Splitting wood

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wtb1

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Nov 22, 2008
49
Mississippi
Question for you wood splitters out there. What do you use to split large diameter sized wood? Right now I have me and a splitting maul which works pretty well. However I just cut down three large oaks and have most of it cut up into 17" inch cut but some are rather large. I have split a couple but I gotta pound that crap out of them before they split.

Just wondering what you guys use...
 
I use a maul as well. Hit it hard near the edge. Then I hit the maul with a sledge hammer. The maul effectively becomes a wedge. This way seems to work well for me.
 
start hitting the edges and work around the log taking off a slice at a time.

If it is really stubborn, I use a splitting wedge/grenade and pound the heck out of it.
 
As others have said if they are really large take off small slices. Also do not hit the center of the log, try hitting the middle to split the log in half but between the center and the edge you are on, if that makes sense. The split will start from the edge then just tear through the log. Oak is not that hard to split, Rarely was there an oak log I could not crack in 2-3 swings using this method.
 
Some of the rounds probably have small cracks that give you a hint where they are likely to split. I also agree with the others here - once you take a slice or two off the sides, the whole thing starts splitting more easily.
 
wtb1 said:
Question for you wood splitters out there. What do you use to split large diameter sized wood? Right now I have me and a splitting maul which works pretty well. However I just cut down three large oaks and have most of it cut up into 17" inch cut but some are rather large. I have split a couple but I gotta pound that crap out of them before they split.

Just wondering what you guys use...
Click to expand...


The size (diameter) of the log to me has nothing to do with where you split. Most wood (but certainly not all) will split okay through the heart if that is what you want to do. However, it seems most get discouraged because they have to hit more than once. Naturally you do, but when you get that thing split you actually find that you are splitting faster.

Here is how I do it with big stuff splitting by hand. First hit, the far side of the log. Second hit, closer to you (that may be the heart). Third hit, close to you. So it takes 3 or 4 hits (all in a new spot) but that does not matter. Once you get the hang of it you will like it.

Good luck.
 
Sharpen your maul or get a Fiskars. I am splitting 30" oak with a Fiskars and it honestly takes a 3 or 4 hits to halve a round. Two hits on the smaller rounds. Once they are halved, one hit lops off the next split.
 
The new Fiskars bounces off our fresh, very large, doug fir rounds. This wood has no drying cracks yet and the radius of the grain is so large that a flake along a growth ring would be about 24"+. Several wedges and a heavy sledge seems to be the only way, but it is a lot of work to get it split. Sometimes, with some wood, maybe it's just better to let it dry out a bit. If this was alder, I'd have a cord split by now.
 
BeGreen said:
The new Fiskars bounces off our fresh, very large, doug fir rounds. This wood has no drying cracks yet and the radius of the grain is so large that a flake along a growth ring would be about 24"+. Several wedges and a heavy sledge seems to be the only way, but it is a lot of work to get it split. Sometimes, with some wood, maybe it's just better to let it dry out a bit. If this was alder, I'd have a cord split by now.
Click to expand...
Interesting word - bounces. I never got a bounce with my old 6 lb. maul, but the Fiskars will actually bounce off an oak piece with a knot. The first bounce was quite a surprise.
 
Fiskars splitting axe if that doesnt work Monster Maul will take care of anything.
 
I've had big old oak rounds that would cause anything to just bounce off. I don't care if was a sharp axe, maul, hatchet, Fiskars or monster maul. Until 5 years ago when I got a splitter, all my splitting for the previous 30 years was done by hand. I'm not a newby at this. I do agree that once you violate the integrity of the round, the rest will go easier. One thing that helps is to make a groove with the chainsaw in line with the natural split in the heart. Then you can drive a wedge into groove near the edge.
 
I love my monster maul (16 lbs of steel), it works great and doesn't get stuck in the wood. The heavy weight makes it easier, on light wood you can almost just drop it to split the wood. But I too start on the edges and work in. The only oak I had trouble with was from the very base. But once you get a piece out, it gets easier and easier. I do not get the idea of having a sharp axe. Everything I have read says that a sharp axe gets stuck. Some people dull their mauls on purpose so it does not get stuck.
 
