Firewood Measuring Sticks

[old guy]

Hey Ryan, I had the wee shindy out at the log pile this morning, it started with two pulls at 32 degrees.
It does need the adjustable carb for sure, but it never shut off or stopped by itself, I let it run for an hour or so whether I was cutting or moving wood it never quit.
I will get that other carb on it soon and maybe adjust some muffler and base gasket.

(apoligies to Philbert for thread pilfery)

 

[merc_man]

Heres my almost finished product. I made it adjustable from 14" (what i normally cut) up to 22". Ive been playing with it giving it the stress test and the epoxy is holding up so far. Im gonna probly paint it orange so it dont get lost.

Cant wait to try it on the saw and give it the real test.

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[redoakneck]

One more gizmo for my saw
View attachment 51737

You need a cup holder on that saw, sawdust brings thirst to the party

 

[merc_man]

Heres why i need to pre measure befor my boy cuts.

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[Al Smith]

Much ado.You can eye ball the stuff and get it within an inch .At least I can .

 

[Ryan Browne]

I can eyeball 16" pieces no problem. Well, good enough anyway. 24" and up, though it gets a little wonky.

 

[Al Smith]

I usually cut 16",comes out better that way .The stove can take 24" but on occasion I have a woman firing when I'm not here .I can't see making it any harder for her and besides if she drops a piece on her toe she's less than enthused about stoking the stove .--if momma's happy -----

 

[merc_man]

Got out to try the homemade measuring stick. Worked good. Sure is handy to be able to use it on either side of the bar.

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[RI Chevy]

Cool

 

[Philbert]

Home Brew

***I want to emphasize that it is simpler, and maybe faster, to buy one of the commercially available measuring sticks described on the first page of this thread, versus making your own. I am 'fiscally conservative', yet find each reasonably priced for the quality and utility received.***

That said, there is a certain attraction (pardon the pun) to making your own stuff. And this forum is full of creative guys who like to tinker. I have been messing around with some things, and @merc_man 's posts, and a guy on 'another site' kind of forced my reveal early.

My goal was to see if I could make these using parts that were easily available to most people, using basic tools. No lathes, no mills, no welding (can destroy rare earth magnets by the way), etc. Here is what I found so far . . .

Magnets
Rare earth ('neodymium') magnets are crazy strong. Embedding them in a steel cup further focuses and magnifies the effective force. I looked for ones approximately 1 inch diameter and rated at 40 to 50 pounds of force (varies with manufacturer). I found some on eBay and Amazon, either with a tapered center hole, or an attached post (threaded for a 4mm hook). $3 - $4 each (shipped)



Rods
Different options may be available to different folks. @merc_man had some hollow, aluminum arrow shafts and used that. I rescued some hollow, fiberglass poles, from a cheap tent that someone was throwing out (replacement tent poles are also sold by some sporting goods retailers). Local home centers had reflective, solid, fiberglass driveway markers ($1/ea on sale; twice that much regularly!!! They are all over the place in Spring after the snow melts). Thinner shafts on the driveway markers with the larger, round reflectors on the top. Fiberglass rods are also available as electric fence posts at farm stores.



Philbert

 

[Philbert]

continued . . .

Attaching the rod to the magnet was the next challenge, As noted, these magnets are crazy strong, and a lot of stress is placed on the junction when you remove it from the guide bar.

After considering a bunch of options, I am trying the following methods.

1) For the magnets with holes, a friend provided a bunch of .357 magnum shells with the used primers removed. I drilled and tapped these for a 1/2" long, #10, flat headed screw that sits flush with the magnet (see photo above). It will be epoxied in place, along with the fiberglass rod. I tried using a standard nut inside the shell, but it was too large to fit. I also tried a Pop-Rivet, but it stood proud of the magnet, and did not hold as securely.

2) For the magnets with a stem, I found some aluminum tubing that just fit at a local hobby shop. I will cut these into sleeves approximately 1 to 1-1/2" in length. I will rough up the stem of the magnet with a Dremel bit, and clean up the inside of the aluminum tubing with coarse steel wool on a drill mandrel, then epoxy with the rod, as above.



JB weld for epoxying the rods to the magnets; #10-24 tap; hole in wooden board, with saw kerf, to hold shells in vise while drilling and tapping; plastic 'screw protector' tips from local hardware store for covering cut ends of fiberglass rods; sticky glue to help keep tips on rods.

Philbert

 

[merc_man]

Was out yesterday cutting and using the log measuring thing i made. I tried putting it a few inchs from end of the bar and that worked ausome. Never had to bend down to mark them, just walk down the tree and make marks and let the boy go to town bucking it up. Best tool in my opinion for marking the lenth.

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[Firewood Bandit]

Sorry guys, I can't see hanging anything on the bar. Old school I guess, if I don't eye ball, I will use a logging crayon and a stick when cutting up large logs.

New site for this week. The "trash" I deal with. Pretty easy access as it's level and all MINE!

 

[redoakneck]

Picked up a 4 dollar magnet tool picker upper at harbor freight and got a free 25' x 1" tape measure with a coupon. It telescopes like an antenna and gets small enough to fit in your pocket. Magnet is not that strong, but I used it today and worked really well. Didn't fall off unless something hit it. I marked 35 logs, removed it, and then bucked them up. Pretty nice having logs uniform in length!!

 

[redoakneck]

Goes from 7.25" to 32.5"

I like that I can put in my pocket

 

[redoakneck]

Be nice to have one that telescopes down, has a strong magnet, built in scale, and hi vis colors!!

 

[Philbert]

Alignment

Although not a precision measuring tool, I do want to make the sticks somewhat straight.

On the version with the post magnet, I cut off and straightened a short section of the screwed in hook; just by chance it fit perfectly into the hollow, salvaged tent poles and will hold them straight while I epoxy a short tube around the joints.



For the version with a hole in the magnet, I needed a way to align the narrower fiberglass rod with the larger diameter bullet shell. I bored holes into some scrap wood approximately the same diameter as the shell, then cut the wood blocks in half on a bandsaw.




I wrapped masking tape around the rod until it was about the same diameter, and will clamp the assembly with some spring clamps while the epoxy sets.



Gotta love 'indigenous materials'!

Philbert

 

[redoakneck]

OK, reading up on magnetic properties is making my head spin!!!

One thing I would like to report, the n38 to n48 magnets have a 176'F temperature max. The n50-52 max at 158'F. I was wanting the strongest magnet, but still need to keep in mind limitations.

Cutting in the hot summer, I'm sure my bar can get over 160'F.

I wonder what the temp max is on the accu stick product??

 

[Sawyer]

Rubber or brass brake line?


So you are saying that the magnet makes it more 'attractive'?

Philbert

Nothing like an attractive measuring tool Looking at the Woodcutters Helper mentioned earlier in this thread, they also make a 12" version that can be adjusted for any length or width of wood. Apparently you set the disc/indicator for half the length you require and complete the cut at the second mark, and if you only need 16" wood the tool can be shortened (hacksaw) to 8". For 36" firewood (for outdoor burners) set the tool at 12" and cut at the third mark. Here is a photo of the 12" version:

 

[old guy]

Picked up a magnet at Axman the other day, only rated for 15#, no hole moddle.
I sanded one side to roughen it and did the same to the head of a .38spcl. case and pasted the case in the middle of the magnet with JB weld, I then cut a 3/16" ring off of a 1/2" copper pipe and dropped it around the case, when filled with jb weld around the case it should be strong, (umm do not use a steel tool to apply jb weld around a magnet, it gets messy fast)
When this was dry I cut an arrow shaft to make 16" and pasted it in the case. I haven't used it yet.