Safest way to cross-cutt split wood for chunks?

bbqgeekess said:

Wonderful, sounds like a very nice trip! :smile:

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And a great wife... :-D

bbqgeekess said:

Yeah, the Academy Sports bagged pecan chunks is on the right. Always has useless little pieces of kindling I end up having to use for grilling. I love the wood on the left, for 1/10th the cost! Wood is so much fresher as well. I will never buy bagged chunks of wood again. (No wonder some of the bagged wood chunks I buy burn up so fast without producing much smoke flavor--old wood.)

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Most wood that is in the big box stores is kiln dried to the point where there is little to no moisture left in the wood, which is why it burns up fast.

I am lucky I have a local supplier for wood that has really good pricing. It also helps he cuts me some breaks since I have been going to him for a couple years now when he was a part time operation.

The real thing always looks better.

bbqgeekess said:

Do you put your hand within 4 inches of that blade for the final chunk? That's really risky no? I only ever used the clamp on the miter saw and cut dimensional lumber with it (mostly 2x4's). My hand is never near that huge mean looking blade.

I rather use a vice and sawzall or that aligator thingy. That way my hands aren't anywhere near it.

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If the piece of wood isn't too small to rest up against the fence on either side of the blade I'm comfortable holding it with one hand closer than 4" from the blade - but it has got to fit pretty tight before I pull down that blade (no rocking or movement). If the final cut doesn't hit the fence on both sides well, I'm not taking any chances. Chances are if I'm to that point anyway the wood chunk is probably going to work in my Weber kettle. I have a bigger problem de-barking my wood but that's another thread :becky:

when I get down to that piece that is too small to hold in the vice I just take it and split it into little pieces with my axe.

problem solved.

bbqgeekess said:

Thanks for all the replies! *smile*. From what everyone told me, it seems like a vice/sawzall or that B&D aligator thing seems safest. Can the sawzall be dangerous if it binds?

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Heavy gloves are always recommended. Use two hands, pressing the blade guard into the wood. This stabilizes the saw, reducing the chance of the blade twisting. If you use a pruning blade, you should not have much of a binding problem. A blade with as few teeth as possible would be the next choice. Binding is more likely to happen when you are using a fine tooth blade.

Mo-Dave said:

It seems to me the blade on a table saw is running toward you, forcing the wood against the fence yet if it bucked it should cause the wood to move away and not toward you,

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You couldn't be more wrong
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tablesaw kickback&sm=3

bbqgeekess said:

Thanks for all the replies! *smile*. From what everyone told me, it seems like a vice/sawzall or that B&D aligator thing seems safest. Can the sawzall be dangerous if it binds?

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Imo sawzall is the safest power saw. The first 2 powered saws dad let me use as a kid was the sawzall and jig saw. I wouldn't recommend 10 year old boys use power tools but it was normal for me. Pretty safe, the blade stops fast and there's little risk of kickback. I'm surgical with that bad boy.

luke duke said:

You couldn't be more wrong
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tablesaw kickback&sm=3

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Not saying it wont or cant happen, especially if you are trying to make it happen as all the videos I just watched were doing. My table saw is set up a bit different. first I have a wide panel, about 12 inches wide and about 15 inches long that the wood sits on when using my fence guide, the guide its self is about 12 inches long and 4 inches high. I set it up so the fence is say a 1/4 inch from the blade. The tips of this fence are made of plastic and cut easily if you were to miss judge distance of the blade to the end of the fence. The logs in this case sit up tight against the fence and does not waver left or right since it travels on the sliding guide under the wood, not the table top its self, at the same time it is backed up by the fence guide behind the wood. Unless I wiggle the log on purpose as they did in the vidio I guess it could cause it to happen. I set it up and make a pass without the wood going into the blade making sure it will ride without catching its self while gliding through the path of the blade, if it rocks or wobbles, I re-position it until it travels without any problems. I feel this has been a much safer way to cut logs than my cut off saw which as I have said I have been hurt on more than once until I gave it up. I hope I have given you a better understanding of how my table saw operates, I may have confused more than I have enplaned. I know I have not seen any other table saws like this one so in that respect I may be lucky. Also in this case I do not us the table top fence on the right side, making sure it is well away from everything.
Dave

First chance to look through this post...

I have tried cutting on the bandsaw before. If a split will not sit flat and stable on the table, there is a good chance the blade can grab the wood and try to spin it. BTDT, hurts and ruined a good $15 blade...

I remember seeing a homemade jig for a chainsaw, of course can't find it now, but a quick search on YouTube gave me some more thorough solutions. This one could be easily made on a wooden X-sawhorse.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvw8HHniz6w"]Homemade firewood saw - YouTube[/ame]
This one even includes free plans...

Basically something to secure the chainsaw and pivot into the cut, and a fence to hold the wood back during the cut.

Safest is a bandsaw; because you have both hands on the wood.

Most efficient is a chop saw.

I use different tools as well, including a table saw, radial arm saw and reciprocating/sawsall.

I'm kinda sick at my stomach right now. There are no local wood sources like that here in the desert Southwest.

I did notice the wood I cut here on the farm lasts longer than what I buy. I thought it was just me maybe not having it seasoned enough. Maybe not.

Yup. I am Adam. Lol

I cut it last fall and a put some chunks beside my coal stove to help dry them. I keep them there for 1 month. As I use them I add more.

I have hickory, apple, maple, cherry and oak that I cut on the farm.