Splittin' wood tips.. the old fashoned way

[Adam_P]

So I split about a half a cord today by hand. I was splitting some big rounds today using a wedge and sledge and I was wondering if there's any smarter way I can be doing it...

OTHER than a hydraulic splitter.

For the big stuff I'm using the wedge and sledge and just working on spots where I can see the rays in the wood where it's checked. Working from the edges in. I'm wondering if there's a better way. For the smaller stuff the fiskars splitting axe/maul works as well as it's rumored too.

I'm only 33 and my body only partially hates me so splitting 2-3 cords a year won't be a problem. I'd like to get some good tips to hand down to the little guy when he's old enough. I helped my dad split when I was a kid and feel like it's kind of a rite of passage. The only good tip I ever got from my old man was to make sure I was using a maul, lol.

In 8-10 years I'll pick up one of these but for now I'm doing it the old fashoned way.

So, any tips from some old time woodsmen?

 

[DMc]

On big rounds try going in about 6 to 8 inches and setting the wedge with the grain, parallel with the annual rings. Depends on wood type but it should pop off easy.

Dave

 

[Cobleskill]

That works good with ax or maul too. Take a few slabs.

 

[Al Smith]

You're probabley better off to set the round up which ever way it grew .Find a crack if you can or a flaw in the grain pattern if possible .

I've only had that splitter about 4-6 years so if you look at my age that will pretty well tell you I've swung a sledge or an axe most of my life prior to .I miss it about as much as tooth ache .

On the other hand I could knock a baseball a long way when I was in high school and that swing all came from using an axe .

 

[MasterBlaster]

Ever seen anyone use a tire to hold the wood?

 

[Cobleskill]

I have. Something to keep the piece from tipping over helps. I usually jam the chunk up next to some other chunks.

 

[Al Smith]

A lot depends on the wood .You can around the sides of an oak round and just knock it off slick as a whistle .

 

[SouthSoundTree]

Bungee, too. Rope or bungee/ rope combo around a bunch of rounds.

Don't split directly on soft ground.

Frozen seems to split well.

 

[Tucker943]

I used to do 40-50 cords a year with a maul. Horrible. Smaller logs I would leave laying on their side on the ground and hit them with the maul like a golf club.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I have a couple of really nasty, knotty maple logs that I don't look forward to splitting by hand. I might just set them on the Wood Mizer and split them down to size, then cut them to length with the chainsaw. I use an 8 pound maul. I just finished busting up a couple of 24" ash rounds that were not as nice as ash usually is. I work my way around the outside making it smaller and smaller. Usually you can bust up the middle even if it is knotty.

 

[Al Smith]

Ash splits easy,green red and white oak easy ,green hickory usually .Elm is next to impossible,beech depends .Black locust is easy,honey locust is not .Bur oak has to many knots you about have to rip part of it with a chainsaw .Knotty maple you about have to rip with a saw too .What few American horn beam AKA ironwood there are is usually small so you don't need to split it but if you ever do you'll know why they call it iron wood .About like hitting an anvil .

Now on that hornbeam for some reason they get about 4-6 inchs in diameter and just die .The bark falls off and it falls over .The damned little tree will lay on the ground forever before it rots .I gather up a bunch of them every so often and use them to side load logs .I can roll a 3000 pound log over the side with two 4 or 5 inch poles .I've broken sugar maple trying that trick .

 

[sotc]

For easy splitting stuff use an axe. Learn to flip it. I just looked for a video on youtube and couldn't find any. At the split second of impact with the wood you need to lay the axe head on its side. This keeps the it from getting stuck, going clear through and hitting the ground, and also helps pop the wood apart. If you ever hear the term ringing axe, thats what happens when you flip it. Bigger rounds you can work your way around, smaller rounds right up the middle. You can swing an axe day in and day out. A proper axe handle is designed to make it easy to flip. Clear as mud?

 

[MasterBlaster]

I'm glad I don't need firewood!

I think...

 

[Jack]

...
I'm only 33 and my body only partially hates me so splitting 2-3 cords a year won't be a problem. I'd like to get some good tips to hand down to the little guy when he's old enough. I helped my dad split when I was a kid and feel like it's kind of a rite of passage. The only good tip I ever got from my old man was to make sure I was using a maul, lol.

In 8-10 years I'll pick up one of these but for now I'm doing it the old fashoned way.

So, any tips from some old time woodsmen?

I'm more than twice your age and still maul split 3+ cords a year - oak, maple, whatever ... NOT black gum!!! I do like Dave says for the big rounds by working around the edges. But, on a large clear oak round you can work your way across the center of a big round repeatedly and split it in half - without a wedge.

Also, over the years, I've tried every type of maul and found that for my body weight (180#) and style, a six pound maul works better than an eight pound maul. I can swing it faster and get more energy into the wood. Kinetic energy equals 1/2 mass times velocity squared. Which means twice the weight equals only twice the energy. but, twice the speed equals four times the energy. So pick the maul that best fits you and your swing.

