Bar attachment for wood length, Will it work?

[bogydave]

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?

 

[smokinj]

I would not want parts flying at me, but I am ok with guessing the length as well. Man I hope you have a face shield just in case.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It looks a little dangerous to me. How about using your bar to get an idea of length?

Matt

 

[LLigetfa]

The way I buck, that would never work for me. I use the end of my bar a lot.

 

[DavidV]

Death wish.

 

[DavidV]

Damned nice workbench, though.

 

[bogydave]

I just got back in from the test run. WOW I was impressed.
I thought I'd be fighting it & it would get in the way allot, but only a few times.
I was able to used 3" of the tip to back cut the bottoms when I rolled the log.
I bet I'm within 1/2" on every round.
The only thing I couldn't do was stick the bar under the log to cut from the bottom up.
It never came loose either.
& I just found out it mounts to the little saw so I could use it to mark then big saw to cut.
The end ear/tab is thin & fits into the kerf, so that was nice.
I'm going to use it allot now that I test drove it & it worked fine.

 

[bogydave]

one more picture.
Cut all this up on the ground & I bet within 1/2".
Never took it off. Cut the bigger 11" log no problem.

 

[mayhem]

Do a thorough patent search. I remember we had one on our old Stihl when I was a kid too young to use the saw. We had to buck wood to two different lengths for the kitchen and living room stoves so we got a clamp on measuring stick. Don't remember where it was from, but I think it bolted to the powerhead instead of the bar.

 

[bogydave]

Don't think it's worth a patent, if you can operate a chain saw,
you can probably screw a stud into the end of a stick ( x'' ) long & put on a wing nut & washers.
A piece of a broken fishing pole may even work better. just glue in the threaded stud.

 

[bogydave]

" Death wish" " Damned nice workbench, though" .

No death or injury wish here.
I cut bigger stuff than the 3/4" thick stick so I don't know what about it is so dangerous?
May be hard to believe, but it does work well for getting consistently the same lengths & was not
a hazard. I was skeptical & real careful at first, but after a while I was cutting like normal but gettiing
all 17-3/4' rounds (no more guessing).
I was even able able to still use the tip (3'' of it).
Comes off easy when not cutting rounds.
Wouldn't have it on when felling, working in the brush, topping or de-branching.
Next one will be a 18" piece of a broke fishing pole. (new improved version)


Picture of bench
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/47351/

 

[bogydave]

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.

 

[twitch]

I've seen something like this before, but haven't used one. I usually use my bar as a guestimate. I found another option from northern tools, a little different than yours.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200320749_200320749

 

[Kong]

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.

 

[smokinj]

I think it would be quicker and safer just to use a tape measure and a can of spray paint then you don't have that thing on your saw imo

 

[Danno77]

I like it. I'll be making something similar. Probably just a dowel and attached with a wing nut. I'll probably attach it and then just tag the log(s) with little saw marks at the appropriate intervals and then remove it to cut. for smaller logs I'll leave it on there.

 

[firefighterjake]

I've never been one to obsess too much about length . . . I figure as long as it's smaller than my woodstove's firebox it's good . . . generally I just eye ball the wood or use the bar's length to get an idea . . . occasionally this means I end up with a piece a bit too long, but I can zing this off to size when I'm stacking the wood in the shed or if worse comes to worse zing it down before loading it into the woodbox.

 

[billb3]

I tried a dowel like that years ago.(my lenghts cut by eye would keep getting longer and diameters would throw my judgement off, too). It didn't work out in the woods for me. I kept snapping it offf.
In the yard bucking up log lengths that would probably fare better.
I learned to err short. The few long pieces I give away.
Anyone who notices the variations in my lengths is more than welcome to come cut for me. I'll watch and stand there with a tape rule.
Not taking pictures of my perfect stacks, either.

 

[gpcollen1]

I guess I still don't get it. Can't you just measure your bar so you have a reference point for the length to cut? Al this stuff with marking the wood and now this thing puzzle me...

 

[timberr]

Man talk about hindering yourself, plenty of time I that I need to bore in with the tip to finish a cut. I remeber seeing a saw once that had a fiber glass rod connected to the back handle. Personally I use a small dowel I can hold in my left hand, lay it on the log then cut. After several cuts my eye is calibrated and I just go, I shot for 16" +/- 1 inch and rearly have a problem.

Good luck and be careful with that contraption

 

[LLigetfa]

I remeber seeing a saw once that had a fiber glass rod connected to the back handle.

AFAIK, that was used to measure out your cord length. The saw and rod together would be 4 feet.

Someone posted a pic of measuring guide that was attached to the bottom front of the handle and stuck out on left side pretty much out of the way for most saw operations. I could see something like that working OK.

 

[Gooserider]

I believe I've seen similar commercial products, and I know I've seen people doing things like fastening a length of scrap tape measure to the front handle of their saw. My friend has one of his old saws set up with a chunk of all-thread doing the same thing, and a really clapped out chain - He just uses it for marking, then switches to one of his other saws to do the cutting...

I use my bar to measure with, and that works to get me to within plus minus an inch or so - plenty close enough for my needs.

Gooserider

 

[bogydave]

I guess I'm not going to make a million$ with the "firewood length jig" for chain saws. (Wood or Graphite model)
I'll use it & have better results getting consistent round lengths.
Any one who wants consistent lengths & has trouble cutting by eye, I think it's worth a try. & cheap/easy to make
Once the tree is de-limbed & on the ground, put it on, easy & fast to mark lengths with the tool
& most of my logs are under 12" diameter so I can leave it on for most of the time cutting rounds.
Not a revolutionary mouse trap, but it works good for what I'm trying to accomplish,
consistent length fire wood .
Mine, by eye, were not close enough for me, now they are. That's what I sent out to accomplish anyway.
So it is a success.

Thought I was going to be rich, Dang!
(Lawyers would have had a field day with it anyway, then I'd be totally broke)

 

['bert]

how about using one of those rare earth magnets to attach it to the bar, then it would be super easy to remove or put on. I know I would lose the wing nut in the grass, but you can bet that all 3 blades on my riding mower would find it just after they been sharpened.

 

[bogydave]

how about using one of those rare earth magnets to attach it to the bar, then it would be super easy to remove or put on. I know I would lose the wing nut in the grass, but you can bet that all 3 blades on my riding mower would find it just after they been sharpened.

Thought of that, but didn't have one & was in the prototype mode. I think it would work, if you had a stud sticking out to fit in the 1/4" hole in the bar.
I don't know if it would effect the chain or cause wear on the bar near the strong magnet??
Don't know what the hole is for other than a “firewood length jig”, but most bars have the hole.
Maybe I should paint the wing nut flo-orange.

Could use a nail magnet to find the wing nut before you mow though. LOL