Splitting Firewood...NF

[crappieperchhunter]

Got a pile of large wood and can't get through it with my 5 LB maul. So I started using an old axe head as a wedge and it works pretty good. Today I grabbed a wood wedge at HomeDepot. Not happy with it at all. It is dull and I can't pound it into the wood without a ton of effort. If I put an edge on it I'm sure it will help. I got through all the wood I have for now but was wondering if anyone has any tips or "tricks of the trade" to make my next go around a little easier...cause I'm not getting any younger

 

This is strictly for home use and I actually enjoy the workout...so I have no intention of investing in a splitter. My aching body would appreciate any gems you can share.

[misfish]

YUP

 

Here ya go dear,yer turn.

 

:rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:

[tb4me]

Order next years wood this winter and split when its frozen. Its a great workout and I find its easier to split frozen.Plus you don't work up such a sweat doing in the winter months. What kind of wood is it your splitting?

IMHO Wood wedges are for felling trees not splitting wood..

Edited November 22, 2013 by tb4me

[aplumma]

Hit it once with the maul and place the wedge in the cut.

 

 

Art

[SirCranksalot]

w but was wondering if anyone has any tips or "tricks of the trade" to make my next go around a little easier...cause I'm not getting any younger

 

 

 

 

Yup! Gas powered splitter! (rent one)

[cheaptackle]

Hit it once with the maul and place the wedge in the cut.

 

 

Art

^ whut he done said - then smack the wedge with the butt end of the maul. Although I like the frozen method tb mentioned too - did a bunch of ironwood one winter that way.

 

Michael

[aplumma]

I had an iron wood tree at one point and took a chainsaw to it and it sparked the chain. I never tried to cut on that tree again. They do make a fine walking stick though.

 

 

Art

[cheaptackle]

Think mine came in a cut/cured load I ordered in one fall and I set it aside with everything else needing split, thinking it may end up in the bonfire come spring. In January I was splitting and gave it a try - split clean mostly on the first whack. Burned forever in the air tight too!

 

Michael

[fish_fishburn]

Get an 8 or 10 lb maul

[DRIFTER_016]

Can't beat splitting wood when it's -30!!

I was heating with wood the first year I was up North of 60*.

Would go out in the yard to split in track pants and tee shirt @ -35 and would not be cold plus the wood split waaaaaay easy!!!!!

[Whopper]

Become a teacher and find a student

[Bernie]

Depending on the size of the log, what kind of wood and whether the grain of the wood is twisted.

Don't try to split a large one down the center. Take it off the side to begin and work your way around it.

Look at the log and how the grain goes. Avoid areas that have cut off branches.

Not many I can't split up, even in the summer.

The ones that give me a hard time I set aside and start a cut/split with the chain saw, then finish it off with the axe.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Bernie

[Fisherman]

What Bernie said, and pay attention which direction the tree grew. Cut with the top of the tree pointed down, if you can't figure that out, look at which way the branch stubbs are pointing. Steel wedge and 14 pound sledge. And wear safety glasses, they stop your eyeballs from falling out from the pain if you wack yerself in the shins with a 14lb sledgehammer.

[bigugli]

A) Your maul is too light. I had 12 and 14lb mauls.

If you can wait til the sap freezes, better.

C) Large logs you work from the outside in, else you will bury the maul in the center. You can also work a split line by making hits in line from one side to the other across a large log.

D) Twisted grains, like on Boxelder, Elms, etc.., are just a pain.

[aplumma]

The frozen wood thinggy I would not have known about it rarely gets down that cold for long enough for me to have noticed. Thanks OFC I learned something new every day here.

 

 

Art

[woodenboater]

If you've got a chainsaw, try noodling the round then working it down it in sections.

[nancur373]

 

Applies to wood splitting also.

[OhioFisherman]

Use the heaviest maul you can comfortably handle, yes the wood does split easier when it is frozen.

 

Wedges? They are not all equal no matter how much you pay for them. Some of the best I found were at flea markets, and you could tell by looking at them they had been heavily used, probably because they worked well.

 

Some wood splits a lot easier than others, my favorite is Oak, for the effort involved it burns a long time and hot. Pine splits easily, but is a flash in the pan, all we used it for were bonfires.

 

The grain of the wood will also make a difference in easy of splitting. Wood where large branches or stumps joined can be a pain to split.

 

My parents had an extra garage 250 feet behind their home, and my youngest brother had a tree service. We had split wood stacked up on both sides of the drive the whole way back to it. It became so much easier when he got a splitter. LOL

Edited November 23, 2013 by OhioFisherman

[Richie Razor]

 

Applies to wood splitting also.

I like how this guy thinks

[tb4me]

 

Applies to wood splitting also.

lol im not so sure mine would agree..Funny stuff right there..

[Rod Caster]

Can't beat splitting wood when it's -30!!

I was heating with wood the first year I was up North of 60*.

Would go out in the yard to split in track pants and tee shirt @ -35 and would not be cold plus the wood split waaaaaay easy!!!!!

That would be my suggestion as well...and an 8lbs maul would help as well.

 

I have a pile of birch I'm gonna hero split this winter...seriously you'll feel like superman blasting through your pile. YOu'll never split in the summer again.

[lew]

 

 

 

And there's nothing wrong with the Mrs. hauling the logs off to the wood shed either.

 

[Garnet]

All good advice. You don't want sharp. That just sticks in the block. Dull will pop in open.

[Sinker]

Get a heavier maul Steve. Mine is 14lbs....I prefer the gas splitter though

 

Please wear eye protection if your using a steel wedge. I have a good buddy who is missing an eye because he didn't.

 

P.S....if you want to use my splitter, just say the word!

 

S.

[crappieperchhunter]

Thx all for the replies. Especially the advise about eye protection....I never would have considered that a problem. I have always heard splitting when the wood is frozen makes it easier...but I have a bit of a space consideration so I pretty much have to chop it up as I get it.

 

I'm not a newbie when it comes to splitting firewood...it's just that this batch was very knotty and extra difficult. It was the picked over crap left from the city cutting down a big tree....you know the stuff you generally say isn't worth the effort and leave for someone else....groan. Anything I have split previously to now was handled with my 5 LB maul no problem.

 

I think I'll get myself a heavier maul....anybody have a recommendation which one to get or even where to get it? When I got my 5LBer it was the heaviest one I could find at the time around here. I just figured that was as heavy as they got.

 

P.S. Thx for the splitter offer Shayne...much appreciated. But for all the wood I use I'll take the aching muscles for now.