Trouble finding a N/S loading stove....

[MontanaSam]

I figure I have about 2 cords of completely dry larch, just split up today and stacked...very pitchy, tight grained wood from the butt of a massive 4'+ grandaddy seed tree, we call it sinker stock around here. Another 1/2 cord of doug fir, and a 20' long, 5' high stack of spruce and pine rounds unsplit and drying in a breezy field.

I'm also having a lot of trouble getting consistent lengths when bucking, I marked 16" on my bar, but when splitting today noticed rounds varying from 14" to almost 20"...any advice on getting consistent round lengths when bucking up blowdown???

 

[begreen]

That's a good question for the wood shed forum here.

 

[tarzan]

You may need to measure and mark. Not trying to be a smart a$$ but using the saw bar should get you very close. If you are having trouble, try making a vertical cut or slit from the fresh face up to the 16" mark on the bar. After a few cuts you will be able to eyeball it. Even then, use the saw bar as a guide from time to time.

 

[Oldman47]

There are lots of ways to get consistent lengths but they all involve a measuring device I actually measure the length I want on a scrap stick then walk the length of a log with that stick and a carpenter's crayon in hand. In about a minute the whole log is marked and I am ready to start cutting. Lots of designs are made for rods that attach to the bar one way or another so you can just sit the marker bar at the end of a log and the saw is lined up for the next cut. A tape measure works fine but who wants to carry one around and stop to measure each cut? If you cut logs on any kind of a support frame work you can have cutting locations designed right into your support structure.

 

[Seanm]

I'm also having a lot of trouble getting consistent lengths when bucking, I marked 16" on my bar, but when splitting today noticed rounds varying from 14" to almost 20"...any advice on getting consistent round lengths when bucking up blowdown???

I actually cut my larch, pine, fir and birch to 18 inches with the help of a cut stick and some chalk. Nothing is more annoying than having a round that measures 19 3/4 inches (doesnt fit by the way)! If my stick is off by half an inch Im ok with it. Begreen had a good idea this afternoon by mentioning how to use your different types of wood but I would add that your spruce and pine is perfect for late afternoon fires before your night time burn or during the days that you are at the house even in the middle of winter. Nothing will get your house hot like a load of pine. (This is where I say its easy to get that stove top hot so buy yourself an ir thermometer and be careful.)For me when I reload the stove at 9 am I load it with lodgepole pine or fir and that works for us until late afternoon where I do a 3/4 load of pine which takes me to my evening load filled to the gills with larch. If Im gone all day then larch is in order.

 

[Seanm]

Oh yeah nice choice of stove by the way!