Yellowhair42
is one Smokin' Farker
The safest way is to have someone who knows what they're doing to do it.
Safest way to cross-cutt split wood for chunks?
- Thread starter bbqgeekess
- Start date
charrederhead
Babbling Farker
Sawzall w/ an aggressive 9" wood blade.
All power tools are dangerous and must be respected and handled properly. :-D
All power tools are dangerous and must be respected and handled properly. :-D
c farmer
Babbling Farker
You calling me crazy? :idea:
Pappy
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I use a table saw.
Shagdog
Quintessential Chatty Farker
A chop saw works fine. You just need to be careful. If you try to push the wood securely into both the fence and table at the same time, the wood will bind and you run the risk of kick back. I prefer using the table instead of the fence, but either will work. Pick one surface and put the flattest side to it. Hold it against that as you cut, you'll be fine.
1buckie
Babbling Farker
I use a table saw.....carefully.....
I usually get 1/4 round for oak, then slowly run them thru the length, 5 or 6 cuts across one flat face.....then break those off with a maul & sledge, produces a split about baseball bat thick, 18 ~24" long.....
Then zipped thru the table saw taking off about 3" at a time, standing to the SIDE of the saw & letting it roll thru easy (most accidents are when things try to get pushed along) down to where there's maybe 6" left, then those get used like that or split by hand........
Sounds complicated, but goes real quick......apple box full of hardball size in 1/2 hour......
Chainsaw for the branches / logs cut from the plum & pecan in the yard, set in a "V" trough type holder, or just on the ground, if they're heavy enough to stay put while cutting............
I usually get 1/4 round for oak, then slowly run them thru the length, 5 or 6 cuts across one flat face.....then break those off with a maul & sledge, produces a split about baseball bat thick, 18 ~24" long.....
Then zipped thru the table saw taking off about 3" at a time, standing to the SIDE of the saw & letting it roll thru easy (most accidents are when things try to get pushed along) down to where there's maybe 6" left, then those get used like that or split by hand........
Sounds complicated, but goes real quick......apple box full of hardball size in 1/2 hour......
Chainsaw for the branches / logs cut from the plum & pecan in the yard, set in a "V" trough type holder, or just on the ground, if they're heavy enough to stay put while cutting............
dadsr4
somebody shut me the fark up.
A sawsall with a pruning blade
will work. Use both hands to control it. If you don't feel comfortable holding pieces with your foot, one of these work great and has many other uses.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/8054746?w...77141596&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=50610301476&veh=sem
A hand pruning saw also works great and, with a new house, is good to have.
SoHappy
Full Fledged Farker
How about a Black & Decker Alligator 6" Electric Lopper. You can see one on the Home Depot website.
bbqgeekess
Babbling Farker
Now this looks really safe! I can cut all of the split into chunks. With a miter/chop saw one wouldn't want to get his/her hand that close to the blade.
bbqgeekess
Babbling Farker
Loving Purchasing Pecan Wood in Bulk w/Photo
I started learning BBQ about 10 months ago using a Mini WSM. Since then, up until yesterday, I've always bought wood chunks by the bag at places such as Ace Hardware and Academy Sports.
Most of the time, the chunks are rather small and vary in size by quite a bit--usually end up with a lot of kindling sized pieces (about a 1/3rd of the bag usually).
I got tired of this and sought out on Craigslist some pecan wood in bulk, so I could buy it and chop it up according to my liking.
I found a guy selling 1 rick of pecan wood for $55, or $30 for half of a rick. Started a thread on it and got a lot of help thanks guys! Anyways I picked it up today--all we could fit in the little wagon was 1/2 a rick.
It was quite a drive there--about an hour each way, so it cost around $10 in gas. So that brings the total cost to about $40 for this 1/2 of a rick (4 foot x 4 foot x 1.5 feet deep).
I am going to be able to get some nice chunks out of this wood and look forward to cooking with it.
I did a little bit of math and realized just how much I am saving by going this route instead of buy wood chunks by the bag.
This 1/2 rick I bought is 24 cubic feet in volume. The other day I spent $4.99 at Academy Sports for a bag of pecan wood--1/3rd of a cubic foot per bag; with tax that is around $5.50 a bag. So I'd have to purchase 72 of these bags of pecan wood at Academy to equal the same amount of wood I got in this half a rick. 72 bags times $5.50 a bag is $396 dollars! I got this 1/2 rick for $40 dollars, soooooo the my smoking wood costs have now been cut by 90%!! -- 1/10th the cost!
So this is why I am LOVING this!
Now I just have to buy a small axe to split the wood once more (in most cases) and find a very safe way to cross cut the wood into 3 inch long chunks. I am considering getting the Black & Decker Aligator (thanks for the tip in the other thread!)
Hrmm.. if I only use this wood for wood chunks in a charcoal minion fire, this 1/2 rick should last me years... Hope it is good for that long! Gonna keep it off the ground and out of the rain--along with good airflow.
