Bob Schneider’s Cordwood Chop-Saw

BEFORE READING ANY FURTHER — The following information is for “interesting reading material” purposes only. Chain saws are a very dangerous tool. Do not attempt to use a chain saw without fully reading the owner’s manual and following their safety precautions. Any attempts that you make to build a chop-saw are at your own risk.

One of the projects for this spring is to make a cordwood chopsaw. I have 32 face cords of wood that have to be cut to 8″ lengths for the double cordwood wall that we are planning on constructing. With any type and size cordwood wall that your planning on building, a nice bench chopsaw will make things safer and saves a bunch of time too. Recently, a discussion on the forum has come up with some great ideas. One of which is Bob Schneider’s cordwood chopsaw. So without further ado, here’s a couple of photo’s of Bob’s invention and his description.

Here are some photos of my chop-saw, built with the intention that it should be easily removable, portable, and counter balanced. I work in a model shop and have access to a lot of equipment so its a little over-built.

The saw is attached near the motor with two screws utilizing the holes where the toothed grabber thing is mounted and a clamp fixture at the tip. No modifications were done to the saw except removing the toothed grabber thing.

The whole assembly is easily removed for refueling by removing the 1/2″ bolt that acts as the pivot. Undo the nut, pull the bolt and flip it on its side. The sprocket at the tip of the saw is intact. The clamp at the tip allows the saw to be held securely at both ends of the cut.
The counterweight works well, but I need to add a stop to keep the saw from flipping over the top.

After I started using it I had to add a 2″x2″ guide board in a better place. The setup works well for logs under 8″ dia. Knots and stubs tend to pinch up the process, so I sort out the twisty logs for hand cutting or firewood. I’ve only cut about 3/4 cord with it so far, more modifications to follow, I’m sure.
– Bob Schneider
bsbrews@macatawa.org

Note: Bob’s setup shown here is only indoors for safe keeping during the winter. He uses the saw outside while cutting logs. Any kind of gas powered device should be used out of doors. (Another option might be to use an electric chain saw, as long as it has enough power. This way, the concern over exhaust fumes would not be an issue.)