Best Way to Cut Loose Limbs to Size???

[BurnIt13]

I've cut down a number of trees in my back yard and I now have a huge pile of limbs. These limbs average about 10' long and range from 3-6" in diameter. Cutting them to 16" lengths has proven difficult because the saw just wants to spin the limb.

What is a good, safe way to do this by yourself?

 

[Jags]

You need yourself a sawbuck. There are many examples on this site if you use the search feature. Some pretty neat ideas, too.

 

[Got Wood]

How about one of these

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-LP1000-Alligator-Electric/dp/B000BANMUY/ref=pd_sim_ol_1

I got it as a gift a couple years back. Being electric it cuts back on the amount of times I can use it but I have had a few occasions in the yard where I had a good amount of limbing to do and this works very well for that purpose. I think they may have a battery unit as well but I dont have experience with it.

 

[Wood Duck]

You could try roping or bungee cording a bunch of them together so they don't move as easily. Placing the bungee-corded bundle on a sawbuck, or even bungee-cording the whole thing to the sawbuck would be very helpful. The easiest way of all is to cut them while they are still attached to the tree. When I cut a tree I am always eager to cut all the limbs off the way lumberjacks do, but I am not making saw logs, I am making firewood. I try to cut all the branches to length while they are still attached to the trunk to avoid the situation you are in.

 

[WES999]

Here are 2 ideas, the sawbuck is simple to make and works quite well, you can put a bunch of branches in it and run the chainsaw down through all.

The chainsaw buddy http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=CB41 also works well.
I have it mounted on a small cheap electric chainsaw. It holds smaller branches so you can easily and safely cut them.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

I have posted this a few times and you cannot beat it for cutting a bunch of limbs at a time. I call it an H style sawbuck.

 

[Gary_602z]

Step on the limb to keep it from spinning. If it is flat on the ground you can toss a chunk of wood under it to keep it up off the ground.

Gary

 

[ScotO]

Step on the limb to keep it from spinning. If it is flat on the ground you can toss a chunk of wood under it to keep it up off the ground.

Gary

BINGO! beat me to it ;-P That's what we do, and I use everything off of a tree from 2" and up! the easiest way I have found is to cut the limbs into billets BEFORE cutting them off of the trunk. When we drop a tree, after it hits the ground we work from the top down. Saves a lot of bending over, and then we clean up all the little rounds before chunking up the trunks. but if the limbs are already on the ground, I use a small round, roll it under the limb I am cutting as I go along. You could also be adventurous and use a bow bar for your saw, that makes bucking blowdowns and limbs a breeze, and it never pinches if you use it right.

 

[bogydave]

+1 with Scott, work from the top down
When I save limbs when cutting near home, I do it as I'm liming the tree.
I let the tree hold onto them.
Liming I use the little 14" saw, easy to handle & light weight.
A bit longer for the smaller diameter back yard cook-out fires & the bigger diameter (3" + ) to wood stove length.
My helpers like having small pieces they can handle & pick up . Then they get to ride in the wheelbarrow or trailer

 

[Backwoods Savage]

As for cutting top down or butt up, that should be determined by how the tree lays. Sometimes I cut the top first but many times I'll also cut the butt first. Just depends on how it lays.

For cutting those limbs, a sawbuck is the fastest and easiest way and it is cheap and easy to put one together.

 

[clemsonfor]

I usually cut stuff that is 8" and down in say 4-8ft lengths and then take it home. I lay 3 longs on the ground parallel with each other about a firewood length apart, then lay/stack all the limbs on top of each other in a pyramid and just use my foot and cut the whole pile in to fire wood length, same ideas as a sawbuck just cant do as many at once.