How I Cut Firewood to Uniform Lengths Free Hand

[@saltrock9642]

Dads are great. Mine has been gone for over 20 years but that little tear will occasionally roll down my face when a memory pops up. If your dad’s still around please go pay him a visit.

[@ken76918]

Amen 🙏 my dad passed away in June in a motorcycle accident (he hit a deer). Thankfully I live close and was in constant contact. I miss him so much.

[@jeremie267]

🙏

[@peggalicous]

@@ken76918 so sorry for your loss

[@rjohnson5120]

Cant recall who first said to me "If you dont have time to do it right the first time, when will you?" But it was my father RIP who told me "you know, son, it takes so little to be above average in this world, it's amazing that more people aren't..." Great video. I love your delivery and style.

[@johnduffy6546]

Your father was a very wise man and, he was right!...With much respect to your father and you, may I borrow his admonition?..It is priceless wisdom!😊

[@lynnkhosla6277]

"Women swoon over it" - You got that right, mister. As a 66 y/o woman new to cutting wood, I love your "party trick" - big thanks to you and your Dad. No more wasting time drawing chalk lines for me. It's often the little lessons we value the most. Great video!

[@paulsims6888]

Smart Dad's make smart kids. Which make smart kids. Hopefully this will go on for eternity. Thanks for the humor.

[@off_grid_life]

You nailed it! My dad sold fire wood when I was a kid so naturaly we were there helping, too youngue to use a chainsaw so he had a block of wood the right lenth and a hatchet he sent us down the tree with. We learned to eye ball it more or less after doing that for years, now I cut all my own firewood free hand and the odd time thers one too big but 99% of the time it bang on. It is sure a skill that takes time, the same as a mechanic can eye ball a wrench size by looking at a bolt vs trying different sizes untill they find one that fits.

[@EdwardSchneider-k6n]

Your asides: "It's on wood, it's not in the dirt" are great fun. Thanks!

[@gerry343]

Good to see someone using a decently sharp saw.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

I wish I could keep mine so sharp for every video.

[@johnr9655]

Not sure how sharp... it is soft pine, anything looks pretty quick through pine

[@davemills34]

If your goal is good enough you’ll mostly end up with less than. If you shoot for perfection you might end up with good enough

[@nhmountains5683]

Merry Christmas Michael. I usually cut my firewood at 16” but, I cut a cord a year at 12-14” for my 96 year old father in-law. He’s still loading the stove once a day. The smaller wood allows him to handle it better.

[@oldowl4290]

This is hilarious because I figured I'd watch this for some tips... and I actually live in Albuquerque lol.

[@dgoodman1484]

Proving once again, big stoves are always better! 👍🏼

[@dol3980]

This not real firewood but a creosote creator (balsam, spruce). He is wasting precious saw fuel to cut firewood that is worthless. OK for an outdoor fireplace to make flames for BBQ times, but heating in Kanadistan at -20 C this guy's advice is BS. U can trim at 16 but if ur stove takes larger length(20) as it takes less time to get some more fuel calories for the thermodynamics of ur heat source..

[@dgoodman1484]

Spruce makes fantastic firewood. So does lodgepoll pine, fir and others. Here’s a secret, all wood burns about the same per lb. Some wood is just more dense than others. Been burning nothing but pine and fir for over a 100 years at our Sierra Nevada cabin, all I ever burned as a heat source when I lived in Truckee and about 70% of the wood I burn in Alaska is spruce. Creosote comes from burning unseasoned wood. Not from the type

[@springhollerfarm8668]

@@dol3980 Ceosote is caused by either too wet wood or a smoldering fire (not hot enough). The type of wood is almost irrelevant.

[@karlrovey]

​@springhollerfarm8668 Pine and cedar are pretty bad as far as creosote goes. With that said, you have to go with what's available in your region. If that means you have to have the chimney swept more often, than that's what you have to do.

