Hey Sisters, I need wood splitting advice. Brothers please chime in too

[Jags]

Millie- I'm doing this for your own good:

Its cuzz your a girl! :coolgrin:

(did that pizz you off enough to go beat those logs like you were killing snakes?? - go get em) - and start on the small ones.

 

[firefighterjake]

Just wanted to say . . . welcome to the forum.

 

[basswidow]

Millie- I'm doing this for your own good:

Its cuzz your a girl! :coolgrin:

LOL - yeah, you swing like a girl!

 

[firefighterjake]

Millie- I'm doing this for your own good:

Its cuzz your a girl! :coolgrin:

LOL - yeah, you swing like a girl!

You wouldn't say that if you met my wife . . . one of the few women I have seen that throws a baseball or softball more like a guy . . . not sure how or why she learned to do it that way . . . but she most definitely is different.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

Welcome Aboard!

Splitting by hand requires that you pick the right species, and the right timing (some split easier green, others in the cold, etc)

General statement here, not meant to be sexist. Part of splitting is leverage. Shorter people are going to have to work harder. And the less weight you bring to the point of impact, the more strokes you're going to have to take.

Axes are not meant for splitting wood. Yup, many guys here use a Fiskars. But if the implement is getting stuck in the wood and you have to expend energy to get it out, you're going to be worn out early. Monster Mauls are for splitting wood. Fiskars are for looking pretty.

Not sure if your son and/or B/F are physically capable and are benefiting from the heat, but you should consider letting them do most of the splitting. Watch them, see how they do it. Not saying a Gurl shouldn't split some wood if she wants to, but it won't be long B4 the novelty of splitting wood wears off and you just want heat as quickly and with as little effort as possible.

Again, welcome to the show!!

Jimbo

 

[woodchip]

Not saying a Gurl shouldn't split some wood if she wants to, but it won't be long B4 the novelty of splitting wood wears off and you just want heat as quickly and with as little effort as possible. Jimbo

There is always the chance that any guy around may well want to demstrate how strong he is by splitting your wood for you.

Nothing wrong in using your brain and encouraging some neandertal use their brawn (quote from my wife there when my brother wanted to demonstrate his splitting skills)...... ;-)

 

[Flatbedford]

Welcome. I am not a sister, but I have suggestion. Have your son invite some of his friends over. When they get there, go out and start splitting. Make sure they see you swinging the maul. Suggest that none of them are man enough to split as well as you do. Stack the splits when they are done proving their manhood.

It is not so much brute strength as it is a combination of strength, finesse, experience, and picking the right species. I can split green, straight, Red Oak as fast as, if not faster, than one could with a machine, but I would need all day to do what a machine could do in 10 minutes to green Elm.

 

[PA Fire Bug]

I hate to get in this thing cuz there's so many variables, however, assuming you don't have all twisted and gnarly wood, or elm, you should be able to split it. So here's my take on it. If you have others come around and split the stuff you can't, then it's only one thing. You ain't poundin' it hard enough.

Some rounds are much easier to split than others, even from the same log. It is very satisfying to give a piece of wood a good whack and watch it fly into two pieces. I would also suggest having a person who splits wood work on your rounds to see if they can split them easily. I had a couple of logs in the last load of wood that I bought that I could not even begin to split. I saved them to try with my Fiskars which is in the mail. If that doesn't work, I'll be asking to borrow a neighbor's gas powered splitter. In the past, I have used a sledge hammer to drive my wedge through. It worked but it was hard on the wedge and took a lot of effort. Last winter, I found that I could split some large rounds after they were frozen. I was not able to split the same rounds in the summer or fall. I like to have some wood around for stress relief. It's good for me and for my wife and daughters.

 

[shortmillie]

I hate to disappoint everyone but I couldn't test out all the terrific advise because of this on CL:
"free firewood. locust, mulberry, maple. six months old.
already cut to fireplace manageable sizes.
in back yard. truck access off alley.
approx 2 pick up loads"

It was 6 blocks from my house, so needless to say I scrounged after work instead of splitting. Now I have oodles to practice on tomorrow.
I do now have a wood grenade and some wedges in my arsenal- thanks woodchip and bluedogz. I need to find my sledges, I know there here somewhere...

Sorry Danno77, it's not that I'm shy but I'm not a fan of public humiliation either. When I can chop wood like that guy with the sequoia, maybe I'll consider it!

As for you Jags and basswidow.... have you ever heard the phrase "hell hath no fury like a woman scorn" or this one "paybacks are a MF" :kiss:

Jimbo, woodchip and Flatbedford- I think I'll plan on making a pot of chili this weekend and invite my son and his burly pals over. I do want to know how to split wood but there's no reason to hog all the fun for myself. I know how to mow the grass and clean the gutters but that doesn't mean I want to.

Thanks again everyone! I'll keep you posted on my progress.

 

[deranged]

One thing worth trying, technique wise, that I hadn't seen mentioned yet. is to aim through the wood. If that makes any sense. You want to follow through with your swing all the way into your chopping block. If you aim at the top of the round you are trying to split you are more likely to not follow through with your swing and not power through the wood.

 

[red oak]

I have a good friend whose wife splits all of his wood for the winter by hand - and if she's much over 100 lbs then I'm the next President. Millie I really think what you need is practice. Start on some of the smaller straighter pieces as some others have mentioned. Gradually work your way up to the bigger ones. When tired, quit for awhile, the logs will wait.