EDIT: After reading a bit in other threads, it appears that this wood will probably lose a lot of its flavor after 18 months. I suppose at that time I can turn the leftovers into lump. Or to use it up faster maybe when I BBQ with my WSM, I can build a minion charcoal fire with around 50% or more pecan chunks instead of the typical 3 or 4 chunks thrown in just for smoke. Either that or buy an offset or build a cob oven. I think my goal will be to buy and use up 1/2 rick of this pecan each year, having fresh wood each year.
I started learning BBQ about 10 months ago using a Mini WSM. Since then, up until yesterday, I've always bought wood chunks by the bag at places such as Ace Hardware and Academy Sports.
Most of the time, the chunks are rather small and vary in size by quite a bit--usually end up with a lot of kindling sized pieces (about a 1/3rd of the bag usually).
I got tired of this and sought out on Craigslist some pecan wood in bulk, so I could buy it and chop it up according to my liking.
I found a guy selling 1 rick of pecan wood for $55, or $30 for half of a rick. Started a thread on it and got a lot of help thanks guys! Anyways I picked it up today--all we could fit in the little wagon was 1/2 a rick.
It was quite a drive there--about an hour each way, so it cost around $10 in gas. So that brings the total cost to about $40 for this 1/2 of a rick (4 foot x 4 foot x 1.5 feet deep).
I am going to be able to get some nice chunks out of this wood and look forward to cooking with it.
I did a little bit of math and realized just how much I am saving by going this route instead of buy wood chunks by the bag.
This 1/2 rick I bought is 24 cubic feet in volume. The other day I spent $4.99 at Academy Sports for a bag of pecan wood--1/3rd of a cubic foot per bag; with tax that is around $5.50 a bag. So I'd have to purchase 72 of these bags of pecan wood at Academy to equal the same amount of wood I got in this half a rick. 72 bags times $5.50 a bag is $396 dollars! I got this 1/2 rick for $40 dollars, soooooo the my smoking wood costs have now been cut by 90%!! -- 1/10th the cost!
So this is why I am LOVING this!
Now I just have to buy a small axe to split the wood once more (in most cases) and find a very safe way to cross cut the wood into 3 inch long chunks. I am considering getting the Black & Decker Aligator (thanks for the tip in the other thread!)
Hrmm.. if I only use this wood for wood chunks in a charcoal minion fire, this 1/2 rick should last me years... Hope it is good for that long! Gonna keep it off the ground and out of the rain--along with good airflow.
EDIT: After reading a bit in other threads, it appears that this wood will probably lose a lot of its flavor after 18 months. I suppose at that time I can turn the leftovers into lump. Or to use it up faster maybe when I BBQ with my WSM, I can build a minion charcoal fire with around 50% or more pecan chunks instead of the typical 3 or 4 chunks thrown in just for smoke. Either that or buy an offset or build a cob oven. I think my goal will be to buy and use up 1/2 rick of this pecan each year, having fresh wood each year.
Last edited:
sliding_billy
somebody shut me the fark up.
I don't feel so bad about loading wood in my trunk now.
Dweverett
is One Chatty Farker
A chop saw is probably the fastest but a bandsaw would be safer. Not sure how thick the wood is. Sears has a little 10" table top one that periodically goes on sale for $100. I have it and it's turned out to be hugely useful for a lot of things around the house because I can cut small things safely
It can only cut about 3 1/2 or 4 inches in height though. You might need something larger for this
It can only cut about 3 1/2 or 4 inches in height though. You might need something larger for this
MisterChrister
Quintessential Chatty Farker
Nice stash! My kids are mortified when I pull over roadside where down trees are cut up and start filling the trunk like that! We live in a smallish town and they're positively CERTAIN their friends will see! :shock:
CraigC
is one Smokin' Farker
My wife, Karen, just returned from Mississippi with about that same amount. It was from a free source, with more to come. She also brought back 20# of wild caught crawfish from LA.:thumb: Almost forgot the Zapp's potato chips and Abita Amber beer.
ButtBurner
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Get a vice or a B&D workmate, like that has been suggested
Clamp the wood in that, then get a wood blade for the sawsall
that what I do
no need to buy another saw, and the Workmate comes in real handy for other things
Clamp the wood in that, then get a wood blade for the sawsall
that what I do
no need to buy another saw, and the Workmate comes in real handy for other things
ButtBurner
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Brew&Cue
Knows what a fatty is.
CraigC
is one Smokin' Farker
I have a band saw, miter saw and sawzall. Of the three, I prefer the band saw. For splitting, I use a hand axe and hand sledge to drive the axe like a splitting wedge.
Guando
Full Fledged Farker
18 months? My guess is that you will have an off set within 6 months and will be searching for more wood.... Nice score!
seattlepitboss
is one Smokin' Farker
Vertical band saw with a coarse blade with deep gullets. Whip right through, safest saw in the shop.
seattlepitboss
seattlepitboss
