zogger
Tree Freak
I am still intrigued by the idea of a tool like the "jaws of life" for field splitting. Man portable powered wedge..thing...
Wedges!
- Thread starter alleyyooper
- Start date
Help Support Arborist Forum:
alleyyooper
Addicted to ArboristSite
My dad and uncle use to chop out a wedge of Oak, Elm, Hickory and Ash when they were splitting logs small enough to lift on the buzz rig. Didn't need as many steel wedges that way and you didn't have to grind the roll over off as often either. I have a alum wedge but I don't use it. I like dad and uncle will sharpen a chunk and pound it in the saw crack.
those sure are some pretty wedges you made. I would cringe pounding on such pretty things.
Al
those sure are some pretty wedges you made. I would cringe pounding on such pretty things.
Albert the turtle
ArboristSite Operative
Wooden wedges are very useful. I use them when splitting wood like elm or sweetgum. I start with a metal wedge and use the wooden wedge to get the metal one out if it gets stuck. Then I can go back with the maul to finish the split without worrying about hitting a metal wedge. Also I can make a wooden wedge to whatever size I want and big ones can sometimes be helpful to finish splitting tenacious wood.
I've cut a few out of dogwood when it is green and let them harden before use. I chamfer the top and they last a lot longer than I would have ever expected.
I've cut a few out of dogwood when it is green and let them harden before use. I chamfer the top and they last a lot longer than I would have ever expected.
I just use s 3-lb sledge, but one of those body shop rubber hammers or a dead blow might work even better. Next time I'm at the tool shop I may pick one up. I've never found anything much harder than oak, so I use that. Elm might work well also. These wedges tend to be sacrificial lambs that don't cost much. I get scrap cutoffs of oak from the sawmill for almost nothing. Occasionally I tune up their saws in return.
I've since been asked to post a safe way to cut these wedges on a table saw from a wide blank. Here's the jig I made to do it:
The first cut is made with the miter at 7 degrees. The next cut is made at zero degrees after sliding the stop to the right. The third is back to seven degrees, and so on until the blank is too narrow. You might get one last wedge out with a simple rip cut using the saw's fence. I've found that seven degrees is about optimal, but you may want to try eight or nine. I leave about 1/8" on the sharp end and then sharpen that further with a disk sander for more of a chisel edge.
If you do this a lot, you might want to make dedicated 'sleds' set up at those angles. I knew a guy who made pointed stakes for land surveyors, etc., and he could rip through those like nobody's business, while still keeping his hands clear, and without every having to worry if he set something correctly.
Philbert.
Philbert.
That's another option. Sleds unfortunately force a higher blade setting and my wedge blanks are often over 2" thick. I've also experimented with duct tape to hold the blank to the triangle jig. Then when I'm through cutting wedges, I remove what's left of the tape. The tape really holds the blank tight to the triangle--even better than my vulnerable fingers can.
That is very helpful, thank you!I've since been asked to post a safe way to cut these wedges on a table saw from a wide blank. Here's the jig I made to do it:
The first cut is made with the miter at 7 degrees. The next cut is made at zero degrees after sliding the stop to the right. The third is back to seven degrees, and so on until the blank is too narrow. You might get one last wedge out with a simple rip cut using the saw's fence. I've found that seven degrees is about optimal, but you may want to try eight or nine. I leave about 1/8" on the sharp end and then sharpen that further with a disk sander for more of a chisel edge.
Unfortunately I have no white oak in my area and to buy lumber would probably cost more than plastic wedges!
Oldman47
ArboristSite Guru
Using that jig why not just use the fence for the second and 4th piece etc.? It is easy to adjust properly and means only half as many adjustments of the jig's stop on the miter guage.I've since been asked to post a safe way to cut these wedges on a table saw from a wide blank. Here's the jig I made to do it:
The first cut is made with the miter at 7 degrees. The next cut is made at zero degrees after sliding the stop to the right. The third is back to seven degrees, and so on until the blank is too narrow. You might get one last wedge out with a simple rip cut using the saw's fence. I've found that seven degrees is about optimal, but you may want to try eight or nine. I leave about 1/8" on the sharp end and then sharpen that further with a disk sander for more of a chisel edge.
I have done it that way also. You will then need a narrow push stick.
Do you sand the faces of the wedges after cutting them with the table saw?
Philbert
Philbert
Not with the TS, but I do sand them sharp. I usually just use a small stationary disk sander with a 7" dia. disk, a 5" disk sander on the drill press, or just a random-orbit sander. No big deal. The idea is to make a sharper edge on the wedge that will drive into a kerf, even if it's closed. Sometimes the kerf is closed rather tightly from a bar pinch that every sawyer hates. The wedge then frees up the bar. Believe me, it works. Most of the time I can then restart the saw and complete the cut with the wedge in place.
Remember that once you have an angled cut on one side of the blank, the fence will supply a cut parallel to that. I suppose you could cut the opposite side of the blank that would then be at an angle. When that's done, however, you no longer have a rectangular blank--you have a parallelogram with no right angles at the corners.
I think that your wedges are very cool. I have a bandsaw and large belt sander, and would probably use those if I tried to make my own. I am pretty happy with plastic wedges, though, if they were not available, I might try to make some wooden ones.
I would be interested if anyone has a simple and efficient way for making wedges in the field, using just a chainsaw, and perhaps an axe? That is a situation I could easy see myself in: maybe having lost a plastic wedge, or needing 'just one more . . . .".
Philbert
I would be interested if anyone has a simple and efficient way for making wedges in the field, using just a chainsaw, and perhaps an axe? That is a situation I could easy see myself in: maybe having lost a plastic wedge, or needing 'just one more . . . .".
Philbert
Take a look (post 34). Crude but perhaps effective:
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/felling-wedges.265842/page-2
If I recall, I showed this to a logger who said, "It might be tough to use my 36" bar to make these." Maybe so, but a smaller saw with a 16" or 18" bar might work very well.
Oldman47
ArboristSite Guru
When you turn your miter back to 90º you have it aligned it at a right angle to the fence. Flip the main wood piece, the blank, over and adjust the fence to cut at the narrowest point and you now have that piece of wood you are cutting from at the same angle as if you had moved the miter back to 90º but you didn't need to swing the miter or adjust the stop to get there and you won't need to swing it back to 7º either. The straight side of the jig and the fence are parallel when you have the miter set at a right angle if that helps you visualize it. It is in fact a parallelogram but a special case with angles all being right angles.
To really finish off the wedges, when you are all done cutting out wedges set the miter to cut at 3.5º and cut off the blunt ends without a jig to make them easier to drive into a gap by having equal angles to both faces.
I hope that is clearer.
We tried that when I dealt with those big willows recently, but they just turned to mush once you put the sledge to them.
I am processing a big red elm next month, may try to get some slabs out of there.
That's clearer. I thought you were using the fence with a flat side of the blank against it, the typical ripping configuration. You are simply using the fence as a measuring gauge. As such, the blank must be flipped, so that rules out taping it tight to the triangle.
In paragraph 2, that's also how I square up the blunt ends and thus make an isosceles triangle. Good point.
