I was really pleased to see you stopped reaching out with your left hand to remove cut bits of wood from the table. Reaching across the blade like that is VERY dangerous. Cheers

that feed mechanism is really creative, like a sliding table for a table saw. chicken wire would probably do for a guard, perhaps multiple layers. i would also suggest tilting the table a little more to get the more stubborn cuts to roll down. in any case that bandsaw works beautifully, its great to see such a machine put back to good use

The other problem with a chainsaw is that one typically uses it on small logs close to the ground. Thus (a) back gets sore from the bending over and (b) risk of touching saw to soila and dulling it. So this may overcome these disadvantages - assuming one doesn't put the back out by lifting to heavy logs up onto the pallet holder!

Tilting table needs to be steeper so you never need to reach across in front of the blade to push cut pieces off.

That rocking feeder is how we used to feed saw rigs mounted on tractors. They usually used circular blades.

Lovely to see the old machine brought back to life! Well done

Looks really good. Don't forget, the first cut is the deepest.

4:25 I note and appreciate it! Guarding from “Pinch Points” and just high speed rotating/cutting things is a must in my Opinion!

Lateral thinking Tim. Well done, I would happily use that if asked. Much more pleasant sound than a chainsaw as well.

That was a very clever simple solution to a difficult problem. The guards are good idea. I have been working with machinery my entire working life as a carpenter builder. I know that it only takes a fraction of a second for something horrible to happen.

It's always a pleasure watching Tinkering Tim, 👀

The modifications remind me of the buzz saw (30 in circular saw blade) we had on the front of our tractor when I was growing up. The concept was the same. Bravo on a job well done. I enjoy the way your mind works!

Nice way for band-sawing firewood. Perhaps consider putting a bit more of a slope on the wood over the bottom wheel so nothing can rest there & have small chute like guides that would send the cut wood into a wheel barrow which has a bigger catch area & can take a much heavier load before needing to be moved. Thanks for sharing!

Great solid stable idea Tim! You did make take in a worried sharp breath 02:41 when that first offcut sat on the shelf and I instantly hoped you wouldn't reach for it... Much relieved later on at 4:05 to see you simply using the material to clear the obstruction, great improvement (that will serve you long and well without having to overengineer things). I particularly loved your objective assessment comparing chainsaw to bandsaw, it revealed some true advantages I hadn't considered so thanks for teaching me!

i also use a very similar bandsaw to cut my firewood, i did mount a stop rail on the left side of the blade, so I can push the logs against the rail so every piece gets cut to the same length.

good job Tim

Well that's a clever approach! Up until 5 years ago I cut 10 cords a year, usually one Dead Fall and a whole lot of four to six inch volunteers and limbs. I have gotten in the habit of combining trail maintenance with firewood collection, when I work on clearing trail, anything bigger than my wrist I toss on the path side, preferably in piles stacked. I've never understood these guys that fell giant trees, go to great Labor to Buck and split, and then burn all the limbs outdoors for convenience, tending fire with an excavator. I have found that five acres carefully curated can easily produce 10 chords a year without having to drop any trees, just selection amongst volunteers. We have big leaf maple which burns nice and long and it often puts on over 20 ft in a year so setting yourself up with a dozen stumps within a hundred feet of your home pretty much guarantees a lifetime of easy access firewood. What woods do you guys burn most? When we moved in here, I tried burning some driftwood, it does okay for a campfires but it doesn't seem to last in a fireplace. In some ways ever climate is similar, I'm curious if there are coppice traditional species for this purpose? We could never quite get around them being awfully ugly to look at, haha. Have you a better technique aesthetically?

Well it looks like it works; although nervous of all that exposed blade.

Wonderful! Please consider a steeper sloping table or a "pusher" attached to the pallet backside , so you won't have a reason to reach across the moving blade.

A work colleague badly cut his hand between the thumb and index finger by misusing a bandsaw, another managed to sheer his fingertip off changing the blade on the same machine. A very dangerous machine if used incorrectly.

You could even add a depth stop so you get super uniform length logs. Not that it's necessary, but think of the super satisfying log piles you could build.

Looking good so far I look forward to an update when you find a high pressure air compressor used for filling scuba tanks to fill up your tank on your locomotive Tornado

We have a cordwood saw with a circular blade that runs off the PTO on our farm tractor (of course it's a 1955 Ferguson TO-35) that uses the same sort of mechanism: hold the log firmly in the notch and tilt it up into the blade. It makes quick work of the small stuff, although it can be quite frightening around the blade when it's spinning at speed.

Hi Tim and Sarah, many thanks ,good to hear you are looking after your safety, you would be sorely missed.

Great mod Tim. Having used a bandsaw for years, I know about the problems cutting logs, so I 'assumed' my son also knew ... not! First log fed in too fast, snatch, BANG! - broken blade. So that swinging table is a great innovation.

