Do you use a cutting area for Bucked logs?

[MossflowerWoods]

First of all, I'm new to running a chainsaw, i've only run 3 or 4 tanks of gas total, and all but 1 were on my Stihl 20" MS290 FarmBoss I bought in May.

I need to process my fire wood more efficiently. I hate cutting the rounds on the ground, or in a jumble of logs. I am also terrible at cutting when the log gets short, down to the last cut on a big round, or the last couple cuts on asmaller round

Does anyone use any kind of a platform to cut from?

Some guys say they use their bucket or grapple on the tractor, but you should not leave that in the air with the engine turned off, so that made no sense to me.

I could easily make some sort of cradle out of less desirable wood, but is that the right way?

I am clearing the area first, so I will stack up a big pile of bucked logs and I will cut them later when I'm done clearing (if you have any advice on that topic als, thanks).

So what is the secret to efficiently cutting bucked logs into rounds?

Thanks in advance!
David

 

[kco]

I mostly cut to firewood lengths in the bush and haul them to the shed with the tractor bucket and sometimes a carryall.

The steel log jack from Princess Auto is great for handling fairly large logs.

http://www.princessauto.com/all-seasons/outdoor/logging/tools/8217283-steel-log-jack


I use as much of the tree as I can. When I get to the small end and can lift it I use a Smart Holder. It is much safer than holding small logs with a foot. I got mine at Lee Valley but I think Stihl also sells them. Here is a link showing the Smart Holder:

Bailey's - Smart-Holder Firewood Holder

There are also youtube videos of it.

Another handy tool is a paint spray can holder for marking the logs.

Although I have an electric splitter I mainly use the Fiskars Splitting Axe (not a regular axe) for splitting. They are quicker and much more effective than a maul.

I cut mainly fir, birch and pine and the trees here are mainly under 12" in diameter. At times I need to handle and cut the trees with loader chain hooks until they are a size where I can handle them with the log jack and Smart Holder.

Cheers

 

[tommu56]

I scrape them up on my loader and raise them up to waist high and cut if one end gets light I go the other end.

It would be nice to have a grapple to grab log but that just isn't in the cards now.

BTW I bring them as long as I can handle them to my splitter with my hoe dragging them or on the bucket then buck them split and stack as I split.

tom

 

[Boondox]

I heat with wood, and generally go thru 5-7 cord per year between the house and my shop. I have a Husky 357XP with a 20" bar for falling and for cutting logs into stove length rounds. And a baby Husky for limbing and cutting up smaller stuff. I use the scabbard from the 357 to measure (from the open end to the H is 18", which is the length I need), and a red lumber crayon to mark where to cut. I start measuring from the big end, so if there is any waste it will be at the smaller end. And when I cut a downed tree into more manageable lengths for transport I measure and mark in multiples of stove length, again to minimize waste.

If the log is on the ground I cut 2/3 of the way thru on my marks, then use a Peavey to roll the log over and finish the cuts. This involves a lot of bending and as I age that becomes more uncomfortable. So these days I use the excavator to pick the logs up between the bucket and thumb, holding them at waist height so I don't have to bend over. As a bonus, if I wait a couple of weeks after dropping a maple, using a snatch and twist motion with the boom I can break the bark free of the log, greatly speeding up the drying process.

Safety Note: when using the excavator (or backhoe if that's what you have), always rotate the bucket so the log is resting on top, held in place by the teeth if you lose hydraulics, and always cut from the side opposite where the log will drop if the machinery loses its grip.

Another thing the excavator with hydraulic thumb helps with is lifting those HUGE rounds onto the splitter. You know the type -- those three foot diameter chunks of oak or rock maple that weigh three times more than you do?

 

[PapaPerk]

All my logs sit on a pair of large fence posts. This keeps them off the ground. The fence posts are perpendicular to the logs...

