Sawing short stuff

[Firewood Potter]

Anyone here made a rig / carriage/ jig to saw really short billets on a bandsaw mill? My mill will nearly handle 7’ but I have need a lot of times to saw some that I call firewood, 2’-3’ long. have an idea for one and have made a model, but I would like to see what others have done.

 

[ScoutDog]

@chatometry Worked up a benchtop system with a small chain saw to create samples. This may be similar to what you could use.
Good luck!

 

[JonathanH]

I've seen people showing off their home made short stick jigs on the FB bandsaw milling groups.

 

[Mr. Peet]

What make mill you have? Lots of times you can simply order an extra cross arm. Then you use a piece of 3/4 plywood as a bridge, fasten to the cross arms. Lay your short on the ply and toe-nail the ends with a few screws. Some folks add a 2 by as an additional support fence along your short.

 

[JustAnotherGuy]

Short billets are always a hassle. Easiest fix is to make them “act longer" either a simple cradle so they don’t roll, or sandwich them between longer boards so the mill can grab them. Some folks use a small sled with clamps or screws too. Curious what you came up with.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

I often clamp or screw down a 2x12 and then build a cradle on that. I keep a handful of timberlock and a handful of decking screws near mill when I am sawing because I almost always have some crappy pieces that doesn't want to fit "normally"

 

[Hilltopper46]

I have two things to help me mill short and odd pieces. First I made two movable bunks that fit between the rails. This allows me to support a piece that is long enough to clamp at each end but with the clamps laid over so the piece is only lying over one of the bunks on the mill. They're ugly, made from some angle iron and pieces from a elliptical that a friend gave me, but they work.

For really short pieces I have made a wooden table that fits tightly over two bunks. I can screw and/or clamp an irregular piece (such as a crotch) to this to hold it securely. The picture below shows a cottonwood crotch on the table. If you look closely you can see a deck screw at the lower left hand corner of the picture - this is holding the crotch to the table.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

I have two things to help me mill short and odd pieces. First I made two movable bunks that fit between the rails. This allows me to support a piece that is long enough to clamp at each end but with the clamps laid over so the piece is only lying over one of the bunks on the mill. They're ugly, made from some angle iron and pieces from a elliptical that a friend gave me, but they work.

For really short pieces I have made a wooden table that fits tightly over two bunks. I can screw and/or clamp an irregular piece (such as a crotch) to this to hold it securely. The picture below shows a cottonwood crotch on the table. If you look closely you can see a deck screw at the lower left hand corner of the picture - this is holding the crotch to the table.

View attachment 288209

This method is probably the culmination of several of our methods. If made of pressure treated wood, this will last for years laying out by the wood pile. I am likely to make one of these myself. I am likely to mount a 1 inch stop piece on the far side of mine to take some of the pressure off the screws.

 

[Firewood Potter]

Here is a mock-up of my idea. Basically this will be made of 3 1/2 X 7 I-beam 8’ long, for the bed. Present wood pieces will be steel and the all thread will be 1”. This model is 1/2 of my planned bed, their being one of these at each end. No clamps.

 

[Firewood Potter]

Here’s the first cut on the completed Short-Cut bed, an elm crotch.

 

[Nature Man]

Here’s the first cut on the completed Short-Cut bed, an elm crotch.View attachment 289795

View attachment 289795

Pretty handy!

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

Best to get the dimensions for that and set up a site to sell the plans. At 2 to 10 bucks a shot, a lot of hobby wood mill guys would drop that money on you. There is something to be said for a 2 dollar PDF down load. Or a 10 dollar print out for those of us that don't do the electronic money thing. A patent application with a "patent pending" note on your file should slow the folks at timber wing and wood mixer down as far as just taking your idea and incorporating it into their machines without paying you.

 

[Nubsnstubs]

@Firewood Potter, that's a pretty cool accessory for wood mills. Not only will you be able to do short stuff, but cookies also. Just 2 day ago, I watched this video,

He didn't really show the setup, but it does show the logs being held upright by all the mechanics of his mill. He could only do one upright log at a time whereas I've seen videos of Asian millers cutting about 8 logs at a time making cutting boards from the cookies. ............... Nubs