Tools, Tips and Tricks

I think the pics are on my previous phone. I will rummage, or drag out the jig. Its much like a router jig.

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Note that the holder is inclined, this holds the handle correctly, but also allows for fine adjustment of the torch height. I think the removable plywood base allows use over the full range this torch will cut.

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Happy New Year. Thanks Garry, I just found my next project. Looks super useful.
Pepe

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I think this is my New Year’s project:

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Hi all
I needed to cut the lid for my heat exchanger so i built a simple jig out of a board and junk bolt. It won’t last long but it gets the job done. JakobDSCN9492DSCN9494DSCN9495

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Garry, my father uses that kind of chainsaw setup from time to time but with an electric chainsaw. Convenient if you’re doing only a small batch.
I can’t help noticing 99% of the youtubers seem to have very strong backs. They let all their wood fall down to the ground. They even rake down logs that happen to pile up. To let the wood fall down into a wheelbarrow would save more work than the equipment they invented :smile:

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Good point Jo, yes, a wheelbarrow would make very good sense. I did not know the chainsaw setup was an old idea. It seems too many YouTube videos are made by some enthusiastic person the moment they finished the project.

I like this idea though, very easy to set up beside a cord wood pile, keeps the work more in a standing position, and the saw away from mud and rocks, etc.

I will modify the base to have 3 raised feet, the one they show isn’t made to work on rough ground or in the bush.

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Only problem is the stress will always be on the bar front bearing.
It would be nice to have it mounted to the truck bed or trailer.

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Garry, I was referring to a gig that would hold my 4 1/2 in. grinders. Since burning my shop, I am having to do everything with limited tools— a new mig welder with fluxcore, a 4 1/2 in. grinders, and limited hand tools. TomC

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To a degree you should be able to cut circles with a small grinder, but you’d use a 1/8 disc. Otherwise I’d probably look at a jigsaw with a bimetal blade. And think about putting a spacer under the jigsaw so you can use fresh teeth after a while.

For material up to 14 ga you can use one of those cheap electric sheet metal cutters, as long as the shears are adjusted properly they cut great.

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Good point about the stress on the bearing. Maybe a re-think is needed, make it more like a chop saw, with a foot pedal to raise the saw…

That would make it more complicated and heavier, but with proper guarding far safer to work around… I have seen videos using a chainsaw hinged on the nose of the bar used like a chop saw, that would mount nicely to a truck tailgate, but be a bit inconvenient to work around…

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I like this way for awkward branches ,the saw horse is light enough to carry into the bush .

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Haha for wood in the video l dont even need a chainsaw, l culd bite it to peaces :smile: looks like punky alder. Try this with a same size log of green beech or oak… only way l see this practical (at least for my circumstances) is to use it for thin branchwood cutinf, but in this case a drum chunker is much more conveniant for me.

On the bearing stress, l guess it shuldnt be much of a problem to just flip the saw around? Chainsaws are designed to run upside down anyways?

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You are right of course, hard frozen wood will tend to skip on top unless the chain is very sharp, and sure the saw will run upside down. Some designs (electrics generally) have an oil reservoir which only works in an upright position, so caution there.

I am working out a different design entirely now.

I did come across this fellow’s design yesterday, needs more guarding, but it does a decent job as a chop saw…

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Hi Don,
There are fire code stipulations banning flammable
substances (wooden door, curtains, beds and bedding, etc)
from opening and making contact with the elec heater. Fires happen and they kill.
Depending on the length of the heater and that wall, it would be
easy to move the heater to the opposite corner. Heater too long,
marry 2 shorter ones around the corner opposite the door.
There also appears to be a sill of some sort over the heater. That could be a window,
so keep those curtains welllllll above the baseboard heater. Also no flammable
items on the sill that could fall onto the heater. Use a tester on the outlets
to insure proper polarity and grounding. Insure there are no outlets over the
heater so cords will not come in contact the heater.
Yes, I was a building inspector for a county mental health facility.
They wanted to keep me, but I escaped :grin:
Be safe,
Pepe

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In that apartment there are no curtains on the window. Upstairs unit. There is a curtain bar, but no reason to have curtains to the floor You can’t rely on common sense with people, but that building has stood for over 100 years now, fingers crossed…

I wish we didn’t customarily build such flammable structures.

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I cut about a 3.5-4" one with an 4.5" angle grinder and the 1/16 disk. I held it over the center of the circle and tilted it to about 45 degrees and went around the circle with it several times taking like 1/32" out per pass. It came out as a circle. :slight_smile: Wear protective gear if you try it, the face of the grinder is up, if the disk shatters there isn’t anything protecting you.

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I do the same. Allso JO once told me its smart to keep the litle worn out discs for this purpose.

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My only caution is that the very thin discs aren’t meant for side loading. Either they will wear prematurely or begin to fragment. Which is why I suggested 1/8".

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I sketched up a jig that you could mount the grinder in and tilt it so the edge of the disk touching the metal is nearest the center of the circle. Drill a small hole in the plate to be cut and set the center pivot in the hole. Rotate the grinder lightly around the center point several times to make the cut through. ( I am so far behind rebuilding my gasifier that I don’t have time or I would build one) TomC

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