Tools and tips for cutting split wood shorter

[samhandwich]

Hi folks. New here and already spent a couple hours reading this great forum!

My question: I have split wood, mostly in the 18-20 inch length. My wood stove isn't very deep, so I'd like to cut some down to fit front to back. Any suggestions for how best to do this? Thanks!

 

[snowtime]

Well if you do not have a chainsaw I will tell you about a friend. He had a lot of long pieces so he took his 18volt circular saw and cut one side then turned the piece over and cut to make it a through and through cut. From what i remember he went through a lot of batteries so best to have a backup charging.

 

[LLigetfa]

Sawzall works well. I had to do 3 cord that way.

 

[Nixon]

Buy a cheap miter saw . It'll come in handy for other projects later as well, or a cheap electric chainsaw .

 

[NH_Wood]

I've been thinking about cutting down my 19 and 20 inch pieces to ~ 16 for comfortable N/S loading. I can fit the larger pieces E/W, but can't fill the firebox as efficiently. I've decided to spend that time cutting more wood though, so.....I've been using as much of the E/W wood for daytime loads, and saving my shorter pieces to fill the box for the overnight burn. I also didn't like the idea of losing all the wood from the kerf, but I do like the idea of the sawzall - but, seems like it would take a LONG time to go through a lot of wood. I suppose you could do a week's worth at a time to take a break from having to do this. Cheers!

 

[begreen]

Buy a cheap miter saw . It'll come in handy for other projects later as well, or a cheap electric chainsaw .

+1 chopsaw.

 

[midwestcoast]

Well if you do not have a chainsaw I will tell you about a friend. He had a lot of long pieces so he took his 18volt circular saw and cut one side then turned the piece over and cut to make it a through and through cut. From what i remember he went through a lot of batteries so best to have a backup charging.

This would be very hard on the battery and saw. Not the best tool IMO.
Miter saw or corded sawzall with some kind of jig to hold the splits.

If you think of cutting your own firewood then you could get a chainsaw & cut multiple pieces at once. See this thread for an easy way: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/66266/

 

[jerseykat1]

IMO if your going to burn wood a lot, you should break down and invest in a chainsaw. You can get a decent one for about 100bucks maybe less if you buy a used one on craigslist or eBay. sawzaw will take forever, a chop/mitre saw might be a good idea they are pretty fast (but not so portable).

im not certain that loading n/s will give you any more of a load than e/w. my fire box tapers smaller n/s with it being a bit shorter in height at the north most point so if i load n/s i end up with empty space toward the front. but if i load e/w i can fill almost all space provided i choose the right pieces of wood. but i guess it all comes down to the shape of your box.

 

[Huskyforlife]

Wow, on a very rare occasion I have cut pieces shorter with my 18V Dewalt circular saw, but only because the wood was inside and firing up the Stihl was not an option. If you are going to cut a number of pieces then get some variant of a chain saw, like was said a cheap used one would be fine for your needs.

 

[fishingpol]

I found that a band saw works well for me. I use a Delta 12" with a 1/2" wide-meaning front to back blade. It goes through splits in about 10 seconds. It is vey methodical. Pick up a piece of wood, put hand on each end and run it through. Once cut, both halves are already in your hands ready to be put in a pile or bucket. Circular saws and chop saws are a bit more dangerous. It requires a lot more handling of the wood, then the saw and back to the wood. The band saw can be left on as you get the next piece ready. Circ and chop saws will have a lot of on an off cycling, wearing the motor and switches off. I have my band saw hooked to a small dust collector, so clean up is minimal. Band saw also cuts supercedars beautifully.

A band saw is great for cutting 2 x 4's down to 6" and then splitting them into kindling. Band saw is used for more wood processing than home projects right now. I don't know what I would do without it. You can even take branches up to a few inches round and push them through like bucking them into length. It goes quick.

 

[CTYank]

I do lots of this for my little stove; 8" is optimum length for N-S loading.

