Hi, I have a pile off wood that needs cutting up into sizes suitable for an outside wood burner. Some of it is small enough to use my jigsaw, but there are also some large lengths approx 3" x 5" in diameter.
It has been stored out in the open so most of it will be damp making it harder to cut. A hand saw would take me days, so I am need of something electrical.
I considered a circular saw but the last one I used was a pain in the butt as the guard did not cope well with uneven surfaces. (some of the wood is nailed/ screwed together in long lengths, I will be sure to avoid nails etc whilst cutting)
So, what might be the best tool for the job and where to buy?
I considered that option but it must be a tool that can be operated one handed, as the other would be holding the wood. Clamping etc for one cut would be fine but the wood length requires that several cuts be made, constant clamping and unclamping would triple the amount of time to do the job.
Most of my firewood is either workshop offcuts, or pallets, which I break with an axe and a treestump block, rather than sawing. Takes too long, but I don't like sawing firewood - nasty dangerous business.
For sawing, you mainly need a log crib, to hold the logs while you're chopping them. You can make this yourself (really just an X frame on a trestle), but you ought to put the effort in and make it.
My best tool for this is a B&D Alligator electric chainsaw. This is a "scissor" chainsaw, so it holds its own log firmly and avoids most of the general problems of chainsawing. The limitation is that it only works with timber up to 4" across. It also has the other obvious chainsaw limitation and wouldn't like nails, so pallets are a problem. I also prefer electric chainsaws for this (known location, near the house) rather than the usual faffing with a petrol chainsaw.
Second tool (and used for pallets) is a reciprocating sabre saw. Useful, but I hate these things. No matter how careful you are to hold the soleplate down in contact, they snatch and leap around beneath you. OTOH, Aldi will (would?) sell you one for cheap.
I've also got a Bosch 500 reciprocating "multi-saw" sold for just this sort of domestic purpose. Utterly useless. Expensive when new (mine was a car boot sale "bargain") you have a struggle to find the obscure and expensive blades for it. Then it's like a weird lightweight sabre saw.
Petrol chainsaw (and I have a nice one) chops logs, but are you going to tog up in the right trousers to use it, just for a bit of firewood? It's "only firewood", but hurried, careless chopping of firewood with nails in has a really bad safety record with chainsaws - nearly as bad as felling or working at height.
No F***ing way would I use a handheld circular saw for chopping firewood. _Far_ too dangerous, for almost any of the usual handheld circular accidents.
I recently got a reciprocating saw, partly to do this job. With a long blade on it, it can cut through logs up to about 220mm, and your 3-5" pieces will be easy. Its a two handed tool really, but I wedge the log somewhere and put my foot on it to hold it still - I wouldn't dare do that with a chain saw!
No doubt about it, the best use I have found for my new sliding mitre saw is cutting up old joists for firewood, goes through like butter and it's one handed. You just have to make sure the section of the wood that you are cutting isn't to big.
I was about to suggest a chop/sliding mitre saw. I have a chainsaw, reciprocating saws, circular saws, etc. I always choose the sliding mitre saw for chopping up scrap wood and small bits of tree to use as firewood.
Mitre saw would definitely do it, and the cheap end is insanely cheap these days (I've got a Ryobi one and have hurled no end of work at it over this last year, and it's not broken yet :-)
For anything bigger a) split them b) X-trestle and oversize shark- tooth bow saw
Circular saw is gruesome amputation or arterial bleed out. Conventional chainsaw is horrific injury without the proper protective gear which people will "chance" not wearing.
The B&D alligator is the safe choice, although the bow saw the safest and gets you warm :-)
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