On the ash anyway you may want to try a four cut tic tac toe pattern. Then let your 90 degree drill hole intersect. In theory the center plug should fall right out. That’s what I attempted to do using just a saw, no drill. This was an attempt to mimic a YouTube video I had seen a few years ago where no saw was used. They drilled down the but of the log also. Never tried that,,,,,,bet that would require a lot of effort and a hot drill. Not to mention an extension which arent cheap. Or a long set of spade bits. Not a fan of spade bits but I do have one of those sets. Aim for a 1” hole in the center. Should make lighting much easier. Once I got the half plug burned out of mine you could really hear the chimney working. Sounds just like a chimney fire. I had completely put this idea into a stuck drawer in the back of my mind. Just finished CSS the last of my small ash collection. damm, would have been nice to try on ash On the bright side my sister has a grove of ash in between the power lines and her garage. She’s having a tree guy take them down sometime this month. They’re about the right size. Now if I can just keep that drawer from sticking. Good luck and keep us apprised of your testing.
I have done the rocket stove version (tic tac toe) in ash already and is very favorable I actually make a plunge cut with the saw from the side in those at the bottom and remove the plug. That was the only air inlet for those. I have a couple variants of those I want to try. 1. I want to do the 1" hole from the side as well to put the fatwood in to light it because the ones like this I've done before were a pain to get lit. I'll have to try one leaving the plug in, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea jo191145, I also assume you like to plink at the range??? 2. While doing 2 of the tic tac toe cuts with the saw about halfway into the log, rock the saw so it just comes out the side of the log. This will give extra secondary air to the "rocket stove" about halfway up the chimney and increase the velocity of the flame coming out the top of the candle. I have done a few of these cuts a while back in ash and it did increase the flame tip length coming out the top. It also burned it a little faster. If you do those two cuts on opposite sides of the log, it adds a little bit of vortex or swirl to the flame as it's coming out the top also. It's been fun playing with the various versions in the pine vs. ash. I wish I was better at documenting the variants I've tried with pix and times, but I'm not very methodical most of the time. I've also tried almost all of these using both the 18" bar that yields a 16" deep candle and a 25" bar that yields a 23" deep candle. The taller ones aren't really any better, but the noole cut slot type are fun and throw a lot of light on a breezy evening.
I’ve had a similar idea for adding extra air. Never tried it but I think it’s valid. Drill an extra hole in the side. BUT,,,,here’s the beauty, don’t drill it all the way in. Maybe half way??? When the inside burns out enough that it needs more air for the volume in the middle it’ll automatically burn the hole open. Sort of like kicking in the 4 barrel. Been known to pull a trigger or two. Did a lot of rifle accuracy stuff. Benchrest. My last girl. Miss Candywine Brandy The color of the paint. Won’t tell you what my girlfriend named her on a family forum
More ideas to try. I'm having more fun with experimenting with these candles!!! For a varmint gun I ended up with a hand me down Sako Forester L579 Deluxe with all the bells and whistles chambered for the lost .244 Remington. I treasure it, and it pops any woodchucks foolish enough to get within 500 yards or so... LOL I load a 70 grain boat tail on 40 grains of IMR3031 to push em out. Fun stuff!!! I don't shoot a whole lot, but when I do, I like to make 'em count. Over the years of my dad having this rifle since the early 60's I'm sure it's sent hundreds of woodchucks to the great vultures in the sky.
Nice!! Gotta admit I never heard of the 244. It’s 6mm Remington now. What twist rate is the Sako? One lesson you seem to know that I learned the hard way. If that load works don’t mess with it, enjoy it. I actually enjoyed the factory class shooting more than the full custom stuff. When you get it just right the professionals look on in disbelief.
It's the much maligned original .244 Remington 1 in 12" twist that eventually caused it's demise, but it is an awesome rare shooter. I stick with the 70 grain nosler ballistic poly tip boat tail for that reason. Low recoil, 3500 fps, flat, nice energy transfer when it hits, what's not to like. Water filled milk jugs at a few hundred yards are fun. I don't really have the time to do the comp shooting but it sure is fun get out at our neighborhood shootouts and show what a little tiny bullet with a big cartridge behind it can do. LOL There's more pix on the Sako collectors site. Another New guy from Ohio Ground hogs are the main target around here and this is made for that type of shooting.
Chainsaws are optimized for cross cutting a log. I don't know all the physics behind it, but cutting through a log length wise works in two different ways. When cutting slabs using an Alaska Mill set up (similar to the log standing on end vertically and the saw's bar / chain held horizontally) usually a special ripping chain is used and it is slow going. When the log is laying down and you cut with the bar / chain along the length of the log and the dogs gripping into the end grain of the log, the chain is cutting long noodles with the grain. Noodling goes WAY faster. I like to make the candles before cutting them to length and holding the log up with the tractor. This way I have solid hold on the log and the saw is at a comfortable working height. This way I can have better / safer grips on the saw since I do a lot of plunge cuts when making some of the different styles. I don't have any good pictures showing it since I'm typically doing this alone... I know, safety in numbers, but you do what you gotta do. PPE
