Sawhorse thought

[Prof]

I mostly don't use a sawhorse, but I noticed this one https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200673744_200673744

For about 1/2 second, I thought that it would be a good idea to have a metal sawhorse. Then, of course, I thought of what happens to a chain when you hit the smallest piece of metal embedded in a tree. Maybe it is just me, but if I used this thing I'd probably be throwing a fair number of chains away!

I'm curious what others think?

 

[Alpine1]

http://www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/smart-holder-log-holder-and-saw-horse
Or something similar is what I’m going to buy. Safer for your chains I think.

 

[Prof]

http://www.thegreenreaper.co.uk/smart-holder-log-holder-and-saw-horse
Or something similar is what I’m going to buy. Safer for your chains I think.

Yeah, this looks more reasonable. I'm pretty careful when I cut, but having a bunch of steel under my saw with each cut has a somewhat predictable outcome.

 

[ZZ Tom]

When I first started processing my own firewood I would take nearly every stick of wood somebody offered. I found the smaller diameter pieces had a tendency to spin and jump around and were a real pain to work with. My research led me to sawhorses. I built one similar to the first link out of pressure treated 2x4s. Works very well and has countless hits from the chain.

The more firewood I processed the more I realized the efficiency was in the big pieces, the trunk and larger branches. But...how the hell do you get them up on a sawhorse? You don't!! Cut the trunk on the ground, leave the sticks for somebody else or mulch them.

Bottom line...I haven't used my sawhorse in years and would have burned it a long time ago but it's pressure treated so I keep it to remind me to work smarter not harder.

 

[Alpine1]

I agree with you ZZ Tom but I seldom have the opportunity to fell big trees. Most of the trees I cut are less than 18” in diameter, so I find it practical to cut them 4’ long and fill my pickup. Once at home I cut to length and it’s a pleasure to not bend my back once more. My back is the only reason for that sawhorse, only 10 years ago I would have laughed at it. It’s the advantage of getting older I suppose.

 

[SeanBB]

I mostly don't use a sawhorse, but I noticed this one https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200673744_200673744

For about 1/2 second, I thought that it would be a good idea to have a metal sawhorse. Then, of course, I thought of what happens to a chain when you hit the smallest piece of metal embedded in a tree. Maybe it is just me, but if I used this thing I'd probably be throwing a fair number of chains away!

I'm curious what others think?

I have a sawhorse very similar to that and I place a length of 3" x 3" timber in the 'V' part. Then the log I want to cut sits on top of that. It means that when I have cut through the log the 3 x 3 stops the saw from following through. The timber is semi-sacrificial and needs replacing from time to time.

 

[ben94122]

I use a sawbuck--lots of photos and videos on the internet, but what I do is take a 2 foot diameter log and screw some scrap lumber to it so the scrap lumber makes a v shape, with the log just below the bottom of the v. Do this in 3 or 4 places, pile the branches on it, and saw the whole pile to length. When you overcut, you just hit the log.

 

[walhondingnashua]

All kinds of dead white ash around here. Along with making good firewood, I have made a few things from it. This saw buck only took me about 30 minutes to make. Just used some timber screws left from building my deck. If I can handle the log in an 8' chunk or more, I leave it long and cut them up on the buck (as you can see from the pile waiting to be bucked). Anything I can't handle at that length, I buck where I find it.

 

[bfitz3]

I try to avoid lifting logs unnecessarily, so a sawbuck is not something I bother with. I cut 3/4 of the way through logs along the entire length while they are on the ground. A quick 180 degree roll to finish the cuts. The rounds are then kick-rolled out of the way to await splitting.

Yeah, I have to bend over for the initial cut, but i’m Not lifting the log or the rounds, so I think it’s easier on the back at the end of the day.

I’d say give a few methods a shot and see what works best.

 

[Prof]

I try to avoid lifting logs unnecessarily, so a sawbuck is not something I bother with. I cut 3/4 of the way through logs along the entire length while they are on the ground. A quick 180 degree roll to finish the cuts. The rounds are then kick-rolled out of the way to await splitting.

Yeah, I have to bend over for the initial cut, but i’m Not lifting the log or the rounds, so I think it’s easier on the back at the end of the day.

I’d say give a few methods a shot and see what works best.

I mostly do things as you described. I was more interested if people had experience with metal sawhorses--just seems like a chain wrecker to me. I'm all about saving my back. I also find a cant hook to be a useful tool for the rolling. I don't always use one, but often wish I had remembered it.

 

[xman23]

I don't use a sawbuck, and agree with all the reasons everyone said. For me it's all about reducing how many lifts / moves of the wood I need to make. Most of my wood comes from bucking up full trees. The key to cutting small diameter limbs, is to have the tree hold everything for you. I start cutting branches, from the end to there attachment to the trunk. If I can, I like to use a timber jack to lift the trunk off the ground. By the time i'm done there a pile of rounds on the ground that makes a nice cutting platform to cut up anything that's left.

 

[weatherguy]

I bought the sawhorse in the original post, was kind of wobbly and not well built. I screwed pressure treated 1 x 1s to each l piece and its strong as a bull now. I've never had my saw hit the metal, pretty easy to avoid cutting where the metal is.