homemade wedges

[cobey]

i have been making them out of plastic kinda like they use for store bought. i made hedgerow (Matt)
a great big one the other day I get drop 3/4 and 1" thick epdm from work..

 

[Wood Doctor]

i have been making them out of plastic kinda like they use for store bought. i made hedgerow (Matt) a great big one the other day I get drop 3/4 and 1" thick epdm from work..

Any Pics? Sounds interesting. Table saws cut both hardwood and plastic. Do you cut the plastic stock with a table saw? If so, what is the plastic compound (epdm) and how do you finish it?

 

[cmarti]

I rip them on a table saw out of treated 2x4. I cut a third of the and lose the rest. Been thinking about painting them orange my eyes are fetging so damn bad.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I rip them on a table saw out of treated 2x4. I cut a third of the and lose the rest. Been thinking about painting them orange my eyes are fetging so damn bad.

A 10" table saw blade cannot rip a 2 x 4 unless it's lying flat. So, your wedges are at most 1-1/2" wide?

 

[Wagnerwerks]

I make them out of a gum log I have on the table saw. You want something hard that will not give with thousands of pounds of pressure on them. We make little cutting wedges too for cutting off leaners and logs too.

 

[Haywire Haywood]

A 10" table saw blade cannot rip a 2 x 4 unless it's lying flat. So, your wedges are at most 1-1/2" wide?

Double pass... 3"?

 

[whitedogone]

Have the technology to get it done. I'll have to pick up some hedge and make a taper jig.

 

[2dogs]

Steel... never breaks

Steel wedges, the sure sign of an amateur who doesn't work in the woods. Absolute nonsense.

 

[cobey]

Any Pics? Sounds interesting. Table saws cut both hardwood and plastic. Do you cut the plastic stock with a table saw? If so, what is the plastic compound (epdm) and how do you finish it?

this plastic has a patterned finish, i cut a square/ rectangle on a table saw, then do the angle with the wedge on its side on a big band saw 6" to 8" of blade exposed. I carefully make notches/lines across the face of the wedge with the side of the band saw blade for gripping the wood. they are not super pretty but work good and are handy, I can send someone a cell phone pic if they pm me a number, i can send you a wedge Edwin/ wood doctor to try out!

 

[cobey]

sorry guys for the late reply , i had to go to church earlyer and left the puter on

 

[Mastermind]

I make them out of whatever is handy.....with a chainsaw. Normally I have plastic wedges......but there are times when I know I may cut the wedge, or don't have them with me.

I'm not a pro, so I do the best I can at the time.

 

[cobey]

I made one out of a material called trespa, very heavy dence and can take a beating, if you bumped it with a chain it wouldnt
wreck it, so far only could get a peice of 3/4 thick its $500 a half sheet....if it wasnt scrap i never would have thought of making a wedge
out of it lol i never made a wooden wedge. my wish is to make some on my CNC router at work, with a 5 x 8 foot table that would be a bunch of wedges

 

[cmarti]

A 10" table saw blade cannot rip a 2 x 4 unless it's lying flat. So, your wedges are at most 1-1/2" wide?

Shave or mangle would be more accurate. 3/8 to edge, 8inches, tboth sides then cut at 10 inches. Sorry wedge, keeps saw bar from pinching in bigger cuts. Cheap, easy and disposable...too often loseable.. We do limited felling, but have jammed them in on drops. Your question does make me think that 1.5 inches would work for our firewood cuts. We just need to keep the bar from pinching on downed trunks.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I've also found that a 1-1/2" wide wedge will work when cutting firewood logs up to 14" across that I split later. You can always use two or three wedges for bigger stock. About a 4-degree taper seems ideal. Taping the short 3/4" dowel on one end provides the "jig" to make it easy to cut the taper on a table saw. You can use the dowel over and over again and just retape it to the trailing end as I explain above.

I keep two of these wedges in my back pocket as I work. Most of the time I can get by without a hammer to drive them in. The idea is to watch the kerf as you cut. If it shows any signs of closing in, stop cutting temporarily, use the wedge to keep it apart., and then resume. I avoid dozens of undercuts this way to avoid pinch.

 

[spindrift7mm]

Theres a big difference in wedges for lifting a tree over and something to keep your chain from binding. One makes life easier the other makes trees lay down quietly without killing you. True wedging takes some sweat and a 5lb axe not pecking with a pocket hammer. I've seen some great looking wooden wedges but just can't see them taking the abuse. Tree jacks start at 20 ton that's 40,000lbs. so wedges go from unbinding your chain to near that kind of pressure, of course that's spread out over maybe 6 to 10 wedges on a bad one. Buy the best tools when your life depends on them !

 

[Mastermind]

Great post.

 

[nstueve]

Steel wedges, the sure sign of an amateur who doesn't work in the woods. Absolute nonsense.

WTFE. You can keep the plastic ones that get obliterated when you hit them in with the ax. 90% of the time I don't even use wedges b/c I know how to cut a wedge and back cut correctly.

And your right I don't walk into the woods 1/2mile to cut. 99% of what I cut is in a yard, pasture, or wooded draw no more than 50-60yds from a 4x4 truck or SUV. I could see using plastic if you have to carry gear in a long way. Other than that I will keep my steel wedges b/c they will last forever no matter how hard I beat on them.

Lets keep in mind that 80-95% of the guys on here probably aren't big timber fellers like yourself and don't have the expendable $$$ to be buying new wedges every year.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Good points by both above. I make my wedges using white oak, the toughest and strongest hardwood I can find. They are used here by loggers dropping huge cottonwood trees. Yes, they will pound on them occasionally hard enough to beat them up. However, I have a couple of plastic wedges sold by Baileys and others that suffer the same abuse. In time, they chip, crack and give up also. It just may take a little longer.

If you have not tried a good felling wedge made from white oak, hickory, or yellow birch, it might be worth considering.

 

[nstueve]

Good points by both above. I make my wedges using white oak, the toughest and strongest hardwood I can find. They are used here by loggers dropping huge cottonwood trees. Yes, they will pound on them occasionally hard enough to beat them up. However, I have a couple of plastic wedges sold by Baileys and others that suffer the same abuse. In time, they chip, crack and give up also. It just may take a little longer.

If you have not tried a good felling wedge made from white oak, hickory, or yellow birch, it might be worth considering.

I almost thought about stealing a couple logs of hedge from a buddy to try some hedge wedges. but do you want a soft wood to take the blow or a hard wood when making a wedge?

Theres a big difference in wedges for lifting a tree over and something to keep your chain from binding. One makes life easier the other makes trees lay down quietly without killing you. True wedging takes some sweat and a 5lb axe not pecking with a pocket hammer. I've seen some great looking wooden wedges but just can't see them taking the abuse. Tree jacks start at 20 ton that's 40,000lbs. so wedges go from unbinding your chain to near that kind of pressure, of course that's spread out over maybe 6 to 10 wedges on a bad one. Buy the best tools when your life depends on them !

My wedge hammer is a 7-8lb sledge head on a 1.5'-2' handle. Short enough for control to hit the mark, small enough to have on my tool belt in a hammer loop, and heavy enough to drive a wedge with ease. Just my preference...

 

[spindrift7mm]

The can of worms is getting bigger. Really wedges are just tools and if wood works for you fine by me. Some comments about cost and durability were the main issues I had. $60,000 truck $ 1,500 saw $ 300 port job $ 250 boots $ 40 gas can box full of Snap On tools and don't want to spend $10 on a good wedge. This could be a good subject for a " PICS of YOUR TOOL BELT" thread. Everybody just be SAFE OUT THERE ! Ken