Brilliant Tim, yes working well, much better than a chainsaw 👍😊

Wow, seeing the sun is nice. Seems like it's always rain or dreary in your vids. Good engineering

This just keeps getting better and better. Bravo ☺

You will wake up the Elf & Safe Tea trolls with a video like that, I admire your logical thought process on these projects snd I always look forward to see what you create.

It sure looked like you hooked the blade with that last log on the back-stroke! Hope that wasn't a catastrophe that hit the cutting room floor...

Hurrah! Sehr schöen! Danke! Von Littlehampton.

And this is much nicer to listen to than a chainsaw! Brilliant

hmmmm ... i wonder what would happen if a smallish log dropped between the cage & that monster drive wheel ? kindling i guess ! keep up the great work down there.

Simple yet efficient. Love it.

Look at me rambling off the point like an old man. What I intended to say is that I take this tiny diesel 4x4 Datsun up into the rainforest with a 10-ft trailer and I jam these four to six inch limbs in both as tight as I possibly can and ratchet strap them down. Before releasing the ratchet straps, I cut the protruding limbs as close to 16 in as my eye can gauge. When I get to the tailgate or the trailer edge, I pull both straight into the garage where my great big 37-in 1907 crescent lives. I'd like to note that I went to some trouble to make sure that my bed rails are level with my bandsaw table. Then I just dice everything up by putting a piece of tape on the bandsaw table at 16 in and just holding the log free hand. I always cut with the larger end on the table, so I'm supporting the gap. Maybe this isn't the safest technique, but I've yet to stall the motor or burn a blade. I have built a few different sawmills now and I'm convinced thermal cycling it is the biggest problem, we're putting the code right when the blade is hottest, I prefer to set up coolant on the uphill stroke for the blade after it has gotten some air cooling. I've had the occasional limb be difficult, but rolling backwards has always worked well for me. When I'm done, you can't move, there is firewood everywhere. But you have an empty truck and trailer right there. It's a funny thing though, there's always so much more wood after you cut it despite how much you turn into sawdust?

You had my stomach screwed up, watching this. It works well. But please be careful. As my old mum used to say, "Don't come running to me if you cut your leg off.'

Wow I have to make something similar for my smaller band saw! Cutting small branches is a pain but with this setup it should go easy!

Some modification ideas: Put some small rollers on your contraption, so you can push the log more easily left and right. Then have a leaver on the top which you can hold down onto the log, which wedges it in to avoid that it moves back and forth. To ease up the forward/backward motion you can attach the rope to a large diameter vertical wheel which you can engage with a foot pedal. The rope will be pulled slowly forward and backwards, avoiding this tiring manual labor (which is also bad for your back :P)

It's looking great! Hope your nose is okay. ☮

Another amazing invention by Tim. I like it much better than chain saw. Not as noisy either. Well done again Mr. Tim. Blessings to all 💚

Just a thought. The thicker the log the more drag when cutting. If you go to fast the log will twist. It did appear to be twisting on the big one, but not a lot… I suppose the blade can twist a bit, but probably not ideal. Twist is at the pallet. Maybe a more rigid replacement. Thoughts, not thought, sorry. Also, chainsaws are noisy. It’s nice to see and hear, machinery not driven by electric motors. I like to hear the process the machine is carrying out, not the motor. I wonder what’s next… wind generation?

Well done, that man.

Working great 👍 Have a great week

Well done Tim. Maybe a simple hand operated clamping jaw ( like the thumb on an excavator ) would be safer in case of a kickback or jam. I'm just thinking about your fingers! 🙂🙂

I am amazed at your ingenuity for creating or modifying the machinery you use. I find your creations amazing and simple but they get the jobs done that they are meant for. Concerning the cons of the chain saw you forgot to mention the noise. Keep the creations coming.

cripes Tim buy a 26 inch round blade with mandrel and shaft, you can weld up a frame table and bearing mounts and presto, a safe chop saw. Fordson tractor optional.

Seeing a classic bandsaw resurrected & powered by a hit & miss engine cutting cordwood sent endorphins to my brain where childhood memories are kept. Now to go 100% off-grid do you plan on making a wood gasifier for the IC motor? There's an epic build idea! Thanks so much!

Look forward to the automatic feeder mechanism that will let you stand safely clear of the whole thing.

Thanks Tim

So much nicer than using a chainsaw , brilliant Tim

Spectacular job Brother hello from Detroit Michigan USA Great video Brother thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise

Cool I recommend you make a full safety guard like on morden electric ban saws but thats looks as vintage the saw it selth lije it been the since it was built.

Clever. I have had some nasty events trying to cut round things on my bandsaw. This is a good solution. Can’t wait to see the charcoal production

I was so confused 🤣 (When I got the original notfcton and there was no vid)

That is super cool. I bought a 12 inch dewalt miter saw to do just this. I just added a 1 by 4 to the feed side and then a mark on the out feed for size and just cut everything that way. A band saw would be pretty good as well. My top video is a buzz saw that I used to own and cut wood with as well.

