If you have a chainsaw, you can do a lot of things, such as felling, limbing and pruning trees, but if you don’t have a chainsaw and need to do these things, what are your options? Luckily, there are lots of traditional tools that can be used in the place of a chainsaw.
A modern, gas or electric powered chainsaw is certainly preferable, but people were performing these tasks successfully with manual tools long before its invention, and so can you! In this article, we will discuss chainsaw alternatives. Read on to learn more.
Best way to cut logs without a chainsaw
1. Crosscut
You can use a crosscut saw. This tool looks a lot like a standard hand saw. It consists of a sturdy handle and blade. This tool is available in several varieties, specifically suited to individual purposes.
Crosscut saws come in one or two-person designs. Some crosscut saws are heavy with very stiff blades. These are intended to cut up trees to make firewood logs. There are also lightweight, flexible crosscut saws that are meant for use when actually felling trees.
The blades also have variations in teeth patterns. You may see Great American, Champion or plain-toothed models. These are each intended for specific purposes, and you must read the packaging or talk with the seller to determine which saw is right for your purpose.
2. Hand Saw
A standard handsaw is very much like a crosscut saw, but it is more suited to one-handed operation. There are many different sizes and configurations of handsaws, each suited to a specific task.
3. Bow Saw
The bow saw is a bow-shaped frame saw. A bow saw can be a good tool for cutting up firewood, but it is not a good tool for felling trees. The frame of the saw is curved and holds the blade straight and at correct tension. The tension of the blade can be adjusted with a turnbuckle or twisted cord. This type of saw is best suited for woodworking.
4. Folding Saw
A folding saw is a good thing to carry with you on a hiking or camping trip. This is the saw version of a pocket knife. The fact that it folds keeps the blade out of the way and safe and makes it a compact and useful item to carry along in a situation where you will (or may) need to build a fire.
5. Wire Saw
Wire saws are also very light, portable, useful tools. This type of saw works by looping a wire around the branch you want to cut and working it back and forth to cut all the way around. These saws are so small, you can carry one in your pocket. This is a very good tool to have any time you are out in the wilderness and might find yourself needing to build a fire.
6. Axe
An axe is a traditional tree-felling and log-splitting tool. It takes a lot of strength to wield and axe, and there’s a different element of danger involved than when cutting with a saw. You are probably better off keeping a small hatchet on hand for use as needed, but sticking with some sort of saw for big firewood cutting jobs.
7. Breaking by Hand
If you are dealing with old, dry or rotted wood, you can just break it up by hand. While you might be tempted to break it over your knee, don’t. You can hurt yourself doing this. Instead, hold it firmly on a flat, sturdy surface (half on/half off) and break it against the edge of the surface. Alternately, place the branch on the ground, stand on it and pull up. This is a good way to make kindling, and if you are dealing with small limbs it can be a useful task for a child.
8. Smaller Electric Saws
If you have electricity and you just want to cut up scrap wood (e.g. old pallets, odds and ends of boards, etc.) for kindling, you can use a reciprocating saw, a jigsaw or a circular saw. You cannot fell a tree or cut up large logs with these saws, but you can create kindling from scrap.
Clearly there are many alternatives to a chainsaw when it comes to cutting up wood to build a fire. Refer to this guide whenever you find yourself needing firewood and lacking a chainsaw.
9. Circular Saw
Well, it is very difficult to use circular saw on trees other than those that are already cut down, but you can use it if you have something like pallets that you just want to cut up and burn.
10. Cutting and Splitting Firewood Without Power
Fastest way to ‘cut’ firewood without axe or saw! Takes only seconds.
That was a nice quick read. While doing so is extremely time-consuming, it is possible to fell trees with a circular saw and/or reciprocating saw. A medium-size “camp” axe helps as well. I live in the northeastern USA. There are millions of trees here. The thickest tree I have felled without using a chainsaw is eight inches.