anyone else hand split instead of using the splitter?

[rygar]

have a bunch of oak i just got cut down. am actually hand splitting to smaller pieces then maybe using the 27 ton.

mainly doing it for the exercise. anyone else punishing themselves instead of teh easy route?

 

[rwilly]

I always use the axe, maul method. I love to split wood.

I set aside the knotty ones that I am unable to split by hand, and use the splitter for them.

Its the stacking I don't like.

 

[kswaterfowler]

I did. Hedge sucks to split and the elm is the worst. Went to a splitter for this year.

 

[Bushfire]

I usually split by hand, but with about 4 cord of scrounge wood sitting on the driveway I decided a $70 a day rental of a splitter was money well spent. I enjoy splitting by hand, but that would have taken me weeks to get through in my free time. With the splitter I had it done in a day.

 

[peakbagger]

I use my Fiskars and hand split about 4 cords a year. My local wood is white birch, red maple, ash and beech. Probably 80% birch and maple. If I had more beech or oak I would probably buy a splitter.

I find that I am only motivated to cut about a tank of fuel with my chainsaw. I take a break from sawing by splitting.

 

[Hasufel]

I split everything with my X27 (or X19 for smaller stuff) and Fiskars maul, but that's no more than about 3 cords in a season. I get a lot of enjoyment out of it and, because I split most stuff near the house, I can do a little at a time and spread it out over the fall and winter. It's a good way to get me outside in cold weather when not much else works. I suspect I'll invest in a splitter down the road but right now it's all manual.

 

[MaintenanceMan]

Cutting, swinging a maul or stacking don't bother me really. It's the bending over. Whatever I can do in any part of the operation to minimize the constant bending over.. I do it...

 

[Chimney Smoke]

I like splitting by hand and most of what I split is red oak so it splits easy. If I had more funky stuff I'd definitely buy a splitter.

 

[David.Ervin]

I've got mostly ash wood, and it's straight grained enough that hand splitting with the x27 is faster than a hydraulic splitter ever could be. Also, I don't have to heft a huge round up onto the splitter this way. Just stand it up on end and hit it with the axe.

 

[FaithfulWoodsman]

For me it depends on the size of the load, unless it's elm or a yard tree. I have access to my neighbors splitter, but only want to bother him and drag it out if the load is large, small loads have turned into a massive pile or it's super bad stuff. 3/4 or less and usually hand split.

 

[bfast250]

I hand split 2-3 cords per year with the x27. Oak, hickory, ash, sassafras, cedar, etc. I spread out the work and enjoy the time outdoors.

Like others I have a pile of stubborn pieces that I save for a hydro splitter. I also use an old tire for smaller rounds to reduce the bending over.

 

[Wood Duck]

I hand split everything, about four cords a year. Splitting is my favorite part of the process. I also enjoy felling trees, I sometimes like bucking the trees provided my chainsaw is working right. Moving the wood from where it fell to the splitting area is the part I could do without. I also don't much enjoy moving the wood from the stacks to the house either.

 

[Dobish]

i split about 2 cord of elm by hand, then bought a splitter. Now I only split the easy stuff by hand so I feel super good about myself.

Actually, I have about another 2 cord of elm that is stacked in rounds, and I am debating getting out the fiskars and getting a workout. The wood is down back, and it would be a bumpy ride for the splitter. Wood by the splitter gets split by the splitter, wood away from the splitter gets split by hand...

 

[Dobish]

I hand split everything, about four cords a year. Splitting is my favorite part of the process. I also enjoy felling trees, I sometimes like bucking the trees provided my chainsaw is working right. Moving the wood from where it fell to the splitting area is the part I could do without. I also don't much enjoy moving the wood from the stacks to the house either.

i have been practicing throwing wood from the splitter to the stacks... so far, i'm about 60% success rate.... its sort of a game!

