How long will it take to split oak

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
ISeeDeadBTUs said:
Actually, it will take NO TIME AT ALL!! Not an exaggeration. . .literally NO TIME. I will bring you a load of Quaking Aspen which will be much easier for you to load, and we'll swap cord for cord. BTW, when I get the oak home, it will take about one six pack and a Saturday afternoon . . . no hydraulics needed :coolsmirk:

With them arm you dont even need the Ax
 
Burd said:
...How heavy can a splitter be.

Well, my Yard Machines 25-ton splitter weighs the better part of 500 lbs. And when it's set up vertically it doesn't roll around. I think you'll be wrestling the splits around, and not the splitter. Rick
 
fossil said:
Burd said:
...How heavy can a splitter be.

Well, my Yard Machines 25-ton splitter weighs the better part of 500 lbs. And when it's set up vertically it doesn't roll around. I think you'll be wrestling the splits around, and not the splitter. Rick


What if I put down some plywood and let the bucks slide around Ill be using a big digging bar (johnson bar)to move the bucks in to position .Well anyway I have to get it done My Problem is that I all ready have 5 cord stack for next year and I have no place to put it exept in the garage next to the bike and I really don't want to do that to my harly (moisture and chrome don't mix)

Thank Rick,
Got to get the Napoleon fired up for the night Its a little cold and Rainy
 
On 5 foot dia logs you have got a real problem just getting through the log. Any old saw will cut it ,BUT NOT THROUGH. You might find a long blade saw at a rental place,. Hugh motors and long blades may beyond the safety level of a first time splitter. You can cut and spit it on the log to whittle the sucker down with a smaller bar and wedges. Just be careful and keep the saw sharp.
 
DriftWood said:
On 5 foot dia logs you have got a real problem just getting through the log. Any old saw will cut it ,BUT NOT THROUGH. You might find a long blade saw at a rental place,. Hugh motors and long blades may beyond the safety level of a first time splitter. You can cut and spit it on the log to whittle the sucker down with a smaller bar and wedges. Just be careful and keep the saw sharp.
It's all ready cut I need to split it and I have just a saturday to do it in (just spliting and stacking) maybe take a load home in the same day
 
Burd, get a pry bar to stick under the log. Spin it that way and you will save your back. Best if you get a helper too. Anyway, get the log to the splitter to split it. The first time will probably not split it the entire way through. For your second try, if possible. Turn the log 180 degrees and split it there (or where the cracks started forming). This should get that think into two blocks which is much easier to handle and then it is easy.

If they won't split into two pieces with two tries, then just keep spinning the log and split to the size you want to end up with and do that all the way around the log. It will come apart sooner than you think.

Another way is to chip away at the outside of the log and just keep going around that way. Do whatever works best and you won't necessarily know which is best until you split one or two.

If we were closer, I'd gladly come to help.
 
If it's possible, I wouldn't even consider planning on loading any of it up and getting it home on the same day. I'd concentrate on getting it all split to the size you like and then returning the splitter at the end of the day. After it's split and in a pile you can always come back the next day or after work during the week and start the transporting process. With rentals, time is the enemy and you are working against the clock, so you should do nothing but "sit and split" on Saturday and put any thoughts of bringing the wood home out of your mind, this way you have one mission in mind, and it sounds like a big one at that.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
Burd, get a pry bar to stick under the log. Spin it that way and you will save your back. Best if you get a helper too. Anyway, get the log to the splitter to split it. The first time will probably not split it the entire way through. For your second try, if possible. Turn the log 180 degrees and split it there (or where the cracks started forming). This should get that think into two blocks which is much easier to handle and then it is easy.

If they won't split into two pieces with two tries, then just keep spinning the log and split to the size you want to end up with and do that all the way around the log. It will come apart sooner than you think.

Another way is to chip away at the outside of the log and just keep going around that way. Do whatever works best and you won't necessarily know which is best until you split one or two.

If we were closer, I'd gladly come to help.
That what I had in mind with the digging bar its longer then the pry bar. I really like your thoughts on the180 degress Make it lighter work goes faster
 
Chardler said:
If it's possible, I wouldn't even consider planning on loading any of it up and getting it home on the same day. I'd concentrate on getting it all split to the size you like and then returning the splitter at the end of the day. After it's split and in a pile you can always come back the next day or after work during the week and start the transporting process. With rentals, time is the enemy and you are working against the clock, so you should do nothing but "sit and split" on Saturday and put any thoughts of bringing the wood home out of your mind, this way you have one mission in mind, and it sounds like a big one at that.

Thats what im going to do I can stack ot a long her fence and getit when I want to.If I have the time Im going to take a load home with me after iI split.
 
