How many of you Brethren use your compound miter saw to cut down splits?

Connor_Macleod said:
Agreed that a table saw only works for thin splits (~3" or less); however, if I stand on the back side of the saw and pull the split toward me, the kickback would go away from me instead of toward me...but then again, it might throw my hand into the blade, and that wouldn't be good at all. So I'm thinking the table saw is not a good idea.
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Yeah, you definitely don’t want to try to pull the wood through the blade from the back. That would be a really bad idea — almost guarantee you lose something important if the wood does catch at all.

The only way I’d even consider using a table saw would be with some type of sled that I could hold the wood on as it went through the blade so I’d have some level of control and the waste side was more or less free to fall off without risk of binding on anything. That said, I’d be manually cutting them with a bow saw before I’d try it.
 
I think all I need is some way to chain or clamp small pieces on to my home made saw buck. I'm seaching for some kind of chain clamp, not having any luck or maybe I don't know what to search for ?


Is it possible to clamp pieces on to the miter saw to prevent kickback ? My saw has a clamp on the right side but I think its meant to hold regular shaped flat wood in place.
 
I use dewalt miter saw every time I cook. Run splits on table saw the. Cut to length on miter


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Lynn Dollar said:
How large a piece was it ? How irregular was it ?


I keep the size of the pieces at a minimum.


And another tip would be to use another piece of wood to hold the piece being cut.
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You have to be kidding. You're willing to experiment with different size splits and a holding jig to save a few minutes?

This is a very dangerous procedure— don't do it.
 
I would love to have a gently used band saw to cut my splits. all I have is an oldddd Rockwell miter saw- so that's what I use. I wear eye protection, I wear hearing protection and I know that if I'm careless, it will bite the hell out of me. We have an agreement: I do nothing stupid, I get to keep my digits. Me cutting wood on the miter saw is a much safer act than me climbing into a car and commuting to work everyday and back... those people in front, behind and beside you are straight up idiots.
 
Thanks for the idea!
I used the clamp on my miter saw to hold my splits and cut them with the little electric chain saw part of my pole saw.
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Didn't get a chance to read through the entire thread, and I know I'll probably get some flack, but I use an electric chainsaw. I have a 20v Black & Decker (there are better brands out there) that I use. It's not a world beater and won't win any timbersport competition. But it starts every time, is light and cuts through splits and decent size logs/branches with ease.
 
drallan81 said:
Didn't get a chance to read through the entire thread, and I know I'll probably get some flack, but I use an electric chainsaw. I have a 20v Black & Decker (there are better brands out there) that I use. It's not a world beater and won't win any timbersport competition. But it starts every time, is light and cuts through splits and decent size logs/branches with ease.
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I didn't even consider the electric chainsaw as an option until you mentioned it. Had to check out my fav YT channel Essential Craftsman on the matter and he seems to agree. Also the gator looper sounds like a decent solution as well.

Grateful you guys posted about all your experiences in this thread and that OP asked the question. had been floating this idea around in my head for some time. Your experiences have probably helped stop me from destroying my fingers in the near future. I'll stick to the chainsaw for length & kindling cracker for splits for the time being.
 
I buy my wood already cut to the length I like. Sometimes the splits are a bit thick but nothing my electric splitter and Kindling Cracker cant handle. If I do a have a split that is slightly longer it's no big deal, still burns the same.
 
I decided to take a gamble on the Black and Decker Alligator Saw. I'll test it out during the upcoming week and report back. After getting smashed in the face while using a miter saw I'm pretty cautious about cutting wood splits these days.
 
SmoothBoarBBQ said:
I decided to take a gamble on the Black and Decker Alligator Saw. I'll test it out during the upcoming week and report back. After getting smashed in the face while using a miter saw I'm pretty cautious about cutting wood splits these days.
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I'm interested in your upcoming review, thanks! I was planning on buying this one too in the next month.
 