 

[IthinkI'mgettinOld]

Cutting, swinging a maul or stacking don't bother me really. It's the bending over. Whatever I can do in any part of the operation to minimize the constant bending over.. I do it...

Get a old tire or a few and stack your wood in it tight....on frozen ground it'll split well without going anywhere and it minimizes the amount of bending over.

I split with a maul exclusively. Splitting firewood in the winter is great, keeps you warm and keeps you outdoors when you otherwise wouldn't be.

 

[gerry100]

swinging the maul for 37 years now. Plan on keeping going for 3-4 more years ( I'll be 70)

It's really not punishing after you develop a smooth accurate swing.

 

[BoiledOver]

Get a old tire or a few and stack your wood in it tight....on frozen ground it'll split well without going anywhere and it minimizes the amount of bending over.

I split with a maul exclusively. Splitting firewood in the winter is great, keeps you warm and keeps you outdoors when you otherwise wouldn't be.

Yes, I hand split exclusively with a Fiskar. I do have an electric mini splitter next to the boiler for making kindling and anything oversized.

If ya let the temps get good and cold (mid-teens and lower F), you don't even need a tire. Whack the rounds where they lay horizontal, this keeps the bending over part to a minimum. Frozen wood almost explodes, the colder the better. In the past, I used a big round as a chopping block and that is a lotta work. No more chopping block, wait for the cold, and whack em.

 

[Komatsu350]

I hand split with a fiskars. I actually think it much faster than a splitter.

 

[SuperGenius]

I hand split everything with a Craftsman maul, though I used my neighbor's 20-ton splitter this year on some elm that just laughed at me and my maul. Thankfully, most trees on my property are maple.

 

[red oak]

I hand split about 6 cords per year with a maul, the few pieces I can't split get re-introduced to the chainsaw. Most of what I split is red oak so it's pretty easy going as long as there aren't any big knots. I like the exercise and now my son is old enough to help so that's really neat. Splitting is a job that's never really done for me, a half hour here and there adds up but I don't try to do it all in a day or week.

 

[excessads]

I always use the axe, maul method. I love to split wood.

Its the stacking I don't like.

Second on both counts, she stacks, I split, fair deal.

 

[CincyBurner]

I hand split all. I find splitting (even stacking) very enjoyable. Moving wood is the chore.
I've used hydraulic splitters, and know they're probably faster, but I'm too impatient, and I just enjoy the sounds and feel and and satisfaction of working my way through a pile of logs with a simple implement.

In 2015 trying to get caught up and ahead I split about 7 cord. It seemed much of it just found its way to me - or at least the word of a good scrounge.

Hand splitting definitely changes my species selection the and portions of wood taken. I stick to easier splitting wood species (maple, ash, oak, hickory, Osage, black locust), and avoid contorted, twisted, or tough splitting stuff like sweetgum, American elm, blackgum and sycamore. Fortunately plenty of the good burning wood splits nicely. Beech is an exception. It's twisty, but it's a rarity in southwest Ohio, and I love how it burns.
I found that while pear and tulip poplar split fairly easy, they split funky and uneven.
If in the field I'm picky and will select clear chunks, or cut out the crotches and knotty portions. What uglies and shorts I get make their way to the crates.
Cleanup of the split slivers makes for good for kindling.

 

[excessads]

Fiskar most of the time and enjoy every minute of it. Maul and wedge reserved for the soggy rounds. Nothing stays intact except some really green sycamore.

 

[xman23]

I hand split a few pieces, but if the pile is big I drag out the splitter

 

[ChemicalWaste]

I split most of my stuff by hand this year. I don't dolly everything, but really big stuff gets split into quarters, some bigger stuff get halved. I'm telling you, that isocore mail from fiskars is happiness. I used it tonight on some ash logs about 18"in diameter that I didn't want to fight into the boiler and it's awesome stuff. Probably split about 7 cords worth by hand this year and my shoulder knows about it.

But I bought a log splitter. Next year will be different.