went to woods to split the frozen wood this morning..pics

[steeltowninwv]

well i had intentions of hand splitting the dreaded elm and sycamore i cut the other day...i was hoping it was gonna be easier since it was frozen now....got a call from the farmer whos land i cut on...he said he would meet me down there...man did this get easier or what

kids were out of school today so my son went with me...this is his favorite part....ride down in the woods in the bucket of the tractor

the butt end of the elm split up...have some elm left but nothing big, shouldn't be no where near as hard as this stuff was to split

the sycamore split up...this wood is no slouch as far as miserable wood to split...the small stuff splits nice but when u get over 12-13 inches in diameter it gets tough

 

[PA Fire Bug]

What a great way to spend the day. Good memories for the everyone, especially the kids.

 

[ohlongarm]

Nice outing,how does that sycamore burn? I've got trees here 4 to 6 feet wide at the base.

 

[Fredo]

Good for you and your family. Awesome looking splits also...


Fredo

 

[steeltowninwv]

i like sycamore...in btus its real close to cherry....4 to 6 feet wide thats big...and man they would be a pain to split..but lots of btus

 

[thewoodlands]

[quote author="steeltowninwv" date="1326510601"]well i had intentions of hand splitting the dreaded elm and sycamore i cut the other day...i was hoping it was gonna be easier since it was frozen now....got a call from the farmer whos land i cut on...he said he would meet me down there...man did this get easier or what

Looks like you had a great day, it's always nice when things get easier.

Nice Job
Zap

 

[wishlist]

Good job steel, I'm sure your son had a great day as well. Where's the snow?

 

[steeltowninwv]

there called for 1-3 inches but we got a tiny little skiff

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Steeltown, it has to be sweet getting the wood without the snow. Good to see you got that elm and sycamore split.

 

[mesuno]

Nice outing,how does that sycamore burn? I've got trees here 4 to 6 feet wide at the base.

We've been working on a sycamore that blew down a few weeks back - two afternoons got it bucked up. It took about 3 hours to get one section of trunk down from the bank where it was suspended in the air 20ft above the passing cars! Added problems because the trunk diameter was slightly longer than twice my longest bar and there was no where solid to stand.

Anyway, this has been the toughest wood to hand split by far - lots of horrible knots and crotches hidden deep in the trunk rounds and really fibrous. First time I've actually found the splitting wedges essential. Some of the smaller diameter branch wood and bits from higher up the trunk have been a bit easier, but still a real pain compared to the chestnut and oak I'm used to splitting.

Not sure about how it burns - I'll know in a couple of years.