Somebody apparently felt they needed my old sawbuck more than I did, because when I went out to use it last week, it was gone. So, I spent some time searching the creek for sawbuck threads, put a few ideas that I found together, added a few twists of my own, and came up with this. It solves the problem of lifting heavy logs onto the sawbuck, and holds them securely.
It's mainly based on Breck Whitworth's stand, Post #12 of this thread: Cutting bowl blanks out of logs
The log lifting solution came from this thread: chainsaw sawbuck update
I made a separate stand for bowl blanks to remove the bark side of the log, based on Breck's stand, but modified the uprights to give better access to the chainsaw, for working on smaller logs. In the photo, because it was a smaller log, I used a spacer so the chainsaw bar wouldn't make contact with the stand. For larger logs, it's not needed.
Here are some shots of the new system in action. The removable "handles" are 8 foot 2x4, I tried 5 footers, but they didn't afford enough leverage for a really big log like this one. Once the stand is in cutting position, the handles can be removed so there is no tripping over them. The blue pieces that hold the handles are only 3" wide, so I had to trim the 2x4's a bit so they would fit, but that also provided a nice stop, to keep them from sliding right on through. They are nickel plated steel, I painted them with primer then blue spray paint.
The log is strapped to the stand for the lifting process with with a ratcheted motorcycle tie-down from Home Depot. I have two of them, one was enough for this log.
I need to attach some out riggers, as the narrowness of the frame does make it tippy on uneven ground. I did cut off the bottoms of the two middle uprights to make it more stable. I had originally made the bevel of the uprights 45 degrees, but found that forced the log together as the saw was going through the bottom of the cut, binding the bar. So I trimmed them back to a more shallow angle with a jig saw, and it works better for me. I used Breck's measurements as a guide, but went with 6 uprights, unevenly spaced, to allow for good support on a wide range of log sizes.
So here is the object of my attention, and oval shaped birch log, 21" long about about as wide.
Here is the stand, tipped on end, with the log securely strapped to it, ready to lift.
A log this heavy, I have to get up on the stand and lean back in order to get things moving. Here I am ready to apply each of my 145 pounds to the task.
For anything heavier than this one, I got a 15 foot towing strap, hook it to some rings installed on the tops of the handles, and can use my legs to walk it back a ways, then pull on the strap hand over hand until I can reach the handles. I haven't had to resort to that yet, but it's available if needed.
I took these pics today, but didn't do any sawing, as my thermometer read 98 degrees in the shade. The "action" shots were done on shutter delay with a tripod. I was caught in the one frame looking at the camera to see if the timer was still blinking - it wasn't.
I have used this a few times now, and while it takes a while to get the log situated, it is so much easier on the back than bending over to work with a big log on the ground, or lifting even a medium sized round log onto a stand.
I hope this offers some inspiration to others who like their work up off the ground, but want to save their backs.
Dan
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