tire method

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ohio woodburner

Feeling the Heat
Oct 4, 2009
408
NW Ohio
I felt like splitting some of that red oak i got the last few days, so i got the maul out and hit a few rounds. My back hasn't been feeling the greatest so i was tired of bending over to pick up the rounds as they fell over. So i figured i would try the tire method that I've seen on here. Putting the round in the tire and splitting away. Man did that work. It was almost like i couldn't stop splitting. It was fast and made for very little work. I even have a hydraulic splitter and this just seems so much faster
 

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I used a 10"x18"l round and screwed 2- 2x8s to it then screwed the tire to that. I use it all the time and I love it.
 
Here is the chopping block I recently made. On think I would like to change is to raise the tire a few inches. I think I will put some 4" 4" blocks under the tire.
Works well.
 

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WES999 said:
Here is the chopping block I recently made. On think I would like to change is to raise the tire a few inches. I think I will put some 4" 4" blocks under the tire.
Works well.

Thats hot!
It's a wood altar!
 
I tried the tire method for the first time today too. Fantastic results. I love not having to pick up splits off the ground after every strike. Sometimes the splits would fall over within the tire but they would tend to at least stay within the tire, so I could just reach over and right them.

I don't know if this is an innovation but I used a utility knife to completely cut out the steel wire from one of the tire's beads. I didn't want to risk biting into any steel with my new Fiskars 4.5lb splitter. Removing the bead turned out to have another benefit, explained below. This tire was off of (I think) a Mazda Protege. It has a 13" inside diameter.

Conveniently, my chopping stump is almost exactly 13" in diameter. I just snugged the still-beaded side of the tire around the top of the stump. No nails or anything. It stays pretty much in place just by friction.

One of the pics shows the tire filled with a largish round after splitting with my Fiskars. I love how the Fiskars slices a round like a pizza. I don't think I could have done that with my 8lb maul. Now that my rounds stay upright I just keep splitting smaller and smaller! I could practically make roof shakes with this setup.

Another pic shows the tire filled with two medium-sized rounds, split. The removal of the steel bead meant that I could stretch the tire opening into an ovalish shape to accomodate multiple rounds at once. This kind of squeezes the rounds together and holds them even more stationary.

You can see pics of my pile of norway maple rounds, before and after a pleasurable hour of splitting.
 

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I do it both ways. Sometimes a round will not fit in the tire or it is too heavy to move so I just do it where it lays. It works great for certain sizes.
 
ohio woodburner said:
I felt like splitting some of that red oak i got the last few days, so i got the maul out and hit a few rounds. My back hasn't been feeling the greatest so i was tired of bending over to pick up the rounds as they fell over. So i figured i would try the tire method that I've seen on here. Putting the round in the tire and splitting away. Man did that work. It was almost like i couldn't stop splitting. It was fast and made for very little work. I even have a hydraulic splitter and this just seems so much faster

Don't forget the pulp hook! Bailey's Pulp Hook. I too have a bad back, and using the pulp hook really helps to limit all the bending over to pick up and move rounds and splits.......


NP
 
Wow GREAT pics guys. I've been considering doing this for a long time but have been too lazy to do it.
I will definitely be visiting my local tire shop sometime in the next few weeks!
 
I have got to try this too. I have read about this and it seemed like a good idea, but the pictures make it look like a must-have.
 
This is my version of the tire method:
IMG_5202.jpg




IMG_5203.jpg
 
Quads, i think i would rather have that tire than all that snow ;-)
 
quads said:
This is my version of the tire method:
IMG_5202.jpg




IMG_5203.jpg

I like your method, nice and simple. It's kinda of cold out now, I think I may try it when the weather gets warmer. ;-)
 
Ha! Yes, if I had a choice between tire and snow, I would pick tire too! I like cold, but I could live without snow.
 
This tire method looks slick. I'm going to have to try it. It might save some bending over.
Thanks for the pic's.
 
Love the tire idea. I picked a junk a small 4-wheeler tire up from the Yamaha shop today.
Cut both sidewalls out
Cut ears on one side
Turned inside out
Screwed to1/2" plywood
Cut for 15" opening.
Screwed plywood to a birch stump
Will try it tomorrow.
sptire7-1.jpg

 

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Nice addition. With those 2x2 blocks you could make your setup a custom fit for any size chopping block.
I'm gonna upgrade my setup with an ATV tire when I can find one. The extra height would be a benefit.
 
You can do this with any tire & it will be taller. When inverted, what's turned at the bead in will be turned out.
I found ATV tires a little harder to turn inside-out.
I use inverted tires in the garden but never thought of the idea for holding rounds when splitting. Live & learn :)
 

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Inside-Out Tire worked well.
15" opening
 

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bogydave said:
You can do this with any tire & it will be taller. When inverted, what's turned at the bead in will be turned out.
I found ATV tires a little harder to turn inside-out.
I use inverted tires in the garden but never thought of the idea for holding rounds when splitting. Live & learn :)

Now, I've used tires and rubber bands for splitting for ages but never heard of turning them inside out. I also have semi-raised beds and tires sound like they'd be great for trying to speed up peppers.

Removing the bead helps turning it inside out ?

OK, nevermind, all manner of instructions, techniques and opinions at Ye Old Google.
 
For raised beds, cut the whole sidewall out of one side, easier to invert.
The splitter tire I cut both side walls along the bead & then in one side cut in some ears thru the sidewall to the tread , which is a help to invert also.
Small 4 wheeler tires are tougher to invert than standard car tires.
 
A tip I just learned for this tie method id to cut the ears that get attached to the stump 2-3" deeper.
It leaves room for dirt/bark/chips to be cleaned out.
I use it mostly for kindling & picnic fire pit small splits.
 
Looks like Quads
He uses a fiskers too (well the handle says fiskers) :)
 
bogydave said:
Looks like Quads
He uses a fiskers too (well the handle says fiskers) :)
Ha, I'll take your word for it! (my dialup is too slow)

They stole my last name...... :)
 
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