Wood Splitting made Easy (ier)

[AkMike]

Found this link on another site and wanted to pass it on. It'd save a thrown out back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPUWWgDk-go

[Garyshome]

I like it!

[CastingFool]

That's pretty cool. Obviuosly, he does have very straight grained wood, too.

[starmac]

I never thought of that, but that was some pretty easy splitting wood too. There is some wild wood splitter videos on you tube, a couple are made out of old hay bailers and work fast.

[starmac]

His method makes me wonder how good he has gotten at putting back windows in. lol

[RED333]

Tree man delivers logs to the house,
My son comes in at about 280 lbs, chainsaw and 20 ton splitter makes short work.

[DRNurse1]

I like the tire and it can deflect errant swings without damaging the ax. Looks like the right wood makes all the difference. What would elm look like with this method?

[AkMike]

Yah but I'd hate to need to feed a 280 pound kid! The worn out tire would be cheaper!

[roysha]

This is an example of some of the cottonwood I cut and split this past summer. Thank goodness for the gas powered splitter. Even then I had to rip some with my chainsaw.

[472x1B/A]

I'd like to see him do that with some Osage Hedge.

[imashooter2]

Either the axe or the wood is magic. He never even put a real swing into it.

[jonp]

I've seen this trick a number of times. A good splitting axe can work wonders. A gransfor bruks or a husqvarna axe will split better than you think with the hardest pieces left for a maul and wedges.
I used to cut and split about 8 cords a year of maple, beech and yellow birch by hand like this

[Jailer]

Looks like he was splitting dead ash. It splits real nice when it's dead and dried out. I know since we have a ton of it around here and that's what it heating my home this winter.

[hoosierlogger]

I have one of those splitting mauls. I have had it for about five years. They do work great. Now I only hit the wood 2 or 3 times with the axe. if it doesn't split then I get out the splitter.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

At my town's compost site, I cut up what I thought was Black Locust tree. What ever it was, it was the toughest splitting wood I ever tangled with, it had a wavy grain and it seemed each layer (ring) criss-crossed like plywood. I had to split it like I was pealing an onion. Never again !

[Pb2au]

I'd like to see him do that with some Osage Hedge.

Exactly. We cut and split tons of Osage growing up to heat the house. Splitting that stuff is like trying to split an anvil. All we had were wedges and sledges. I do not miss those days very much.

[gbrown]

Sorry if I come across as a little cynical. Whatever the wood was he was working with was straight grained and well dried. The stuff I work with--oak and hickory--doesn't work like that. Gnarly stuff, twists and turns of grain. Good luck, I don't care what axe is in your hand.

[MaryB]

Red elm is the worst stuff on earth I have ever split. Even a 20 ton splitter can have trouble with it.

[CastingFool]

Way back when we used wood to heat our home, I would split 4 full cords of oak with a splitting maul I made at work. only weighed 12 lbs. It took a while getting used to it. I did get some oak once, off a 24" diameter log. grain straight as drawn with a ruler. It split like butter!

[454PB]

I hate splitting Russian Olive.

[marvelshooter]

A few years ago I unknowingly cut a hornbeam tree when cutting firewood. I couldn't split it with a 20 ton splitter. The old timers called it ironwood and said the shipyards used it for boat moving rollers. I ended up ripping it into burnable chunks with a chainsaw. Burned good.

[starmac]

The wood he was splitting was dry and nicely grained for splitting. Most people will stick the axe head using a regular axe, there is an art to it though and I have seen some artist that never stick the head and make it look easy.

[texassako]

I would like to see him try that trick on some cedar elm logs I have. Craziest wood I have ever tried splitting.

[uscra112]

I hate splitting Russian Olive.

I hate Russian Olive period. It's like herpes, once you've got it, you can't get rid of it.

Easiest wood I know to split is dry, straight-grained poplar. We have a lot of it here. It burns hot, but it doesn't burn for long, so it's not as good as oak or elm for overall BTUs. However, I get it for free so I'm not complaining. Leftovers from logging.

[oldarkie]

hackberry splits just like cotton wood,till its about 0 out side,then it splits like butter.

