December 2002	2300	0223–2330–MTDC
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Crosscut Saw Underbucking Tool

Underbucking tools (underbucks) enable crosscut saws to cut up from the bottom side of felled logs. Normally, logs are bucked (cut to length) from the top as they lie on the ground. Gravity feeds the saw down through the wood. Sometimes a log that is suspended off the ground needs to be cut from the bottom up. Usually, this is because the log has fallen in such a way that a cut from the top closes on the saw (binds), while a cut from the bottom may open, allowing the saw to operate freely. An underbuck supports the saw and allows a sawyer to cut upward, against gravity.

An underbuck supports the back of the crosscut saw (figure 1). When the sawyer applies slight downward pressure on the saw handle, the underbuck applies upward pressure on the other end of the saw, moving the saw teeth upward to saw the log.

Figure 1—The underbuck supports the back
of the crosscut saw and provides leverage
for making cuts from the bottom of a log.

Grooved ax handles and mechanical underbucks have been used for underbucking for many years. Underbucks created by blacksmiths serving oldtime logging camps were large and heavy. No company manufactures underbucks today. The Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) was asked to design a simple, lightweight underbuck for use by wilderness and backcountry crosscut sawyers.

MTDC's Underbuck

Using an antique underbuck as an example, MTDC recreated an underbuck that is inexpensive, lightweight, and easily fabricated. It features a 2-inch clamp weighing 8 ounces with a shielded steel pulley that can attach to an ax handle (figure 2). There is no manufacturer for the new underbucks. Assembly is simple following the directions included in this TechTip.

The parts were purchased from Reid Tool Supply Co.; P.O. Box 179; Muskegon, MI 49443; Phone: 800–253–0421.

Figure 2—The underbuck, which attaches to
the ax handle, features a 2-inch clamp with
a shielded steel pulley.

Continued

The Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, has developed this information for the guidance of its employees, its contractors, and its cooperating Federal and State agencies, and is not responsible for the interpretation or use of this information by anyone except its own employees. The use of trade, firm, or corporation names in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader, and does not constitute an endorsement by the Department of any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, and so forth) should phone USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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