best time to split

[windowmaker2]

Hello all. Got my first wood stove and first splitting axe. I was just wondering when the best time the split is. I had some trees come down in the past week or so. I cut them up and wanted to know if splitting now fresh and green is the easiest or let them sit till next fall. I am splitting by hand new house and not much cash for big tools. But maybe in a year or two I can get some hydraulics. Also just got a 30$ 4# Axe from Lowes are some better than others?

 

[mudr]

Best time to split: after coffee and before beer.

Seriously: The sooner the better. This is based on the premise that you want your wood as dry as possible. Split sooner=dry sooner. Regarding splitting tools: regular axe>8 or 10 lb maul>fiskars splitting axe> > > > > > > >hydraulics.


I loved my fiskars splitting axe. That said, I rarely touch it now that I have my Huskee 22 ton splitter.

 

[nmaho]

I like to split when it is cold out, no bugs and splits better.

 

[BigCountryNY]

Get it split now while it's cool out. The beauty of wood is that it will warm you twice. The smaller the splits, the faster it will dry. Shoot for 3-4" max thickness on the largest part of the split and stack them up off the ground where they can get sun and air.

 

[wahoowad]

When a good football game is on TV and you can run your electric splitter in the garage with the TV on

 

[Hills Hoard]

best time to split? immediately! Sooner the better. only time i will delay splitting is if its too hot

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I was just wondering when the best time the split is.

The best time is today. The second best time is tomorrow. Etc. Ad infinitum

 

[Ram 1500 with an axe...]

Get er done.... ASAP.......

 

[windowmaker2]

I guess I should rephrase my question. I get do it now so it dries faster but did not know if 100% mc is easier to split or is 50% mc easier to split. ( made up these #'s to show a big difference) It is just me and my axe so trying to get the most splits per wack and still have enough energy for 12oz curls at the end of the day. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[BigCountryNY]

The longer you wait to split it, the longer you wait until you can burn it at an ideal MC. Ease of splitting is somewhat relative, but I don't find that it makes much of a difference in most cases with what I'm splitting - mostly red oak, white oak, birch, and silver maple right now.

 

[Beer Belly]

Just an idea.....Before hydraulics in our household, I'd get a good amount of rounds piled, then rent a splitter for a weekend ......usually a holiday weekend to get an extra day of rental free, and split till it's done. The sooner you get them split, the better.....need to get ahead, and stay ahead.

 

[Joe13]

Im new to burning as well, and I will tell you this. Dry or wet, wood splits similar. Ive split green and standing dead with similar outcomes. Things that will cause you splitting issues: The species of tree, and amount of knots. Straight ash seems to split with minimal effort, while the hickory I just went through to a bit more work. Crotches are left to the side for me as I cant get through them by hand. Get it split and stacked and be glad youll have some wood for next year!

 

[Ralphie Boy]

I'm a "split it when you get it" kind of guy. I had rounds stacked of as much as a month, but only because I split by hand and had a lot of rounds to split!

 

[firefighterjake]

Loaded question . . .

Some folks would say split it sooner rather than later . . . to get the wood seasoned.

Some folks would say split it in the cooler months . . . to avoid the heat and the bugs.

Some folks would say to split it when you get it . . . to avoid huge piles of rounds building up.

Some folks would say save it up and rent a splitter and do it all at once . . . to avoid the physical work (or at least the hardest part.)

Some folks would say it depends on the species . . . some wood may do better fresh cut, other wood is better with a little more seasoning.


I guess the true answer young padawan is to do whatever works for you.

 

[windowmaker2]

Loaded question . . .

Some folks would say split it sooner rather than later . . . to get the wood seasoned.

Some folks would say split it in the cooler months . . . to avoid the heat and the bugs.

Some folks would say to split it when you get it . . . to avoid huge piles of rounds building up.

Some folks would say save it up and rent a splitter and do it all at once . . . to avoid the physical work (or at least the hardest part.)

Some folks would say it depends on the species . . . some wood may do better fresh cut, other wood is better with a little more seasoning.


I guess the true answer young padawan is to do whatever works for you.

Firefighterjake that is what I wanted to hear. To each its own. This is for the barn wood burner and not the house. My plan is to get free wood I hope this winter and split and stack for next year. This year I have a lot of cut offs of kiln dried oak and mahogany from the wood shop but burns too quick. I am burning once a week while I am working on putting the shop together. Hope to be building stuff in there by summer.

 

[midwestcoast]

Yeah, Jake pretty much laid it out. You ask when is best to split & you get peoples preferences. Wood generally splits similar whether it was just cut or sat in rounds for months. That's because it doesn't hardly start drying until split.
I will say that if you leave it in rounds, make sure they are up off the ground as any bit of rot or punky-ness WILL make hand splitting more difficult.

Personally I split when I get the time. If I get to choose I prefer to split in cold weather but before there's snow on the ground; Specifically on a sunny morning after a bitter cold night when the ground and the wood are frozen solid & I'm swinging the Fiskars at some fresh, straight Red Oak which is practically jumping apart with each swing.

 

[Craby]

Splitting wood when it has had time to freeze helps. It would need to be well below freezing for a few days to get the inside of the round to freeze.
What I've read about splitting drier wood is with the water gone, the grain is tighter so with this in mind fresher wood should be easier.

 

[windowmaker2]

Side note is the Fiskars X27 the Cadillac of axes? Seems to be the one of choice around here. Any reason? Again thanks for all the responses.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I don't find that it makes much of a difference

Same here

 

[sportbikerider78]

I do it when I buck the tree.
Last year, I dropped about 20 big trees and let them sit all winter after limbing them. Every time I looked out the window (under 3' of snow) I thought about all the work to be done.

Never again for me. If I don't have time to limb, buck and split, I don't drop the tree.

 

[Hills Hoard]

I guess I should rephrase my question. I get do it now so it dries faster but did not know if 100% mc is easier to split or is 50% mc easier to split. ( made up these #'s to show a big difference) It is just me and my axe so trying to get the most splits per wack and still have enough energy for 12oz curls at the end of the day. Thanks for the feedback.

I see where you are coming from...i have split wood that im sure would of been easier if it were drier, but either way splitting by hand isn't an easy job so roll up your sleeves and get it over with....another thing to think about is what would you do with the wood while you wait for it to semi season before splitting then stacking. i would try and minimise the steps involved with processing your wood...for example, once i get my wood home and in a pile in the driveway, i split it, take it to my stacks and stack it, then it goes straight into the fire 1-2 years later....

 

[Babaganoosh]

Yesterday.

 

[BigCountryNY]

Side note is the Fiskars X27 the Cadillac of axes? Seems to be the one of choice around here. Any reason? Again thanks for all the responses.

IMHO, yes it is. It is relatively light, weighing in just over 6 lbs. It is extremely efficient and convenient too, as you keep it sharp and you can cut stringy fibers without having to put down that tool and pick up another such as a hatchet. Since it's lighter, you can swing it for a lot longer than you can a larger maul.