halving large oak rounds

[twd000]

I am cutting up some red oak from some trees my neighbor had taken down a couple years ago. These are butt logs about ten feet long and 30" round. I am cutting them 18" long. There are no knots or limbs; straight grain all the way through.

1. how much do you think these rounds weigh? (judging by the thump when they hit the ground I'm going to say A LOT)

2. what is the best way to split these in halves or thirds so I can lift them onto my trailer? A conventional 2-side wedge? 4-way grenade/dyno wedge? Stihl's twist wedge? Estwing Sure-Split wedge? Better to start from the edge of the round and work inward, or start in the center?

 

[blades]

Might have to quarter them , in any case i will saw them 1/2 way or more then add wedges , not cutting with grain rather cutting from end. Even then it does not always work, always a couple that are obstinate.

 

[tadmaz]

Saw in at an end, wedge and sledge hammer.

 

[David.Ervin]

If you're feeling like a lumberjack, go after it with a splitting axe, find a crack and work it all the way across the round. I got several oak rounds in the 30" range from a neighbor, and this seems to work OK to get them halved, then quartered. The quartered pieces fit into a tire that I can then split as normal.

Failing that, as others have said, you could noodle them apart, or cut a slot into the round a break it with a wedge and sledge.

 

[JRHAWK9]

I half/quarter large rounds like that with my Fiskers X27. Straight grain oak is easy to split.

 

[twd000]

Saw in at an end, wedge and sledge hammer.

just cutting a notch to help seat the wedge? You use a traditional 2-face wedge, or one of the 4-sided grenade wedges?

 

[twd000]

I half/quarter large rounds like that with my Fiskers X27. Straight grain oak is easy to split.

an X27 has been on my shopping list for awhile now. May be enough motivation to pull the trigger now.

you attack straight at the heartwood to halve/quarter it? or split off some perimeter pieces first?

 

[JRHAWK9]

an X27 has been on my shopping list for awhile now. May be enough motivation to pull the trigger now.

you attack straight at the heartwood to halve/quarter it? or split off some perimeter pieces first?

I go right at the heart wood. Straight sections should split with a few wacks max. I also split in the dead of winter though too, which helps.

 

[twd000]

I go right at the heart wood. Straight sections should split with a few wacks max. I also split in the dead of winter though too, which helps.

yeah I usually do the same, but my neighbor sold the house and is moving in 2 weeks, so I need to get these off their property in a hurry

 

[Woody5506]

if not able to split by hand I'd resort to noodling, which honestly I hate. I feel like it just abuses my saw/chain

 

[tadmaz]

just cutting a notch to help seat the wedge? You use a traditional 2-face wedge, or one of the 4-sided grenade wedges?

Yea, cut a notch to get a good seat for the wedge. Go as deep and as far across as necessary. Standard 2-face wedge.

 

[David.Ervin]

you attack straight at the heartwood to halve/quarter it? or split off some perimeter pieces first?

I go at the far side of the round and walk the line of hits back through the center to the near side. I do this with an X27, so it digs in pretty deep each time. That seems to at least crack it open, and then a good whack or two to the heartwood finishes the split.

 

[lindnova]

I have found noodling to be the best way that is easiest on my body. Halve or quarter to a size I can move easily. It is hard on my 260, but the 461 shines in the big oak and noodling.

If your saw or the mess not worth it, cut a slot in the end for a wedge to start and use the wedge and sledge method on the big pieces. An X27 is on the small side for most large oak pieces; they really shine on 12" and smaller for me.

 

[Ashful]

You’ll find a lot of photos on this forum of big oak trees I’ve processed, the largest being a white oak that was 60” diameter where I made the felling cut and made many rounds in the 48” - 50” diameter range (1400 lb each). I use the same process for all of them, which is to noodle them into 6 inch slabs, and then process the slabs on a vertical splitter.

Red oak runs around 63 lb per cubic foot when freshly cut. A 30” x 18’ log would weigh around 5500 lb. I just skid them whole onto my trailer, but before I had a winch on the trailer I used to just cut them into rounds and roll them up the drop-tailgate into the trailer. A 30” diameter x 18” long round will weigh 465 lb., so you might want a buddy to help with the rolling.

 

[twd000]

My saw is a little MS250 with a 16" bar so I don't think it is up to the task of noodling these rounds.

Picked up a Fiskars X27 and a 4-way grenade wedge on the way home from work yesterday. In about 20 minutes of work, I was able to bust up 8 of the largest rounds into lift-able chunks. About half of the rounds yielded to 3-4 whacks from the X27, flaking off perimeter pieces. Going straight for the heartwood didn't work, but once I removed some outer pieces, they started to come apart more easily.

