating. I cut around 15-20 face cords of hardwood a year for buring.

I have up graded my saw from a jonny 630 to a husky 575 and having a 20" bar makes it harder to keep the length of the wood more consistant 16"-18" Max

Well I bought this marker because we had our 40 logged and now have a ton of firewood tops and stacked bolts of firewood to cut.

I am hoping this is an easy 30 bucks instead of messing around with the bar tring to judge the 16-18" in mark....this just makes a dot every 16" nice and uniform

The reason I am doing this it is a pain in the ash to load up the stove with anything longer than 19" and I just have to wait to burn the longer stuff when the stove is empty and put it in there on an angle

So I am going to try this product for the price of 5 gallons of gas and oil for mix I figure this is a pretty cheep investment and no hassling with the bar or a stupid tape.

Discuss thanks
Saginaw_22

 

[2FatGuys]

We use the Mingo all the time when firewooding. We have 3 different wheels for it (for marking different lengths). We cut firewood in 16", 20" and 24" for different users. It makes it quick to roll the Mingo down each log then come back cutting. Everything is the same length and stacks neatly, looking more professional. The only drawbacks are if you lose the cap on the marker-type spray paint.

 

[HillRat]

+1 for the Mingo. I received one as a gift and thought it was quite silly-- until I used it. It makes the job of getting uniform 16" pieces of firewood quick and easy. (Or whatever wheel size you buy. 16" comes with it.)

A few caveats: 1. the fluorescent paint colors tend to clog the nozzle. Try plain blue or white. 2. the nozzle is opened and closed by a wedge shape near the edge of the wheel. It's not that a set duration paint burst is triggered as the wheel passes; the notch holds the paint nozzle open as it passes. That means if you roll slowly, you'll get bigger, sloppier dots. And if you stop the wheel before the notch clears the actuator arm, and the paint will keep spraying. I have some extra paint on some of my woodcutting gear from this. 3) If you want to start at the end of a cut log and get uniform pieces starting from there, you'll have to move the wheel so that the wedge is in position just before the actuator arm. Otherwise you'll have a starting piece that is shorter than 16", followed by perfect 16"s from there on.

These few things aside, I find the Mingo quite useful for quickly marking out a log into uniform 16" cuts. I've used mine for every load of firewood I've cut since I received it.

 

[saginaw22]

+1 for the Mingo. I received one as a gift and thought it was quite silly-- until I used it. It makes the job of getting uniform 16" pieces of firewood quick and easy. (Or whatever wheel size you buy. 16" comes with it.)

A few caveats: 1. the fluorescent paint colors tend to clog the nozzle. Try plain blue or white. 2. the nozzle is opened and closed by a wedge shape near the edge of the wheel. It's not that a set duration paint burst is triggered as the wheel passes; the notch holds the paint nozzle open as it passes. That means if you roll slowly, you'll get bigger, sloppier dots. And if you stop the wheel before the notch clears the actuator arm, and the paint will keep spraying. I have some extra paint on some of my woodcutting gear from this. 3) If you want to start at the end of a cut log and get uniform pieces starting from there, you'll have to move the wheel so that the wedge is in position just before the actuator arm. Otherwise you'll have a starting piece that is shorter than 16", followed by perfect 16"s from there on.

These few things aside, I find the Mingo quite useful for quickly marking out a log into uniform 16" cuts. I've used mine for every load of firewood I've cut since I received it.

Hey thanks for the information
Yeah I thought that it would help with the uniform cutting of the wood for looks and easy stacking along with the loading of the wood stove.

I cant wait till some of this snow is gone up here and can start cutting and getting ready for next years supply.

 

[HillRat]

Hey thanks for the information
Yeah I thought that it would help with the uniform cutting of the wood for looks and easy stacking along with the loading of the wood stove.

I cant wait till some of this snow is gone up here and can start cutting and getting ready for next years supply.

No problem. It's a cool little device, it just has some quirks. Until you learn them, you can expect to have some of your tools, your saw, and maybe your clothes "marked" with your chosen paint color.

The uniform cuts definitely make stacking easier, and I don't have deal with undersize, or worse-- oversize-- firewood when loading my stove any more. I found that my eye's perception of 16" would drift over a few hours of cutting.

I envy you on the snow thing, though I understand that by this time of year you're ready for it to melt already.

The snow, what little we had, is gone from here (west central NJ) and this is the second nearly snowless winter in two years. Bah. I'm headed north for good, and this is part of the reason. Add to the many charms of life in New Germany the now-snowless winters. You'd think for the property taxes we pay here, they could *make* snow for everyone if nature didn't deliver. Bah!

“Mon pays ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver” — Gilles Vigneault

("My country is not a country, it is winter.")

 

[Sawmill]

Hey HillRat I will let you come and play in the snow here if you want to cut my firewood I will even let you drive my snowmobile.LOL

 

[douglas1]

The Mingo

pretty good devise. I have used it for a couple of weeks now. I bought all the wheels for different lengths. Worth the money.

Just my point of view.

 

[aandabooks]

Don't have one yet but have been thinking about them since seeing them in the Bailey's catalog. Looks alot more useful than the measuring sticks that mount on the clutch cover using the bar nuts.

