After being asked a few times via PM and also in posts I have finally gotten around to making a little kindling this afternoon. This, as usual, is made from soft maple. But this wood is not green so it doesn't split exactly the same but it wasn't too bad.
I've shrunk the pictures so as not to take up too much space and hopefully the mods will leave it here in the woodshed where it belongs because this is more than just pictures. I hope it explains some of how I split wood and make kindling. I also did time some splitting, so everyone can see that splitting wood with a small splitter does not have to be slow. So, let's get started:
This is the first block of soft maple I split today. Notice that bark is coming off so it certainly is not green wood.
This picture shows how far down I take the ram. Then I raise it and the block just falls apart.
Now to save time, when splitting this is as far as I let the ram rise. You can let the ram raise all the way but it takes more time and is unnecessary. Also, notice that I now have only half of the log. Simply put, it is easier to handle than to do the whole thing at once.
Now we start the slicing.
Now that we have some slices, we simply turn the whole shebang.
And complete the making of some kindling.
And it is complete.
From that small log, I got 23 pieces of kindling. Naturally I could not time it because of the taking of pictures. However, I did time a couple others that I did after the picture taking session. It took from 13-45 seconds to complete turning a log into kindling.
I'm sure most of you fellows also get lots of logs about the size that I started with here and split them into 4 pieces. So, I made a couple that way (and one was an elm) and the shortest time it took me was 8 seconds and the longest was 13 seconds to turn from a log to 4 splits. Simply put, I put the ram down only far enough to break the block and start the ram raising while I quickly turn the log and immediately start the ram down again. Two quick hits with the ram and you have 4 splits.
This shows that even with a relatively small splitter (20 ton) you can still split wood fairly fast by paying attention to how you are doing the splitting and handling the wood. And it also shows the doubters how that dull wedge will still make kindling pretty darned easy.
I suggest some of you fellows give this a try and post how you did with it. I along with others are very interested. If someone has a faster and easier way, please post it.
As for the doubters and the nay-sayers, I'm sure they will gladly be posting also. lol
WARNING: Because I posted so you can see how long it takes to make kindling or turn a log into 4 splits, I'd surely hate to see this turn into a speed contest. Please do not start this and then see if you can beat those times that were posted. That is not the reason for posting them! The only reason I mentioned the time factor was because of some things I've seen written in previous threads about how much time it takes to do things.
From my wife: Guys, don't get stupid and lose a finger or two.
I've shrunk the pictures so as not to take up too much space and hopefully the mods will leave it here in the woodshed where it belongs because this is more than just pictures. I hope it explains some of how I split wood and make kindling. I also did time some splitting, so everyone can see that splitting wood with a small splitter does not have to be slow. So, let's get started:
This is the first block of soft maple I split today. Notice that bark is coming off so it certainly is not green wood.
This picture shows how far down I take the ram. Then I raise it and the block just falls apart.
Now to save time, when splitting this is as far as I let the ram rise. You can let the ram raise all the way but it takes more time and is unnecessary. Also, notice that I now have only half of the log. Simply put, it is easier to handle than to do the whole thing at once.
Now we start the slicing.
Now that we have some slices, we simply turn the whole shebang.
And complete the making of some kindling.
And it is complete.
From that small log, I got 23 pieces of kindling. Naturally I could not time it because of the taking of pictures. However, I did time a couple others that I did after the picture taking session. It took from 13-45 seconds to complete turning a log into kindling.
I'm sure most of you fellows also get lots of logs about the size that I started with here and split them into 4 pieces. So, I made a couple that way (and one was an elm) and the shortest time it took me was 8 seconds and the longest was 13 seconds to turn from a log to 4 splits. Simply put, I put the ram down only far enough to break the block and start the ram raising while I quickly turn the log and immediately start the ram down again. Two quick hits with the ram and you have 4 splits.
This shows that even with a relatively small splitter (20 ton) you can still split wood fairly fast by paying attention to how you are doing the splitting and handling the wood. And it also shows the doubters how that dull wedge will still make kindling pretty darned easy.
I suggest some of you fellows give this a try and post how you did with it. I along with others are very interested. If someone has a faster and easier way, please post it.
As for the doubters and the nay-sayers, I'm sure they will gladly be posting also. lol
WARNING: Because I posted so you can see how long it takes to make kindling or turn a log into 4 splits, I'd surely hate to see this turn into a speed contest. Please do not start this and then see if you can beat those times that were posted. That is not the reason for posting them! The only reason I mentioned the time factor was because of some things I've seen written in previous threads about how much time it takes to do things.
From my wife: Guys, don't get stupid and lose a finger or two.