I never split wood growing up and didn't start until I bought the house I am in now. I'm sure my technique was terrible to start! I remember after my first hour of swinging that ax I was sore! It took several years to get my technique down to what I would call efficient. So just practice if you really want to split by hand and I'm sure you will get better!

Also, welcome to the group and good luck!

 

[Mt Ski Bum]

another piece of advise for if/when you cut your own firewood: cut the larger-diameter ones to a shorter length- that'll help make them easier to split.

 

[JBinKC]

If you don't feel you have the proper swinging technique and if you want the exercise to split it manually I would probably use a device like a smart splitter.

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

One thing worth trying, technique wise, that I hadn't seen mentioned yet. is to aim through the wood. If that makes any sense. You want to follow through with your swing all the way into your chopping block. If you aim at the top of the round you are trying to split you are more likely to not follow through with your swing and not power through the wood.

+1

Creative visualization. Sounds like homeopathic quackery, but he's right. Aim for the ground that the piece sits on. Avoid chopping blocks though. They further reduce leverage and head speed.

 

[basswidow]

As for you Jags and basswidow.... have you ever heard the phrase "hell hath no fury like a woman scorn" or this one "paybacks are a MF" :kiss:

HA! yeah, pretty soon we'll be saying, you swing like a man! Great CL scrounge.

I've often wondered, what is millie short for?....... Mildred?

 

[xman23]

Welcome Millie
To learn how to hand split, it's best to have easy splitting wood with straight grain rounds, no branches . Red Oak is one but there are other woods. I don't have the splitting ax you have, so I can't comment. Others here do like it, so it's must work. But in general an ax does not work well for splitting rounds. It cuts into the wood with out splitting the round. Mauls are for splitting. Most wood splits better if it has dried a bit. The round will develop natural splits. Depends on the wood. Stand feet wide apart. My swing is a one arm pendulum motion wind up, then up straight over my head where the second hand meets the maul. Straight down, hitting one side, not the center. The force is all from the head speed, not the weight. If it doesn't go a second shot in the exact same spot, or a few shots creating a straight line across the round. If that fails rotate the round 90 degrees, and try another line. In no time you will be reading the wood for the one center shot that blows it apart.

I taught my 10 year old 80 LBS grandson how to split so you to can do it.

Tom

 

[ISeeDeadBTUs]

I've often wondered, what is millie short for?....... Mildred?

Mille is not short for anything . . . means thousand in Italian.

As in, 1,000 CCs

 

[kmachn]

I thought I would add a little to the already excellent advice provided. My wife started helping me split wood in August, mostly because she had our 4th child in April and has been trying to find a variety of ways to get exercise without cutting into sleep time at night. So, she shared some duties with me on the wood processing. I have an 8 lb maul, so that is what she used. She is 5'2" and weighs...well, let's just say that she is a small frame. I was an athlete (baseball primarily) and she was a cheerleader. I use a "roundhouse" swing and can generate a lot of force with it, while still accurately striking the log. She really struggled with the heavy maul "baseball" swing, so she used a different technique she saw on YouTube. It worked much better for her. Having said that, she couldn't split the bigger ones and would leave them for me, and she generally worked slower. I attribute a lot of this just to me having a lot more swings under my belt and her being less confident. The second day, she was SO much better. She just walked up with more confidence because it wasn't nearly as scary for her. She was focused on making the log "explode" and not worried as much about hurting herself. I think more practice will give you more confidence which will help a lot. "Swinging through" as someone previously mentioned really helps to. I have to visualize this myself on the big rounds, and it helps. Also, if I only get partway through a long round, I'll flip it and strike it along the same path which usually works really well. Of course, this depends on how the round was cut as to whether or not it will stay level.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that you're trying to generate a lot of force. Others have talked about precision, finesse, etc which is all part of generating more force. If you're all herky-jerky, you'll exert more energy in different directions and lose force. Force = mass x velocity. In other words, you can generate more force by using a heavier maul/sledge hammer (mass) or by using a lighter one (like your Fiskars) and swinging it faster (velocity). It's not about raw strength, but it is about generating force. I use more velocity, but my wife lets the mass of the maul work for her.

One suggestion I would make is to have your son or boyfriend as a "coach" while you practice. It really adds to my frustration when my maul gets stuck and I have to break my rhythm and pull it out of the round. Or, when I split one and have to pick up the pieces. Someone (like a "spotter" in weight training) to assist you will help you keep your rhythm while you're learning and stay focused on the swing. Also, it won't cause you too tire out as quickly. I planned on keeping this short...my apologies and good luck!

 

[deranged]

+1

Creative visualization. Sounds like homeopathic quackery, but he's right. Aim for the ground that the piece sits on. Avoid chopping blocks though. They further reduce leverage and head speed.

At least put a sheet of plywood or something under the wood, with the Fiskars axes, chopping into the ground is no good, the work much better when sharp.

 

[fredarm]

I second the recommendation for a small electric splitter. I split by hand my first year and bought the splitter the next year for $300 from Home Depot. It splits just about anything I throw at it up to about 12 inches in diameter. I don't tend to cut anything much bigger than that because of my small saw, so it's not an issue. With the bigger rounds I can halve them with a maul or sledge and wedge and then put them on the splitter. It's been a real backsaver!

 

[AppalachianStan]

Here is a video of splitting fire wood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=bRuk_jd1f8M

 

[Flatbedford]

Pretty easy to split 12" long rounds.