Firewood Chop Saw

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wireedm

wireedm

Member
Mar 3, 2008
31
Hendersonville, NC
www.wirtzwireedm.com
A couple of weeks ago I installed a BK Princess insert into our fireplace (which has far exceeded our expectations). That created a small problem.........the insert, ideally, needs 16" long splits. The length I've been cutting to over the years has been 18-22". After having culled through my stack to get the few short pieces that would fit I needed to figure out a rapid way to get them shorter before the cold snap came through recently.

Here's what I whipped up real quick. Seems to work pretty well.

20140104_152205.jpg 20140104_152347.jpg
 
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MrWhoopee said:
Nice, I approve! Good looking beads there. I also like the pivot design. I always appreciate simple, well-made solutions. How's the balance?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words......Once I moved the pivot back to the rear bar screw stud it was balanced very nice. The saw is sitting balanced in the picture.
 
Nice. I had the same problem. I just eyeballed and started cutting using the woodpile as my bench - probably not the recommended way. All those short pieces make for a lot of nice kindling wood.

Does it put much pressure on the stud? Wouldn't want to break it off.
 
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Good idea! Fortunately my "problem" is reversed. All my wood I cut this year is 20-22" whereas the old stove everything was cut > 18"
 
D8Chumley said:
Good idea! Fortunately my "problem" is reversed. All my wood I cut this year is 20-22" whereas the old stove everything was cut > 18"
Click to expand...
Maybe you could engineer a glue and dowling fixture, to add small extension pieces to each of your short splits. :p
 
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Since I've only worked 1 day since Christmas I've been burning some of my uglies and a lot of shorties I dug out. I'm able to keep the stove room around 75* and the back of the house ~ 65ish. At least some good has come of me being off, not burning any oil when the fire dies out during the day :)
 
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lindnova said:
Nice. I had the same problem. I just eyeballed and started cutting using the woodpile as my bench - probably not the recommended way. All those short pieces make for a lot of nice kindling wood.

Does it put much pressure on the stud? Wouldn't want to break it off.
Click to expand...

That was a concern at first, but I found that the saw has enough power (394xp) that I really put very little pressure on the split when going through it since the cross-sections are so small. I was prepared to make a little bracket that attached to both studs if it seemed to be a problem but I think it will be okay.

I used 3/4" hex bar (4140PH) to mount to the stud, so there's a good bit of surface area surrounding and supporting it to help keep it from snapping off.

I really don't want to have to EDM a broken stud out of the bar mount. lol
 
I like to place a nut over a broken bolt/stud, then wire weld thru the hole to attach the nut, let cool and back it out. The heating and cooling will frequently free a frozen stud. Much faster, and if it fails you can always EDM.
 
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Neat and simple build. I like it. I once saw a different (more difficult) design where a guard was made for the nose sprocket and a grip handle attached with a squeeze throttle in the handle. Work just like a chop saw. That was pretty cool too, but I like the simplistic style of your build.
 
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MrWhoopee said:
I like to place a nut over a broken bolt/stud, then wire weld thru the hole to attach the nut, let cool and back it out. The heating and cooling will frequently free a frozen stud. Much faster, and if it fails you can always EDM.
Click to expand...

On larger broken bolts we use a left-handed drill. Once it breaks loose it just spins right out with the drill.
Just never, ever use an easy-out. We are removing them for folks all the time and at that point it's very difficult to know where the center of the hole is from a pin punch beating up the top of the hole. Ugh!
 
did u weld that holder just for this? or did you already have it?
 
shoot-straight said:
i have used an actual electric chop saw with great results.
Click to expand...


i have too, but something inside me was very apprehensive about it. The piece not being even on either sides is not predictable. I only do it for scrap lumber now.
 
mass_burner said:
did u weld that holder just for this? or did you already have it?
Click to expand...

Everything about the fixture was just for this. The material was convenient and wasn't being used for a particular job. I just sawed it to the lengths I needed, deburred, and welded. No precision, just quick to try and beat the arctic air that was coming.
 
wireedm said:
Everything about the fixture was just for this. The material was convenient and wasn't being used for a particular job. I just sawed it to the lengths I needed, deburred, and welded. No precision, just quick to try and beat the arctic air that was coming.
Click to expand...


i'm wondering why a wood holder (2x6) wouldn't have been preferable, it case the saw hit it for some reason.
 
mass_burner said:
i'm wondering why a wood holder (2x6) wouldn't have been preferable, it case the saw hit it for some reason.
Click to expand...

I'm sure the 2X6 would have made a good holder, I just didn't have one around. I whipped the base and uprights together quicker than I could have gone to the store and purchased the wood.

I'm sure I could have figured a way to make the saw mount very rigid to the wood base though.

The nice thing about using wood is that it would have been easy to adjust if I was off a bit. Welds.....not so much. lol
 
mass_burner said:
i have too, but something inside me was very apprehensive about it. The piece not being even on either sides is not predictable. I only do it for scrap lumber now.
Click to expand...

yeah it was a little hairy especially with strong, stringy woods like oak. key was to take your time. i do think its alot safer than the chainsaw.
 
wireedm said:
On larger broken bolts we use a left-handed drill. Once it breaks loose it just spins right out with the drill.
Just never, ever use an easy-out. We are removing them for folks all the time and at that point it's very difficult to know where the center of the hole is from a pin punch beating up the top of the hole. Ugh!
Click to expand...
Back when I had my shop, we kept a selection of LH drills just for that purpose. Easy-outs should be illegal, or at least more expensive than a shop charge (which you're going to pay anyway). It's always more expensive to remove after you've broken the easy-out.
 
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MrWhoopee said:
Back when I had my shop, we kept a selection of LH drills just for that purpose. Easy-outs should be illegal, or at least more expensive than a shop charge (which you're going to pay anyway). It's always more expensive to remove after you've broken the easy-out.
Click to expand...
I've searched far and wide for a set of left hand bits, but have only found a few sources, at a very high cost per bit. Any recommendation on where individual bits or a set could be bought at prices similar to standard RH bits?
 
Joful said:
I've searched far and wide for a set of left hand bits, but have only found a few sources, at a very high cost per bit. Any recommendation on where individual bits or a set could be bought at prices similar to standard RH bits?
Click to expand...

Maybe Australia?rotflmao.gif

Try MSC
http://www.mscdirect.com/FlyerView?contentPath=/sales-catalogs/big-book
page 35
LH drills are never cheap, limited demand.

Edit:
I stand corrected:
http://www.harborfreight.com/13-piece-left-hand-drill-bit-set-95146.html
 
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wireedm said:
Here is another source I use often.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#left-hand-drill-bits/=q7h0h5
Click to expand...
When I was doing a lot of purchasing, McMaster's big yellow book was my bible. I kept one by the crapper just to keep up on all that was there. I routinely received calls from friends in the business asking "Do you know where I can get ......?" My first response was always "Have you tried McMaster-Carr?" It's easier now with the Internet, but McMaster is still the go-to for all things industrial. Small minimums, reasonable prices, high quality and FAST shipping.
 
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