Think about how many cut you make in a log. If you measure exactly 16 (or 18, or whatever) inches, each cut takes out 1/4" kerf. On an 8' log, that's 5 cuts or 1.25" by the time you get to the end. Unless you adjust where you make your cuts. I'm just used to using a tape from having a wood shop for decades. When your trying to build more than one cabinet out of a sheet of ply, accounting for saw kerf becomes VERY important. I really don't worry about chain kerf, I just note it, adjust for it, and cut accordingly. Not difficult. Seems to me as though an awful lot of us are trying to hurry the process. I quit doing that a long time ago. Time in the woods is more enjoyable that way.
"Seems to me as though an awful lot of us are trying to hurry the process. I quit doing that a long time ago. Time in the woods is more enjoyable that way." ... quote of the day...
I get where you're coming from Dave and the wood shop saw kerf reference is not lost on me. I've been burned by that one more than once. I do probably adjust a little without thinking about it but in my buddy's case I'm just happy to have them all within an inch or two rather than having a few 23" and a few 16" and everything in between. I still enjoy the time out in the woods with him though, even if his "eye" is a little out of focus and you can't beat a strong back for help with firewood!
But I'm being anal? My brother thinks his eye is gooder than a tape measure. Trust me, it's not. I know mine aren't a whole lot better, so I measure. Much easier stacking and I know everything will fit in the stove, instead of having to cut rounds/splits down.
Now, if I can just get my chain sharpening skills honed, I can quit cuttin' circles in trees. I can manage to have several different length splits from one round, the way I sharpen. Is that multi-tasking?
I'm still using this mag mount whip antenna , I whipped up started out with wing nut and then went to a magnet
I'd really like to put one of these together for my 025 (thought about just drilling the short bar). Seems like it'd be one or two less things to have bouncing around in my tool box or to forget at home!
Ditto, I picked up some lumber crayons from HD ,but they don't mark very well when the wood is wet or damp at all.
Dave, your analogy is an invalid one. I would agree if you want to cut seven 1' boards from an 8' 2x4, you can't just make a bunch of marks every foot and then cut. While your first board would be 1', each of the succeeding boards would be short by the width of the Kerf. While the total amount that the boards are cut short would be six times the width of the kerf, the last board would not be cut short by that same six times the width of the kerf (your 1.25" example).. So, if you want to account for kerf in your firewood, AND you want to measure an entire log before cutting, AND you want your wood to be EXACTLY 16 inches, your first measurement would have to be exactly at 16" and each subsequent mark would have to be 16" plus the width of the kerf (3/16", .325", 3/8").. Additionally, your mark would have to be the width of a sharpened pencil AND you'd have to cut on the correct side of the mark (i.e. not straddle it)... I personally don't mind if my firewood is 3/16" too short..
I thought I'd seen it around here somewhere. Didn't someones have a little flag on the end that stuck into or grabbed the last cut or the end of the log? With that mod then I could at least get down into the sub-1/4" territory!
It started to move on me once , found small metal chips on it cleaned em off ,other than that it has stayed on solid
Of course, all this precision is for naught, if you don't have a properly sharpened chain! If the angles or cutter lengths don't match between sides, they will tend to "steer" diagonally in the cut. I know this, because when I sharpen by hand, I tend to do a lot better job on the "right" than the "left" - until I got my granberg "training wheels".
stuckinthemuck , yep, correct. After the first cut, each successive piece would be the same length, not the total loss of all the cuts. I was thinking of the amount of wood lost from a log after making 5-6 cuts. Thanks for clearing that up. Having firewood cut anywhere from 14" to 20" isn't my style. 3/16" is ok.
Being a recovering machinist, I have struggled with the the precision obsession most of my life. My doors and gates won't open in the winter. All woodwork is cut within 1/64, even if it fits air. Why cut something once when you can cut it three times (and it's still a CH too long)? Firewood cutting has cured me, at least as applies to things I'm going to burn. After trying to cut too close to the maximum length for my stove, I finally settled on 16 in. length because I don't have to fight to get them in the stove and they stack nicely on 48 in. pallets. Plus or minus 1/2 in. is no problem. I still have a problem with the curved, kinked, bent pieces of oak. Do I cut perpendicular at the point of cut, or parallel to the previous cut? And if the latter, what about the next cut? These are the things that keep me awake nights.
LMAO..."recovering" machinist! On the "curved, kinked, bent pieces of oak", how do you cut them? I've tried both ways and it seems like I always get screwed later on down the log!
I cut perpendicular at the point of cut, making for pieces that are either too long or too short on one side. At least that eliminates an accumulating problem down the log.
Like MrWhoopee said, these are the things that keep me up at night...perpendicular to the spot on the log or parallel to the previous cut and do I cut the branch off flush with the log or perpendicular to the branch? Hopefully we can solve this so I don't have a panic attack when I'm bucking and limbing Saturday morning!