If you have 5' rounds of oak, you may want to line up some able bodied help. Last year it took everything I had lifting 3' rounds up to roll them to my splitter. Plus, if you are working basically solo, you will be spending a lot of time just moving wood into position & out of your way after splitting.
Al
 
I agree with lobsta. Line up some help for Saturday, most of the work is going to be in the manhandling of the large rounds and just trying to get them located near the splitter. When I split, the neighbor and I usually do it together and the guy splitting usually has the least amount of work to do. The other guy is usually lining up the new rounds for the splitter, removing the splits from the area and stacking them somewhere else. We usually have two wheelbarrows and by the time one gets filled and is getting unloaded, and you come back to the splitter, the other one is filled already, and he needs more wood to split, so the guy not working the splitter is the one moving his a$$ around the most. Same w/ bucking grapple loads. The guy w/ the saw does the least work, it's the other guys that are getting the new lengths ready to be cut and stacking the rounds who get the work out. Since November, we've had six grapple loads delivered and we have been bucking and splitting since then and it's the same old story... the guy w/ the gas tool sweats the least!
 
Chardler said:
...Line up some help for Saturday...

Agreed. I can't imagine setting out to do what you're apparently setting out to do in one day without some able-bodied help. Rick
 
Yeah, Burd...inquiring minds want to know how your day went. Rick
 
Stop fighting those butts/bucks . Anything over 2' dia gets quartered....especially heavy woods like oak.
Get a good sharp chain on a saw > 50cc preferably with "Stihl" on the body, roll the butts/bucks on the round side, cut through the butt, then the same on the other side into quarters. Then as an able bodied American male you or your partner or wife can lift them onto a splitter, trailer, or..... 5'-6' is one big oak.
Easy. We call it "making curly fries" because of the long chips coming out; carefully watch them clogging the saw under the cover.
The bill is in the mail. PM me with your card for an accounting. :lol:
 
or rent a trailer get a winch get those suckers up there and home then rent splitter
my friend and i ran in to same thing we had 2 splitters and another friend helping
spent all day spittling and cutting down to quarters prolly at least 4-5 cords from 8am to about 5 pm
each left with 1 pickup full(we each loaded up ) came back the next day........GONE...GONE GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! someone took the wood I WILL NEVER LEAVE WOOD THAT HAS BEEN SPLIT OR MADE TO A SMALLER SIZE SO SOMEONE ELSE CAN EASLIY TAKE IT NEVER AGAIN
 
iceman said:
or rent a trailer get a winch get those suckers up there and home then rent splitter
my friend and i ran in to same thing we had 2 splitters and another friend helping
spent all day spittling and cutting down to quarters prolly at least 4-5 cords from 8am to about 5 pm
each left with 1 pickup full(we each loaded up ) came back the next day........GONE...GONE GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! someone took the wood I WILL NEVER LEAVE WOOD THAT HAS BEEN SPLIT OR MADE TO A SMALLER SIZE SO SOMEONE ELSE CAN EASLIY TAKE IT NEVER AGAIN

Scrounge Rule #1:
Fell tree. Buck trunk and branches. IF NOT HARVESTING ON YOUR OWN LAND, LEAVE WITH WHAT YOU WORKED.
Rule #2:
See Rule #1.

Easy access= easy thiefs.
 
downeast said:
iceman said:
or rent a trailer get a winch get those suckers up there and home then rent splitter
my friend and i ran in to same thing we had 2 splitters and another friend helping
spent all day spittling and cutting down to quarters prolly at least 4-5 cords from 8am to about 5 pm
each left with 1 pickup full(we each loaded up ) came back the next day........GONE...GONE GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! someone took the wood I WILL NEVER LEAVE WOOD THAT HAS BEEN SPLIT OR MADE TO A SMALLER SIZE SO SOMEONE ELSE CAN EASLIY TAKE IT NEVER AGAIN

Scrounge Rule #1:
Fell tree. Buck trunk and branches. IF NOT HARVESTING ON YOUR OWN LAND, LEAVE WITH WHAT YOU WORKED.
Rule #2:
See Rule #1.

Easy access= easy thiefs.

hard lesson learned
 
Ha my back still hurts ,I ended up renting a 27 ton splitter and I got alot of help from some other guys one guy had a trailer and took two loads of some nice oak. and I got three and half cords here at the house my brother is taking a truck load up to his hunting camp in potter county pa. All in all we think we got 71/2 cords out of one tree
the base of this tree was 4 ft 9inches and the bucks were huge and heavy. I couldn't dew it alone. My brother started counting rings on the trunk and he got up to 198 rings now if any one ever counted rings you now you miss one our two .
we all think it was over 200 years old
I would like to thank every one for there help. By the way its tuesday and my back still hurts
Thank again
Burd
 
Good job! One heck of a tree...sounds like you made some good, fair deals with the helpers. Lots of folks are going to enjoy that tree and your work on it in years to come. Rick
 
Fossil I just wanted to tell you that I read one of your post when I joined the form months ago. and it was about the fiskar ax Ill be splitting some nice starters with that.
 
I love my Fiskars axes & hachets...use 'em most every day. Nicely made tools. Enjoy working all your new oak. Rick
 
Status
Not open for further replies.