Tips to cut wood into small chunks?

I use a bandsaw to do my limbs.. but, without that, I'd buy a simple bow saw from the hardware store.. put the small limbs in a vise and saw away.. work off a few beers thataway..

I second the band saw, you can get a cheap one at Sears for around $60 on sale.

The band saw doesn't produce nearly as much sawdust, which means your wasting less wood. also, you can take off the bark, to within a 1/16"

Plus you get to keep all of your fingers.

I just checked, and they have one on sale now for $60.

band saw

Good idea on the band saw, but I was hoping to do this without having to fork out cash for any more power tools or smoking equipment .

I was wondering if a different miter saw blade would be less likely to get stuck in the wood or less likely to be stopped by a knot. The blade I have on there now is an all purpose one with big teeth. I was wondering if one with smaller, more frequent teeth would be less likely to jamb.

I could also cut these chunks with a chainsaw, but wondered about the chain oil getting on the wood. However, on the WSM site, I read that many people use chainsaws to cut their smoking wood into small chunks and they've never noticed any noticable oil on the wood after its cut, and they haven't noticed any funny taste after smoking with wood cut into chunks with a chainsaw. Plus, many of them agree that when you buy packaged smoking wood, it was most likely cut with a chainsaw.

Anyone have any opinions on whether its OK to use a chainsaw to cut smoking wood into smaller chunks, or if a certain type of miter saw blade is better at sawing through knots in wood without jambing?

I think you need to have the bushings on your saw checked. You can probably do it yourself.

There is nothing on a tree limb the miter saw should have any problems cutting through.

I use one to cut through Ipe(ironwood) for decking and it is tougher than any tree you'd smoke with.

studly,I would not use a chainsaw on count of the chain-bar oil.I also use a band saw,or if the limbs are small enough I use my makita 7&1/4 skill saw,with the limbs in a vise.I have a 40 tooth carbide blade on my skill saw & it works fine when you let the limbs dry out for about 2 to 3 months.

For cheap.. do you have a Harbor Freight in your area? They have power tools that are both cheap and cheap.. inexpensive bandsaws and, I forget the name of the demolition type sabre saw.. used for cutting pipes, holes in roofs, etc.. but they have one for about $20 quite often.. Yep, went to their website and here it is.. It ain't industrial quality.. but, for cutting Q wood.. what the heck.. and you can use it for tons of jobs around the property.. They also have a $70 version that they sell for 1/2 price quite often.. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=4095

Also, here is a bow saw.. can't beat the price.. unless they have a 1/2 price sale on them too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90220

BTW, I certainly would not worry about waste unless you are buying furniture lumber or getting scraps from a cabinet shop.

The CS uses so little wood it is immaterial

Bill

bow saw is what i use. works great and the wood was free. just went around the neighborhood after all the hurricanes and picked it up to cut and use in peggy's sm
jack

What kind of wood is it?

Hippie, the wood I'm cutting is from a crab apple tree.

Todd, yeah, I'd think a miter saw should be able to cut through everything. But while searching the WSM smoking forums, I see that lots of people have reported problems using their miter saw when it hits a knot ... lots of people report that the saw can hit a knot and send the wood piece flying across the room, denting walls, etc.

Thanks for the tips, everyone!

Yep, apple wood is very dense and if there is any sap, gums up the blade.

Does apple wood get easier to cut once it's dried out? These are fresh-cut limbs.

No wood chopping is easy.......

Thanks again for the tips everyone. Apparently I was in too big of a hurry before. I retried cutting some of those branches, but this time lowered the saw blade very slowly. It worked beautifully, even in parts of the wood with lots of knots. No bucking, no jambing of the blade!

That's great, but to answer your question, wood is easier to cut with a chainsaw when it is green, don't know about any other saws.