[@springhollerfarm8668]

@@karlrovey Not if they are dry. Many people in many places on this planet have only pine to burn and do not have creosote issues when it is dry. I have burnt plenty of dry pine with no issues. Oak limb wood is worse.

[@samcunning]

when i started cutting firewood for my dad i was cutting with a 24" bar, dad took a tape measure and drew a line in sharpie at the 16" mark on the bar, worked great every time

[@rojer9542]

Lol, I started cutting firewood when I was 6 years old, but because I lived in suburbia, it consisted of scavenging scrap wood off of construction sites and cutting it with a carpenters hand saw. Didn’t give much thought to length but the cut wood did fit in the fire place. Now I mostly cut dead juniper with my Sawzall and only break out the chain saw for the lower trunks. This is just for my own wood stove. The lengths are all over the place but again the wood fits in the wood stove. Look like you have a nice property there, so different from my place in northern AZ. I enjoyed the video, thanks for posting it.

[@jeffpeters1014]

I picked up a trick from another KZbin channel, fasten a cable tie on the handle of the saw and trim it to 16” from the bar, I changed to 15” to account for sight angle and it works great. The ties can be rotated parallel with the bar until you start bucking the rounds.

[@iffykidmn8170]

ITW goodnight Irene.

[@jylbo]

I may be half-way to train station, but I'll make sure my sons learn the most while I'm here. Nice to watch, cya soon !

[@tr33m00nk]

"If you allow people to get away with things, they're going to continue to try to get away with things." Words to live by in these troubled times.

[@edrose8358]

There is no substitute for experience!!!

[@JohnComeOnMan]

"...halfway past the Marquesas by now" (2:28) 🎶 Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas We got eighty feet of the waterline nicely making way In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away 🎶

[@zeke1eod]

Spot on as usual! Thanks for all you do. Stay safe, and God bless

[@MiniRaju]

Thank you. Love your Combo valuable info included dry humor.

[@KevinMaxwell-o3t]

Great advice. And that's a sharp chain!

[@calebdoner]

Just like you said, I like to mark my cuts when I'm cutting large logs because getting it wrong has much higher consequences. Small logs, I'm pretty good at eyeballing it, and fixing mistakes is pretty quick.

[@matthewknauf3625]

You remind me on my Grandfather (younger person of course) My guess its because of a similar culture. Since he also grew up and lived in a rural area. ( he told me he used to harvest fields when he was 9.) he would also speak about how cold it was in winter. It seems like everything was colder back then.

[@robertschmidt9296]

True, yet somehow global warming is a bad thing? 😂

[@Ultratacker]

​@@robertschmidt9296 yeah, it is a bad thing. When your staple crops need a certain temperature range to do well and produce enough food to feed the population a change in temperature and especially temperature extremes can make a lot of people very hungry.

[@davidedwards3734]

I use the Perfect stick if I tear my zip ties off my handle. Y'all have taught us a lot, Thanks. Stay Hydrated and Have a Safe Day

[@BrockMayo-n5v]

Love what you're giving us! So much to learn, and fun presentation with no ego. As a forest service trained sawyer, I really appreciate seeing you fully wrap the left thumb on the saw. Keep up the good work, I always look forward to your new videos.

[@CyberOakEMpiRE]

On behalf of my woodland, thank you very much for all your lessons!

[@gerryplante2651]

Like father, like son…… you certainly must be proud of each other.

[@rg3412]

I'm learning from you and your dad. Thank you.

[@gmonte12]

Good video! I use my blade for measurements, my stove will take even longer pieces than I cut so it's no big deal. The older I get the longer blade that you use looks better and better. My back might like it A LOT. So much for my system. LOL 🙃😊🙃😊 I guess I could make a mark on the longer blade for sizing.

[@cheeseymccheese7249]

been getting my own 5 cord a year for 22 years now. Tack on 10 more in the younger years helping dad. He could free cut. To this day i still bring the spray paint and find a 20 inch long stick then mark every piece i cut.