I've been using a 40t 12" saw blade in my chop saw which has a strong clamp built into it and runs at 3800 RPM. Only issue I've had was when I had a split that required two separate cuts to get all the way through it (had to rotate it 180° and line up with the first cut). Kicked the remnant out the side pretty good when the second cut met up with the first cut. No issues cutting dozens of other splits that got done in one cut though. Gets through knots no problem too. I just got to make sure the splits aren't too big to not be cut in one go and everything gets clamped in tight.
 
Colorado0321 said:
I've been using a 40t 12" saw blade in my chop saw which has a strong clamp built into it and runs at 3800 RPM. Only issue I've had was when I had a split that required two separate cuts to get all the way through it (had to rotate it 180° and line up with the first cut). Kicked the remnant out the side pretty good when the second cut met up with the first cut. No issues cutting dozens of other splits that got done in one cut though. Gets through knots no problem too. I just got to make sure the splits aren't too big to not be cut in one go and everything gets clamped in tight.
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That's when the kickback occurs. The irregular shaped pieces need to be held firmly against the fence. But once the cut goes all the way through, the one on the right can move into the blade ( I hold the piece with my left hand ) .


Since we're not making furniture and need clean cuts, I've been cutting to within 1/4 " through the piece. Then breaking it by hand. Or it would even be possible to go within 1/2" and finish with a hand saw.


And I stay with small pieces, this is my last cut before it goes in the smoker and I like splits no larger around than a beer can and about 8 to 10" long. Anything larger than that, gets the chain saw.
 
First impressions of the Black and Decker Lopper Saw : 100% legit and a great product. Took me 5 minutes out of the box to get it up and running (just needed to add some oil) and it was running like a champ. I'm running with a pretty small offset smoker now...18x30 Pitts and Spits, so having smaller pieces of wood is necessary.

I found it very easy to just grab a split with the teeth (or jaws) of the saw, and immediately start cutting. So far I feel very safe using this saw and haven't had any kickback or issues. It's super easy to use and very quick...it used to take me about 10 minutes to get my miter saw setup as I had to store it in my garage. This lopper saw can sit out right by my smoker and if I need it I plug it in and go to town.

It's already dark here, but I'll try and remember to post a couple pics tomorrow. Not much to see but it sure does make quick work of cutting splits down to a more usable length.
 
SmoothBoarBBQ said:
First impressions of the Black and Decker Lopper Saw : 100% legit and a great product. Took me 5 minutes out of the box to get it up and running (just needed to add some oil) and it was running like a champ. I'm running with a pretty small offset smoker now...18x30 Pitts and Spits, so having smaller pieces of wood is necessary.

I found it very easy to just grab a split with the teeth (or jaws) of the saw, and immediately start cutting. So far I feel very safe using this saw and haven't had any kickback or issues. It's super easy to use and very quick...it used to take me about 10 minutes to get my miter saw setup as I had to store it in my garage. This lopper saw can sit out right by my smoker and if I need it I plug it in and go to town.

It's already dark here, but I'll try and remember to post a couple pics tomorrow. Not much to see but it sure does make quick work of cutting splits down to a more usable length.
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4" doesn't seem like much. Did you have to split logs lengthwise first? I'm definitely interested.

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pjtexas1 said:
4" doesn't seem like much. Did you have to split logs lengthwise first? I'm definitely interested.

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So far every split I have I've been able to cut in half with this saw. The biggest one I had I did have to cut through it and then rotate it to finish the cut because of its size. So far I haven't had to split any of the splits down the middle so that I could cut them down to length. This being said the wood I have right now is of a pretty moderate size, and I know in the past I've had much larger splits which would require me to either split them first, or I'd have to do the cut + rotate + cut again method.
 
I have a $40 Harbor Freight corded electric chain saw. When I try to cut small diameter splits with it, the splits roll.


Do the splits roll with this B&D Lopper ?



How do you support the splits when you cut them ?
 
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