# Wood Cutting ability



## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Ok, we all talk about security, food, guns, and our woodstoves and campfires. How many people here have a good large hand saw with several spare blades? I'm not talking about the 11" camping saw but instead a saw that can cut thicker wood with minimal effort for long term heating and cooking. 

Even if you plan to stay in place with plenty of gas a chainsaw is very loud advertising that you have gas; maybe not such a good thing with lurkers looking for fuel and food in the area. In the NC hills we figured it took 2 cords of wood per medium sized stove per winter. Here in the GA hills about 1 1/2 cords per winter will do but a fireplace will need more wood. Trying to cut a cord or two of wood with a smaller camp saw will take forever and your saw will wear out even if you don't. A full size 36" bow saw with the correct blade will make life much better and not advertise your location.

People with no bug-out location to run too may need to settle for a 24" saw but still better than a small camping saw. They don't weigh much and are fairly inexpensive with a few spare blades.

I figure in a SHTF situation a noisy chain saw is fine for the first 2 weeks but after that keeping a low profile would become more important,

Keep in mind there are different blades for green wood and dry wood; I'd suggest a few of both blade types. :whiteshippingcontai


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

A related thought, They say the average home has about 2 weeks worth of food in the pantry if they use every tiny bit of forgotten old pasta. I figure 10-14 days before the city would empty out looking for food. Do you really want to advertise your location with a noisy chainsaw after about 2 weeks when people are desperate for fuel and food?

I'm lazy, I'd use the heck out of my chainsaw for a week or two assuring a good wood supply but after that it's time to keep things very low key and quiet.

Of course the wood smoke smell may also attract unwanted attention..... I also keep a good long underwear supply.....:rulaiz:

If you have a good location out of the city just how secure are you when people are desperate for food and fuel from a 200 yd rifle shot. Go low profile by avoiding a noisy chainsaw.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

A third thought,,,, for those of you who would plan to bug out of the city with a pack on your back this wouldn't be a consideration but for most of us living out in the country we still purchase split wood by the truckload or have a noisy gas powered log splitter. 

Do you have a good Maul for splitting wood? A hatchet or ax is fine for chipping off kindling but a 12 lb maul can pop real firewood. A spare wedge is also useful.

Let's face it. God may have made us super smart but he didn't give us fur, instead He figured we were smart enough to provide out own heat for cooking and to avoid freezing every winter.

Enough from me on this topic, let me hear your thoughts.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

All good thoughts. I have no wood, and no stove, right now.


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Propane.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

I was lucky to acquire two of the two man saws that were used to clear this land when it was settled. I had renewed back to almost new condition


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

FoolAmI said:


> I'm lazy, I'd use the heck out of my chainsaw for a week or two assuring a good wood supply but after that it's time to keep things very low key and quiet.


I am with you... I can walk out back and cut wood and I would be going crazy at first... Middle of winter, not gas..I doubt there will be many zombie motorcycle clubs riding around looking for places to raid up north.. they will all be in florida and alabama etc.... NOt Maine, PA, South Dakota


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

I have an axe and a splitting maul. But I have not cut wood in 25 years. I wonder how I wood (sic) do in a SHTF. I guess this is where good neighbors come in.


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## Spice (Dec 21, 2014)

I was considering one of those pneumatic log splitters. Hand powered, quiet, but looks to give quite a mechanical assist. As I'm about 125 lbs soaking wet, I seek solutions that don't require ginormous strength. Does anyone have experience to share with this kind of tool?


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

I have 4 two-man crosscut saws sharp and in good condition, 3 are for bucking 1 is a felling saw (there is a difference). I can sharpen them but could use some more tools to do so better (another skill/toolset). 

I have used these for felling and bucking. We would have a 4 man crew: Two men on the saw, one man with a large lever/fulcrum (wood chunk and 4-5" dia X 10' pole) to keep the saw from pinching while bucking, one man on rest. You would rotate positions every several rounds from: lever, saw X 2, rest. It is real work.

You also need an assortment of: axes, wedges (felling and splitting), mauls, and sledgehammers. For bad leaner trees: chains and/or a bull rope, come-along and snatch block/pulley are handy.

We would buck into lengths the four of us could handle then finish bucking at home in a sawbuck stand with the crosscut saws. Big logs were fully bucked on location ( sometimes 1/2-1/4 ed with wedges).

Two full days with four men brought enough wood home to heat the house the entire winter in northern New England; we still had to finish bucking and split/stack/cover , that was a daily chore until completed.

I always wonder about a small steam engine with a belt drive to run a circular saw sawbuck, the sort that used to run with old farm tractors?


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## Makwa (Dec 19, 2014)

Much of what you need is going to be determined by where you live and the size and type of wood at your disposal. My wife and I heat our home with wood, so cutting wood is a necessity every year. We usually try and keep a 2 to 3 year supply.

