Splitting by hand

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toasty said:
I guess I'm underestimating the size of your trees etc and comparing it to my own efforts managing woodland here in Norway. All my wood comes from management, i.e taking out 'sisters' next to large trees, taking out small stuff to open up the canopy, keeping pathways clear etc. And it's nearly always on a damn slope!

I never just get to chop, chop, chop for any length of time. I usually go into the woods, drop the trees, drag them back to the truck. Cut and split and fill the truck. I read that a cord is about 3 and a half cubic meters, let me do the math, how big is the truck bed..... shoot that means that it takes me half a day to do a little over 1/4 of a chord!

Now you see why at first glance it seems like a herculean task! I googled it and of course you are right, in much differing circumstances than my own it's possible but boy, I bet you sleep after that lot!
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I think Bigg_Redd is talking about just splitting rounds. Not felling a tree, bucking it and then splitting it like it sounds like you're doing.
 
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Tom Wallace said:
I think Bigg_Redd is talking about just splitting rounds. Not felling a tree, bucking it and then splitting it like it sounds like you're doing.
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Thanks, yes, I did realise that. The comment was a knee jerk reaction as it seemed a lot of wood to do in 3 days or so, even if you are just chopin', ! I can see now that it's 'easily' possible, although I'd be knackered for sure.
 
Bigg_Redd said:
Anything I can't split by hand get chainsawed. Having split by hand my entire life I can assure you that while there is some relationship between the diameter of a round and it's difficulty to split, it is not as correlative as you might think.
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Yes, other factors include the type of wood and the presence of knots/branches. I split mostly red oak, and have split up to 36" diameter by hand, but red oak is one of the easiest firewoods to split. All you really need is a maul and a couple of wedges for the stubborn pieces, and a chainsaw for the REALLY stubborn pieces.
 
Tom Wallace said:
I think Bigg_Redd is talking about just splitting rounds. Not felling a tree, bucking it and then splitting it like it sounds like you're doing.
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If I have to fell, limb, buck and split it's the better part of a day (6+ hours?) to get a cord on the truck, and that's far more difficult work than splitting a couple cords of rounds.
 
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I've burned 1-2cord/year each year for the last ten years without ever needing a splitter. The very few impossible pieces get noodled. Almost everything will yield to a wedge or two and brute force. If I was a full time burner, I'd use a splitter, but to me splitting is good exercise, getting firewood out of it is almost just a bonus.

TE
 
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phaywood said:
I had purchased a rick of split wood last month and I've burned everything except a few rounds that were in the pile. I figured I'd try and split them by hand (I had an old rusty axe in the barn). I had never split wood before but it went smooth. Then I had a few logs that I had stacked in the Fall so I decided to cut a couple of those with the chainsaw and split those. After an hour I had almost a whole rick split! I couldn't believe it went so quickly! I had planned to purchase a log splitter (or at least rent one) in the spring, but now I'm not sure its necessary. I enjoy the exercise and it actually seemed faster than splitting by machine. Is that true?

So I'm wondering how big of rounds I can expect to split by hand. Most of those today were only 8-10" at the largest. I'll also invest in a new axe; everyone here seems to rave about the Fiskar X27. Should I get anything else? A Maul? Wedges? I'm just excited that it actually worked.
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Welcome to the forum phaywood.

How big of rounds to split by hand? No limit! Just split away. You will learn quickly though that all wood does not split the same and will also learn the crotches are the toughest. I split by hand for many years using only a single or double bitted axe. But for the tough jobs I did use sledge and steel wedges. Later in life someone bought me a splitting maul and I had never used one but liked it. Someone tried to talk me into a Fiskar's and I thought it was not very good at all. An injury forced me into hydraulics and I quickly fell in love with this type of splitting. As your body wears out a bit, you will look for the easier ways of working.
 