The rounds that didn't have any checks to start got the wedge after 3-4 tries with the axe. I didn't cut a notch so the wedge bounced out a few times, but once I got it lodged in the round, I kept working it deeper until it split. Never got the wedge stuck. Once I had one split done with the wedge, I switched back to the X27 to finish the job.

I think this process is going to work just fine. Thanks guys

 

[splions]

I half/quarter large rounds like that with my Fiskers X27. Straight grain oak is easy to split.

That is what I use too. They split better when they are still wet.

 

[Ashful]

My saw is a little MS250 with a 16" bar so I don't think it is up to the task of noodling these rounds...

I think this process is going to work just fine. Thanks guys

I’ve always lived by the motto that every project should justify the purchase of one new tool. Time for an MS 660.

 

[twd000]

I’ve always lived by the motto that every project should justify the purchase of one new tool. Time for an MS 660.

whoa I just looked up the specs on the 660 - that is a bazooka!

92 cc (vs 45 cc for the MS250)
7 HP (vs 3 HP)
16.5 lbs powerhead (vs 10 lbs)

I'm thinking I might step up to something in the 70 cc class first, as I rarely have a need to cut anything that requires larger than say a 24" bar

 

[Ashful]

whoa I just looked up the specs on the 660 - that is a bazooka!

92 cc (vs 45 cc for the MS250)
7 HP (vs 3 HP)
16.5 lbs powerhead (vs 10 lbs)

I'm thinking I might step up to something in the 70 cc class first, as I rarely have a need to cut anything that requires larger than say a 24" bar

A buddy just bought an MS441 two years ago, and he is loving it. Great saw. If I were to drop back to just carrying one real saw with me, it would be around that size (probably either 441 or 462).

I like carrying two capable saws, in case I have an issue with one, I’m not shut down for the day. So instead of a single 70cc saw, I carry 63cc and 85cc. When I say “carry”, they’re usually in the bucket of my front-end loader, which I take with me wherever I cut.

 

[kennyp2339]

I've split big wood before like +40" stuff (actually had lots of fun doing it) I don't have a true and tried method, every pieces has its different method that works.
For straight grained red oak, i got lucky just taking my maul and hitting it on the outside parts of the log to split in half, some pieces i had to hit and start a slice to fit a metal 2-way wedge in. Other pieces it was just easier to use the saw to make the purchase point for the wedge, and other pieces needed to be noddle all the way (usually the knot pieces)
Winter time imo is the best time to bust up big oak rounds, a frozen round just kind of pops open, rather then get all stringy.
But try and see with just a maul to split in half, work outside of the log to inside.

 

[xman23]

Straight grain red oak splits very easy. Better if the rounds dry a bit or when they freeze. When they are dry you will see splits on the ends. But if you have to split them green, you can. 30 inch, put the hydro splitter vertical and away you go. Oh, you say you don't have one. So a few wedges, maybe 4 just in case they get stuck. Noddle in a few slots, sledge hammer in a few wedges. When you get it to 1/4 pieces you should be able to wack them with a maul.

 

[Ashful]

Straight grain red oak splits very easy.

Around here, it splits very easy tangentially to the growth rings, but it’s a bear across the growth rings. This might actually favor the paring technique the splitting axe guys prefer for big rounds.

 

[blades]

Grown ups "Wak-a-Mole"

 

[Tar12]

You’ll find a lot of photos on this forum of big oak trees I’ve processed, the largest being a white oak that was 60” diameter where I made the felling cut and made many rounds in the 48” - 50” diameter range (1400 lb each). I use the same process for all of them, which is to noodle them into 6 inch slabs, and then process the slabs on a vertical splitter.

Red oak runs around 63 lb per cubic foot when freshly cut. A 30” x 18’ log would weigh around 5500 lb. I just skid them whole onto my trailer, but before I had a winch on the trailer I used to just cut them into rounds and roll them up the drop-tailgate into the trailer. A 30” diameter x 18” long round will weigh 465 lb., so you might want a buddy to help with the rolling.

I am with you here...my 660 makes very quick work of big rounds...it takes a lot of work out of man handling them...if it is straight grain a quick crack with the ISO maul and its done...knotty stuff is noodled down further yet to manageable pieces....often to a size that will fit right into the stove.

 

[Highbeam]

30" is small but wet oak is dense so it will be heavy. Too heavy to lift!

I do not find noodling to be hard on my saws, maybe I'm doing it wrong. I love noodling. I will take 40+ inch rounds and noodle them into 6 pieces to be lifted into the truck. Before you flop the round onto it's side, noodle it into chunks. Or at least noodle it almost all the way through before flopping the round down onto the side and then finishing the split with a maul.

Noodling is lots of fun and makes huge piles of fun noodles.