First Time Splitting Oak

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Oak is easy to split when freshly cut. I cut some standing dead black locust. My chainsaw would do better cutting through stone. Splitting by hand, forget about it. Even my resident beaver passed on it.
 
Oak and walnut all hand split. There is now this much stacked to the left of the pic and there is about 12 ft to the right that is hand split as well.
 

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I am new to splitting my own wood by hand. However I got a truckload of red oak rounds cut to length free from a local tree service. Went out and bought a Fiskars X-25. I could not believe how easy it was to split that wood. It was a joy to stack that healthy clean wood and it is in my seasoning pile. Will test it and hopefull dry enough to use next year. No electric or gas splitter for me!

I've been on the Fiskars bandwagon for. . . 5 or so years, but this was some twisty yard oak with no center. This stuff wasn't coming apart for anyone.
 
It splits fine when fresh for me. Elm however...ugh. I got it twice for free -never again. I like to split by hand, but I had no choice but to borrow a splitter for that. Hard as a rock.

I hate elm with a passion. A buddy of mine has some oak at his house that has been down since last October. Not bucked so i'm hoping it won't be that bad.
 
No it will still be green. And wet as all get out on the inside.
 
I've been working on building my supply of all Red Oak lately... Got a buddy who had two large OAK's uprooted in a windstorm last year. The Rounds are HUGE we have to at least get them in half with a sledge and wedge to get to the point where we can think hydraulic splitter (wish I could pivot). F-150 a level load with 4.5 rounds split and stacked neatly! They are big trees that are going to keep me quite warm from 2015 - ???? and it's Free. Was at his place on Sunday and he pointed out the dead hickory he wants to take down and will be my next project to cut up for him. Never burned hickory before but think it should do well.

I don't think the oak is that bad to split but definitely not as easy as pine!

EDIT: that F-150 is a long box btw.
 
Hickory has btus like oak its a pain to split as its more stringy and holds on more than white oak. It dries a bit quicker than oak but not much.

Some pine is a pain to split!!
 
I think Pine is such a genaric term there have to be differences. Here we have mostly white and red pine which seems to split pretty well... It's gopher wood around here though so would only use it as camp wood not stove wood.
 
Kind of like oak there like 60 species
 
It's getting burnt next year, ready or not.

Your going to have to split it small and stack it in the direct sun / wind. not in your shed. and even then it wont be ready in a year. will need to mix it in with your hot fir / pine fire to be able to burn the moisture off it and get it to burn. been there done that!!

you are better off to stack it for 2 to 3 years someplace out of the way and enjoy the true btu's that it will provide
 
Your going to have to split it small and stack it in the direct sun / wind. not in your shed. and even then it wont be ready in a year. will need to mix it in with your hot fir / pine fire to be able to burn the moisture off it and get it to burn. been there done that!!

you are better off to stack it for 2 to 3 years someplace out of the way and enjoy the true btu's that it will provide

That's not happening. It's firewood, not fine cheese.
 
I guess you can throw Oak into the same group as cheese and wine, it gets better with age, my wife however.....
 
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Elderthewelder said: ↑ Your going to have to split it small and stack it in the direct sun / wind. not in your shed. and even then it wont be ready in a year. will need to mix it in with your hot fir / pine fire to be able to burn the moisture off it and get it to burn. been there done that!! you are better off to stack it for 2 to 3 years someplace out of the way and enjoy the true btu's that it will provide .................................................. That's not happening. It's firewood, not fine cheese.

Unless you have a pre-EPA stove, what it will be is an exercise in frustration! As soon as you close the door on the stove, the flame will go out. Your secondary burn will probably take 1 1/2 hours to get started. I don't know if you are in one of the no fire zones, but if you are, someone will drop a dime on you. Eventually you will swear that oak is the worst wood to burn. Etc. Etc. Etc

All kidding aside, elderthe welder gave you excellent advice.
Al
 
I read this thread because I was curious about oak (none around here) and how it split and couldn't help but notice more then one response that pine is a pita to split. How come? I burn lots of lodgepole and its easy to split green or seasoned. Ponderosa Pine is a bit harder to split and since its lower btus I leave it for others. What Pine are you guys thinking is hard to split? I would have thought that some of the pines that are out east are much lower btus then what we get in BC so naturally assumed it would split easier. Not trying to hijack this thread but wouldn't mind knowing. Thanks
 
Southern yellow pine when knotty. This term covers many pines but are the eastern building species.
 
All the oak I've gotten has been the easiest to split with my maul of many of the wood types. I think sometimes it depends on how you buck it but not really sure. I've gotten plenty of ash that was just impossible to get through even with a sledge and wedge. I've had to noodle down so many pieces of ash gah. I don't think I get the best specimens in my log length loads however though.
 
A few knots, and you may have to blast. However- fresh cut, fewer knots- both red and white split like a dream. With a sharp maul, there's honestly almost no effort beyond the weight of the falling maul up to ~10" wide.
 
Assuming it is a native species:

http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb0440/eb0440.pdf

Quercus garryana
Oregon white oak is the only oak in the
state. There is very little of it cut even though
its fuel value is greater than that of any other
tree growing in Washington. It is cut locally
for fuel, furniture, and wedges.
This is a slow growing species and is
often poorly formed. It is commonly found in
limited pure stands on dry, rocky sites where
other species will not grow.
 
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