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Yes like BS said, no limit, until you get there, I split 4 cords by hand with the x27, loved it, had a great time, couldn't stop, till I got axe arm.... I couldn't chop wood anymore for months, too much pain, I ended up getting a Huskee 22 and love it, now that I gave my arm a rest, I can choose to split by hand or by Huskee, life is good when you have that choice to make......:)
 
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Thanks for all the replies. I'm pretty young - 28, so hopefully I've got a few good years of splitting by hand. And I hope that as I get older I'll be able to afford a hydraulic splitter... I think I'll order an X27 and give it a try. It seems like a pretty low risk for only $50.

I have a busy spring ahead and I'd like to split several cords before summer so they have maximum drying time before next winter. I do have about 50 standing dead trees that need felling. Next step is learning how to safely fell a tree!
 
phaywood said:
Thanks for all the replies. I'm pretty young - 28, so hopefully I've got a few good years of splitting by hand. And I hope that as I get older I'll be able to afford a hydraulic splitter... I think I'll order an X27 and give it a try. It seems like a pretty low risk for only $50.

I have a busy spring ahead and I'd like to split several cords before summer so they have maximum drying time before next winter. I do have about 50 standing dead trees that need felling. Next step is learning how to safely fell a tree!
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You should really check out the 3 year plan on here, it will really help you out in your burning practices.... 50 trees should get you there nicely.....
 
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Ram 1500 with an axe... said:
couldn't stop, till I got axe arm....
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dude, I got axe arm too! My right forearm is killing me! I involve my legs when I swing so that I don't chop off any toes. Between that and all the bending over, it's pretty brutal. I'm 35 and really can only get through about 5 or 6 big logs before I'm done. I'm not in the best of shape but I'm also new to this.

Picked up a fiskars x27 at BJs. With that long handle it makes it difficult to hit your toes. It feels good to use. There is a youtube video this one. Love that tire technique. As soon as I swing the maul the the wood usually flies off the stump whether I split it or not. I'm always bending over. I think that's what kills me the most. Gotta find a tire!
 
What do you guys put down on the ground to keep your wood up (_g)? I use pressure treated 4x4 but I am looking for something a little more "open" and breathable. I was just thinking of mice and rodents. I don't want to be building houses for them.
 
8686 said:
dude, I got axe arm too! My right forearm is killing me! I involve my legs when I swing so that I don't chop off any toes. Between that and all the bending over, it's pretty brutal. I'm 35 and really can only get through about 5 or 6 big logs before I'm done. I'm not in the best of shape but I'm also new to this.

Picked up a fiskars x27 at BJs. With that long handle it makes it difficult to hit your toes. It feels good to use. There is a youtube video this one. Love that tire technique. As soon as I swing the maul the the wood usually flies off the stump whether I split it or not. I'm always bending over. I think that's what kills me the most. Gotta find a tire!
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I'm not sure what you mean by "involving your legs". I stand with my feet wide apart and square to the wood. I use a tire on top of a stump. If the blade skips through the wood short, it usually hits the tire and stops. Sometimes it gets deflected to the side. I've ordered steel toe boots to help deal with those situations. So far I've not come close to hitting a foot.

For tires, I'd call tire shops in your area and ask if you can have a tire they're throwing out. Or just show up at one if they're nearby. I asked Costco and they told me I couldn't have one. Discount Tire said I could take one from their storage box outside the store, but wanted me to come by at night when they're closed. The manager said "it's a big no no for people to be in there during the day". Not really sure why, but I showed up after they closed and got a nice 19" low profile tire, works great. He said they don't lock the storage unit that holds the tires. So if you have a Discount Tire near you, you may be able to just show up at night and grab a tire.

If you put your tire on top of a stump, I'd secure with lag screws. Otherwise it slides all over the place when you chop.
 
8686 said:
What do you guys put down on the ground to keep your wood up (_g)? I use pressure treated 4x4 but I am looking for something a little more "open" and breathable. I was just thinking of mice and rodents. I don't want to be building houses for them.
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We go for very low cost. We simply cut saplings in the woods or if we cut a tree with a fairly straight limb, that is what we use to stack the wood on. It works and you can use them for several years but then before they go bad, cut them for firewood and replace with more saplings. Much better than stumbling over pallets or stepping on them and breaking through. Besides, I really don't like the looks of most pallets.

