Ok guy - I am posting this since this never happened to me before and I need wood ID.
My tree guy dropped off a pretty decent load this weekend consisting mostly of Red Oak (my favorite) so I wanted to get to it right away - I remember him saying something about some of the wood was Silver Maple an he recommended I wait a while and spilt it over the winter (not sure he was talking about the Maple when he said that) - I was more concentrating an drooling on the 44 inch Oak rounds he jut unloaded….and just pass it off since my 25 Ton Speedco will split anything.
Well I became very complacent yesterday (although I error on the side of safety ALL the time - wear chain saw chaps even for one cut - chest and back protectors when I ride my motorcycle - safety glasses when I use my splitter etc). Always looking to mitigate a potential problem.
So, I proceed to cut up a log - didn’t look like Oak but I was heard and heavy.
Noodled the 20 inch round under the splitter and …hum….the splitter went in maybe 2 inches into the wood and immediately slowed down to a crawl….I proceeded to try and find another spot to cut into - although I was able to get some splits off it it was frigging difficult and stringy. I finally dropped the hammer and felt I will let the bypass kick in because I was determined to split this stuff - next thing I remember is I hear a loud pop and the round was flying at me.
I (don’t ask me why) I was also standing to the side of the splitter when the wood separated and a very large portion of the round shot out about 2 feet striking my shin (which by the way was protected with the standard issue Nike) also striking my knee. The noise was so loud that my girl friend who was in the house some 300 feet away heard it over the splitter motor - she looks out of the kitchen window and finds me falling to the ground. She almost had a heart attack running to my aid. I was in a lot of pain but wasn’t dead although she wanted to kill me.
I always thought my Speedco could split to China however I think it met its match and feel I was fortunate on the outcome. A lessoned was learned on the limits of the splitter and when to stop.
So the wood question for the day is - what is this stuff???...
My tree guy dropped off a pretty decent load this weekend consisting mostly of Red Oak (my favorite) so I wanted to get to it right away - I remember him saying something about some of the wood was Silver Maple an he recommended I wait a while and spilt it over the winter (not sure he was talking about the Maple when he said that) - I was more concentrating an drooling on the 44 inch Oak rounds he jut unloaded….and just pass it off since my 25 Ton Speedco will split anything.
Well I became very complacent yesterday (although I error on the side of safety ALL the time - wear chain saw chaps even for one cut - chest and back protectors when I ride my motorcycle - safety glasses when I use my splitter etc). Always looking to mitigate a potential problem.
So, I proceed to cut up a log - didn’t look like Oak but I was heard and heavy.
Noodled the 20 inch round under the splitter and …hum….the splitter went in maybe 2 inches into the wood and immediately slowed down to a crawl….I proceeded to try and find another spot to cut into - although I was able to get some splits off it it was frigging difficult and stringy. I finally dropped the hammer and felt I will let the bypass kick in because I was determined to split this stuff - next thing I remember is I hear a loud pop and the round was flying at me.
I (don’t ask me why) I was also standing to the side of the splitter when the wood separated and a very large portion of the round shot out about 2 feet striking my shin (which by the way was protected with the standard issue Nike) also striking my knee. The noise was so loud that my girl friend who was in the house some 300 feet away heard it over the splitter motor - she looks out of the kitchen window and finds me falling to the ground. She almost had a heart attack running to my aid. I was in a lot of pain but wasn’t dead although she wanted to kill me.
I always thought my Speedco could split to China however I think it met its match and feel I was fortunate on the outcome. A lessoned was learned on the limits of the splitter and when to stop.
So the wood question for the day is - what is this stuff???...
