My Firewood Bucking Wedges

[Wood Doctor]

Too hot and humid to cut outside today, so I decided to make and finish another bunch of bucking wedges. These wear out about every three years, so a new batch was in order. I found a nice chunk of rough-cut 2" white oak about a foot long and 6" wide and ripped the edges on the table saw. About 6 degrees works for me. I use the miter gauge and a triangle to hold the work piece as I rip.


Then I drilled a hole near the end for tying them together on a wire ring. Sanding and varnish finished them off.


Finally, I painted a stripe on each so help find them in the rough.


I made the rings using some round steel from political campaign signs, bending it around some PVC pipe. These wedges work very nicely when bucking big rounds to eliminate pinch. Thanks for looking. If you also make your own, I'd like to hear from you here.

 

[merc_man]

I made a bunch a while back out of a plastic material. Ther here on a thread somewhere. Will see if i can find some pics.

Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Wood Doctor]

I might add that yet another cross cut is required at the thick end of the wedge in order to ensure that the wedge's cross section is an isosceles triangle. And, I usually point the tips with a belt sander.

These make fabulous gifts to other sawyers, especially after you show them in action while bucking a big log. I usually carry one in my back pocket.

 

[Dub11]

I pilfered one of these from work you sure as hell don't want to hit it with a hammer but the big holes on the end make it easy to grab when bucking

 

[RI Chevy]

Real nice work on those wooden wedges.

 

[Wood Doctor]

The wooden wedges fit inside my pocket and really work well. I'll take them out next week when (1) the current heat wave subsides for a day or so, and (2) I get to buck some blown down ash that dropped in June, uprooted.

Most of the time it takes only a light hit to set these wedges. You don't need a heavy hit nor a lot of space wedged apart for a bucking cut. All the wedge has to do is hold fast and block the pinch.

Yesterday a tree crew showed up after a large branch fell off a tree in my front yard. The first thing the saw operator did was pinch his Stihl 026 bar tight as drum. He was helpless. His boss brought over another top-handle saw to cut it loose and free it up. Had he used one of my bucking wedges... Well, I think you have the picture.

 

[Dub11]

The wooden wedges fit inside my pocket and really work well. I'll take them out next week when (1) the current heat wave subsides for a day or so, and (2) I get to buck some blown down ash that dropped in June, uprooted.

Most of the time it takes only a light hit to set these wedges. You don't need a heavy hit nor a lot of space wedged apart for a bucking cut. All the wedge has to do is hold fast and block the pinch.

Yesterday a tree crew showed up after a large branch fell off a tree in my front yard. The first thing the saw operator did was pinch his Stihl 026 bar tight as drum. He was helpless. His boss brought over another top-handle saw to cut it loose and free it up. Had he used one of my bucking wedges... Well, I think you have the picture.

You need to have a brand made and sell them.

 

[Wood Doctor]

You need to have a brand made and sell them.

I thought about it for awhile. Usually I just give them to friends for presents. Plastic wedges are out there by the droves, but you pay for them. It's amazing how many guys here have made special tools and parts for their shop work whenever they can't find one in a store or on line.

 

[Dub11]

I thought about it for awhile. Usually I just give them to friends for presents. Plastic wedges are out there by the droves, but you pay for them. It's amazing how many guys here have made special tools and parts for their shop work whenever they can't find one in a store or on line.

A custom brand would still be cool.

 

[jakethesnake]

Good idea I've rough cut them out of the leftover notch when cutting a tree down. They aren't "nice" but they work if I forgot a wedge or needed to make a "shim" to help a stubborn tree tip I'm not a big fan of stacking wedges in dead standing oak. Drive s wedge in. Cut a small flat shim. Insert place another wedge over the new shim. Continue till the nasty devil goes down. I may make some of those wedges How well do they stand up to a good hammer beating?

 

[RandyMac]

Wedges for bucking are a good idea, until you can read the tension in the wood, then you can do without.

 

[jakethesnake]

Or if it's a great big added slab and you can't do anything about the tension

 

[RandyMac]

The bigger the log, the less wedges will do for you.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Hmmm... I just used three bucking wedges last week in a fallen ash tree and they really helped. Eliminated all pinch and bar was never trapped. Finished the job in an hour and loaded a full truckload of rounds. Yes, I am an experienced sawyer.

A tree trimmer showed up last week at another work site and trapped his bar on the second cut while working on a fallen limb. No wedges, no experience.

p.s. RandyMac, I and many others can no longer see your signature Pic. I've dumped Photobucket.

 

[RandyMac]

Yeah I know, but can't seem to ditch it.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Yeah I know, but can't seem to ditch it.

It's easier than you think to ditch Photobucket. Try uploading picture files directly from your computer using Windows Explorer to find your Pic.

 

[RandyMac]

WinEx sucks dog balls.

 

[Wood Doctor]

WinEx sucks dog balls.

My dog was licking his the other day. A friend told me, "I sure wish I could do that."

I told my friend, "Ask him very nicely and pet him a little. He might let you."