When cutting them... I usually have two logs that are on the posts. Then the log that I'm cutting sits on top of the two bottom logs. This forms a cradle that supports the log that I'm cutting. Works real well. Plus I can cut the logs consistently because the bottom log has cut marks on it! :thumbsup:

Have fun with your new saw. You bought a nice one! :drink:

 

[Scooby074]

Another handy tool is a paint spray can holder for marking the logs.


Cheers

Are you talking about the Mingo Marker?

Bailey's - The Mingo Marker Firewood Marker

Do you have one? How does it work? I was wonderin about that product. I have a heck of a time getting consistent length cuts.

 

[MarkV]

Hey David a couple of comments. First if I were you and cutting full length logs I would be holding them up with that new grapple of yours to cut rounds. If your concerned about hydraulic failure let the tractor idle. You will be changing logs frequently anyway.

Now at the risk of being flamed as the safety police, have you looked into chainsaw safety chaps? You mention being new to saws and they sure can bite you when you least expect it. A search on the forum will share some pretty scary stories of how fast bad things can happen. If your interested in reading about them check out Husqvarna Chainsaws, Outdoor Power Equipment and Tree Care Supplies from Bailey's They have some good information.

MarkV

 

[MossflowerWoods]

Hey David a couple of comments. First if I were you and cutting full length logs I would be holding them up with that new grapple of yours to cut rounds. If your concerned about hydraulic failure let the tractor idle. You will be changing logs frequently anyway.

Now at the risk of being flamed as the safety police, have you looked into chainsaw safety chaps? You mention being new to saws and they sure can bite you when you least expect it. A search on the forum will share some pretty scary stories of how fast bad things can happen. If your interested in reading about them check out Husqvarna Chainsaws, Outdoor Power Equipment and Tree Care Supplies from Bailey's They have some good information.

MarkV

MarkV,

I won't flame ya!

I'm going to say that as I was reading the first response from kco, the Bailey's pictures al showed a guy with nice looking orange chaps on and I was thinking "Hey! Those would keep my pants cleaner" because after a tank of gas on my new Stihl, I've cut moire than I can fit in my pickup truck and I am FILTHY.

I did not know they existed, so I will check them out. BUt are they really god enough to save you from a saw? I am scared of that saw, and very careful EVERY time I run it. At a minimum I know I'm a total noob, and now I need to stay alive to make the tractor payments too!

So, yes I will look into them. I am also LOVING the advice from TBN (again). I LOVE this place! This is University of Tractorology and Ruralization here...



David

 

[MossflowerWoods]

The steel log jack from Princess Auto is great for handling fairly large logs.

http://www.princessauto.com/all-seasons/outdoor/logging/tools/8217283-steel-log-jack

I use as much of the tree as I can. When I get to the small end and can lift it I use a Smart Holder. It is much safer than holding small logs with a foot. I got mine at Lee Valley but I think Stihl also sells them. Here is a link showing the Smart Holder:

Bailey's - Smart-Holder Firewood Holder

Another handy tool is a paint spray can holder for marking the logs.

Although I have an electric splitter I mainly use the Fiskars Splitting Axe (not a regular axe) for splitting. They are quicker and much more effective than a maul.

At times I need to handle and cut the trees with loader chain hooks until they are a size where I can handle them with the log jack and Smart Holder.

Cheers

KCO,

Sir awesome links & Fabulous info! I need to find those products locally here in Virginia...

THANK YOU!
David

 

[ToadHill]

When I process my firewood, I drag the first log out and lay it lengthwise in my cutting area. The rest of the logs I drag out and lay them perpendicular to the first log and use the bucket to lift the end of each log over the first forming a kind of lean too.

I then cut off the part of the log overhanging the first log and when that is done I use the bucket to push the log further up to cut off more. When the log gets short I use the bucket as a counterweight.

Keeps the saw out of the dirt and is a lot easier on my old back. I'm getting a little long in the tooth to be bending over to cut my logs.