Mingo length marker?

[jeffman3]

Has anyone ever used a product for measuring and marking cuts, called a Mingo. It looks interesting, but I would like to hear some opinions before I spend the money. I am concerned about getting my wood to fit the small box on my soon to be installed Tribute. (small box) My thinking is that I will need to take advantage of every inch of space to get the best and longest burn, but if it won't fit in the stove it does me no good. I'm not that good at judging length while I'm cutting. I think I need something to measure my cuts, but what? any ideas?

 

[Andre B.]

Here is what I did.
Just a length of heavy duty plastic banding, bent double at the saw end and wrapped with a bit of electrical tape (helps to keep things sliding around) and hose clamped to the saw handle.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i208/andre_b/House Stuff/Sawgage1.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i208/andre_b/House Stuff/Sawgage2.jpg
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i208/andre_b/House Stuff/Sawgage3.jpg

 

[jeffman3]

Thank you that is a wonderful idea! I never would have thought of that, and it wouldn't take any time at all to measure a cut! I had thought about putting a paint mark on the bar, but that would ware off pretty quick I think. I will have too check out what it would take to set something like that up on my craftsman saw. This is why I love this site. People are willing to share ideas just to be helpful.

 

[drewmo]

A neighbor of mine will pound in a stake next to his sawbuck approximately the distance away he wants his wood to be cut. Just slide the length to the stake and cut.

 

[Gooserider]

I've always just used the saw as a measuring stick... My bar on the saw has been shorter than my desired cut length (18") so I just marked the saw body with a Sharpie, and used the distance from the bar tip to the mark as my guage. I recently switched to using a 12" bar, which really helped my 36cc Poulan homeowner saw work better, and found that it works out that 18" is almost exactly the distance from the bar tip to the seam between the bar holding plate and the saw body... Since I started that I've found by measuring with a tape that I can consistently get +/- 1/2" or less.

A friend who has several saws, uses one just for marking - it is an OLD saw that is fairly clapped out, and doesnt have the modern safety gear on it, and that has a chain which is to worn for serious use. He put a peice of threaded rod the right length through a hole in the tip of the bar, clamping it with a nut on each side, He fires up the saw and just works down the logs making a shallow cut at each point. I wouldn't BUY a saw to do this, but if you have an old junker... (He has a big collection of saws, including a real, genuine LEFT HANDED saw!)

Gooserider

 

[velvetfoot]

I use a 16" stick.

 

[Reggie Dunlap]

If you mark your bar with a stripe by the time if wears off you be able to cut very accuratly with no measurement at all. I'd aim for two inches shy of your max length to be safe.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I made a bevel gauge from some scrap wood. I have measurements on the bevel arm. I finished it with boiled linseed oil and multiple coats of wax since it will get wet many times in it's life. I can set the gauge at whatever length split I want and do quick markings with dollar store chalk.

Here is a link to a bevel gauge:
http://www.woodzone.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/slim-bevel.jpg

Matt

 

[velvetfoot]

I've dropped a couple of my measuring sticks in the log pile and not found them til I got to the bottom.

 

[Nofossil]

I hate cutting on the ground, and a lot of what we're doing is woodlot improvement, which includes getting rid of invasive buckthorn.

I built a sawhorse divided into 21" sections, with a length indicator 21" off the right end. I have an 84" measuring stick and I buck the trees into 84" sections which I then stack and gang-cut on the sawhorse. I'll throw on longer sections as well. In that case, the 'tails' are placed on the horse again as part of the next batch. The orange 21" measuring stick is for logs that are too large to handle this way.