After cutting wood on the ground and typically getting lower back pain form being bent over for an extended period of time, I built a sawbuck last year for small diameter logs. Although it works well. It is unwieldy, tough to move around, not as heavy duty as I'd like, and lacks some features I'll outline that my new sawbuck will have. Therefore, I'm debating building one of of wood that will mount to a 3 point tractor hitch. Here is the first design I came up with. I'm confident it will easily hold at least 500 lbs. Example: A 12" diameter x 10' long Red Oak or Hickory fresh cut log, or a 14" diameter x 8' long Red Oak or Hickory fresh cut log. Both would be around the 500 lb mark give or take 25 lbs or so. Or several smaller logs. I chose those species because they are about the heaviest I ever deal with and common around here in New England. The pros of this design: *Due to the top link on the 3 point hitch, the angle of the "legs" can be easily adjusted, so logs can't roll off towards the cutter *The heavy duty galvanized metal grating attached to the underside of the "legs" will not only keep pieces from falling down, but will add strength and rigidity to the "platform" *The spiked metal "stoppers", should keep the chain from contacting the back of the sawbuck, and keep the logs from rolling while cutting *The sawbuck is easily transported place to place, and can be used on any tractor with a cat 1 3 point hitch *Wood is lighter than steel, more affordable, can be dissembled easier, and if accidentally hit won't ruin chains *20" Marks on back of sawbuck take all guesswork out of cutting to length. No need for a tape, Mingo Marker, magnet stick, etc *Can be lowered to ground, so you can literally roll the log(s) onto it, then pick it up to desired height. No need to try and muscle a 500 lb log onto it Potential things I may incorporate: *Drop down legs to leave the sawbuck at the site and use the tractor for other things *Extendable sides, that slide in when not in use, but extend the 5' width out to a full 10' width *Non-slip paint to help make sliding of logs more difficult
I can see many advantages to this and just a couple of flaws. Overall I like it. Perhaps the worst flaw would be the metal grating on the bottom. Yes, it will catch the cut logs but will be oh so easy to touch with tip of chain saw. Therefore perhaps it might be best to drop that grating down a bit more and then cover it with wood? I'm not sure it would need drop down legs. One could just sit it on 2 logs so it is off the ground and leave it be. No doubt you would use pressure treated lumber for this. I highly doubt painting would work out as it would come off too fast to be worth it. On extendable sides: would that be necessary. If you made it so you can cut an 8' or 10' log already, do you need more? Also, even though logs would drop to the ground, the 2 end pieces could be hanging over the sides. Yes, you'd have a few logs to pick up later but as stated, if you use log tongs, that saves most of the bending and makes the task very easy. I addition, log tongs keep gloves from wearing out or hands getting splinters. Enough for now; I'll stop.
If I had a tractor with a 3 pt or maybe even with a 3 pt quick hitch, I'd probably start with one of these:
This statement may be too simpleton... I understand the 20" marks, but with the log being longer than the device, and the end of the log not being at a "zero mark", the 20" marks only ensure that those few pieces that are between the marks are the ones that are 20"? Would an attached, yet sliding, "cut scale" be an option, so that a "zero" end could be lind up with one end of the log, then cut on predetermined length marks? I may be overthinking...but if it really matters what your lengths are...
I had thought of starting with a set of 3 point forks I already have, but adding some angle iron and few pins to attach to the hitch wont be very hard or much money. I may incorporate fork slots in the design though so I can use it on my front Kioti forks and the rear 3 point forks if need be.
I use my forks sometimes. To avoid having to cut near the base of the forks I put a couple cut down pallets on board so the log is closer to the end of the forks. More often it's just easier to pick a log up with the backhoe and cut at hip height. I wish I had a thumb sometimes though.
This project just became a reality!!! Parts 2 and 3 are filmed and edited. Part two will be out on Saturday morning!!!
