Something else to yak about... how do you mark your logs to buck to your preferred length? I measure where 16 inches is on the bar of each saw I use and I just hold the saw down to the log and eyeball it. Problem is, as I age, my bad back gets weaker, and it tires my back quicker than I like! I bought a fiberglass rod gizmo that had a magnet on the bar end and the other stuck out perpendicular to it. Great idea. Except it lasted about a week before it somehow got snapped in two. And it wasn't cheap! What is your preferred marking method? I could just totally eyeball it and not measure at all but I try to make my splits as close as I can to the proper length, which for me is 16 inches. An interesting test would be to see how close I could come to 16 inches with no measuring! The variance I have is enough already, even with my measuring, lol, plus, I pick up cuts other people have already bucked and they don't pay as much attention to 16 inch length as I do! If they are over 18 inches, I whack off an end. If they're shorter than 14 inches, to the short pile they go.
I get obsessive about length when cutting. I've done the "mark on the bar" method as well, but I agree it can get tiring having to turn the saw every time you make a cut. Easiest way I've found when working my way down a log: measure one small piece or stick that you know is exactly 16" and lay it on top of the log. Make your cut and put the stick in your pocket. Or do the same thing but make marks in the bark with your saw or hatchet all the way down the log. Way cheaper than buying fancy gadgets, easier than getting out the tape measure, and accomplishes the same thing. I've also made it a habit to make 16" reference marks on all my mauls and hatchets so that I'm certain I'm cutting to the proper length.
I eyeball everything, but I have thought about taking some all thread and a couple wing nuts and bolting that through the hole in my bar to get a measuring tool while I make tip cuts in the log and then taking it off while I buck the log. I guess I'm just not that ambitious.
No matter what I’ve tried, I’m still not quite as consistent as I would like to be, I strive for 18”at home and probably gonna start shooting for 20” at work. Currently using a couple old tape measure tapes. One is 18” the other is 36” and a lumber crayon from menards. My biggest problem is that I don’t have those long straight trees that grow in wooded areas
Im OCD about 16" lengths as well. I use a 6' folding carpenters ruler and kids sidewalk chalk. Very simple and very effective IME. Folded ruler slips very nicely in the back pocket and chalk in the front pocket. Perfect in wooded/tangled areas where you can only mark a few logs at a time. If you have a long trunk a tape measure will work but seems to unhook on me. The 16" stud center markings are in red on most rulers so easy to see. Been using a folding rule my whole life on the roof so its and instinctual move for me to put it in my back pocket. Fun to measure big rounds too!
In the past I've used a measuring tape or 16" stick with a hatchet or marking pen to mark the lengths, then moved to a Mingo marker. Last few years I've used either a fiberglass stick w/magnet (was sold under the brand Firewood Buddy) or an Acc-U-Mark. Everyone has their own tricks/techniques and you just have to find what works best for you. Because of how I stack, I prefer my rounds to be as close to 16" as possible.
I made a stick from a broom handle, have different holes for lengths, screw for adjustments. Here it is in action.
What you need to do is practice everyday standing with your feet 16" apart. Then when you go to cut a log, stand with your left foot in line with the end of the log and put your saw in line with your right foot (thats back a ways from the log) and make your cut.
I cut my 18" and 16" stick from 3/4" plywood. Each log is marked ahead of time with my hatchet. I've laid out the stick like in the vid with the broomstick, but I've cut up the ends of several of my sticks this way. .
This is what I did... took one of these... removed the hook, got a piece of metric all thread from Mcmaster Carr, cut it to 18" and attach to my Bar. I go down the log, mark with the saw. Remove the magnet and got to town. Works great. The only thing I need to do is paint it orange so I don't lose it on the ground.
Hmmm... you might have pushed me to thinking of a solution. I have used the grab-a-stick method and it, obviously, works. I also use a pickeroon tool with a small hatchet face on the other side from the pick. I just now marked a 16 inch line around the handle. (It's short, only 19 inches total.) I can scratch a line in the bark with the pick at 16 inches. OTOH, using a stick works pretty well. I just mark a spot by memory with my eyes but you can only do one at a time. But, most of my bucking is one at a time as I don't often have a large, limb-free log to work on. A 'stick tool' with a retractable lanyard hookup to my belt could work. Sticks blend in, I lose sticks! If I wore pants or overalls with a small, deep pocket, you could carry the stick in there.
Great! Does the all thread just screw right in or do you have to drill/tap it or what? Do you know size of all thread that is needed?
30" bow saw. Diagonally, from the left tip to the left edge of the black tape is 20", to the right edge of the tape is 21". I lay the saw down on a stem or log and then nick/graze/saw a mark at the cutting point. Wood cutting goes very fast when I can mark an entire stem before cutting. 95% of my cutting is 20" but if I finish marking and have a little extra then I will remark at 20 1/2" or 21" to take the whole stem (or remark to as low as 18" if needed to consume the whole stem). Most of my sticks measure 19 3/4" with a tape measure when I get home. I stack to over 6' on reinforced pallets and having too many short pieces can destabilize the pile. Bow saw marking's biggest advantage is marking wet or snowy stems.
Even with a strong case of CDO (it's just like OCD, but everything needs to be alphabetized too.) I can't be bothered to take the time to mark logs. System I worked out years ago, work from the left end of the log, put the left side of the saw flush with the log for a second, note where the blade falls or pull the throttle and score the bark, move over, put the left face of the saw on that mark and cut. within a 1/4" of 16" every time. That was with my Husky 350 that I don't use very often anymore. Homelite Super XL has a fatter a$$ so worked out a similar system for that saw.
Logging crayon and wood yardstick I pay a buck for. The yard stick is handy when getting close to the end so the last few rounds can be "adjusted" in order to not make an unusable short one.
Since I sell, 16" or really close to it is important to me. Most of my logs are dropped off by tree services and in every length imaginable. I used to use a 16" stick and lumber crayon but then I was ending up with a lot of odd ball lengths at the end. I now use a tape measure and measure the whole log. If it comes up 90", then I'm marking 15" lengths. If it comes up 68", I'm marking 17". I won't stray much more or less than an inch from 16" so there is still some "longs or shorts" but not nearly as many as before. Oh and as already mentioned above, side walk chalk is by far the best thing to mark logs with. It stands out and will easily mark wet wood where a lumber crayon won't.