The only thing I know about sharp is that my new Fiskars is razor sharp, and it doesn't get stuck in anything I've tried. But I do get an occasional bounce.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
wtb1 said:
Question for you wood splitters out there. What do you use to split large diameter sized wood? Right now I have me and a splitting maul which works pretty well. However I just cut down three large oaks and have most of it cut up into 17" inch cut but some are rather large. I have split a couple but I gotta pound that crap out of them before they split.

Just wondering what you guys use...
Click to expand...


The size (diameter) of the log to me has nothing to do with where you split. Most wood (but certainly not all) will split okay through the heart if that is what you want to do. However, it seems most get discouraged because they have to hit more than once. Naturally you do, but when you get that thing split you actually find that you are splitting faster.

Here is how I do it with big stuff splitting by hand. First hit, the far side of the log. Second hit, closer to you (that may be the heart). Third hit, close to you. So it takes 3 or 4 hits (all in a new spot) but that does not matter. Once you get the hang of it you will like it.

Good luck.
Click to expand...
I'm still splitting wood by hand, after doing it for 40 years, and I do it exactly the way you said Dennis. Except, I start on the near side of the round because much of our trees have been splintered by the tornado and sometimes a round splinters as I hit it with the maul. If I start on the far side and it splinters, it's hard on my handle. Splintering the near side doesn't touch the handle, then I work my way across. Otherwise, what you wrote here is exactly the way I do it. I split 5+ cord per year, at least, and have roughly 25+ cord on hand at any one time.
 
quads, I guess we are the old guys here that have split a lot of wood in our time..... I've always been amazed at how hard some folks make to be. More should watch your video which was excellent.
 
Backwoods Savage said:
quads, I guess we are the old guys here that have split a lot of wood in our time..... I've always been amazed at how hard some folks make to be. More should watch your video which was excellent.
Click to expand...

What video are you referring to? I would greatly appreciate acess to a video to demostrate the technique.
 
Video

Just scroll down 4 or 5 posts and you'll see the video.
 
Oh man, I thought you were talking about splitting some OOOAAAAKKKKKK!!!!! That piece in the video is a twig. I've got some 4' oak in my yard right now. For age at a rough count I came up with a minimum of 160 rings. Don't have a bar long enough, so had to take the rounds off in sections. It took 7 or 8 tries just to get my pulp hook to bite into the heart wood & then I didn't trust it to hold.

Now your saying take 3 or 4 whacks across the top & it will pop. If everything a person uses just bounces off with zero penetration, how is the wood going to pop?
Al
 
Backwoods Savage said:
quads, I guess we are the old guys here that have split a lot of wood in our time..... I've always been amazed at how hard some folks make to be. More should watch your video which was excellent.
Click to expand...
Aw, shucks. :red:
 
lobsta1 said:
Oh man, I thought you were talking about splitting some OOOAAAAKKKKKK!!!!! That piece in the video is a twig. I've got some 4' oak in my yard right now. For age at a rough count I came up with a minimum of 160 rings. Don't have a bar long enough, so had to take the rounds off in sections. It took 7 or 8 tries just to get my pulp hook to bite into the heart wood & then I didn't trust it to hold.

Now your saying take 3 or 4 whacks across the top & it will pop. If everything a person uses just bounces off with zero penetration, how is the wood going to pop?
Al
Click to expand...
Ha ha ha ha! I'd take a crack at your 4' oak. Not afraid of it at all. Splitting is my favorite thing. We don't have much that big, it was mostly prairie/grassland 75-100 years ago here. I would really enjoy splitting a nice sized one for a change, instead of all these little sticks.

If you can't split it, and everything you use just bounces off, sounds like time for a hydraulic splitter to me. I never have that problem, fortunately, with all my little stuff.
 
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