[@randyhorner592]

I spend too much time measuring in my mind so when I get a log limbed I take the tape and hatchet off my hip and make a whack every sixteen inches. Now I can cut without ever thinking about it. Saves me time in the long run.

[@robertschmidt9296]

I never thought about using a hatchet, I use chalk.

[@tombutler7296]

I love my Mingo Marker.

[@richardreynolds13]

Nice to see you branch out and offer life advice

[@davecalvo6418]

I'm 57 and started cutting wood with my dad in the late 70's when you have nearly 50 years' experience you don't need gadgets to cut firewood to lengths which are very closely matched, its practice and comes naturally

[@kenbrown2808]

when I had my german stove, 12-14 inches was a better size so I could use my foot, easily. the last couple trees I did, I just used a tape measure and marking paint. since I only do a couple cords a year, my eye doesn't hold calibration well. the trick I've found is for branch wood and tips, I can use the full length of the saw, and carry it out in a wheelbarrow, then use a chop saw to cut it in thirds for kindling.

[@lpeterman]

"...Halfway past the Marquesas..." When you see the Southern Cross for the first-time, you understand why you came that way... Well played, Wilson, well played. Save some of the off-cuts from that cedar for Bluebird nest boxes. Cheers from your cedar-less neighbor to the North.

[@Autigers2013]

That train may already be at Tucumcari!!! Loved that movie with Lee Van Cleef For A few Dollars More!

[@patlash8392]

Greetings from Felton California. After my 4th season of bucking my firewood harvested on my property, I’m improving a little! All Doug fir. The vastly different diameters still throw me off. Have you done a video showing how you get a wood stove fire started? I’ve been using the top down method for a couple of seasons. Works pretty good. Great channel by the way. I’ve learned a bunch!!!

[@blaydCA]

@@patlash8392 I always start with underneath, regardless whether it's a stove, fireplace or outdoor pit/pile. I'll be using a wood stove for my Oregon Summer Camp using softwood, which back east would never happen, since I had a good supply of Oak. Fir and Juniper burn too fast.

[@andrewpeck340]

Made a lot of fires. And failed a lot was well. Teepee method works for me all the time, fire likes the airflow and wants to start rising up the stack fast. The faster and hotter you get the smoke up the stack the more efficient your fire will be in a wood stove or especially in a traditional fireplace. Anyways I’m rambling, saw your comment and had to participate, I’m just on bear creek road in the Scm. Good luck this winter getting cold neighbor!

[@joeblow1934]

WELL, NOW you're just showing off!! 😀

[@pettere8429]

We usually just kept a stick the right length for reference. I have also seen an old (probably broken, I have never seen it run) chainsaw with a stick the right length taped to it in the shed at my grandparents place (they are long gone but my dad and his siblings keep it as a vacation home). I suppose you could put some kind of sight on your chainsaw handle allowing you to hit a desired length fairly accurately, would need calibrating for bar length and work posture though.

[@Lauterbach24]

I just use a mingo marker. I like every round to be as close to the same size as possible. It makes for a really nice wood stack.

[@tombutler7296]

So much faster than anything else including guessing.

[@riverraisin1]

I've been using the bar on my saw as a measuring stick.

[@Wookietown]

I cut mine to about 18" for my Tarm boiler. A few inches either way doesn't matter, but I don't like my woodpile to look sloppy, most of you can relate that a nice wood pile is a source of pride. Anyway, I measure 18" on my saw bar and score a mark in the paint on both sides, hold my bar against/near the tree while I'm cutting and that helps me measure pretty well. If the tree crown gets snagged a little bit, I like cutting at waist height and the boot method just wouldn't work for that. Thanks for the vid, enjoyed it!

[@EriebyCycle]

Great episode and lesson.

[@addictedtobedrock5282]

As a kid, we had old tape measure cut into the correct lengths. He would tell me to grab the appropriate size and I would hold it while he marked, every tree. That way our customer had perfect wood. They were always happy with our wood and we were busy. Now days, I just eyeball my firewood and it’s close enough.

