Cutting split wood to size

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Komatsu350

Komatsu350

New Member
Dec 27, 2015
29
Okeana, OH
Trying to do the right thing I started splitting wood last winter and the winter before anticipating my 2016 wood stove purchase. I have about 15 cords split. I recently bought a buck model 74 which looks to be a solid stove and a proper fit for my application. However, when I was cutting and splitting my wood I was doing so to 18". The 74 fire box is 16"ns and 22"ew. I really want to burn north south so i need to trim at least some of my wood down about 3 or 4 inches. Anyone have a good jig or idea on how this could be done efficiently as I bring the wood to the house this winter????
 
Yes, cutting down a lot of wood is a pita. I've had to do it with wood I bought from the boy scouts one year to help out a local troop. About 25% of the wood was too long. We used 2 chop saws to trim it down to <18".
 
I'm about 1/3 thru cutting down 20 cords from 20" to 17". I built a rack that holds about 1/8 cord, which I load and then take one pass with a big bar on my 85cc saw. Makes the job about as painless as one can hope, but does generate mountains of saw chips and stubs.


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Here's an early prototype of the rig, photo'd last October.
9cb32df551b988ee92e11bcc1df4c55f.jpg


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Komatsu350 said:
yea thats what I have in mind. Have you made any substantial changes from your prototype?
Click to expand...
Only major change was dual front rails, capturing the bar from both sides, such that the saw can't wander off the cut.
 
Depending how big your splits are, a miter saw works pretty well. You'd be cutting one at a time, but each one only takes a couple seconds.

Setting up a simple stop to butt the wood against also helps a bit with speed and consistency.

Do you expect to need to burn N-S to get heat output? Burning E-W for a while seems a lot easier than resawing if you can avoid it.
 
I could understand if the splits had no chance of fitting in the stove. But, you are talking about trimming 15 cords for the preference of burning N-S vs. E-W. I go both ways :):p) depending on the size of the splits, or chunks, I'm dealing with but can't say that either way is better than the other. Why the burning need to go N-S?
 
I find a combination of stacking works well, too, so if you're really set on cutting some only do about a third and keep the rest full length. That way you can load NS for a row and EW on top of that, or vice-versa. Cutting that much to size will take a long time and leave you with a lot of awkward length pieces to store somehow.
 
Last edited:
i don't think i have 2 pieces of wood that are the same length.
 
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Dobish said:
i don't think i have 2 pieces of wood that are the same length.
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It's hard to fill a stove to full capacity, and maximize your burn times, that way. If your stove fits a 20" split, and you fill it with 16" lengths, it's only 80% of a full load.

I take about 30 seconds to mark off a log in perfect 17" increments (using a marking stick cut to 17" length) before bucking it. Well worth the few seconds it takes, to get perfect consistent-length splits, for stacking and loading.
 
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Ashful said:
It's hard to fill a stove to full capacity, and maximize your burn times, that way. If your stove fits a 20" split, and you fill it with 16" lengths, it's only 80% of a full load.

I take about 30 seconds to mark off a log in perfect 17" increments (using a marking stick cut to 17" length) before bucking it. Well worth the few seconds it takes, to get perfect consistent-length splits, for stacking and loading.
Click to expand...

Most of the stuff i have scored has been from others, tree services, etc. i have been getting better about being consistent with cutting, but beggars can't be choosers. I had friends and relatives helping out, etc.... once I get a little bit ahead, I will be better off. Also, not really having my wood stacks in a good spot didn't really help.

I also am not worried about maximizing the burns in my stove yet... that time will come.
 
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Why is burning NS better then EW?
I hate stacking wood more then once. Let alone all the work to stack, cut, re stack, are you sure it's 15 full cords!? I don't want to sound condesending, but 1920 cu ft is a lot. And a lot of new people get confused between all the ridiculous designation. IE: Rick, stove cord, half cord.
What do you plan to do with all those 2" pieces?


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There are some stoves where N/S is not possible unless the splits are quite short. This is because the firebox is wide and not too deep. The disadvantages are that the logs can roll into the glass and the stove can not be loaded as full because of this. E/W burns can also be slower starters because the air is directed at the center base of the logs. With N/S loading the air is fed to the many ends of the splits and alongside of the individual pieces.

Does this mean that E/W are not as good, no. Some folks want a wider stove for a bigger view that protrudes less into the room. The Lopi Liberty is an example that comes to mind.
 
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I find few things as frustrating as finding that my helpers have cut me a batch of exact 14" blocks but the last block from each log is 5-9".
 
Lots of work, same BTUs. Smaller splits don't stack as securely, more wood to carry in. Bottom line, for me: lots of work, no benefit.
 
Pat32rf said:
I find few things as frustrating as finding that my helpers have cut me a batch of exact 14" blocks but the last block from each log is 5-9".
Click to expand...

One 9 inch and one 5 inch should fill the space above and below 14 inch pieces quite nicely. Same inside the stove.


However, assuming reviews of this stove verify N/S loading as a preferred method for overnite burns a stash of "the right size" for at least the coldest nights would be nice to have, if for no other reason than to prove it makes a difference with your particular setup. Influencing your future cutting length as well.

Anyone around you with the opposite dilemma you could trade a half a cord with ?
 
I have been getting wood from tree services this past year and ended up with a lot of pieces longer than the 16" my stove will take. I had a whole pile of "too long" wood and was looking for a way to make it easier to get them all cut. I looked into a buzz saw, but they can be pretty dangerous and don't have a tractor to power one. So I built something like the video below shows.



I already have a chainsaw and some scrap metal. All I needed was a spring and some small cable to work the throttle. Seems to work really slick. And will be nice when cutting up a pile of tree branches this fall too.


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Ashful said:
It's hard to fill a stove to full capacity, and maximize your burn times, that way. If your stove fits a 20" split, and you fill it with 16" lengths, it's only 80% of a full load.

I take about 30 seconds to mark off a log in perfect 17" increments (using a marking stick cut to 17" length) before bucking it. Well worth the few seconds it takes, to get perfect consistent-length splits, for stacking and loading.
Click to expand...
I get that...so every 4 loads you will have to do an extra load...which takes 3 mins at most.

If you are burning with a stove that needs to be at 100% capacity for every load to heat the home....you have the wrong stove.
 
sportbikerider78 said:
I get that...so every 4 loads you will have to do an extra load...which takes 3 mins at most.

If you are burning with a stove that needs to be at 100% capacity for every load to heat the home....you have the wrong stove.
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lol... you haven't seen my home, nor will any wood stove (or collection of less than five stoves) heat it. I don't run my stoves (yes, plural) at 100% capacity, I set them to run on a schedule that suits me (thank you Blaze King), but I do ensure every load is stuffed to the gills. This is my best defense against the high costs of heating this cavern.

If you can fetch the wood, load the stove, and get it dialed down and cruising in less than 3 minutes, you're far faster than me. I probably spend 3 minutes just grabbing my satchel and going out to the porch to fetch a load of wood off the rack. But that's not the point: like most, my work and sleep schedule allows for just two or three loads per day. Not a fourth.
 
Here is a pic of the saw buck I built, works well for cutting branches or splits that are too long.
Make sure you use PT limber, ( the first one I build rotted and fell apart)

My stove has a small firebox ( 18"x12") seems like it will hold more wood NS than EW.
If I have a split that is longer than 18" I cut it in half and burn NS.
DSCF0038 (Medium).JPG
 
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