Buzz Saw

coog · Sep 28, 2009

Anyone have experience with a pto driven buzz saw? I had a belt driven one and it worked great. The blade on this one is much smaller than the one I had.

http://wichita.craigslist.org/grd/1395252795.html

headleyj · Sep 28, 2009

never had here but I'd like to have a blade on the 3 pt that moves up and down that I could cut wood with....would be interesting to say the least.

coog · Sep 28, 2009

Got my splitter mounted on my three point for that very reason.Guess I'll need another tractor (TAD?)

headleyj · Sep 28, 2009

Always thought it'd be cool to rig up an old Ford 9" axle on a 3 point with a buzz saw blade on the end.....I only say Ford 9" cause I have a spare one

Steve NW WI · Sep 28, 2009

No experience with a 3pt, but the PTO will probably be a bit slower rpms than belt driven, I think belt speed on the old tractors is about 750 RPM vs 540 on PTO, although it looks like that one gets some of it back between the PTO shaft and main shaft.

How big are the blades? I have 22" on the tractor right now, and it works for whatever small stuff I put through it, and have a bigger 28'? (never measured it) in the shed, but probably won't use it unless something happens to this one.

Mine is very handy in the right situations, but just more "stuff" most of the time. If I were to do it again, I probably wouldn't. It got used a lot more when I was young and we got bundles of slabwood from the local sawmill. That's a perfect application for them.

coog · Sep 28, 2009

Yeah, I guess they invented chainsaws for a reason.I used my buzz saw to cut up heavy duty pallets.You could make a lot of firewood in a hurry.I don't know how big his blade is, but I think I used to run around 28".I wonder if you could find that size in a carbide blade? :dizzy:

WetBehindtheEar · Sep 28, 2009

coog said:
...but I think I used to run around 28".I wonder if you could find that size in a carbide blade?

Yeah... how much do you think THAT would cost? :jawdrop:

TonyK · Sep 28, 2009

When we were kids my grandfather had a big cordwood saw that ran off of the pto belt on his Farmall. My memory of it was that the blade was huge and it had no guards on anything. We were not much taller than the deck of the blade and we would run that saw all day. My mother used to cringe every time she heard it start up because she knew what we were doing. I look back on that now and think that I would never let my kids within 50 feet something like that let alone actually use it. But I never used seat belts or a bike helmet either when I was younger and that might explain some things.

blades · Sep 28, 2009

28" carbide tip saw, depending on the number of teeth and the plate thickness
You could start at $250 and go from there. The old style buzz blades are still available, nice part is like chain saw, all you need to keep going is a file. ( well the kerf will need to be reset from time to time also)

coog · Sep 28, 2009

Wow.I had no idea.I'd need to re-learn how to sharpen, however.

flashy · Sep 28, 2009

I always wanted to try to rig up a buzz saw to use like a miter saw. You could set a long log on a platform with a skid loader and move the log as you shorten it. No time to tinker with projects like that, though.

When I was a kid, 35 years ago or so, Dad and I cut a fair amount of wood with a buzz saw on a Farmall Super M. I'm surprised nothing bad ever happened. No guards or safety equipment at all. Just a sharp spinning blade right there in front of you. When my Dad was 16 he lost the fingers and thumb left hand to that very same saw. Said it was the best thing that ever happened to him because he got to go back and finish High School.

MJR · Sep 28, 2009

You never forget the sound they make in the wood lot or the sound of the belt coming off...

I will keep my chain saw.

Ductape · Sep 28, 2009

Heres Mine on my 30 HP Kubota........

Frankly, I don't use it as much as I thought I would. No doubt I'd use it alot more if I had enough land for a wood lot. It does save time when you can cut stuff to say, five foot lengths..... then zip them into stove length with the cordwood saw. Generally they need to be around ten inches and under though, as it gets to heavy to lift onto the saw. A few years back I worked on a local farm and with two of us on a cordwood saw........ man we could crank out some wood. One guy grabbing the next while the other is cutting to length. Mine is a Woodsman brand, I think made in Vermont.

heatsink · Sep 28, 2009

TonyK said:
When we were kids my grandfather had a big cordwood saw that ran off of the pto belt on his Farmall. My memory of it was that the blade was huge and it had no guards on anything. We were not much taller than the deck of the blade and we would run that saw all day. My mother used to cringe every time she heard it start up because she knew what we were doing. I look back on that now and think that I would never let my kids within 50 feet something like that let alone actually use it. But I never used seat belts or a bike helmet either when I was younger and that might explain some things.

Same saw, same tractor, same story!

coog · Sep 28, 2009

Ductape said:
Frankly, I don't use it as much as I thought I would. No doubt I'd use it alot more if I had enough land for a wood lot. It does save time when you can cut stuff to say, five foot lengths..... then zip them into stove length with the cordwood saw. Generally they need to be around ten inches and under though, as it gets to heavy to lift onto the saw. A few years back I worked on a local farm and with two of us on a cordwood saw........ man we could crank out some wood. One guy grabbing the next while the other is cutting to length. Mine is a Woodsman brand, I think made in Vermont.

That thing looks almost safe compared to most of those I've seen. It looks loke yours is powered of the pto, is that a good speed?

Mike Van · Sep 28, 2009

With 3 people, you could make some firewood. One to fetch the next log, one to push the table back & forth, and the 3rd to hold onto the cutoff piece & toss it. There wasn't much bending over, not like chainsawing. Stuff larger than 8 to 10 inch diameter was better left on the ground & chainsawed I always thought.

trapshooter9 · Sep 28, 2009

Mike Van said:
With 3 people, you could make some firewood. One to fetch the next log, one to push the table back & forth, and the 3rd to hold onto the cutoff piece & toss it. There wasn't much bending over, not like chainsawing. Stuff larger than 8 to 10 inch diameter was better left on the ground & chainsawed I always thought.

True, but the same 3 guys running chainsaws could cut a lot more wood.

I too had to help my Dad cut our wood on a buzz saw back in the 70's. I don't ever want to be around another one. Ours had no guards or safety protection of any kind. I was scared to death that I would stumble and fall into it.

Bigger logs are a big problem due to the weight. Trust me, I have the hernia scar to prove it. Dad would cut the logs with his chainsaw. I would load them onto a hay wagon by myself and haul them in. This stuff varied in size up to about 16" (hence the hernia). Then when Dad ran the buzz saw I got the logs up on the table for him and held up the end that wasn't up on the table.

The fun really intensified when the blade would strike a freshly cut piece after it hit the ground and rolled back under the blade. Now that's a sound you will never forget! I think I'll stick to my chainsaw.

fubar2 · Sep 28, 2009

Buzz saws are mean mama jamas be careful around it.

Mike Van · Sep 29, 2009

trapshooter9 - Back "in the day" 3 chainsaws cost more than your average farmer made in a year. These old saws were easily put together, bought, sold or loaned. Help on the farm was always available. Many were run with one lunger hit & miss engines. My grandfathers was. I do see your point in todays society 3 guys with saws is a lot more common than it used to be.

Buzz Saw

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