[@ericwanderweg8525]

That ship already sailed for me 😂 I use a magnetic marking stick to lay out my cuts and do so shamelessly

[@johnr9655]

I cut alot of wood for my neighbor with a heating stove... his was a real small pos... 12" pieces would just barely fit... i was the only one that could cut them consistantly that short that fast for him( I ended up cutting thousands of pieces that i had to "trim the end off" that he hired other people to cut)... and it sucked... it really sucked. ALot more cutting (and more difficult cutting a small piece into 2 smaller pieces with a 28-32" blade)... STICK TO THEM BIG OLD STOVES! If you cut them a little too long... you just wasted alot of time... you can see how important of a lesson this video teaches... simple but important. His way of felling trees to create a hole for a brush fire is also spot on.. good job man

[@westcoaster3763]

A fellow toldme years ago.. if you give people options, they'll take them. Good video

[@playdiscgolf1546]

I have a 16” bar on my husky so that really helps eye balling it

[@dallasblair]

I have a 36" on my stihl. What should I do?

[@paul.tuttle]

I just love this video: Very nice "party trick" that actually works !!! Unfortunately I didn't get which Stihl you are using here and the length of your bar would be of great interest to me. Thanks in advance and many greetings from over the pond !!!

[@ericcraig8205]

At least you used your foot to give you a guide,in parts of California they probably use there variable foot...........your a breath of fresh air in a weird world bud. You could have a special 16 inch safety boot made like clowns footwear.............................call them big foot.

[@aaron7t]

Nice. I eyeball most stuff, but measure the big stuff or funky stuff. The boot trick sounds nice. I tend to paint or write on markers for 16", 18" and my max 20", onto the chainsaw scabbard or my splitting maul, just in case. Too often I'm cutting up a section of a log, and have to fiddle with the last section, making it non-ideal but still making sure it can fit in the stove. And sometimes on bigger rounds with bigger branches, it's good to not cut through the joints, both for ease of cutting and for ease of splitting. When dealing with bigger rounds at the base of the tree, sometimes over 24" or 36", I cut them a little short. A 14" round or two is a lot easier to move when it is the largest, and it's often heavier wood too at the base. Not a big deal if splitting it right there, but most of the time I'm not.

[@SuperMatt1969]

nice tip. I've been cutting wood for 10 years or so and mine are generally even but might calibrate myself this season. btw 15-16inches is approx 38-40cm for those whose brains dont know what the heck inches, quarts or cubits are. (I had to google)

[@johngalt5504]

16" logs are used to make a 4 × 4 × 8 cord. 3 rows 4 ' tall by 8' wide.

[@Devilpeakmotorsports]

I use my hand to measure. From the tips, my thumb to my pinky finger is 9", two spans is 18". It's easy to subtract 2" by eye. It also helps to know how long your saw is tip to tail, length of the exposed bar, length of the saws body , etc. Chances are, there's a part of your saw that is close to whatever length measurement your after.

[@ronniegonzales9985]

Some times I check my 16" with the saw front of the bar cover to the back of the curve on a big saw small saws are all the way back but I can get them putty close by eye

[@DelCorbin]

Well done!

[@alsun35]

doing carpentry for work helps big time i guess, im so familiar with lengths and measurements over the years i can eye ball it all.

[@Lad733]

Simply just takes practice. I used to carry a piece of firewood and sidewalk chalk to mark the logs. now I cut everything freehand at 14" because wood stoves keep getting smaller and I had a few customers complain 16" was too long

[@tetedur377]

Buckin' Billy Ray says to cut 'em 12-14 inches.

[@jakebredthauer5100]

14 inch does not stack into 4x4x8.

[@Lad733]

@jakebredthauer5100 stack 3 rows a little over 4 1/2 feet high and 8 feet long and you get your 128 cubic feet.... customers want what they want. A cord is 128 cubic feet of wood no matter how you get there

[@andrewpeck340]

@@Lad733no need to be condescending

[@Lad733]

@andrewpeck340 I apologize that I came off that way. I was just trying to explain that you can still get a cord of wood out of 14 inch pieces.

