Methods for cutting the fire starters

[cnice_37]

Gents, please help me out here.

My typical routine when I get a load of wood is to take everything above say 1" branches. I waste very little and the small branches (1-2") make great fire starters. I usually load these in the truck as 8' lengths and then cut them up smaller at home.

Using a typical wood horse (4 "X" legs joined with 2x4s horizontally) the chainsaw loves to grab the little guys and run them up the side to my face. I am guessing its a weight issue. It is a very dangerous exercise, and I can't risk it anymore.

Hatchet duty is for the real thin stuff, but the 2" and green pieces - that's a bit much.

I know the OWB guys don't need to "start fires" but for those of you with woodstoves out there who need to start the ocassional fire or two during the week - what do you do for the small stuff?

Criteria for solution are cheap and safe.

Oh - thanks in advance.

 

[Mike PA]

A chop saw works well for that size and is quick.

 

[PineFever]

I have never kept stuff that small, but if I did I'd pull the old chop saw out and set it on a a piece of plywood on some horses and whack away.

No fuel mix or chainsaw required.

 

[rmount]

I usually cut them in the bush while still attached to the trunk then skid out the stem. If you do have to deal with them as loose limbs you can build a cradle as wide as your bar with 2x4 uprights. Cut between the uprights and make sure to use a sacrificial board on the bottom so you don't cut through the frame. You can easily stack limbs up to 3 or 4 feet high. Don't forget PPE, the odds of small bits flying are high.

 

[vwboomer]

For small limbs I'll stick them in the splitter and use that to hold them while I cut. If the branch is too small and the splitter doesn't go that far, you could cut a spacer. Or bundle several sticks together.

 

[alderman]

This might be one application where the Chainsaw Buddy that Bailey's sells would work. You could cut them on the ground and the Chainsaw Buddy would keep them from climbing the chain.

 

[Blackjack1234]

I also have a wood stove and like to have some small 1-2 inch rounds for starters. I cut mine in the woods while its still attached to the main trunk, and then only if its a nice straight run. If i have to trim too much, it stays in the woods.

 

[avalancher]

when dealing with the small stuff, I break out the sawzall.Leave the branch attached to the trunk and work your way from the small end up to the trunk,leaving all the small pieces laying on the ground.I generally can cut up a good sized tree on one charge and afterwards convince my daughter its in her best interest to run around and pick up all the small sticks.I generally only do this when I am in a yard or somewhere total clean up is required,in the woods I leave everything two inches and smaller.

 

[LipDawg]

I use a Black and Decker Gator. As long as you have an outlet handy, it works pretty well on the small stuff, and best of all, the wife likes to use it

 

[IndyIan]

I hardly bother with small sticks now, usually I just gather up the larger "splinters" from splitting and use those along with a chunk of fire starter. We use about a 1/3 of a brick so two $10 boxes lasts a season.

 

[Upidstay]

I use a circular saw I bought at a tag sale for most of my kindling. The last tree I dropped I used a set of loppers to cut up the smaller branches into 1 foot pieces for kindling. I scored a mess of saplings last year, about 10' tall and maybe 2" at the widest. Used the circular saw for those. I have an unlimited supply of pallets through my job, and those make great kindling.

 

[boilerhouse47]

I usualy gather up the small chunks from splitting to use as kindling if I need to. Mostly I just buy one of those fireplace wax logs and cut it into 1 1/4" slices with a hacksaw and then quarter those slices with a paint scraper. These will work great for starting a fire from dead cold. It's a lot cheaper than those small square firestarters they sell for $20 a case. The whole idea of burning wood for me is to save on my gas bill, so call me cheap if you want to. LOL I normaly don't bother with any wood smaller than 2 or 3 inches.

 

[skmag357]

I get the free scraps 2x4s from Home Depot, use the chop saw into 8-12" pieces and then split them up with Chopper ax....works great. I start my woodstove twice a day...once in the morning before work and when I get home from work...the 2x4s burn fast and then I use some newspaper...starts everytime

 

[Valkyrie Rider]

I also bring home small stuff in 6-8' lengths and then chop it on a power miter saw or "chop saw" as some call it.

 

[cnice_37]

Chop saw makes a lot of sense, just have to run the electric. Don't like the idea of running the chainsaw for the little guys as I'm just blipping the throttle and never really getting WOT for more than a second or two.

I work right next to a Home Depot lumber distribution center, and only recently found the 'free wood' pile. That stuff is useful so I've loaded up the truck once so far.

Thanks for all the clever ideas. Can't fathom paying any money for a fire starter log - albeit I get the convenience.

-Craig

 

[Tendencies]

sawzall, chop saw or small hatchett, then I save my 12 pk and 24 pk beer/pop boxes and stuff em full for easy storage and lighting..

 

[Steve NW WI]

I generally cut em on the tree. If I have a ton of small stuff though, I'll fire up the 24" saw rig on the front of the M Farmall and zip up a lot of small stuff in a hurry.

Used to use it a lot when we got slab wood from the local sawmill, but since they closed down, I maybe use it 2-3 times a year. Gotta have a lot of respect for it. It's kind has caused many a missing limb or worse. I need to get a steel guard on the bottom of it instead of the mickey-mouse piece of plywood there now.

 

[boilerhouse47]

Cnice 37, yes i do it for the convenience. With my work schedule my stove goes out quite a few times during the winter. It's easier and faster for me to use a firestarter made from a wax log than to spend a lot of time with kindling and building a fire from srcatch.

Carl

 

[cnice_37]

Does not meet either of my criteria of cheap & safe.

It is damn cool!

 

[ray benson]

I have used a circular saw for small stuff and pallets. But most of our fire starter wood is the scrap pieces left over from splitting with the logsplitter. That scrap goes in paper grocery bags stacked in the shed.