Splitter Day w pics

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midwestcoast

Minister of Fire
Oct 9, 2009
1,745
NW Indiana
I've been accumulating un-splittable rounds & crotch pieces here & there for a few years now and recently had a couple major scrounges (including Sycamore that is tough splitting) , so decided it was time to rent a splitter. Did the Sunday rental so I got a few hours in Saturday evening too. Iron & Oak 22-ton.
rental splitter.jpg
These are the Red Oak logs that got dropped off by a tree service on the 8'th. They were bucked & most transferred to the back yard in the little yellow wagon by Saturday. Rounds from the biggest log I just bucked on Saturday & split them where they lay once I got the splitter home.11-08-12 delivery 002.jpg
11-08-12 delivery 003.jpg
The back yard with most of the Oak in Rounds. Some punky/junky Silver Maple at left of first pic & a bunch of Honey Locust and the Sycamore in pic 2.
 

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A neigbor helped for a bit Saturday evening, but my buddy who was lined-up to help Sunday ended-up getting sick, so this was mostly a solo effort. Here's a pic Sunday night before I took pitty on my neighbors (and my back) & shut down at 9:30.Splitting 005.jpg

There are a dozen or so rounds that I just couldn't finish before my self-imposed deadline, but I'm pretty happy with what I got done.
The Sycamore is thrown inside a mostly hollow, 16 month old 4-pallet stack of Red Oak hoping it'll be dry by the time the oak is primo. 2 Piles of Locust and one big Ole' Pile of Oak.Splitting 006.jpgSplitting 007.jpg

After I quit I took a healthy dose of Vitamin I (ibuprofin) & a few doses of Vitamin IPA!
Today, I'm pretty beat.
 
Nice story with pictures
 
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Nice job on the wood midwestcoast, how is the wife and neighbors?;)
 
midwestcoast, my back hurts just thinking about all you accomplished. Good on ya!
 
Love the splitting into the night.
Total dedication & get your money's worth out of a rental ;)

Great pictures
 
WOW ! thats alot of wood , good for you. And great btu firewood:cool:
 
After I quit I took a healthy dose of Vitamin I (ibuprofin) & a few doses of Vitamin IPA!
Today, I'm pretty beat.

Yeah, I know the feeling. I split all day too, its a good sense of accomplishment and feel good tried to go along with it. Good Job! midwest, those piles look awesome.
 
Very nice work and wood.
 
The wife was totally on-board Zap, at least until 8:30 when she got worried about the noise. She is pretty great & loves wood heat. The neighbors are good people on both sides, hope it wasn't too bad for them. We are normally pretty quiet...

Yeah "getting my money's worth" is what I called it Dave. Some might just say cheap ;)

I was surprised that the Oak was pretty tough splitting. Kinda stringy, so lots of full strokes of the wedge. The Sycamore was much easier with the hydraulics. It'd hesitate & groan for second & then Crack! Clean splits! It had pretty much laughed at the Fiskars.

I don't know how many cords I did, but I'm fairly confident that once everything is stacked I'll be good through the 2015/16 season anyway. Feels good.
 
Good job! I love the pics! You can never go wrong with Oak!
 
That is a lot of work....but well worth the effort when it comes time to burn. When I rented a splitter I'd go the same route with when to rent it to maximize my time with it.....if the Holidays fell right, you could even squeeze in an extra day. Do your darndest to try and save for one of your own.....it made a world of difference for me....split when ya got the time.
 
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Looking good, MWC. I, too, have done the 'spotlight splitting' before, several times. Sometimes there's just not enough hours in a day, and when you're on a roll, you wanna go go GO. Great job with the narrative, too. Lots of good stuff to be used down the road there!
 
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Love the "curb" service....Glad you have good neighbors. Awesome pics and alot of work but will pay off in the long run.
 
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Wow, great work! Make sure you keep taking that vitamin IPA ;)
 
No matter how you hack it, or split it, that is a lot of work! It will pay back big dividends too.
 
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Yeah, I liked the splitter, it was a beast, but I won't be getting one any time soon. There are higher priorities now, like a college fund for my daughter, down payment for a vehicle we'll need within a year or so...
Plus heating with wood is supposed to Save me money.
If I can just hand split the majority and use a rental every 2-4 years it is well worth the inconvenience of renting to me.

Beer Belly; a holiday rental would be perfect, and I did think of doing it Thanksgiving, but my folks are coming to stay with us & I knew my Dad would be out there helping me every minute. He's got enough chores to do at his own place.
 
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Sounds like a good plan Midwest.
 
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