[@johnfahey7215]

My stove takes up to 24” log, but that’s at the top not the bottom, since the walls come down at an angle, so I use my knee. from ground to knee i is 18’ - 20 inches. worked great and I got the eye after a while

[@jinxproof1905]

"What, it's not in the dirt." Yes. I see too many people leaning on their bar tips in the dirt. Well played, sir.

[@nathanielpulling]

I just put a mark on my bar 16 in back from the tip.

[@davidhibbs5114]

Great channel!!

[@lesahanners5057]

I gotta say as a woman, there was no swooning over firewood, unless it was from the 120+ degree temperature of the woodshed in the summer when I was trying to fill it. 😅

[@greghickox9508]

I also use my boot plus a couple of inches. If I use my older 036 pro it usually has a 16" or 20" bar so I will just use the bar length to measure if I'm not sure. I have a fire place insert and a Clayton wood coal furnace that takes up to 22" so I have wiggle room 😅

[@georgehofgren6123]

Excellent video 👏 👏 👍 ~

[@garyduncan1025]

Nice video.

[@Pascalore]

I picked up a 3/8" rod I think 18 - 24" long (not sure as it's been so long since I used it) anyway it is only threaded 1/2" on one end so putting a nut on then through the hole in the tip of the saw then another nut gives me a measure rod. Mark it once for the lengths I want then go to town. I mean stay there and cut wood. No need to even remove it until done and the rod slides into the bar cover of my saw storage next to the bar (not under the cutters). Also the bar wrench is the right size for the nut.

[@larchman4327]

The way I would suggest a inexperienced wood cutter to get consistent length pieces Is to mark the tree where your going to buck it while limbing it using paces then simply cut up bucked piece into the number of pieces that would equal what your going for. When I started I would frequently count paces of known objects using a comfortable well remembered stride cars houses ect ect after awhile I could measure stuff using paces fairly accurately.

[@AndrewBrowner]

Aferiy prices dont seem to have taken effect, or maybe they want us to buy from somewhere other than amazon? id buy the 2000watt unit today for 799$ but cant find it for that price

[@VicsYard]

Never really measured till I watched KZbin or sold. Even then I don’t rarely measure. 👍🏼

[@CoachJoshsteel]

notch in the foot pad in the handle to the front of the power head. 16"

[@cjtaylor5917]

Great video! I have a dumb question. I'm 56 years old working on thinning a small wooded area (couple acres) with trees this same size as the video and maybe up to twice as large diameter-wise. My saws are not commercial, I have a Husqvarna rancher 55cc and a smaller Husqvarna 40cc. Both have appropriate length bars for their engine size, which means when I limb, I am bent over, and when I section the trees into firewood, I have to go to a knee to avoid bending over, which means a lot of squatting up and down. A day working in my woods results in me needing 3 or 4 days to recover. Could I use an unusually long bar and chain on one of my existing saws to enable me to stay standing while bucking if I am just cutting small diameter stuff? Thanks for any advice from those of you with experience.

[@bearupfarm1818]

My question is do you use all the trees you cut for firewood or do you pick the type of tree. I see you have various types of trees.

[@timbutzer9286]

I just measure out 15 inches on my bar and mark it with a black Sharpie. It's an extra step to turn the chain saw parallel to the log before each cut, but it works for me. Large diameter logs can be especially hard to judge. Frequently I measure out the log starting at the large end. Then the last/short log ends up on the small diameter end of the log. I just mark the logs first. That way if I need to make my first cut away from an end, I still only have one short log.

[@Idahoprepper71]

I measure one piece and cut it. I leave it close to the wood I am cutting so I can keep looking at it a keep the proper length stuck in my head. It works pretty good for me.

[@blaydCA]

My current style of cutting firewood for my personal use: If it fits. ... It ships... Halfway past Albuquerque is either El Paso or Phoenix depending on direction of travel, route and destination.

