Homemade Sawbuck for Cutting Firewood

Use this portable homemade sawbuck for securing logs to be cut into firewood.

Sawbucks are devices for holding logs or branches that are being cut into firewood. They make the task safer and more efficient. I live on a city lot and needed a sawbuck that could fold up and store in a limited amount of space. I built it from salvaged 2-by-4s and scraps of plywood or particleboard. It can be made any size, depending upon your need.

This “mini-buck” stands only 20 inches high and has two sets of legs. The plywood is first glued to the legs with construction adhesive, then screwed, nailed or stapled, making the sawbuck rigid and stable yet light enough to fold and carry. It’s easy to customize by adding holes to help carry it or to hang it from a wall.

The key is to build each half identical and then offset the pieces when assembling. This allows you to adjust the spacing with washers if the joints become too loose or too tight because of the wood swelling or from wear. When building, it also helps if you drill all of the pivot holes dead center in each 2-by-4 before gluing and nailing on the plywood. The sawbuck is held in the open position when the 2-by-4 legs butt up against the top edges of the plywood cross pieces.

Philip Jacobs
St. Paul, Minnesota

Source: http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/homemade-sawbuck-zm0z12onzhun.aspx#ixzz38JfBZ8D5