Well done

Nice mods! I use my cheap mitre saw for doing this type of chopping - I have had a couple of hairy moments with being a bit too enthusiastic and odd shaped logs but for the most part it is a tad quicker than seeing you do it with a bandsaw - that unguarded blade is a bit too hairy for me!

You are OUSTANDING SIR 👍👌🧐🍻

brilliant idea

Wonderfull success . . . life gets easier / more convenient

Great work

In my experience, if using saws, a miter/chop saw is superior to a band saw. At least for small logs

One man's testimonial is not much value as data, but I too was intrigued by the chainsaw versus bandsaw argument. I actually did a season against the season because at the time I got 10 chords every year. The band saw won by a huge degree! The chainsaw is very efficient for some tasks, but limbs under 6 in are not that. And who wants to waste a quarter inch in kerf. In fairness I live in Washington State which has slightly lower gas prices than most of the country, but for the two seasons I did this, I came up with no less than $374 of difference! I was quite shocked. I would have thought that a different that large would be easily detectable. I think there's something about engines and their power that make us picture to them running 24/7 when they work faster than a man, but often require a man. But I remember looking up statistics at the time and unless you lived in Russia or Alaska, electricity was cheaper with the band saw across the board. You also don't need nearly so much ear protection. I don't know how hard the wood you guys have is, but I've had a lot of luck with a wide kerf 55° skip tooth, cutting mostly maple and alder and some Doug fir. I also think keeping the blade clean doesn't get near the as much attention as it ought to. Lots of guys have really sticky blades and it puts a lot of work on the engine. It doesn't take long to run some steel wool while checking in the teeth and setting. Just my two cents. Clearly what you are doing is very efficient and works very well.

Sure you can, with a modern one with the correct blade in it. You should look up plunge saws, I think that's what they call them. You have a metal guide that you slide your piece of wood onto (it hits up against a stop for length control) and then rotate it down onto a circular saw and it cuts off the set amount and then you bring the guide back up, slide the board/limb over and do it again and again and again.. It's how they make cedar shakes and shingles... but then we basically have the same thing in modern chop saws you just bring the saw down to the wood instead of the wood down to the blade. If you can get graphite powder use it instead of grease.. Grease and oil attract dirt and dust and turn themselves into polishing compound that destroys bearings over time. Graphite doesn't attract dirt and dust and most of the time is actually more slick than grease.

Wow it's cutting like butter 👍👌❤

Looks great

That’s genius!

I still haven't perfected my firewood saw. currently using an 18" table saw from the late 1800s, but its not rhe easiest thing to use to cut long stuff with

Thanks Sandra and Tim 🤭

Very creative!

Nice! I was trying to think of a cheap / easy way to add rollers so that you wouldn't have to lift the larger logs at that height as you position them for the next cut. Nothing comes to mind, but if you find a couple sections of roller type conveyor you might use that instead.

amazing content!

Awesome!

Cool! Maybe get yourself an L-shaped stick or bar so you can knock chunks into the bin without getting your hand close to the blade?

MORE BETTER! 😁👍✌

An electric reciprocating saw (eg. a sawzall) might provide a viable third option.

Very cool :)

Ingenious :)

Yaeeee new video

❤️

There we go xD

Effing Awsome!

About 18" around Chicago

i love you brother tim you very clever

Do you have the length to cut off ingrained from years of doing it? A stop fence would probably be dangerous, but black marker on the platform to indicate the usual length(s) might be useful ... especially for getting someone else to cut wood.

Well done... will there be a jig for making say... fence posts, soon?

The chainsaw also contaminates the sawdust with oil. If You use a bandsaw You can smoke saucages with the sawdust.

That’s does seem to do the job well

it looks like you removed the lower blade support roller, you need to put it back in because if you push a little too hard, the blade can bend or can even be pushed off the wheel...

Maybe do vid on sharpening band saw blades?

i get cranky if I dont get my weekly Way Out West.... no like this set up cuz you gotta pass your hand too near the moving blade to grab the off cuts on the plywood table. This saw is designed for fine ship and furniture work; Think a buzz saw would be better in many ways mainly cuz it has less teeth to sharpen.

nice equipment. I think the clamp part needs little better balancing to save man power

How about some dogs on hinged handles to hold the log on the tilting pallet so you don't need to rely on just your hands holding the log against moving or twisting?

Time for a drive shaft and a long line of belt driven machines.

Another top video Tim. Don't suppose you could be our Prime Minister could you Tim. The one we have isn't very good. Just sayin'... 👍👍👍

Maybe make the pallet part also of metal framework. Looks a bit wobbly and might cause danger.

it worked this time

I think you could use a large V-block to hold the logs in place.

The trouble with noses is, you only get one.

Rumour has it the price of pallets have just gone up based on Tim inflation. Some man.