Very particular about my firewood

[boxer_1]

Thanks

I'm so anal about wood length I built an attachment for my saw that allows me to cut faster than the guys who eyeball their cuts and still keep every round within 1/4" of each other. And yes, it does account for kerf.

I find that my boiler gives it's best burn with 2 rows of wood separated by an inch air space between them and an inch at the front and back of the firebox. Plus I have the bonus of never finding that a long piece is keeping my door from shutting after I have the boiler fully loaded.

Thanks Biker Dude ! When you wrote:

And yes, it does account for kerf.

You essentially gave me the most direct answer to my main question. Not sure now if I even want one, but will likely end up with one by spring.

I've seen those sticks that mount on the bar stud for sale. However, with those particular ones (diff. from the one you have pictured), there were a lot of reviews complaining about them being very brittle. The brand name was Quick Stix I think a homemade one mounted to the stud would be the best way to go when it comes to that method of measuring. I used to go from the tip of my bar 2 the second lug nut in and that worked okay provided I was doing my bucking in the yard and not in a tangle of brush where turning my saw was enough to make me give it a throw every couple of hours (temper gets me in crap conditions)...lol!

Well, got my main trail packed and am back to working for now, just had break. Thanks for the replies, ideas, opinions, etc. I guess I turned a seemingly insignificant issue (at least by some accounts) into more than needed be. I think it's because I like to invent / problem solve and am always trying to think of different / easier ways to do things. A lot of money has been made (obviously) off inventions which solved issues far more minute than uniform firewood lengths! Take care all and be safe if ya happen to be killin' trees today !

 

[thethug]

No - everybody who does not stack there wood neat and tidy are on a different planet

I am what you could call a anal person when it comes to firewood.
It has to be stacked just so, the chips cleaned up, rounds stacked.
Ect, ect, ect...
Friends and Family that come over, are amazed that I am so organized.
To them it is just wood, but to me it is alot more than just wood, it is my hobby and the only way I heat my house.

I have got a great idea for cutting your firewood the same length, the tool cost less than £2 on ebay, ....how to marlket idea? does anyone know

 

[mountainguyed67]

I generally use the saw's bar length as a guide as I buck logs--crude but effective.

That’s what I do, I scratched the side of the bar at 18 inches. I don’t have anything to forget or lose that way. My bar is longer than the cut length, so had to scratch it. At first I marked the bar with a black marker, that wore off.

 

[svk]

Old thread! I miss cat-face Timber. He was a good guy.

 

[mountainguyed67]

I recently saw the measuring devices, and found this thread in a search. Wanted to see what people here thought.

 

[mountainguyed67]

Old thread!

I’m a believer in not starting a new thread if there’s already a thread on the subject.

 

[MechanicMatt]

I do just like you for the first few cuts, then I feel like a get a good feel for length....

 

[mountainguyed67]

I do just like you for the first few cuts, then I feel like a get a good feel for length....

like someone in here mentioned, I can be off on different diameter logs. Kind of an optical illusion. I like your idea, should get the hang of it after a few cuts. Wouldn’t be as accurate though.

 

[HadleyPA]

Like was said many times before. Cut it and burn it. As long as its close the stove won't care. Who has time to measure. Heck mine probably vary by as much as 3-4" but so what I am cutting for me.

 

[MechanicMatt]

3-4in variations would drive me nuts when stacking. I try to keep all mine within an inch.

 

[mountainguyed67]

Here’s an example of my firewood, to me consistent cut lengths are vital to a stable stack of wood. And like someone else said, it wood take more space to transport and store the same amount of wood with a big variance in cut lengths.

 

[arto_wa]

Chips...

"... the chips cleaned up ..."

May I ask what you do with all of them? I have about 100 bushels of wood chips and wood shrapnel lying around the splitter and all of them would like to know their future. My back hurts just thinking about how to get them into a wheelbarrow.

The larger pieces are good for kindling and all the smaller chips (including woodchipper chips) as a mulch around our blueberry bushes etc.
It's good to add some nitrogen as the chips decay.

 

[arto_wa]

What's the big deal if this is an old thread and was revived since it's still the same subject?

Nothing else to criticize I suppose?

 

[rarefish383]

I mark all my wood at 18". Some body said they didn't have enough time to do that, so I timed it. Took less than 2 minutes to mark about 60' of log with an 18" Oak stick and a pruning saw. Started at the notch, cut it square, then mark the whole tree to the first big limb. I think the time saved by having every thing the same length more than makes up for the time it takes to mark it. I know I can put 5 rows on my trailer and the tailgate will close. One long piece anywhere in the load will screw up the load. Plus I sell enough that any time you have 2 short pieces in the load the customer will use them to calculate the load and say you are short. I'm never short.

 

[mountainguyed67]

I mark all my wood at 18". Some body said they didn't have enough time to do that, so I timed it. Took less than 2 minutes to mark about 60' of log with an 18" Oak stick and a pruning saw. Started at the notch, cut it square, then mark the whole tree to the first big limb. I think the time saved by having every thing the same length more than makes up for the time it takes to mark it. I know I can put 5 rows on my trailer and the tailgate will close. One long piece anywhere in the load will screw up the load. Plus I sell enough that any time you have 2 short pieces in the load the customer will use them to calculate the load and say you are short. I'm never short.

Very good points.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Who cares if it’s an old thread? I come on heat for entertainment and this thread is providing it. Keep posting

 

[arto_wa]

Who cares if it’s an old thread? I come on heat for entertainment and this thread is providing it. Keep posting

Agree 100%
Entertainment, but also a good place to hear what others are doing and learn many things.

For example the chainsaw forum has been pretty useful and so is this firewood forum.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Yup. Learning is entertaining. I got a pretty stressful job so this place is my outlet to just relax and be entertained. There’s thousands of things worse than replying to a “old thread”. The only downside really is that you see members in the thread that you don’t see anymore. CatFaceTimber was a cool dude

 

[mountainguyed67]

There’s thousands of things worse than replying to a “old thread”.

One of these worse things is creating a new thread when there is already a thread on the subject. It’s better to keep all the information in one place, and not have someone thinking they found all the information on the subject, and there are still other threads they haven’t found.

 

[sb47]

I am what you could call a anal person when it comes to firewood.
It has to be stacked just so, the chips cleaned up, rounds stacked.
Ect, ect, ect...
Friends and Family that come over, are amazed that I am so organized.
To them it is just wood, but to me it is alot more than just wood, it is my hobby and the only way I heat my house.

A clean organized yard is a person that takes his job seriously. Same with anything else Don't eat at a restaurant that is not kept clean. Like a good car mechanic If there shop is clean and organized is better then one there there are tools scattered around in tools and junk laying around. I get many complements on how well my wood lot is kept neat and organized and it makes better quality wood. It works.