Bar attachment for wood length, Will it work?

As I think many of us have said, it will work, within the limitations of it possibly getting in the way, but most of us don't feel the need to be that [del]anally retentive[/del] fussy about getting an exact length, and are happy w/ using the bar as a guide, or just the "Mark I eyeball measure" and getting target +/- an inch or so...

On a side note, do you have the rod sticking out both sides of the bar at once, or do you swap it from one side to the other? I notice in the two pics you posted that different sides of the saw are showing, with the rod sticking out towards the camera in each photo...

Gooserider

Nice thinking but...

I drop and cut to length in the woods - that jig wouldn't last 20 minutes.

gerry100 said:

I drop and cut to length in the woods...

Click to expand...

As I mentioned elsewhere, from the handle on the side to the bar tip is the *exact* length I buck, so dropping a tree in the bush, I just walk the length of it, marking as I delimb. Set the handle against the end and make my first mark, then set the handle in the first mark and make the second. Lather, Rinse, Repeat.

As a minor side note, I was on the HF website last night looking for something else, and happened to run across a similar product - do a search on "firewood" and it will be one of the things that comes up - same basic idea, but mounted on one of the chain cover bar nuts instead of the bar... (Not sure how it attached) could cause some parallax errors when marking because of it being farther from the tip, but has the advantage of not being in the way of using the entire bar...

However I also seem to recall some discussion of it, with a few users saying it was extremely fragile and easily snapped off.

Gooserider

Why don't you mount it off the body of the saw? Like near the chain cover or off the handle? Don't they already make something like this? You could clamp something off the handle and it wouldn't interfer with the chain or cutting.

I was also considering having some sort of way to get my rounds to be more of the same size, but the kind of wood I cut, it just doesn't work out - because things get in the way like crotches, knots, etc. So I am fine with variable sized wood and I find that works well too for my stove.

Kong said:

I don't mean to laugh, but just how important is it that all your firewood be within a quarter inch of the same length of every other piece?

Here is what I sometimes do to keep my wood of similar lenght. I often use an 18" bar, twist sideways to use it as a measuring device, and cut the wood the length of the bar. My wife will not beat me or yell at me if one piece is 17.75 inches and the next piece is 17.5; she is a very tolerant woman, and nobody else on the face of the earth could care less if every piece of wood I cut isn't exactly the same length as every other piece.

Click to expand...

I like 1/8" tolerances, myself. Producing consistent wood has saved many a marriage. LOL

I use my right hand. My left hand holds the wrap-around front handle. My right hand is my trigger hand. So I use my right hand, thus it's safe because it's off the trigger!! I know that with my pinkie finger and thumb fully extended, the distance is 8". So, I place the tip of my pinkie finger on the edge of the log, stretching my thumb as far as possible away from my pinkie. Then I bring the tip of my pinkie finger to my thumb, planting it next to my thumb. I then extend my thumb out as far as possible away from my pinkie. That's 16". I focus my eye on the 16" spot on the log, grab my handle and trigger using my trigger hand (right hand), and cut the log. Does this make sense? Very quick. Very cheap! I figure the good Lord gave me the tool. I just have to use it.

I had something sismilar to this on an older saw ~12yrs ago. Except I used a piece of rigid tygon tubing and had it mounted to the saw head.
I just use the bar method now, not that picky about perfect length wood cause if its short it'l still burn

This thread is very nearly 2 years old. Rick

bogydave said:

Made one from an old broken graphite fishing pole.
epoxied a 1/4" X 20 all-thread, nut & washer in one end
then a wooded dowel in the other to hold a small screw.
Lighter weight, (not that the other was heavy) & looks better.

Click to expand...

The thread is 2 years old? So what? Look at the consistency of BD's buck lengths. Why are so many of you against this?

BD's length gage has gotten a lot of criticism, but I like it and intend to make my own. Thanks for sharing BD.

If you cut your own wood, think about it:
Why cut a buck length more than once? Do you really love the 130 db output of your saw, frustration, wasting wood, gas, time, etc.?
Why cut a length shorter than optimal for your stove?
Either of the above wastes wood. Short cuts = more cuts per log, long cuts eventually = more cuts per log. Cuts = waste unless you're collecting and burning the saw dust. Anyone doing that? If so, your first name might (unofficially) be "Anal".
Only one short per log, at most, to deal with.
Beautiful stacks.
Less frustration.
No time-wasting "saw bar" or "two pinkie to thumb spans" measuring or log marking.
Not all eyeballs are properly calibrated.
Do you ever intentionally let gas or diesel spill on the ground when you're filling up your vehicle, tractor or gas can? NO? Then why cut twice (long cuts), or make more cuts than needed (short cuts). The result is the same.

I know some of this is picking nits for bucking up a log or a few. But added up over a lifetime, or the lifetime of a stove or your wood-cutting years, it would prove to be significant in comparison to the investment in the gage and time spent installing and removing it.

My $.02 worth.

bogydave said:

Here's what I came up with.
17-3/4", a 1/4" screw stud in one end, wing nut shake proof washer to the bar.
tab/ear that turns up or down on the end.
Can cut wood, dowel rod, 3/4 X 3/4" or a stick to what ever length needed.
Can cut up to 12" rounds with out removing it (20" bar)
Big rounds, mark log with the saw, then remove.
Quick on & off.
Maybe an earth magnet & stud to mount to the bar for even quicker on/off.
Old piece of a fishing pole, fiberglass, carbon fiber with stud glued in the end would be even lighter.
Plastic, synthetic or nylon bolt so it it falls out & you hit it with the chain, no damage to the chain.
Will it work?
Patent pending?

Click to expand...

Can't see what could possibly go wrong with that. . . .

If I were to do this, which I am not

I would get a coupler nut, as used with threaded rod
and attach it at the ckuch cover stud
finger tight
nothing to lose
and back out of the way

however I do not burn wood so
I do not care about differenced in length

whereas the women care about the length of the wood

ironpony said:

If I were to do this, which I am not

I would get a coupler nut, as used with threaded rod
and attach it at the ckuch cover stud
finger tight
nothing to lose
and back out of the way

Click to expand...

You mean like these?
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=47150&catID;=

I usually eyeball when bucking. On occasion I use the bar/saw to measure.

Cheers

(Correct user now.)

Ash_403 said:

ironpony said:

If I were to do this, which I am not

I would get a coupler nut, as used with threaded rod
and attach it at the ckuch cover stud
finger tight
nothing to lose
and back out of the way

Click to expand...

You mean like these?
http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=47150&catID;=

I usually eyeball when bucking. On occasion I use the bar/saw to measure.

Cheers

(Correct user now.)

Click to expand...

yes just like that
only 9.99
not even worth getting the tools out
just buy them
heck a nut and threaded rod will be 10 bucks

What about attaching a chainsaw at each end of the rod? Then start them both up (one in each hand) and you only need to make 1/2 the cuts! They'd all be exactly the same length, with half the work...(patent pending).

Cut a pencil sized or smaller stick for measuring. Hold it in your left hand on top of the handgrip while cutting. If you work from left to right down a log, you can rest the tip of the bar on the log while measuring, taking some of the weight of the saw off your right arm. If your get into a prolonged limbing session or go cut another tree down, put the stick in your back pocket.