Maintaining wood length ??

I think about that alot. The Mingo seems to be made of a brittle plastic that would break if dropped on a rock or if it accidentally bounced around in the bed of a pickup truck. That being said, I haven't busted mine yet and its about 5 years old.

 

I don't have any problem burning the shorties and odd-balls once I have a good bed of coals going. I usually pick a Weekend where I can monitor the burn rate more easily. Around this time of year when I cut a couple inches off the splits that are put to the side that are just too long. You get a few of those when you have a couple guys cutting or late in the day when you're tired. NBFD. Especially when there's only a dozen or so.

 

When I get to the last mark if its going to leave a stumpy piece I just split the difference on the last piece and make two equal logs. So for example if my last 20" mark leaves a 6" piece I just make the mark in the center of that 26" piece so I end up with x2 13" logs instead of a 20" and a 6".

Im burning in an OWB anyway so it doesnt much matter, even a 6" chunk can be tossed in if its not too huge around, but making x2 13" pieces just makes it easier to stack.

 

I use a tape measure and cut a small stick to 18” long. I will use that approx 1/2” diameter stick to measure my next round to cut with my left hand putting the stick against the log, eyeball where the cut should be and then hold the stick and the top handle of my chainsaw with my left hand while I cut. I opt to get as many 18” rounds as possible to help with stacking rather than cutting to two shorter pieces... One downside of this method is that it’s easy to lose the measuring stick. The good thing is that it’s easily replaceable. I put my saw down, I leave the measuring stick between the top handle and the front hand guard. This method gets me within about 3/4” of where I want to be..

 

I have tried all thes methods but usually end up just eyeballing. One winter I made the mistake cutting all my wood an inch too long. That will never happen again.

 

In the past I would split the difference and have two shorter pieces compared to the rest. I ended up with two shorter pieces that were too short instead of one.
I have indoor wood stoves so I don’t have the flexibility of an OWB. I’ll save some of the shorties to burn on the weekend but sometimes I’ll gather up the nasty pieces that don’t split well, stack well or are shorties and drop them off at a neighbors house with an OWB.

 

Viagra,

 

campinspecter uses a long piece of 1 X 2 marked off in the lengths he wants to cut. Because the logs he is cutting up are usually quite large, he lays the stick on the log and goes down the length marking the log with the chainsaw. He goes back and then cuts the rounds off the log. If I am with him, I keep moving the stick to the next section while he marks it with the chainsaw. Occasionally he will nick the stick with the tip of the saw so after a while it does need replacing.

 

Well so say I have a piece of log that's 22 inches long. My stove is ideal for 16". So if I cut it to length at 16" then I'm left with a 6" piece I cut off. So my other best best is to cut it in half at 11" pieces. Still a bit stumpy. I scrounge my wood from all free sources so I'm stuck with what I get depending on how the person cut the tree up. Sometimes I get lucky and can cut the tree up myself.

 

Stumpy pieces, crotch wood, forks, wedges and other miscellaneous chunks are all used to anchor the top of the woodpile after everything else is neatly stacked. If you were to look at the top of the stacks in my wood shed, it would be a collection of the most gnarly, twisted oddball pieces you could imagine, all tossed up there like yesterday's trash. And they are great for filling up the fire pit or BBQ during the summer, or even feeding the wood boiler on a lazy fall weekend when there's firewood to be moved for the next season.

 

That's exactly how I was taught to stack wood-shorties and uglies on top of the stack.

 

I eyeball it and manage to keep everything 12-13" for my insert.

 

I have an Ott Accu-stick I really like the adjustable length and the magnet is very strong. Helpful as I cut firewood for more than just myself and different lengths are required.



In the video he runs it right up close to the saw which works good. I like to run it on the tip and mark out the whole log then remove the accu-stick and buck the whole log in one go. Not necessarily better but helps avoid knocking the accu-stick off the bar in the woods.

 

Earth magnet on bar , for 17" rounds
Made this year’s ago
Still in use

 

] Lots of great methods.
Falling timber ,Busheling,( not day wageing) we use Key Backs for our pencil ( to write our numbers on our hard hat) . Crayon ( for our initial and tree or stump # ) . Safety Whistle. And anything else small and light we deem important and often used. We clip the key backs into the D rings on our Better Suspenders or onto regular elastic spenders.
Grab , write, let go. Always where it's needed. And unless the key back breaks or the D ring pulls thru the suspenders ( rivet broke on me once) bull buck didn't believe me till I showed him.
The soft black lumber crayon will write on almost anything. Including your shirt, arms ect. Especially in the rain. Soft red and soft blue does also.
I've used it and a tape to mark my lengths ALOT. But it's not the most efficient.
A Spencer log tape with a horse shoe nail to stick in the butt of the log . Works great for in the woods. But figuring all the incremental lengths makes my head hurt. Also. Even a needle Sharp tape nail don't stick into hard frozen green wood. .
That Accu Mark is probably what I will try next. Y-Back Button Suspenders




Sorry for the scrappy pics. Flash on my camera wouldn't work due to low battery.;#/
The bar wrench is ALWAYS on in its scabard on my guylines( suspenders) when I'm in the woods.

 

Tape measure and sidewalk chalk. Tape measure is small so it fits in my pocket along with the sidewalk chalk. I don't need toys. I like to keep it simple and it's quick enough. I sell firewood so consistent length is important. I cut to 16". I used to use the lumber crayons but they don't mark well on wet wood or certain types of bark. My kids sidewalk chalk marks on every type of bark in any condition and it's darn cheap.