Cutting Sticks

[SCOMPL 14]

How do you cut your stick? I use a hacksaw, but it's very difficult to square the cut. I came across a neat hacksaw guide that looks like it could work for cutting sticks, but it's a bit pricey and I'm curious if anyone has a cheaper or more effective method.

http://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Oversized-Adjustable-Guide/dp/B0042696TY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_1

[Capt.Hook 23]

Not cheap but I have a chop saw (Radial arm saw) and that is the best. I mess around with sticks a lot so it really saves some time and makes nice cuts. You might be able to get by with a saw and an old miter box. That would be cheaper. I think it's called a miter box - it has a bunch of nice cut guides built into it so you can make nice 90 degree cuts.

[Vet88 674]

I also use a drop saw but a mitre saw does just as well. Have a look on eBay under the tools section, a 2nd hand one is close to the price you are looking at for the hacksaw guide and it's a hell of a lot better.

[XveritasX 13]

I use a hack saw also. If you have a problem keeping it straight then you can pick up a mitre box for cheap. At my shop we also fix bikes during the summer and we have a clap and guide for cutting seat posts. It looks like this

It works great for hockey sticks. Sometimes youth sticks need to be shimmed in order to get a snug clap on it.

[SCOMPL 14]

I have a Stanley mitre box but it's made for a wood saw and not a hack saw. A hack saw blade is much more flimsy than a wood saw blade. The straight cut slots are about 1/8" wide and allows the hack saw blade to twist, which has resulted in some pretty uneven cuts to my sticks.

XveritasX, does the round shape of that guide fit a traditional one piece stick? If you put a square stick in it, does it stay put while cutting?

[XveritasX 13]

The one in my shop doesn't have the round guide to it. It just has a flat bolt that clamps on the stick.

[Souldriver 64]

Since I don't cut that many sticks I use a hand hacksaw and used to use a fine toothed scroll saw-esq one but the blade snapped. I would take my old stick mark it off all around the shaft and cut, in the end I would take some sandpaper and a sanding block and get it nice and flat.

I've seen NHL equipement managers use a rather long hack saw and a miterbox that holds the length of the stick. Just a couple if passes with the right blade and you're done.