I just got a Fiskars X27 and am liking it so far. Its weight seems to match my style. It's not good for using steel wedges. I use wedges only on the toughest rounds and then with an eight pounder.

Another little trick, when splitting a crotch, don't try to split the union. Split from the butt end through both rounds at the same time - a lot easier. Same is true for splitting through large knots.

I do use a tire on occasion but more to protect the bit than hold the round. I've also found that I have to move the wood a lot less by bucking and splitting where the tree falls. I use the stump for a splitting block ... can't get more solid than that.

... just a few thoughts, FWIW ... enjoy

 

[NickfromWI]

For easy splitting stuff use an axe. Learn to flip it. I just looked for a video on youtube and couldn't find any. At the split second of impact with the wood you need to lay the axe head on its side. This keeps the it from getting stuck, going clear through and hitting the ground, and also helps pop the wood apart. If you ever hear the term ringing axe, thats what happens when you flip it. Bigger rounds you can work your way around, smaller rounds right up the middle. You can swing an axe day in and day out. A proper axe handle is designed to make it easy to flip. Clear as mud?

Right here at about 3:45

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X5W6r5U7yBE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[woodworkingboy]

I have split all the wood for my shop stove by hand for the last twenty years. I kind of enjoy it, emphasis on "kind of", but it makes for a change from the indoor often acute work. Elm or our Zelkova makes for good burning, but anything longer than twelve-fourteen inches or so and I have no tips for decent splitting, other than cutting it in half. Bugger wood to split. I wonder if the forefathers in the states burned much Elm?

 

[Al Smith]

There's a definate difference in axes .Most of them you find these days have a long narrow head and are not really good splitters .A double bit cruiser as a rule is not a good splitter .

The one in this picture is over100 years old ,hand forged and is a true splitter ,weighs 5 pounds .I've had this thing myself for about 40 years and prior to it was in my ex wifes family .Tell ya what you keep missing on the swing you get real good at replacing handles which I have indeed .

 

[Tree Reb]

Not many hints I can give you as our wood is a lot different to split, but Al's right here. If it doesn't split after a few tries turn it upside down, that usually gets it. And use a low splitting block.

You're probabley better off to set the round up which ever way it grew .

Can't see that axe trick working on a curly Grey Box, it'll flip alright.

I've split a lot of wood and haven't used anything but this in the last 35 years, except for easy stuff like in the second picture. It even worked on that Pin Oak.

I don't get enough good wood to sell now so I only split about 10 to 15 tons a year these days. Every time I split some I think I should have played golf for a living.

 

[Al Smith]

Long time ago the Sotz company made what they called a monster mall and monster it was ,16-18 pounds of solid steel .If you had enough azz to swing it it would bust through anything .Whew about 3 good licks you had to rest a bit though ,that's a lot of iron to be swinging .

 

[Al Smith]

Back when I sold the stuff most of it was hand split but I did it about 2 out of three days almost year round .I was a lot younger then too .Maybe a cord maybe be half but steady.

Even before I built the splitter although I only burn about 4-5 cords a year I might split 8 .I could get two cords a day but seldom did .The last time I pulled that trick was to prove a point which I did and it was shag bark hickory .Ached for about three days over that deal .

 

[Tree Reb]

An old tree guy I knew had one but somebody welded a steel pipe handle on it, I tried one block.

That handle I have isn't as good as a wood handle but you get used to it pretty quick.

 

[flushcut]

When I first started out selling firewood I did it all by hand, maul, sedge, and wedges. I loved splitting wood that way but I needed more production so I bought a splitter and have not split wood with a maul in ten years.

 

[Cobleskill]

My bud had one of those Monster Maul style and it came with a pipe handle. Not for me. He owned land in Perry Florida. Had the timber guys give him a bid on his trees. He made as much clearing out a driveway and selling the firewood.

He ended up taking the maul for a ride. Stopped on a bridge over the Aucilla River and gave it a heave. More satisfying than selling it I guess.

 

[Adam_P]

Only on the house can you get 3 pages of responses about splitting wood in less than 24 hours.

I'm going to try the tire and the bungee today or tomorrow.

I've used one of those 14lb mega mauls that baileys sells and I'd rather pound a wedge with a sledge all day than swing that thing for an hour..

I did just a few pieces of 12" elm yesterday that I had to use a wedge on. Love to climb it, hate to split it.

 

[Al Smith]

Elm is next to impossible to split with an axe .You can pound wedges through it but it's a tough old nut to crack .You'd think it would be great firewood but it's not on the top of the charts .

What little bit of it I have usually dies before it gets very large .Dies upright then the roots give away and the wind blows them over .They make stout poles too .