[Wayne Smith]

Easiest wood I know to split is dry, straight-grained poplar. We have a lot of it here. It burns hot, but it doesn't burn for long, so it's not as good as oak or elm for overall BTUs. However, I get it for free so I'm not complaining. Leftovers from logging.

I think that is what he was splitting. It was too white for much else. Black or yellow locust is one of the hardest I have tried to split. Oak can be easy as long as it is a straight trunk.

[montana_charlie]

Now, in order to split logs efficiently, I need a Fiskars axe and Rosetta Stone in German.

[drinks]

I have split some, clean red oak will almost split with a hard look, winged elm and sweet gum will frustrate most people and sweet gum has almost no heat value.
In general, stay away from butts and crotches, the grain is usually twisted and interlocked.

[27judge]

How about a good old Maryland Swamp Black Gum tree. Even the Squirrels wont run in them . tks KEN

[sparky45]

I'd like to see him do that with some Osage Hedge.
Or Black Jack Oak. That's just not going to happen. Only thing we have around here that it would work on is Hackberry.

[Fishman]

When I was a kid we burned about 20 truckloads of whatever fenceline or clear cut wood we could get to heat the old farmhouse with a tin roof. This was from the late 70's through the 80's. Lots of hackberry, elm, black and honey locust, and osage orange. The only thing we had for splitting was a 6 lb axe-handled maul and wedges if needed. By the time I was a teenager, my dad let me do all the splitting. It's all about the technique and accuracy. Ash handles only, as fiberglass just soaks up the energy and you can't "feel" the wood. I briefly used a steel handled 12 lb maul but didn't like it. Anyway, all of the wood fit into the stoves and we stayed as warm as we could. The parents put in a furnace when I left the house for some reason. I still have the 6 lb maul although it is on it's 20th handle probably. I haven't met anyone who is better at it than me but I would have much rather learned karate or guitar, or something cool. I mean, the opportunities for showing of splitting wood happen very infrequently, particularly in Texas. :)

[xman777]

Here's my preferred method

http://youtu.be/KdXzaGFkWfU

[MaryB]

Now that is slick!

[dagger dog]

Now, in order to split logs efficiently, I need a Fiskars axe and Rosetta Stone in German.


I did picked up on the schnell part so I'd imagine he said something like , If you wanna do it fast and easy buy a Fiskars, dumkaff !

[sthwestvictoria]

Given this is castboolits, shouldn't we suggest the black powder splitting wedge (also called a splitting gun)?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkcsJUQG4cI#t=15

http://northerncatskillshistory.com/ArticlesHTML/1116%20Splitting%20Gun/1116%20Splitting%20Gun.pdf

[cbrick]

Neet trick with the tire & straight grained soft wood but I'd like to see him do that with the oak we have here. A 10 pound splitting maul bounces off the stuff, a sharp ax barely dings it. A wedge & hammer is what works unless there's a knot, then it's chain saw time or don't bother.

Rick

[jonp]

A few years ago I unknowingly cut a hornbeam tree when cutting firewood. I couldn't split it with a 20 ton splitter. The old timers called it ironwood and said the shipyards used it for boat moving rollers. I ended up ripping it into burnable chunks with a chainsaw. Burned good.

Hop Hornbeam is the highest btu firewood there is. If you can split it...

[10x]

We used to cut paper birch, poplar, and fire killed pine. The paper birch was cut green while frozen in winter, then split while frozen at -20 or colder. Same with the poplar. Pine and spruce split very nicely frozen or not.
Fire killed pine split the best with a double bit Swede axe.

[jonp]

We used to cut paper birch, poplar, and fire killed pine. The paper birch was cut green while frozen in winter, then split while frozen at -20 or colder. Same with the poplar. Pine and spruce split very nicely frozen or not.
Fire killed pine split the best with a double bit Swede axe.
Splitting wood that is frozen is a great trick. Does make it go easier

[KCSO]

Cottonwood twisted oak, red elm, piss elm... those folks have never split real wood. I have a Fiskars and last night I hit a piece of elm with all my might and the splitter just bounced off. I have stalled a 20 tone splitter on some of the wood we use. I would kill for some nice straight grained ash or maple just to be able to wack it up lke that.