Where we are the majority of our wood is poplar, birch and a sprinkling of oak/spruce/pine. I actually get most of my wood cleaning up trees dropped by our never ending supply of beavers and wind storms. I have a couple of old crosscut saws and a newer hand saw that is about 36 inches. I got it a few years ago and have three types of blades including a couple that can be used to split beef or moose. We have a couple of splitting mauls, numerous axes, wedges, sledges, a gas powered hydraulic wood splitter, an Alaskan mill and a splitter that works off of the PTO on a tractor. I always have a couple of chainsaws, at present two Husqvarna's and a supply of chains, etc. So I can accomplish pretty much anything I need to. 

We have sleds that can be dragged by snow machine. Trailers that can be pulled by ATV, 4 x4, tractor or horses with just a few minutes and a couple of wrenches.

Personally I think if the real SHTF situation ever occurred, because we always have a couple year supply........ we could very quickly get in enough to top things up to last up to 4 years without needing to make a lot of noise. We live a long ways from the city and we have about 7 months of winter. After the first year gas would be hard to get and most in the city would only be making one way trips out of town trying to escape the zoo, and with little fuel reserve it would not be long before they run out of fuel. The first winter would cause a serious drop in the population base in the urban centres as few can survive -30 to -50 and winter from October to April without being set up well in advance. If the SHTF during the nice weather then some could prepare, but if it hit during the winter the die offs would be massive and change the picture quickly. 

You don't survive where we are with a little BOB for the winter.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

Makwa said:


> ....... After the first year gas would be hard to get and most in the city would only be making one way trips out of town trying to escape the zoo, and with little fuel reserve it would not be long before they run out of fuel. The first winter would cause a serious drop in the population base in the urban centres as few can survive -30 to -50 and winter from October to April without being set up well in advance. If the SHTF during the nice weather then some could prepare, but if it hit during the winter the die offs would be massive and change the picture quickly.
> 
> You don't survive where we are with a little BOB for the winter.


I have often said... SHTF in winter and we will have a massive die off

I have a years plus of wood... but I could get more quickly...


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

That's why you have to be "prepared" with a couple years worth of wood ready to go. Been -10 to -15 below for the last week and my LP furnace hasn't run once. With NO power.


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## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

I have a backup propane heater and cooker at my bugin location. No need for wood or the ability to cut or burn wood here. If I have to bug out I have a Sven saw and a spare blade.


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## MI.oldguy (Apr 18, 2013)

sideKahr said:


> I have an axe and a splitting maul. But I have not cut wood in 25 years. I wonder how I wood (sic) do in a SHTF. I guess this is where good neighbors come in.


Pretty much same here.we have a couple of chain saws and accessories,axe's,maul's etc,but, at 58 I don't think I would last too long doing this kind of stuff anymore.we had some wood, about 4 cords stored.burned 2,gave rest away.a fireplace in a house is just a waste of time and labor.although,wood is plentiful where we are.wish we had a wood stove instead.then we would cut/buy enough for at least a winter.at least,we have a catalytic heater or two,and a kerosun heater,lots of propane and about 5 gallons of kerosene.it would only be good for short term we figure.


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## NavySEAL (Oct 16, 2014)

No matter how you cut wood with a circular saw it is gonna make noise that will travel a greater distance than you think.........Keep your wood cut up ahead of time.........I try to but don't always get it done........try an experiment ,,,,,,,bang two ax heads together lightly (not the edges .......see how far away your buddy can hear it........metal on metal or a power saw........loud.....very loud........put out sentries and work just at dusk........cook after dark.....the bad guys might be able to smell your smoke or cooking but even they wont stumble around in the dark..........I belong to the "make it through the first 30 days and you have raised your chances of survival a big bunch".


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## alterego (Jan 27, 2013)

I will add some details because that is the type of weird that I am.
For those of you who do not know. A Rick and a fact cord are the same thing.
It takes three face cord to make a full cord.
My F 350 short box loose thrown to the top of the box is very close to a face cord stacked. Almost two face cord when it is falling off.
Their are between 185 to 210 4 6 inch blocks in a face cord.
We heat our house almost solely on wood. The least amount we have used is 4 and a half full cord.
Last year we went through eight full cord.
We have a high efficiency indoor ducted wood furnace..
Three friends have outdoor furnace they eat ten to fifteen equivalent cord.
I like to cut wood but not that much.
Even if you have to buy wood delivered it is cheaper than propane. 
My fat handicapped ass can collect enough fire wood to heat through the winter in 50 hours.
About an hour and a half too two hours per truck load.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

A face cord or rick of 4 ft lengths is a full cord (128 cu ft) as are two face cords or ricks of 2 ft lengths, would take four ricks face cords of 1 ft lenghts

I always used to sell cu ft stacked so there was no misunderstandings.