So I cut w/chainsaw to 16" which leaves the option of giving to friends for fireplace.

For the stove, I split those pieces to desired range of sizes.

Then buzz them in half with cheapie HF 10" tablesaw. Chainsaw would be really dangerous here, and a sawzall would take forever. Chainsaw also would turn lots more wood into chips, which I do not need for mulch.

Of course, I use a shop-vac with the T/S, and dust-mask and other PPE. This process has evolved to avoid time consumption and minimize likelihood of ER visits.

 

[samhandwich]

Seems like one way or another, if I want to cut these down, I'm looking at spending some money on a power tool (which is no surprise). For the moment, I may add it to the list of things I want and just live with it for now.

Thanks all for the help!

 

[ecocavalier02]

im currently having to do this. hitting them with a chainsaw. it sux. if i only i new i was going to by a new stove last year. one more year to go. im thinking of making a jig like zap did i know he had pictures of it posted

 

[myzamboni]

I made a rack that is not as deep as the chainsaw bar and not as wide as the splits. I use a cargo strap to hold the splits in place and lop off the ends of the splits with the chainsaw (15-20 splits per cut, then reload the rack and repeat.

 

[Thistle]

I've had my Delta 14" Bandsaw for almost 23 yrs.Installed the Height Attachment in Jan '99.With that,Lenox Matrix 2 - 3/4" wide 4/6tooth BiMetal blade & the 1 1/2 HP motor I can cut wood of any species up to 12 1/2" thick.With the Rip Fence that came with the saw I can resaw or rip with great accuracy,whether the wood is green or bone dry.

When cross-cutting with out the fence,the saw gets used exclusively for trimming firewood thats a bit long,cutting small logs to 3-4" length for my smoker,plus every other use needed when cutting bowl-turning blanks in woodturning & all other woodworking operations. It gets used every bit as much as table saw & miter saw,somedays much more.IMO its one of the most underrated tools in the shop for its versatility.

 

[Danno77]

Seems like one way or another, if I want to cut these down, I'm looking at spending some money on a power tool (which is no surprise). For the moment, I may add it to the list of things I want and just live with it for now.

Thanks all for the help!

It shouldn't be a surprise unless you planned on staring at the splits until the magically broke in two.

If you don't plan on heading out to the woods to get your own firewood then I'd suggest an electric chainsaw. I have a 12" remington from wal-mart that was super cheap. Like anything you can spend a lot or a little on an electric. Nice thing is that it doesn't require much maintenance, fuel never goes bad, starts every time you need it, is fairly quiet, and can be pretty darn cheap. Then you are actually using the RIGHT tool for cutting firewood, instead of some of these other ideas...

 

[samhandwich]

Staring works, but only for lengthwise splits. If you're so fond of your Remington, don't you think it should be in your sig?

...It's a good idea - I'll have to look into those a bit.

 

[Danno77]

Staring works, but only for lengthwise splits. If you're so fond of your Remington, don't you think it should be in your sig?

...It's a good idea - I'll have to look into those a bit.

LoL. The poor remington gets no respect, not even from me. But it works. I don't think they even sell 12" ones any more. I think they are all 14" or better. On a similar note, I have never sharpened the chain and it still throws decent sized chips. wonder what the deal is with that?

 

[Heem]

Alligator Lopper: (broken link removed to http://www.blackanddecker.com/outdoor/LP1000.aspx)

 

[savageactor7]

It's dangerous cutting close to your feet like that...but as long as you know it's dangerous and take steps to minimize harming yourself your working in a safety minded way.

I cut stuff like that all the time but usually I wait until I have 10 or more gathered to make the effort worthwhile.

I lay 2 split halves on the ground a then lay the split I'm going to cut right down along the notch of the 2 halves. Now you can safely put your foot on the split your going to cut and execute. In that way the cut split won't move and it's elevated off the ground. At the negative end of the scale is the constant bending you have to do.