[@janking2762]

Maybe ask the Albuquerque turkey?

[@louishagene3332]

Excellent vid

[@mnmike6884]

What are you doing cutting pine for firewood? Wood with lots of pitch is not good for chimneys.

[@karlrovey]

Keep in mind that he's in a region where it's pretty much all pine and cedar.

[@johnduffy6546]

We used to call those bastard lengths, "metric logs"...You can't beat "body measurements!" Your ole dad was a wise fellow! Loved this video! Very well presented...THANKS, DADS!

[@comitatocentrale2022]

8:51 Out of curiosity what’s that tree species?

[@robertjames4953]

Madrona

[@onemifarmer]

You can always use the bar to measure length. After a while you can gauge it by eye

[@bearupfarm1818]

How do you keep your chains from heating up when cutting dry hard wood?

[@robertjames4953]

thin the bar oil with kerosene.

[@mattcole4041]

I don't sell it, but I cut my own firewood. I put a mark on my chainsaw's bar at the right length from the tip, and use that the same way you use your boot.

[@bob_frazier]

Yeah, I cut firewood at 14 too, but as the diameter increases so does the length of my cuts if I just eyeball. So I use a 3/8" dowel rod, cut to my length, held in my left hand along with the front handle of the saw, and every cut is nearly perfect.

[@HubertofLiege]

Me too

[@brucejedwabny3473]

Need a longer bar on that saw

[@EINNHOJ100]

I draw two lines on my safety glass's that will correspond with 16 inches on the ground and use this method to create shadow lines on the log every wood piece is the same

[@bob_frazier]

Ha! You were the guy that bought Manzanita branches for bird cages!

[@kenrisse1336]

I freehand cut about 14 cords a year to heat my home and garage in Alaska. My stove takes up to 18”, so I try for less than 16”. It’s not fun when you get all the way to the stove with a piece an inch too long.

[@tt600pch]

I had a brother inlaw that would "help" cut wood for the inlaws in winter of 83-84. I climb the sidehill, drop a big dead tamarack down to slide into the road. He was 6'5 and 150lbs. He'd stay by the truck and smoke. I'd come down and block the log up...he'd smoke. I'd split the butt chunks in half to load...he'd smoke. This went on twice and I washed my hands of him.

[@I00kingin]

good tip, thank you

[@75shadystorm]

My grandfather would just use the chainsaw to measure occasionally 👍

[@AlBundysDuster]

This dude is the Paul Harrell of Forestry.

[@jnmrn4069]

They have to be related!

[@Z-Bart]

Uniformed length, neatly stacked firewood looks better and sells better too.

[@LaurenceHoneytoast]

My old man runs a 16 inch bar on his farm boss I just lay the saw from the dogs to the tip and cut a mark in the log all the way down then piece it up. When I go buy my own saw I’ll run a longer bar and just mark off 16 inches. When you depend on the wood to heat the home the logs will be 16 inches eventually. Lol

[@hobbyfarmer62]

Calibrated eyeballs is the key to doing this,lol

[@blaydCA]

That's how I do it! Also... ..for personal use, if it FITS it DONE!

[@happyrecluse2849]

Depending on the bar I am using, I mark a line at 16" on the bar itself....turn the saw 90 as I walk up to the next cut and literally line up to what ever is there , chip, scratch or blemish. Hey works for me and have more going on to make women swoon, what ever that is....

[@FirewoodStackingRockstar]

My Dad had us do 18 to 20, but now I like 16 better for resale, trying to recalibrate from earlier calibration aint easy!!!🤣

[@danr308]

I cut them to fit my stove. So for me 17" more or less.

[@Averagewhiteguy4980]

I also freehand on the smaller stuff and on the big ones I use the saw to measure. Usually it’s from the back of the handle to the front bar nut but it can vary slightly depending on the saw

[@Delgwah]

lol, free hand firewood, they will sing songs about you as well. 👍😎😂