Sawing Firewood

rusty6

Well-known Member
After posting the picture of the big load of firewood I thought I might add one of the next operation where they cut the logs into stove lengths. This was at a neighbours in the early fifties. Several neighbours got together to get the job done in a day. Usually a winter job but this one appears to be spring seeing the lack of snow. Some type of Farmall tractor running the saw.
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Nice pile of wood. I can remember hearing the neighbor cutting fire wood with a saw like that. Our farm was about 1/2 mile from his in the early 50's. I never had to do anyting with fire wood growing up. We had a butaine stove for heat in the living room. Stan
 
I like your old photos. One thing I have noticed in every ones old photos is, How baggy and ill fitting the mens work cloths are. I hate to wear sloppy fitting overalls , always catching them on something , or dragging the ground. LOL.Or maybe we are just fed better, and worked less hard, and are fatter. Bruce
 
I noticed two things , wood looks like poplar ( gonna need a lot of it ) and judging from the size of the saw dust chips that blade must be pretty sharp. Bill
 
If they'd put an elevator by the saw it would have eliminated one job-- then if they'd rigged up a cross conveyor for the logs-- and then used a loader to move the logs-- then rigged up a hydraulic moving table at the saw-- they'd had a wood processor! Neat old picture of "neighborliness".
 
Those buzz saws CAN be very dangerous. I had one ALMOST with the saw and one HIT with a belt. The sticks of wood underfoot look very dangerous, The almost occurred when I was too small to handle the heavy block when I was catching them. I would not turn it loose and another man pushed me away from the saw. Years later I asked him how near my head was to the saw and he told me he would not have wanted his hand between the blade and my head, I so not know if he meant the width of his hand or the thickness of his hand.
 
Wonder what the building behind the wood pile is used for, home, wood shed? Looks like it has electric and a stove pipe. The house I grew up in on our farm had a wood shed that set close to the house on one side and a summer kitchen on the other. Our home was built in 1856 with red brick walls nearly 9 inches thick.

Had to think how dangerous those buzz saws are as I have seen the damage they can do to a man up close and personal.
 
Help dad cut firewood with one when a kid. Have two setting out in the wind break and they look more dangerous now then back them.
 
I remember going to the woods with a buzz saw. Dad operated the saw. Brother and I would cut and drag the wood to him. He used an old JI case with a flat belt. Been there, done that, NEVER AGAIN!
 
Got a buzz saw here on the farm. Haven't used it in 50 years. Originally fit our WC Allis. Modified it to fit our Oliver 60 after the WC got traded. Don't remember it being used only once or twice on the 60.
 
Great photo, remember cutting a lot of wood with a buzz saw. Dad had a SC with a buzz saw mounted on the rear. In the late fall he went around the neighborhood cutting everyones wood. The saw is still in the back of my brother's machine shed.

JimB
 
(quoted from post at 02:48:21 12/21/14) I like your old photos. One thing I have noticed in every ones old photos is, How baggy and ill fitting the mens work cloths are. I hate to wear sloppy fitting overalls , always catching them on something , or dragging the ground. LOL.Or maybe we are just fed better, and worked less hard, and are fatter. Bruce
You are right on that Bruce. It was rare to see a fat guy (or kid) in those days. Nobody needed to take exercise.
Yes , that was poplar which is about the only tree around here. If it was cut green and seasoned it made pretty good heat. Most of the time people just cleaned up the dead fall which also burned well but not as much heat in it.
 
(quoted from post at 05:23:31 12/21/14) Wonder what the building behind the wood pile is used for, home, wood shed? Looks like it has electric and a stove pipe. The house I grew up in on our farm had a wood shed that set close to the house on one side and a summer kitchen on the other. Our home was built in 1856 with red brick walls nearly 9 inches thick.

Had to think how dangerous those buzz saws are as I have seen the damage they can do to a man up close and personal.

That little log building was the hired man's shack built in the very early days. Wood heat and no electricity.
I have never heard of anybody being injured on one of those saws and everybody used them back then. Obviously anyone can see the potential for injury and would use extreme care when working around them. The work area was kept clear as you can see the sawdust has been scraped up and piled away from the saw.
 
A lot of buzz saws are still being used around here, mostly by the Amish. All wood cutting devices are dangerous if not used correctly and there are many being used including chain saws and wood workers table saws.
The danger increases when we become complacent and start taking short cuts.
 
I have my Grandpa's saw here. Used it a bunch to cut slabs from our sawmill over the years. Use to use it mounted on an A JD to cut Grandma's cook stove wood.
I had 2 uncles that mounted one on a stripped down Model T frame. Went all over the area cutting wood for families. Jacked up one T wheel that had a pulley mounted on it to run the saw. Ran it on kerosene some til it burned the valves.
Richard in NW SC
 
A family tradition since I was a kid. I still belt up a Silver King to the buzz saw every year, and terrorize the neighborhood with the sound of cutting firewood, cut slabs, palletts or whatever is around.
Tom
 
I still have one mounted on a Farmall B and use it from time time and it also helps as a counter balance for loader on tractor .As far as being dangerous they are no more dangerous than a chainsaw if not used properly.
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That picture brings back memories of my
Grandfather.. About the week the last of the
snow melted he'd say, well boys it's time
to go pick up the free wood. We would drive
all over the farm & throw limbs that has fallen
over the winter & rank them in poll length
to be saw'd with the buzz saw the coming fall.
We had 84 acers of wood lots so this pile got
rather large. It's the only wood Gramma would
use in her cook stove. Bless her heart she
never did learn to bake anything in her
electric Oven.. But she sure could in that
wood stove.....
 

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