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Bigg_Redd said:
Math can be difficult so we'll walk through this together: 10 cord in 20 hours = .5 cords per hour, not 2.

Depending on species (Doug Fir, Adler, bigleaf maple) I'm quite capable of a cord per hour.
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Does that include felling time? Time to drag it out of the woods? Time loading and unloading? Stacking? I would say I'm quick splitting once its all in one spot but its the pre-splitting work that takes a lot of time.
 
Rory, what is pre-splitting?

Also keep in mind that some split right where the tree falls. Not many will drag a log out of the woods either.
 
Tom Wallace said:
I'm not sure what you mean by "involving your legs". I stand with my feet wide apart and square to the wood. I use a tire on top of a stump. If the blade skips through the wood short, it usually hits the tire and stops. Sometimes it gets deflected to the side. I've ordered steel toe boots to help deal with those situations. So far I've not come close to hitting a foot.

For tires, I'd call tire shops in your area and ask if you can have a tire they're throwing out. Or just show up at one if they're nearby. I asked Costco and they told me I couldn't have one. Discount Tire said I could take one from their storage box outside the store, but wanted me to come by at night when they're closed. The manager said "it's a big no no for people to be in there during the day". Not really sure why, but I showed up after they closed and got a nice 19" low profile tire, works great. He said they don't lock the storage unit that holds the tires. So if you have a Discount Tire near you, you may be able to just show up at night and grab a tire.


If you put your tire on top of a stump, I'd secure with lag screws. Otherwise it slides all over the place when you chop.
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Well, if you stand upright holding the maul over your head and bring it down keeping your legs straight and not bending over, this brings the maul right in line with your toe (when you miss and its deflected off the side) Happened to me. There is a youtube video where the guy is doing this. Terrible tech. But i was also using a maul from home depot that was a good 4 inches shorter than the x27.

Now when i swing i make sure to bend over and bend slightly at the knees. When the maul hits the wood the entire handle is level. Not sure if my technique is correct and efficient. I am prob using more energy than i should be. Once my muscles get use to this i will refine my technique. My way is safe for now though. Before i bought may house last august i never swung a maul before. And never ever thought about firewood. Before_g
 
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You sound as if you are doing fine 8686. I'm amazed that this is the first time anyone has mentioned bending at the knees. I thought everyone did it this way but evidently not.

As for hitting a foot or toe with an axe. That too has always amazed me reading about this on hearth.com. Don't think I've ever known anyone to do this and I certainly never even came close to chopping my foot. Perhaps this is something that only those who use a chopping block experience. I do not like using a chopping block at all and simply put the log on the ground. Most old timers I know always did it this way and the first time I saw anyone use a block was in the movies. I laughed....
 
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RORY12553 said:
Does that include felling time? Time to drag it out of the woods? Time loading and unloading? Stacking? I would say I'm quick splitting once its all in one spot but its the pre-splitting work that takes a lot of time.
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I'm talking about turning a pile of rounds into cords of split wood with my ax. If I were talking about felling, limbing, yarding and bucking, well then I'd be talking about felling, limbing, yarding, and bucking, not splitting.
 
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Keep the axe down the center and the toes to the left and right, all will be ok....
 
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8686 said:
What do you guys put down on the ground to keep your wood up (_g)? I use pressure treated 4x4 but I am looking for something a little more "open" and breathable. I was just thinking of mice and rodents. I don't want to be building houses for them.
Click to expand...
I use wooden 48"x48" pallets to stack on, works pretty well. I have an unlimited supply of free skids from the trucking co. I work for so no cost involved. They have to pay to get rid of them so it's a win win.
 
I've been splitting using a 'shooting position' where I have one foot ahead of the other. But tried going more square and like that more. But I also just broke my brand new cheepo 8lb maul w/ a wooden handle. Split the handle under the head. Didn't even overswing and it was on its 7th-ish round! So I just ordered an x27 off of Amazon...
 
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