A sawbuck is a device for holding rough wood so that it may be sawn into pieces of length usable in a stove or fireplace. Easily made in the field from rough material, it consists of two "X" forms, one at each end, which are stabilized by a central piece. The stock to be cut is placed in the upward facing "V"s of the end pieces where it may then be sawn.

A sawbuck is very simple to build. The five "V" sawbuck was designed with 10 vertical 2x4's each 4 feet long and 4 horizontal 2x6's 5 feet long using 3.5 inch wood screws. It was designed this way in order to cut two or more smaller pieces (2–4 feet in length) of firewood in rapid succession. A sawbuck should be heavy enough to negate any kickback from the chainsaw while cutting. Building a sawbuck that is too light weight could result in injury as it may tip over while cutting.

In Britain, unlike the USA, this is called a "saw horse"; a sawhorse

Sawhorse

A sawhorse is a beam with four legs used to support a board or plank for sawing. A pair of sawhorses can support a plank, forming a scaffold. In certain circles, it is also known as a mule.The sawhorse may be designed to fold for storage...

 in the U.S. is a similar device used (often in pairs) to support wood planks.

Other uses

Sawbuck is also slang

Slang

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...

 for a U.S. ten dollar bill

Federal Reserve Note

A Federal Reserve Note is a type of banknote used in the United States of America. Federal Reserve Notes are printed by the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing on paper made by Crane & Co. of Dalton, Massachusetts. They are the only type of U.S...

 as well as ten dollars worth of marijuana. The term may derive from the fact that older versions of the bill included the roman numeral for ten, "X", which resembles one of the ends of the wood supporting device described above. This name was most common in the days of large-sized note

Large-sized note

A large-sized note is a bill of any denomination of U.S. currency printed between 1863 and 1929. This is in contrast with small-sized notes, which were printed starting in 1928. Large-sized notes exist in denominations of $1 through $10,000. The most common large-sized notes are the Federal Reserve...

s. In bowling

Bowling

Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...

terminology, "sawski" refers to a sawbuck.

External links

• Article to build your own sawbuck
• Article on sawbuck design