Tailgating Chainsaw

[Gadgeteer]

I made this tailgate adapter to hold a chainsaw, almost two decades ago. 2x4 with a bracket at each end to attach a hold-down strap, running under tailgate. 5/16" lag bolt run through a short piece of pipe for spacer supports the saw.

[DIYer]

Thanks Gadgeteer! We've added your Chainsaw Mount to our Logging category,
as well as to your builder page: Gadgeteer's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Chainsaw Mount by Gadgeteer

tags: chainsaw, mount

[rogue1949]

Being a slothful and lazy person, my fundamental rule for harvesting firewood is to move it as little as possible. I once calculated that if I were to pay myself $20/hr collecting and processing my 3-1/2 to 4 cords/winter each cord would be worth about $4,000-$6,000. This would include gas, oil, chains, and beer. With this rig you'd have to drop and limb your trees first, then cut them into ~8' logs, then load the logs into the truck, then do your final bucking down to ~16" rounds with this tailgate pivot. Then all your rounds would be on the ground and need to be loaded back into the truck again.Let's say you're curtting oak and each finished piece is averaging 3 lbs. That would give you 6 sticks of ~16" firewood for every 8' log, so just to get them into the truck bed would mean lifting and shoving about 8 (from the photo) 18 lb logs into the bed, which would probably require some awkward body mechanics my lumbar spiine would likely protest.
So, 3 lbs x 6/log x 8 logs = 144 lbs loaded into the truck bed, then loaded into the bed again after bucking, so 288 lbs of work plus time for setup of the saw jig. That would be like bench pressing my wife twice. No offense, but I'd be inclined to drop and limb and buck the logs on the ground then throw the rounds back into the truck and move on to splitting if needed. That would only require 144 lbs of wood to move or half the effort. Some would of course need to be moved again to the splitter, split, and loaded back into the truck. The work never seems to end.
How you process your firewood is highly dependent on your location. I'll take a SWAG (scientific wild-assed guess) and say our friend Gadgeteer probably lives in an area with a Mediterranean climate (no 90 lb/ft2 code for snowload on neighbor's carport) so probably lower foothills or valley elevation where oak is more common than pine. If that's your dominant species then this rig could be a good option to have.
I live at 4,000' in the Sierra, so I'm just above the oak-dominant foothills' transition to pine. At this elevation we have more conifers than deciduous, so lifting a 16" diameter 8' log would be out of the question. Sometimes just rolling a 32" round over to the splitter is a challenge.
This rig would provide a lot more consistency in firewood length than bucking logs on the ground. You could even drive a stake at 14-16" from the tailgate to use as a guide.

[nova_robotics]

Can you make it deployable while driving for cyclists?

[Moby Duck]

Can you make it deployable while driving for cyclists?

What a wonderful idea, but chainsaws use petroleum products so it will be difficult to get the cyclists to pull the starter cord.

[rogue1949]

I'd also be cautious about reaching around with my left hand to pull the branch forward for the next cut. Most chainsaws idle at 2200 - 3200 rpm. The chain isn't supposed to turn at idle but setting the idle speed is tricky and it would be difficult to find a wood butcher who hasn't continued cutting even though the chain was still turning at idle. I'd be worried about reaching around and stabbing myself in the throat with that thing.It looks like the bracket would fit anywhere on the tailgate so moving it toward the middle might be ergonomically safer. Current orientation would be more comfortable for a lefty and mounting with the bar dropping to the right might be better for a right-handed person.