I'm not fully calibrated yet so I don't trust my ability to eyeball where to make cuts when bucking. I don't want that wand thing hanging off the side of my chainsaw either. I like cutting 17" lengths as I found I can only get one 18" into my stove - the others have to be a bit shorter. So how do you measure, if you measure? I see a "Mingo" on eBay but would like to make something cheaper. Currently I use a 17" stick and a can of spray paint to measure and mark the whole tree.
Measuring and marking for cuts
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if i don't just eye ball it, I've gotten in the habit of using the bar of the saw as a guide. Knowing its a 16" bar makes it easy to size up 17" pieces.
Whenever I am cutting whole trees I have an old tape measure that I put marks every 18" with spray paint. Anything else I just take a guess.
After a long time of cutting firewood, I'm still not "fully calibrated"! When it matters, I also use the bar as a guide.
Come to think of it, doesn't "full calibration" come an hour or so after the saw is put away and a few beers have been put down? :cheese:
wahoowad said:
Before they came out with a loggers' tape measure that hangs from the belt I cut a sapling ( straight as possible and light ) 8 ft and made 2ft marks to measure saw log cuts. I used a lumber crayon with a crayon holder w/ wrist strap ( available at Bailey's ).
You could cut a 8 ft or 9 ft pole, make 17" graduations then when you are ready to buck your wood , lay the pole on the log, mark it and then you have a lot of " one step " cuts, rather than measure/cut, measure/cut ya,ya,ya. The good thing about the long pole is you can see and keep track of it, as it doesn't get lost with all the other pieces of short wood. You will like this method.
With all odd ball gadgets and do-dads aside this is how i have done it for year , many year.
Normally i can eye ball the size i want but when first cutting wood for the year ya kinda need to be freshened up a bit.
I take my right boot facing east and west to the end of the log and butt my left foot north and south to the heel of my right boot , now to the left of my left foot is ............da-da ! 17"
Size of your foot/boot is going to make a difference but for me it come out to 17" so i can now cut over that mark or under per the size of log i want to cut and i dont have to hull around "gadgets and do-dads"
Using the chainsaw to measure length is very popular but can be hard on your wrist swinging the saw back and forth every time you cut / all day long.
Normally i can eye ball the size i want but when first cutting wood for the year ya kinda need to be freshened up a bit.
I take my right boot facing east and west to the end of the log and butt my left foot north and south to the heel of my right boot , now to the left of my left foot is ............da-da ! 17"
Size of your foot/boot is going to make a difference but for me it come out to 17" so i can now cut over that mark or under per the size of log i want to cut and i dont have to hull around "gadgets and do-dads"
Using the chainsaw to measure length is very popular but can be hard on your wrist swinging the saw back and forth every time you cut / all day long.
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i have to say that the "mingo" thing does look pretty neat.
For 24 bucks, I'm thinking about picking one up. I suppose I could make one myself, but for the price, it might be hard to beat that unless I had the stuff sitting around the house.
For 24 bucks, I'm thinking about picking one up. I suppose I could make one myself, but for the price, it might be hard to beat that unless I had the stuff sitting around the house.
wahoowad said:Corie, secretly I was hoping someone had made their own mingo
LOL , So why bait the group on a universal question and have everyone explain there point of view ? Just ask if anybody has made a mingo or "how to".
hh:
Vintage 181 said:
Hahaha , No loafers here. Matterhorn 10" Waterproof S&R Boots - Safety Toe.
(broken link removed to http://www.shoestoboot.com/moreinfo.cfm?Product_ID=428&Category=175)
I use the bar also or I use the the body of the saw. A 372 is about 16" from the back of the handle to the front of the saw not inculding the dogs.Eric Johnson said:
I take the dogs off my saws.
I also cut most firewood chunks with the top of the bar, so measuring with the saw is just part of the process of moving up the log. I'm right handed. I stand to the left of the stem, limbing and bucking off chunks as I move towards the top. So, basically, I make a cut, then set my saw down on the trunk with the measuring point (which could be a mark on the side of the saw, one of the retaining nuts or some other feature on the saw) sitting on the cut. The tip of the bar is where the next cut is made. I pick the saw up, turn it 90 degrees, and buck the saw with the backcut by pulling the saw to the left. Move up to the place I just cut, and repeat the process. Some people prefer to mark the stem as they move up towards the top, cutting off the chunks on the way back. That works, too, but I prefer to integrate the bucking into my forward motion.
I cut 24-inch chunks with a 346XP, so with a 16-inch bar, my marking point is right about where the back handle begins.
I also cut most firewood chunks with the top of the bar, so measuring with the saw is just part of the process of moving up the log. I'm right handed. I stand to the left of the stem, limbing and bucking off chunks as I move towards the top. So, basically, I make a cut, then set my saw down on the trunk with the measuring point (which could be a mark on the side of the saw, one of the retaining nuts or some other feature on the saw) sitting on the cut. The tip of the bar is where the next cut is made. I pick the saw up, turn it 90 degrees, and buck the saw with the backcut by pulling the saw to the left. Move up to the place I just cut, and repeat the process. Some people prefer to mark the stem as they move up towards the top, cutting off the chunks on the way back. That works, too, but I prefer to integrate the bucking into my forward motion.
I cut 24-inch chunks with a 346XP, so with a 16-inch bar, my marking point is right about where the back handle begins.
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