Weekend Wood Sawing

rusty6 · Nov 28, 2022

Managed to get a few minutes of video while helping out with firewood sawing at my brother's place this weekend. We split some of the bigger blocks with the hydraulic splitter run off the tractor hydraulics. Glad we got it done because a winter storm blew in today and will cover everything with snow.

Sawing firewood

stoughtonfarmboy · Nov 28, 2022

Yikes. I remember sawing up wood on a buzzsaw similar to that. It had a movable carriage. But still left hands exposed to the spinning blade. Even as a teenager it looked dangerous. Now at age 73, don't think I would use it.

Looks like some old elm or box elder.

Ken

rusty6 · Nov 28, 2022

(quoted from post at 19:33:25 11/28/22) Yikes. I remember sawing up wood on a buzzsaw similar to that. It had a movable carriage. But still left hands exposed to the spinning blade. Even as a teenager it looked dangerous. Now at age 73, don't think I would use it.

Looks like some old elm or box elder.

Ken

My brother and I are both in our sixties and grew up watching and eventually helping our dad saw firewood with the same type saw. I don't heat with wood anymore but my brother still has auxiliary wood heat in the basement so we get to keep in practice every year.
And its all poplar except for a few big maple blocks that you saw on the splitter.

FBH44 · Nov 28, 2022

I always thought the real danger of that type operation was the footing. Look at the ground. Slippery wet snow, all it would take is your boot slipping, falling, into that blade.

Goose · Nov 28, 2022

One of my uncles lost his left index finger to the second joint in a buzz saw accident.

Our left hands were the same. I also lost my left index finger to the second joint in an accident when I was 16 months old.

But, you know what? I've never considered it a handicap. There are things I can do with my left hand that I can't with my right hand because I don't have the extra finger in the way. I found that out working in avionics in the Marine Corps when I worked in tight places like behind the instrument panel on a jet fighter plane.

55 50 Ron · Nov 28, 2022

Is wood burning the preferred heat source in your area? Does your brother live close by? The squeaking sound of the log going through the splitter tells the story of the great force of the hydraulics. The snow you mentioned will reach us here in southern MN tomorrow. Still had +40s temp today. The warmth allowed me to help someone with the electrics on their Oliver 77 diesel tractor (about 1950 model) as it isn't in a heated garage!

rusty6 · Nov 28, 2022

(quoted from post at 19:55:29 11/28/22) Is wood burning the preferred heat source in your area? Does your brother live close by?

We are only eight miles apart so get back and forth frequently. Main heat source there is now propane but the wood burning stove in the basement sure helps cut back on the heating bills. And there is almost unlimited supply of dead wood on our farms.

rusty6 · Nov 28, 2022

(quoted from post at 19:45:12 11/28/22) I always thought the real danger of that type operation was the footing. Look at the ground. Slippery wet snow, all it would take is your boot slipping, falling, into that blade.

We have worked with this equipment for decades and are well aware of the risks and act accordingly. The footing was good. Sawdust mixed with the snow makes it quite secure. And yes, we wear hearing protection for this job.

rustred · Nov 28, 2022

more good old days. we used to do the very same thing. was the case mechanic brother helping you?

rusty6 · Nov 28, 2022

(quoted from post at 20:15:41 11/28/22) more good old days. we used to do the very same thing. was the case mechanic brother helping you?

Yes, that was him. You can see both of us sitting on the Cockshutt tractor in the still photo from the 1960s.

thehickdaddy · Nov 28, 2022

great video, thankyou for sharing.

all the buzz saws i have used have had a tilting table.

great to hear the pur of the wisconsin

in your video, at time 2:55 that is a Case LA pulling the combine, isnt it?

rusty6 · Nov 28, 2022

(quoted from post at 20:41:36 11/28/22) great video, thankyou for sharing.

all the buzz saws i have used have had a tilting table.

great to hear the pur of the wisconsin

in your video, at time 2:55 that is a Case LA pulling the combine, isnt it?

Thanks and you are right. That is my uncle's LA Case hitched to the little A6 Case combine. That was taken in April of 1952 when they were combining some spring wheat that had laid in the swath all winter. My dad's John Deere D was on standby ready to pull the LA and combine when they got stuck in the mud. Wheat came off good and dry too.