 

[olyman]

you can also take a piece of stiff wire--like the type farmers use for fencing--sometimes called no 9 wire-----weld a washer on one end, and attach it to your chainsaw wherever. make a couple in varying lengths. attach it to the left or right, depending on which end you cut from----and have it extend to the length you want-----near zero cost--

 

[HillRat]

Hey HillRat I will let you come and play in the snow here if you want to cut my firewood I will even let you drive my snowmobile.LOL

Ha! I'd about take you up on it, but I get my fix of snowshoeing, X/C skiing, snowmobiling, etc., etc. here:

and here:

at my uncle's place about a half hour northeast of Albany.

Ed
=-=
“Mon pays ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver” — Gilles Vigneault

 

[secureland]

I have been considering the Mingo.

How does it work on tops with alot of branching, where there is some curve in the branches where they converge with one another? In other words, does it only work well on flat straight logs?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[HillRat]

It works pretty good on the smaller stuff, too. The wheel is narrow and maneuvers well so it's pretty easy to follow branches that have bends.

Down to about forearm size I use the Mingo, then I just eyeball the smaller stuff.

I've found it most useful for marking the large rounds for cutting. Having firewood pieces of a uniform size makes it easier to build stable stacks for drying.

 

[A. Stanton]

I have one of these. They were featured on This Old House and can also be used for marking floor joists and rafter spacing.

 

[arlen]

Well I am wondering if anyone uses the Mingo firewood marker.

themingomarker.com/

Well I am a home owner and I have been cutting wood for 3-4 years
for home heating. I cut around 15-20 face cords of hardwood a year for buring.

I have up graded my saw from a jonny 630 to a husky 575 and having a 20" bar makes it harder to keep the length of the wood more consistant 16"-18" Max

Well I bought this marker because we had our 40 logged and now have a ton of firewood tops and stacked bolts of firewood to cut.


I am hoping this is an easy 30 bucks instead of messing around with the bar tring to judge the 16-18" in mark....this just makes a dot every 16" nice and uniform

The reason I am doing this it is a pain in the ash to load up the stove with anything longer than 19" and I just have to wait to burn the longer stuff when the stove is empty and put it in there on an angle

So I am going to try this product for the price of 5 gallons of gas and oil for mix I figure this is a pretty cheep investment and no hassling with the bar or a stupid tape.

Discuss thanks
Saginaw_22

I read this thread today and ordered a mingo from baileys today thanks david

 

[saginaw22]

I have already used the marker on about 10 face cords of wood. Yeah it takes some time to mark all the wood, but then all you have to do is follow the dots.

I think the best time to do the marking is right after you run through a tank of gas and are fulling up the saw with oil and gas. Taking a quick break and mark all the wood then start up that saw and run it like theres no tomorrow.
its lot faster in the long run. IMHO

Its real easy on paint and havent had too many accidents with the paint going crazy spraying all over, the place.

So all in all its a great product so far and was well worth the money IMHO

 

[secureland]

Those folks who have used the marker. I've watched the Mingo Video. And can't figure out how it works. I'm assuming there is a peg or some other feature on the wheel that pushes the paint tip.

Thanks for the insight,
Bill

 

[Griffbm3]

Love the Mingo:
Actually just used it today for about a good 1 1/2 cord of oak. Works great on those trunks that are large and deceiving. 16" never looks right on a trunk over 20" across, but the marker confirms it.

I know it was mentioned that some things are going to get "marked" as well as the tree until you get used to it. Both of my boys (3 and 6) have a pretty good coat of survey paint on their shoes from a good day in the woods.

Great device,
Jason

 

[2FatGuys]

Those folks who have used the marker. I've watched the Mingo Video. And can't figure out how it works. I'm assuming there is a peg or some other feature on the wheel that pushes the paint tip.

Thanks for the insight,
Bill

The wheel has a ramped "trigger" that pushes an actuator to the side. Its a simple concept and works well. We find that it speeds up the process a lot. We can give the Mingo to one of our help and they can mark while we follow behind with the saws. We marked and cut 3 tandem dump loads of oak and hickory trunks and limbs in about 2 hours this past weekend with a Mingo, an MS460 and a 394XP.

 

[2FatGuys]

you can also take a piece of stiff wire--like the type farmers use for fencing--sometimes called no 9 wire-----weld a washer on one end, and attach it to your chainsaw wherever. make a couple in varying lengths. attach it to the left or right, depending on which end you cut from----and have it extend to the length you want-----near zero cost--

True... but then you have an "eye catcher" sticking off the side of the saw, making it less manuverable in tight quarters. We have found the speed gain from using the mingo pays for itself in short order. My partner used to have one of the "firewood rods", similar to what you describe, the amount of time needed to just glance to the end of the rod on each cut, versus placing the saw on the orange dot, adds up over a few hundred cuts.

 

[kstill361]

I have a pocket sized folding Stihl pruning saw.I drop the tree, and after i get all the brush cut off. I use a small twig cut to length and mark the entire tree and limbs , and cut nonstop till the tree is all worked up to consistent 24" lengths. No messy paint or dots all over my firewood.