# Best Way to Cut Loose Limbs to Size???



## BurnIt13 (Feb 28, 2012)

I've cut down a number of trees in my back yard and I now have a huge pile of limbs.  These limbs average about 10' long and range from 3-6" in diameter.  Cutting them to 16" lengths has proven difficult because the saw just wants to spin the limb.

What is a good, safe way to do this by yourself?


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## Jags (Feb 28, 2012)

You need yourself a sawbuck.  There are many examples on this site if you use the search feature.  Some pretty neat ideas, too.


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## Got Wood (Feb 28, 2012)

How about one of these

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-LP1000-Alligator-Electric/dp/B000BANMUY/ref=pd_sim_ol_1

I got it as a gift a couple years back. Being electric it cuts back on the amount of times I can use it but I have had a few occasions in the yard where I had a good amount of limbing to do and this works very well for that purpose. I think they may have a battery unit as well but I dont have experience with it.


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## Wood Duck (Feb 28, 2012)

You could try roping or bungee cording a bunch of them together so they don't move as easily. Placing the bungee-corded bundle on a sawbuck, or even bungee-cording the whole thing to the sawbuck would be very helpful. The easiest way of all is to cut them while they are still attached to the tree. When I cut a tree I am always eager to cut all the limbs off the way lumberjacks do, but I am not making saw logs, I am making firewood. I try to cut all the branches to length while they are still attached to the trunk to avoid the situation you are in.


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## WES999 (Feb 28, 2012)

Here are 2 ideas, the sawbuck is simple to make and works quite well, you can put a bunch of branches in it and run the chainsaw down through all.

The chainsaw buddy http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=CB41 also works well.
I have it mounted on a small cheap electric chainsaw. It holds smaller branches so you can easily and safely cut them.


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## golfandwoodnut (Feb 28, 2012)

I have posted this a few times and you cannot beat it for cutting a bunch of limbs at a time.  I call it an H style sawbuck.


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## Gary_602z (Feb 28, 2012)

Step on the limb to keep it from spinning. If it is flat on the ground you can toss a chunk of wood under it to keep it up off the ground.

Gary


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## ScotO (Feb 28, 2012)

Gary_602z said:
			
		

> Step on the limb to keep it from spinning. If it is flat on the ground you can toss a chunk of wood under it to keep it up off the ground.
> 
> Gary


BINGO!  beat me to it  ;-P That's what we do, and I use everything off of a tree from 2" and up!  the easiest way I have found is to cut the limbs into billets BEFORE cutting them off of the trunk.  When we drop a tree, after it hits the ground we work from the top down.  Saves a lot of bending over, and then we clean up all the little rounds before chunking up the trunks.  but if the limbs are already on the ground, I use a small round, roll it under the limb I am cutting as I go along.  You could also be adventurous and use a bow bar for your saw, that makes bucking blowdowns and limbs a breeze, and it never pinches if you use it right.


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## bogydave (Feb 28, 2012)

+1 with Scott, work from the top down
When I save limbs when cutting near home, I do it as I'm liming the tree. 
I let the tree hold onto them. 
Liming I use the little 14" saw, easy to handle & light weight.
A bit longer for the smaller diameter back yard cook-out fires & the bigger diameter (3" + ) to wood stove length.
My helpers like having small pieces they can handle & pick up . Then they get to ride in the wheelbarrow  or trailer


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## Backwoods Savage (Feb 28, 2012)

As for cutting top down or butt up, that should be determined by how the tree lays. Sometimes I cut the top first but many times I'll also cut the butt first. Just depends on how it lays.

For cutting those limbs, a sawbuck is the fastest and easiest way and it is cheap and easy to put one together.


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## clemsonfor (Feb 28, 2012)

I usually cut stuff that is 8" and down in say 4-8ft lengths and then take it home.  I lay 3 longs on the ground parallel with each other about a firewood length apart, then lay/stack all the limbs on top of each other in a pyramid and just use my foot and cut the whole pile in to fire wood length, same ideas as a sawbuck just cant do as many at once.


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