Cutting wood for a woodburner

[Murdoch]

pretty much as the title says... we've just had a wood burner installed and we have loads of seasoned wood of various shapes and sizes.... I have a hand axe for cutting kindling, and a splitter for splitting the bigger chunks of wood.

My issue is what should I buy to cut the lengths of branches I have up? Most of them are about 10" or less in diameter but much longer than our wood burner can take

Thanks.

 

[ruston]

Bench or chain saw , depending on the length.

 

[Murdoch]

Bench or chain saw , depending on the length.

re the chain saw suggestion - mains powered or petrol?

A mate has an Alligator saw and recommends these - but they aren't cheap from what I can see

 

[ruston]

Petrol if you are at an outside wood pile.Anyway I think leads are dangerous on gear like that.

 I have never used an alligator saw , but I can tell you a chain saw is very efficient.

 

[ProDave]

Petrol chain saw without a doubt. And you need to buy or make a saw horse to hold the logs.

Small stuff under 3" I often cut with a bow saw if I can't be bothered firing up the chain saw.
 

 

[Murdoch]

Petrol chain saw without a doubt. And you need to buy or make a saw horse to hold the logs.

Small stuff under 3" I often cut with a bow saw if I can't be bothered firing up the chain saw.
 

Thanks - i bought a saw horse a couple of weeks ago, and I've got a bow saw for small stuff (mind you the blade is old!)

 

[Tony S]

Chainsaw with the correct PPE, a bench saw is liable to snag as the wood bends during the cut.

 

[ruston]

Yes , I agree . Not too bad for short pieces though.

 

[ProDave]

The other issue with a bench saw is most wood you are cutting is round and it is liable to spin.
 

 

[apprentice87]

I knew a fellow once that had a bench saw with about a two foot diameter blade powered by a lister diesel engine. It used to cut very well!! Even managed to saw his thumb and half his hand off...

Be a petrol chainsaw for me without any doubt whatsoever.

Used to work on a farm 40 years ago. They had a Stihl chainsaw with an 18" bar. Had to be a few years old then. It is still working well now, despite being in use all the time for the last nearly 40 years; So, a Stihl chainsaw it would be for me, without any doubt whatso ever..

I would think a bench saw would be dangerous as Tony and Prodave have pointed out. Be very very slow too...

As a matter of interest, here we have a video of chainsaw racing.. You would think these people would know a bit about chainsaws, but no, tango'd village idiots.. Why???? NEVER EVER cut things with the top of the bar. I have even seen forestry commission "experts" cutting with the top of the bar.

Well, experts my arse. What happens if you cut with the top of the bar?????????? ........................................... Answer, if the chain catches the saw is VERY liable to hurl itself towards you and upwards and cut your head in half. So, anyone that uses the top of the bar is a cretin.. end of.....

https://www.youtube.com/embed/RHT5EVCyXxA?feature=oembed



john..

 

[ProDave]

I guess the people that sculpt artwork with a chainsaw, and use the top, bottom, and tip of the bar are living dangerously then?
 

 

[ruston]

Lol, maybe I am a bit enthusiastic . I was brought up on farms , and we had a circular saw driven from a tractor.

 We cut all sorts with it , and were aware of the dangers .

 I helped out in the local sawmill with  a blade similar to you have described . We made fence posts and planks from trees cut locally.

 I know a chainsaw is ideal for the job , but I was thinking of small scale cutting of thinner branches , so I apologise  if I have misled.

 

[OnOff]

Just remember to stack it all neatly once cut:

Seriously, how cool is this! By a Korean artist.

 

[roys]

I initially chainsaw my timber in the woods to 6 ft lengths as this is a good size for my trailer.

Then up to my wood store where I deal with it.

Never got on great with saw horses bit slow constantly putting chainsaw down to lift up another piece up so I built a frame out of a sleeper, some fence posts, some dwangs ( noggins to people from the south) and some M12 X 180 coach screws.  That way I can rack up all the timber in one go and just run the chainsaw at 12" intervals, works a treat.  Then any bit over about 6" diameter gets split using my splitting maul ( looks like a cross between a sledge hammer and an axe) find it much quicker than using my cheapo hydraulic splitter.

Once it is all processed as per above I put them into my homemade out of pallets storage totes and left for a year to dry.

i use a Stihl petrol chainsaw most of the time, I have a big ugly Husky 281 for big trees and a stihl electric chainsaw if I need to work indoors due to weather.

 

[Sharpend]

Is there any woods left where you live! Or do you replant a seedling for each that you take down? 

 

[roys]

Is there any woods left where you live! Or do you replant a seedling for each that you take down? 

The trees I deal with are wind fall trees, usually about 3 a year, consisting of mainly sycamore, willow and birch which are self seeders so there is a constant procession of them growing up and falling over.

 

[Sharpend]

The trees I deal with are wind fall trees, usually about 3 a year, consisting of mainly sycamore, willow and birch which are self seeders so there is a constant procession of them growing up and falling over.

Very good roys, so you also save the council money too!

 

[roys]

Very good roys, so you also save the council money too!

Oh no no no, council and liability issues would be abound there, the only public ground I have cut trees on is volunteer days with the Forrestry Commision where it is hand cutting with bow saws or loppers on rhoddy and sycamore again for liability issues I would imagine.  The chainsaw only comes out on a piece of private woods I have access to

 

[apprentice87]

I guess the people that sculpt artwork with a chainsaw, and use the top, bottom, and tip of the bar are living dangerously then?
 

Errm, yes... Think of the direction the chain runs, and then what will happen if you are cutting with the top or tip of the bar and it catches a nail or piece of fencing wire embedded in the tree. The thing will instantly try to fly back at you..

If you make it to hospital, they will not be able to sew you up either, as a chainsaw does not cut as a knife would. but will leave a 5/16 wide "kerf" complete with resultant gap in bone and blood vessels..

Not good.....

john..

 

[Blue Duck]

I used to enjoy cutting up bits of old tree for my Dad and stacking the logs up ready for winter! Ahh the good old days!

There's an art to it I understand, but I was young and just enjoyed chainsaw.

Not much wood for a burner down ere but plenty of Old pallets lying about, I reckon I could get 10 a day easy!