Handling Huge Rounds

I've done this many times. Take a sledge and a few wedges with you and split the big rounds up into manageable pieces to get on your trailer. There is a LOT of wood in a 36" round. Once you get the wedge to split it, depending on the wood, you can then wack on it with a maul although if you are just splitting it into large pieces, a wedge is probably easier.

QuadForLife said:

I have access to some 20-36 inch rounds of hardwood, all free. I might be able to take a splitter over there, *** smart choice***

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I'd have to split them "insitsu" in place. If they are that heavy, split them to manageable sizes.
Just roll them to where you can park close, split & load. No need to hurt your or anyones back.
An injured back well, "lasts a lifetime", some here have the "T" shirt & some the scar. (I'm one)
Sooner they are manageable sizes, the better.
"Split them vertically where they are".

Know anybody that owns a skid steer or compact tractor? They sure save the back on the big stuff.

will cut 16" off this Maple today and just see how much fun it is to deal with ;-P pics to follow...

loon

Split on spot verticle. Have a helper or two and a lever.

Trailer ramp roll.

Sledge and wedges, or noodle with chainsaw. Tip up on side and cut with saw into quarters. Watch the trailer ramp roll, I busted a rib or two doing that (have a helper!)

If the wood can be split, use the maul & wedges to 1/4 the rounds. If it's elm or some other nasty stringy wood, bring some extra gas and 1/4 em up with the chainsaw.

With a couple 2x12s as a ramp 2 guys can roll anything that size onto the trailer. It is much easier to do with 2 guys on either side of the plank than 1 guy trying to go up the plank behind the round. It is also much easier to wait for a good dry day when you can drive across the lawn with the truck/trailer instead of rolling all the wood. Some of the tree guys like to cut cookies out of the big stuff for handling purposes. But, it is a PIA to process, store and burn. Much better to get it bucked to the right length and either roll it up the ramp or quarter it.

When you say 'you don't have a machine' do you mean chainsaw? If that the case you'll have to just take a bye and look for some easy takes.

Here if it even looks big I just noodle 'em...God only gave you 1 back and you don't want to dick it up.

QuadForLife said:

I might be able to take a splitter over there, but then I could not roll the rounds.

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If you split it in situ, there are no rounds and no reason to roll them since presumably you should be able to carry them.

Get yourself a heavy duty outdoor dolly like what the landscapers use to move rocks and trees. Then you can move them in the round or quartered.

If you could get the splitter that would be the easiest way, assuming it goes vertical. More than likely you will end up using the old tried and true wedge and sledge method

Go buy some splitting wedges, they sell them at home depot / Lowes as well as other places, get a splitting maul as well, it doubles as a sledge hammer. lay the rounds down flat, look for any exiting cracks in it, drive wedge into cracks and hammer away

It is best to start at the edges of the round not the middle, you will also more than likely bury a couple wedges before the round splits, so I like to bring at least 4 wedges

I ran into a similar scrounge last year where some of the rounds were close to 40 inches, had to wedge and sledge those, they are in the back, ones up front are about 33 to 36 inches, I was able to roll them and get them on my liftgate

we bring home 36+ inch rounds all the time with a 6x10 trailer, takes 3 people to roll them up the ramp.. some have been right at the limit of what my saw will cut (20" bar)

Here is a load we brought home a couple weeks ago.. we consider them "mediums".. most were 24-30"

Horizontal splitter for sure is not good for these size logs. So you should probably do it all with sledge and wedge. As for noodling, that is cutting up the log with the chain saw; as terrible way to split wood in my humble opinion.

As for the size logs, if you don't have to raise too high, as someone stated, some planks work well. I well recall one time I cut a big tree for someone and all I had at the time was a van for hauling wood. No problem; just a lot of loads. I used a 2 x 10 about 8' long and rolled the logs up on that. For the biggest ones, I had my wife with some blocks and as I would roll them up the plank, she'd keep moving the blocks so I could rest if necessary. A cant hook works super for this!

QuadForLife the splitter is definitely coming to these guys ;-P its 28" by 16" and man they are heavy :cheese:

good luck with your score eh ;-)

loon

Big rounds are why I got a trailer with a drop down ramp. Since I scrounge, I have found anything "easy" is gone fast...big rounds last a little longer. Having a trainer you can roll them onto is a big help. Buddy scrounges as well...with a pick up. I scoop scores on him since I can roll them onto the trailer.

If they can not be rolled...wedges are the way to go. Or noodling. But for me, rolling is king.

Backwoods Savage said:

Horizontal splitter for sure is not good for these size logs.

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Sure isn't bad either :lol: For reference, the wedge is 12" tall.

SolarAndWood said:

Backwoods Savage said:

Horizontal splitter for sure is not good for these size logs.

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Sure isn't bad either :lol: For reference, the wedge is 12" tall.

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You either "are" or "have" a mini fork lift.
Very cool pic,
Don't want to arm wrestle you.
Watch you toes!

Also noodling sure dulls the chains fast

Last time I tackled a large diameter tree, I would break down the log as it was attached to the tree. Start on one side cutting bar length only down just over halfway. Use wedges to try and break off that quater. If needed, you may have to noodle the quarter to help it out. I was able to get through a tree with mild effort doing this. Make sure you have 3 wedges at least, and a shale bar. Repeat for the remaining quarters. It can get interesting on the lower half, but still quite doable.

bogydave said:

You either "are" or "have" a mini fork lift.
Very cool pic,
Don’t want to arm wrestle you. smile
Watch you toes!

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Average strength at best Dave. Every one of those big rounds, which ends up being most of what I scrounge, gets rolled onto the horizontal splitter. I use a round about half the height of the beam as a ramp, you can see it in the picture. I think its easier than wrestling with them on the ground on the flat surface of the round with the vertical splitter.

Solar, that is interesting and no doubt you can do it. However, any time you have to get a log higher vs. the same level, it will take a lot more power to do so and the risk of injury is extreme! Nope. I'll stay sitting down, thank you.