Butch(OH) · Nov 29, 2022

I run a similar buzzsaw with a Lister diesel. Lots of sawnills around here and I get slabwood for free. With two sons helping we cut a winters supply in a day. Im a whole lot more scared of flying than I am of that saw. Its just another one of many ways one could get hurt if he isn't paying attention to what he is doing on any given day

UncleTom · Nov 29, 2022

Thats a nice saw set up. Good to see the old 4 cylinder put to work. What kind of snow dog is that? Looks like my English Cream Golden Retriever.

caterpillar guy · Nov 29, 2022

We have not used the old buzz saw in a couple decades now. It had a sliding table on ball bearings homemade worked good. Saw was on hydraulic lift so it set on 2 legs when sawing and lifted up on the front of the H when traveling. then we had a Von Ruden hydraulic saw for a chainsaw. It had 2 3/4 hydraulic hoses that drove it from a PTO driven pulp and a 3 gallon tank for reservoir. Tag plates say it was made in Minneapolis MN. Don't miss lugging it around all day weighed about 25 LBS plus the hoses. Would kill the H engine if you stuck the chain sawing.

Geo-TH,In · Nov 29, 2022

all the buzz saws i have used have had a tilting table.

I never used a buzz saw, I was too young. My dad's buzz saw had a tilt table. It was powered with a flat belt and an old case tractor.

I look back at my dad using the buzz saw while standing on snow covered ground. I wonder why no one was injured or killed.
Where is Barney?? No belt guard, No blade guard. A true killing machine that cut up a lot of firewood. I never heard of anyone getting killed or injured using one. Perhaps old people didn't have to be reminded how unsafe a spinning blade is.

This is what a 10 inch table saw can do.
Damaged a good glove and blood all over the place.

rusty6 · Nov 29, 2022

(quoted from post at 04:43:37 11/29/22) Thats a nice saw set up. Good to see the old 4 cylinder put to work. What kind of snow dog is that? Looks like my English Cream Golden Retriever.

If I ever knew what kind of dog it was I have forgotten. She has been with them for several years now and part of the family.

rusty6 · Nov 29, 2022

(quoted from post at 05:30:50 11/29/22) I never heard of anyone getting killed or injured using one. Perhaps old people didn't have to be reminded how unsafe a spinning blade is.

This is what a 10 inch table saw can do.
Damaged a good glove and blood all over the place.
<img src=https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/cvphotos/cvphoto141685.jpg>

I'd agree I have heard of several people injured using modern "safe" saws doing carpentry and hobbies. I have a used table saw out in the barn that I have never used. Generally I'll just pick up the hand saw if I need to cut a board or two by four. Chain saws can be very dangerous too if you get careless or in a hurry. So far I've been lucky.

jddrawbar · Nov 29, 2022

I've noticed thru the years that mittens are the choice for hand wear in your part of the world. Never see that in my area, I assume they are warmer. Enjoy your videos....they seem to be a step back in a simpler time. As always, thanks for posting.

rusty6 · Nov 29, 2022

(quoted from post at 08:09:57 11/29/22) I've noticed thru the years that mittens are the choice for hand wear in your part of the world. Never see that in my area, I assume they are warmer. .

My hands can't stand the cold and mitts beat gloves any day of the week. Just think, in gloves every finger is isolated from the other so there is no sharing of warmth. In big double layer mitts the fingers are all together and can even be clenched together into a fist to preserve a litte more body heat. I do know a few hardy individuals with hands of iron that wear gloves and a ball cap (no ear covers) outdoors in winter, for a while. No way in the world you will catch me doing that for any length of time. If you are just running from a warm house to a heated vehicle ok but any extended time working outdoors requires multiple layers (and mitts) for me. Heading out now to start the Massey and put a hay bale out at a relatively mild 8 degrees F.

IaLeo · Nov 29, 2022

Haven't been around that activity for seventy five years! But:
1. I love the smell of sawdust.
2. I love the ringing sound of that blade and surge of the engine.
3. The major safety issue is exhaustion, two people knowing how to sync their movements, not rushing the job and decent weather.

Thanks for the memories! And now for the splitting maul

rusty6 · Nov 29, 2022

(quoted from post at 09:00:28 11/29/22) Haven't been around that activity for seventy five years! But:
1. I love the smell of sawdust.
2. I love the ringing sound of that blade and surge of the engine.
3. The major safety issue is exhaustion, two people knowing how to sync their movements, not rushing the job and decent weather.

Thanks for the memories! And now for the splitting maul

This was a short day. Just the one wagon load that needed to be done for now. No doubt there will be more as time passes but we don't cut huge piles of wood like in the days when wood heat was the primary source for warmth and cooking in the home.

Weekend Wood Sawing

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