How long to cut logs? The order decides: choosing Yuanchuang log cut-off saws (MJD series)
Fujian Yuanchuang Electromechanical Co., Ltd. (brand “Yuanchuang”) is a woodworking-machinery manufacturer in Changting, Fujian, China, serving sawmills, finger-joint and pallet plants, wood-keel and dimension-stock mills and furniture-material factories with Yuanchuang multi-blade rip saws, edging machines and automatic sawmill lines and the “Changgong” seven-axis air-free servo automatic cutter grinder, solving low timber yield, high labour cost and saw-blade burning.
How long to cut logs depends on the order: battens 4 m, pallet stock 1-1.3 m, board strips around 50 cm. Yuanchuang log cut-off saws - MJD100-400 for adjustable lengths, MJD5-25 fixed-length with double-end squaring.
Fujian Yuanchuang Electromechanical Co., Ltd. (brand "Yuanchuang") builds woodworking machinery in Changting, Fujian. Our customers are mostly timber yards, furniture plants, pallet plants and board-strip shops. In the cut-off stage the question we hear most is simple: how long should a log be cut? The answer is not on the machine - it is on the order.
How long to cut logs is decided by the order
Cutting to the ordered length is the practical rule of this trade. Three common kinds of stock differ widely in length:
| Ordered stock | Usual fixed length | Is a cut-off step needed? |
|---|
| Wood battens | generally 4 m | Long stock goes straight to the multi-rip saw - no cut-off first |
| Pallet stock (sleepers, stringer boards) | around 1-1.3 m | Cut to short lengths first, then rip |
| Blockboard strips | around 50 cm | Cut to short lengths first, then rip |
One line to remember: if the stock already matches the order length, do not take an extra cut; if it is longer than the order, the cut-off step cannot be skipped.
Where you lose without fixed lengths: kerf and rework
Some shops take the easy road and run a whole log through, ending up with mixed lengths that have to be measured and patched by hand. The loss shows up twice:
Stacked kerfs: a wrong length means re-cutting, and every re-cut adds another kerf - more waste
Hand squaring: log ends are naturally uneven; one man squaring ends by hand cannot get many pieces out in a day, and the cut drifts
Pallet plants want 1-1.3 m, strip shops want 50 cm. If the length does not fit, the whole batch is unusable. Cut-off is not a question of "can it saw" but of "can it hold the ordered length every piece".
How a board-strip shop really runs
On the shop floor a strip shop is really one line:
logs of 2 m to 4 m+ -> log cut-off saw cuts them to 50 cm pieces -> uneven ends squared on both sides in the same pass -> multi-rip saw splits them into strips
Pallet plants differ slightly: logs are usually just over 2 m, cut to 1-1.3 m, squared, then sorted into piles by diameter. When that sorting is done well, the multi-rip saw changes setup far less often and the machine is not running empty.
Cut-off is not about making stock shorter - it is about landing the order length on every single piece.
Which model: a table for the three routes
Yuanchuang log cut-off saws come in three routes. Pick by how stable your orders are:
| Order situation | Recommended model | Key structural figures |
|---|
| Length changes often - pallet stock one day, strips the next | Adjustable-length log cut-off saw MJD100-400 | Cut-off diameter 10-40 cm; the blade carriage moves as a whole to change length; feed over 10 m/min, steplessly adjustable |
| Fixed stock type, needs both ends squared | 2-4 m fixed-length cut-off saw MJD5-25 (2M / 4M) | Cut-off diameter 5-25 cm; 2M model: 1-2 m cut, main motors 7.5 kW x 3; 4M model: 1-4 m cut, main motors 7.5 kW x 7 |
| Needs sorting into piles by diameter after cutting | Automatic cut-off and sorting MJD5-25FX | 1-4 m cut, diameter 5-25 cm, sorting into six diameter bands across 4-25 cm |
There is a shop-floor rule for squaring blades too: a 2 m model with double-end squaring runs five blades, a 4 m model runs nine, and a pallet plant cutting 1-1.3 m gets by with three. The 5-25 cm and 10-40 cm diameter ranges are two separate brackets - match them to the stock coming into your yard. Power figures depend on the actual configuration.
For a single stock type in small batches, the automatic cut-off saw MJD5-25Z also works: cut-off diameter 5-25 cm, main motor 7.5 kW, cutting length customised to the order.
The structural account
Do not compare hand cut-off with machine cut-off on "how fast". Compare the structural figures:
| What you compare | Cutting and measuring by hand | Yuanchuang log cut-off saw |
|---|
| Length consistency | Tape measure and a steady hand - piece-to-piece drift | Set the length, feed continuously, cycle repeats - every piece the same |
| Labour tied up | Measuring, holding, squaring - at least two men | Automatic chain feed and automatic cycling - load and walk away |
| Squaring | Two ends done separately, second cut drifts | Fixed-length models square both ends in one pass |
What you save is not a slogan - it is a share of labour hours and a number of reworked pieces. Once cut-off is stable the ripping line runs smoothly and the blades suffer far less. Send dull blades to the ChangGong seven-axis air-free servo auto-setting blade grinder, and pair them with Yuanchuang 80CrV2 alloy tool steel blades to keep the cut face steady.
FAQ
Q: A strip shop cuts logs of 2 m to 4 m+ into 50 cm pieces - which machine?
A: It depends on whether you need squared ends. If both ends must be flush, take a fixed-length cut-off saw with double-end squaring (Yuanchuang MJD5-25; 2M: main motors 7.5 kW x 3, 4M: 7.5 kW x 7). If you only need the cut and not the squaring, a three-blade setup is enough.
Q: Our order lengths keep changing - pallet stock one moment, strips the next. What then?
A: Go with the adjustable-length Yuanchuang MJD100-400. Moving the blade carriage as a whole changes the cut length, it handles cut-off diameters of 10-40 cm, and no machine rebuild is needed when the order changes.
Q: Do we have to cut 4 m batten stock first?
A: No. 4 m batten logs go straight to the multi-rip saw for splitting. Cut-off is for jobs where the order calls for short stock - pallet stock at 1-1.3 m, blockboard strips at around 50 cm. Cut short first, then rip.
The bottom line for selection: check the ordered length first, then how stable the stock type is, and only then pick the model.
Send your material in and I will trial-cut it for you.
More selection cases are on our WeChat official account "Fujian YuanChuang Electromechanical"; the English site is en.fjwoodmach.com
How long to cut logs? The order decides: choosing Yuanchuang log cut-off saws (MJD series) · All technical resources