Splitting Basics

[LLigetfa]

I'm wondering if anyone out there splits like I do..... I had an old timer teach me. I use a maul. if the round does not split and the maul is firmly in the wood; then I pick up the whole thing. Turn it around and swing it it over my shoulder...

I won't use a maul but I often perform that maneuver with an axe.

 

[gerry100]

Quads knows how to do it efficiently.

The kid in the video seems to have split too high and his feet are too close together.

Let the maul and gravity do the work, dramatic and impressive blows mean nothing if you can't do it more than 10 times without a breather.

It's all impact speed , thats why the wrist break at the end is helpful.

Stroke and timing do the work, not how much you exert yourself.

 

[willworkforwood]

No reply back yet from Kevin - maybe he thinks you need to be Quads-sized to split. Kevin, if you're still there; I'm 5'8", 150 (if it's raining), and 61 years old. I use an 8# maul and split like Quads - right off the ground (btw Quads, outstanding show). Around 10 cord split from standing trees since Feb (a little bit every day). But, being way smaller than the knuckle-dragger, I almost always choke way-up on the handle. This lets me split for hours with little effort. As others have said, it's all in the timing - using it short handled will usually get the job done with one shot. If not, then I might call on the "reserve extra" handle. IMHO you would be better off learning with a 6-8# maul, and split right on the ground. You don't have to worry about damaging the tool - it can take whatever you dish out (but it doesn't split rocks quite as well as wood). IMO, you're also less likely to alter a body part by splitting on the ground. I always wear safety glasses, and would urge you to do that as well. Then, after you get the hang of it, you can read the "Fiskars" thread and start experimenting with other things :lol:

 

[quads]

with a 6-8# maul, and split right on the ground. You don't have to worry about damaging the tool - it can take whatever you dish out

That's correct. The head on my maul is 30 years old. I sharpened it once, a long time ago, and I never made that mistake again. Works way better after it's been driven into the ground a few years. It wears itself into it's own best shape.

The handle on my maul is 25 years old. It's starting to show some signs of age, a crack here and a ding there, but still hanging on.

 

[flash49]

1. Get some wood (done already)
2. cut the wood to about 14 inches. This makes it a lot easier to split. 16 is OK, but if you have 20 or 22 inch long pieces, they'll be a lot harder to split.
3. find the right tool. A typical man can use a 6 or 8 lb maul comfortably. Many people prefer a lighter splitting ax like a Fiskar's. A regular ax isn't the right tool.
4. go outside, find a spot with a soft base (like the yard) so you don't damage the maul or the driveway if you miss
5. stand a round on a shorter, fatter round. put the round to be split on the far side of the splitting block
6. position yourself far enough from the log that you have to slightly reach to hit the top of the wood with the maul
7. Stand with feet side by side, so neither foot is too close to the danger
8. hold maul with left hand at end of handle, right hand near the head (if you're right handed)
9. aim for the near edge of the wood you are going to split
10. swing the maul over your head, sliding right hand down the handle the by next to left hand by the time the maul hits the wood
11. start by swinging lightly - your goal is just to land the maul on the wood, not try to split it
12. practice the swing until you can comfortably hit the wood
13. gradually swing harder
14. do a little each day, you'll learn muscle memory and won't get too tired

You can trust me, I just taught a bunch of boy scouts to split wood, and they all still have both feet intact.

Sounds pretty good except for #7...I like to place my feet a couple of feet apart...just feels safer to me.

 

[Wood Duck]

1. Get some wood (done already)
2. cut the wood to about 14 inches. This makes it a lot easier to split. 16 is OK, but if you have 20 or 22 inch long pieces, they'll be a lot harder to split.
3. find the right tool. A typical man can use a 6 or 8 lb maul comfortably. Many people prefer a lighter splitting ax like a Fiskar's. A regular ax isn't the right tool.
4. go outside, find a spot with a soft base (like the yard) so you don't damage the maul or the driveway if you miss
5. stand a round on a shorter, fatter round. put the round to be split on the far side of the splitting block
6. position yourself far enough from the log that you have to slightly reach to hit the top of the wood with the maul
7. Stand with feet side by side, so neither foot is too close to the danger
8. hold maul with left hand at end of handle, right hand near the head (if you're right handed)
9. aim for the near edge of the wood you are going to split
10. swing the maul over your head, sliding right hand down the handle the by next to left hand by the time the maul hits the wood
11. start by swinging lightly - your goal is just to land the maul on the wood, not try to split it
12. practice the swing until you can comfortably hit the wood
13. gradually swing harder
14. do a little each day, you'll learn muscle memory and won't get too tired

You can trust me, I just taught a bunch of boy scouts to split wood, and they all still have both feet intact.

Sounds pretty good except for #7...I like to place my feet a couple of feet apart...just feels safer to me.

Now that I read it again, I see it is misleading. My feet are spread apart a couple of feet, but they are side-by-side in the sense that i don't have one in front. I don't take a step toward the wood that would put one foot closer to danger. I should either edit my post or try splitting wood with my feet together and see if it works.

 

[kenny chaos]

Once in a while I get my maul stuck in a piece of wood, and I'll pick the maul and wood up together and bang 'em back down until the wood splits. This doesn't happen very often, and I don't swing it over my head, just pick it up a couple of feet, but I guess I am another splitter who sort of uses the method you describe.

He was saying he flips it upside down, not just up and down.
Not correcting you, just wanted others to understand his technique.

 

[ansehnlich1]

I'm not splittin' too much by hand anymore, but I did my share. I always had a sledge hammer, 3 wedges, the "blaster" (which was the head of a monster maul that the handle broke off of), an axe, and 2 mauls.

I always set the round to be split on top of another round, or sometimes 3/4 inch plywood or something like that, as I think it made better than on soft ground.

Sizing up the round is important. You know, lookin' at it, contemplating the grain, the knots, the twists, etc. so as to not expend unnecessary energy splittin' the dang thing.

It's the psychology of splitting ya see, I'd throw the nasties off to the side often for another day, that way I could breeze through the easies first and not tire out so quickly.

Spread legs, raise implement of destruction, and come down on the thing with sufficient force. You see, ya don't always need to pound away with a maul, cuz some stuff splits easy with a lighter axe....hence, the psychology of the whole thing....

Some times with nasties I'd just go ahead and fire up the chainsaw and saw straight down into the thing a third or half way, then set the wedge in there....yep, I'd saw into 'em and cheat like that if I had to

Wear good solid jeans, or shin guards would be better, like soccer players wear, but jeans and heavy socks usually worked. However, I'd always get a shin bruise somehow.

Flying metal from wedges can be interesting, I'd do wedge maintenance too, with the grinder, getting potential shrapnel ground off the things.

Oh yeah, and always, always, would wear gloves!