Cut your own wood ?


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Diamond Member
What do you use to cut your wood? I am using a small hand saw- a real pain in the butt. HD has a rechargeable saw that looked like it would be fine to take to the orchard. A small gas saw seems like overkill-maybe. I have been using small branches. Wrist size and smaller. Any ideas.
 
A battery charged reciprocating saw would probably do well for smaller branches. For the bigger stuff, you really need a chain saw, which if you have it, could also cut your smaller pieces, so you wouldn't need both.

Paul
 
You can buy a decent 16 inch chainsaw for around $120. It will last you a long time for around the house use. I have had one for about 6 years now and never has failed me yet.
 
Steve: HD had an Echo 14" chain saw for about $199. Yes, I know, you can buy bigger for less. The Echo trimming sas is light weight and better ballanced than the larger, cheaper competitors. It is almost a one handed saw. Lets get together this spring, Q some meat and you can try my saw.

For what it is worth, I will load my saw w/ fuel and bar oil and you can go and trim US some wood.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by S Petrone:
What do you use to cut your wood? I am using a small hand saw- a real pain in the butt. HD has a rechargeable saw that looked like it would be fine to take to the orchard. A small gas saw seems like overkill-maybe. I have been using small branches. Wrist size and smaller. Any ideas. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

To S. Petrone
Hey Neighbor! I see you are from Charlotte! I live 30 minutes from the south Charlotte city limits as you go South on Providence/16! Just the other side of the state line in South Carolina! Perhaps we can get together some time in the future! Also, If you'd like to participate in making lump charcoal let me know and I'll fire up the grill!

Anyway, back to subject at hand, I recommend a bow saw. Which is a specility hand saw made for cutting limbs. Inexpensive, light weight, big teeth that cut through small limbs.
 
I agree with Mike that a bow saw is easy to use. However, if you have a lot of wood to cut, I find that an electric chain saw works extremely well. It is quiet, easy to use, and inexpensive. You can get one with a 16 inch blade for somewhere in the $75 to $99 range.And you do not have to mess with gasoline and oil.

Currently I have a lot of pecan that is 4 to 8 inches in diameter. I cut my pieces into 3 inch long rounds, let them season, and then I use a hatchet to split the rounds. I place the hatchet on the wood and hit the hatchet with a large rubber mallet. This way I control the size of the chunks I get (sometimes I want smaller chunks to use on my Genesis grill).

Hope this helps,

Ray
 
I have a big bow saw...it works really well. I only use Applewoodso that saw makes quick work of the branches.

Probably would need something more robust if the whole tree was involved but perhaps that is what the stick burners have to worry about and not us!
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I use a chop saw to cut the pieces into perfect fist size chunks once I get the wood home.

I then put the pieces into plastic pails...have one for hickory, one for cherry, one for apple and one for peach.

I took a ride through the local orchard and saw they cut down an apple tree, I literally threw the entire tree into the back of my Pathfinder.
 
I'm with Greg, I have a bow saw and a chain saw. If your only cutting a couple of pieces a bow saw works fine. They sell for around $20.
 
Keep in mind prime wood for smoking will have been down 6 months up to 2 years. When you figure how much wood chunks you use during that period the question becomes how much do you need?

I have a chainsaw but it gets very little use because I just don't need that much. A whole tree wood be enough wood 5 plus years but I don't want wood that aged. The other thing to consider with a chainsaw is what you use for bar oil which is normal recyled engine oil and it's not a good choice for cutting wood for our purposes.

I find it is cheaper purchase wood and cut it with a compound saw I have for woodworking.

Now if you have an offset or burn wood down to coals for cooking a chainsaw is a great tool to have and you will go through the wood fast enough keep the supply in prime condition.
Jim
 
You all are the best. As with anything to do with Q, there is no one way. Reciprocating, chain, bow and, chop saws! What is a chop saw?
Jim, buying may well be most efficient. After a trip to the ER last year for stitches (my son's thumb) and a $500 bill...I now use leather gloves.
 
Vernon, lets do get together. Maybe we can make a run to the nearby peach orchards for a supply run.
Mike, I was pleased to see your post on your charcoal method-it would be great to see.
 
Jim Minion,

Thanks for your post. I never even considered the oil on the chain saw bar. Even though my saw is electric, it still has a bit of oil - and I use new (not recycled) oil.

In the future, I will use Jim Babek's suggestion to cut with a chop saw.

Thanks to both Jim's (or should that be "gems" since you gave such good advice?).

Ray
 
To come full circle. While "free wood" is the best wood, it's usually not free. A chainsaw can be good, but also very dangerous to the casual user. If you happen to be a woodworker, then maybe you would already have the saw Jim mention. If you're only using wood in your WSM, how much do you really use in a year ? I have 250 acres of land which includes a pecan orchard - that's a good smoking wood, but only one type. I also have oak available. Storing wood to season for not less than 6 mo. or more than 2 years can be a pain.

Bottom line for me - I order from CABELA's.

Paul
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by S Petrone:
Mike, I was pleased to see your post on your charcoal method-it would be great to see. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'll give you a couple of weeks notice before I do my next "lump burn".

Also, If anyone else around wants to participate in making homemade lump, drop me a line so I can let you know ahead of time too.

I've been busy the last 2 days and aching all over! (grin) I cut down a large hickory tree and preping it to split. My 16 inch chain saw doesn't come close to cutting all the way thru, I have to cut thru one side , then do the other side! This ought to give me a lifetimes suppy of hickory chunks to toss on the coals!
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Regards, Mike Willsey
 
Ray,

Yes, my electric chain saw uses bar oil. And the oil tends to splatter the branches that I'm cutting. So I don't use a chainsaw anymore.

Use a compound miter saw to chop felled branches, just be sure to securely fasten the wood. I had a 6" in long round piece of branch on the saw - 'bout 4 inch diamter, which I was holding with my hand (as I would do with a square piece of wood), the blade grabbed the wood and shot it hard across the room. Left a mar on the wall, bent my saw fence
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, startled the heck out of me. I felt blessed not to have bit hit in the abodomen with the projectile.
 
I havent had a problem with oil on the wood I cut. Im sure there has to be some on the logs but I think most is thrown off with the wood chips, or saw dust. Maybe I should start useing olive oil instead of bar oil.
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I bet some of the hardwood they sell in a bag is cut with a chainsaw. Not that I think im right, but this oil thing is bugging me. Makes me think that I need to do something different. I inspected some of my wood stash, smelled it, looked at it, touched it, and I cant find a trace of oil, but I know there has to be SOME on it. Dangit.
 
Come on!

I bet most of the wood anyone buys is cut with a chainsaw, and any chainsaw I have ever seen uses bar oil. I use my Husqvarna and have not noticed enough oil on the wood to concern me.

Mike
 
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