THE ALASKAN FIREWOOD CUTTING RACK

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My prototype consisted of two pairs of ordinary metal fence posts spaced to allow the saw to cut through the whole stack. I simply left one layer of permanent logs on the bottom to act as a buffer to keep my saw out of the frozen ground beneath the wood. I also lashed a crosspiece to each pair of poles, placed just above the bottom layer of wood, and tied the tops of the posts together to keep them from spreading.

The results were promising, so I went on to build a permanent rack incorporating a few improvements. I used longer posts, allowing me to stack the wood as high as I could safely reach. I used saplings for these uprights because they were less expensive and safer than metal posts. And I eventually settled upon five pairs of posts rather than two, spaced at the desired stovewood length to act as built-in cutting guides and to keep the lengths from tumbling out after they were sawed.

This system was fast; I could cut through two sledloads, up to two dozen small subarctic logs, in under fifteen minutes. It was safe; the cut sections stayed in place as I worked. It was fuel-efficient, since my chain saw was always working instead of idling uselessly on the sidelines. And the rack handled logs of varying lengths if I was careful to cut from alternating ends to keep them centered.

Of the dozens of improvements I made around that cabin over the years, nothing so simple had ever paid off so handsomely. If you have access to fairly straight logs, branches or even old, untreated boards, I can highly recommend this simple rack. It sure beats cutting wood one slow stick at a time.

Wooden posts keep the logs in place and don't present a hazard to the chain-saw blade. Sink them 12" or more in the ground, and don't make them any taller than you can safely reach. Rope binders at the top of the posts prevent the uprights from spreading. Log buffers laid flat on the ground provide a permanent base and keep the saw blade out of frozen earth. A wooden crosspiece lashed to each pair of posts strengthens the yoke and raises the work above the buffers. Spacing depends on firewood length. To get stove wood 24" long, the five post sets should be placed 2' apart. To determine the front-to-back measure, let the saw be your guide—a 20" chain bar would call for a distance of 18" or so between posts.

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