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## 1skrewsloose (Jun 3, 2013)

12 lb maul can pop real firewood. You must be a real brute!! All I ever used was a six or eight lbs. maul. Come to think of it, don't ever recall seeing a 12 pound maul for sale? I live in a sheltered world, so, not up on everything.
Did a search, yea, they sell them, but no need for something that brutal, but, I'm an old guy!


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## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

We burn compressed wood products in our Jotul model 8 wood stove... bricks (similar to BioBricks) and logs (all nighters). If we burn these as our primary source of heat we can get through a heating season with a ton of bricks and a ton of logs... we keep 3 tons of each on hand, right next to the pair of 275 gallon heating oil tanks. These compressed hardwood products burn hot and clean with almost no visible smoke from the chimney.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

sideKahr said:


> I have an axe and a splitting maul. But I have not cut wood in 25 years. I wonder how I wood (sic) do in a SHTF. I guess this is where good neighbors come in.


A little every day.... wood always warms you three times.... cutting, stacking, burning


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

1skrewsloose said:


> 12 lb maul can pop real firewood. You must be a real brute!! All I ever used was a six or eight lbs. maul. Come to think of it, don't ever recall seeing a 12 pound maul for sale? I live in a sheltered world, so, not up on everything.
> Did a search, yea, they sell them, but no need for something that brutal, but, I'm an old guy!


It may be an 8 lb maul I use, I've been using it or one like it for a lot of years and may just have forgotten the correct weight.


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## Prepadoodle (May 28, 2013)

Spice said:


> I was considering one of those pneumatic log splitters. Hand powered, quiet, but looks to give quite a mechanical assist. As I'm about 125 lbs soaking wet, I seek solutions that don't require ginormous strength. Does anyone have experience to share with this kind of tool?


You might want to look at a slide hammer-type splitter, like this...


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## BagLady (Feb 3, 2014)

This is a good topic. If we got low on our normal 4 cords per winter, we do have all the nessecary saws, axe, mauls, etc.
BUT, we would probably go out and gather dead wood already on the ground. We have a horse to pull logs too. 
Along with these tools, the proper files to sharpen would be useful.


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## Arklatex (May 24, 2014)

I can process firewood and have both power and hand tools to do the job. However, I usually just buy it since most of my trees are pine. Plus I don't heat with wood exclusively. It's more of a backup or supplement for me. I do have a few cords though. Shtf I will be ok the first winter and very busy getting ready for the next one.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Arklatex said:


> I can process firewood and have both power and hand tools to do the job. However, I usually just buy it since most of my trees are pine. Plus I don't heat with wood exclusively. It's more of a backup or supplement for me. I do have a few cords though. Shtf I will be ok the first winter and very busy getting ready for the next one.


You bring up a very good point Ark...Getting through the first winter.

That has become our goal every year. Not just on wood for heat, but for everything. We realize that we may never have 5 years or even 2 years worth of everything we need. But getting through that first winter is very important.

Back to firewood, I cut and split some of my own firewood and also buy some by the truckload. I've decided that if I can rotate the wood, I'll always have some seasoned wood available. Right now I have about 10 trees felled and sitting in my wood yard ready to cut into 18" lengths and eventually split. They are seasoned trees that will provide us with dry seasoned firewood. I also bought a pickup load of green wood earlier this year that should be seasoned and dry for next year. At this point I do not have a good bowsaw and would be up the creek if I couldn't get fuel for my chainsaw. I was thinking about getting the battery powered Oregon Saw and hooking it up to solar (when I get solar). Best laid plans...

Amazon.com : OREGON 40 Volt MAX* CS250-E6 Chain Saw Kit with 2.4 Ah Battery Pack : Power Chain Saws : Patio, Lawn & Garden


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

I have one of these and a splitting maul.

This does the job but it is slow. very slow. I use my splitting maul as much as possible.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

Smitty901 said:


> I was lucky to acquire two of the two man saws that were used to clear this land when it was settled. I had renewed back to almost new condition


do you have any pics?


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## BagLady (Feb 3, 2014)

We cut our own wood, but we also like to have some green(ish) hickory for a good "Back Stick" to go thru the night.
So, once in awhile Hubby will cut one for that. Then by the time spring comes, we'll also have some seasoned Hickory for 
smoking meat.


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## tinkerhell (Oct 8, 2014)

I find this thread inspiring. Alas, I think I am not able to meet the physical requirements for a 2 man cross cut saw,

Regardless, I will watch the country flea markets and pick one up if I'm lucky enough to get one. 

I have a medium size bucksaw that I'm going to pay more attention to. Make sure I have spare blades, maybe get a larger saw. As well as one that is packable.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Prepadoodle said:


> You might want to look at a slide hammer-type splitter, like this...


Having used a "slammer" the last few weeks to set metal fence posts I can see how that could be very handy. Unfortunately most of the wood in the video looks like Poplar which splits easy when dried. That combined with the high price makes this a "maybe get it when I win the lottery" item.

They do split some harder woods in the video buy you can see the guy really working it to get them to split.


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