Just cut a 8 to 10 inch white pine. Any suggestions on the best time to split? Green, dry, frozen? Trying just one was like pulling teeth .
Hand splitting white pine
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Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
I find that wood splits best when green. Also, the sooner it's split the quicker it will season.
I find white pine easy to split when frozen. Unless of course it is very knotty, in which case you'll need a few wedges. I've had to use 3 sometimes.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
The coldest day of the year is the best time to split pretty much anything.
I used to sledge'n'wedge all the stuff I couldn't split with a maul; these days I just leave it and get it with the log splitter.
I like splitting pine better dry, but I almost never do. I want to burn the pine next year, not 3 years from now.
I used to sledge'n'wedge all the stuff I couldn't split with a maul; these days I just leave it and get it with the log splitter.
I like splitting pine better dry, but I almost never do. I want to burn the pine next year, not 3 years from now.
When it's had a year to dry, from my experience.
But if you're going to do that, you may as well buck it into pucks short enough to slip into the stove door.
Throw it in a pile, next year it will burn great. ( for pine)
But if you're going to do that, you may as well buck it into pucks short enough to slip into the stove door.
Throw it in a pile, next year it will burn great. ( for pine)
An electric splitter is a great idea. Was actually just looking at a 5 ton Homelite $300.00.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
DuaeGuttae
Minister of Fire
We own one we got on sale a few years back. It was perfect for our small suburban lot. It didn’t bother the neighbors, and my fairly young children could help with wood work (with very carefully set out rules and monitoring). It couldn’t handle everything, but my husband could split stuff down for me, and I could finish it off with several more splits. I could haul it out and polish off some wood while my kids played on the swing set or had quiet time. You can get a lot more power and versatility with larger gas-powered machines for not too much more money when there are sales. Our electric splitter suited our needs. If yours are similar, it’s great.
I found the best time to split pine
is when I have the splitter out
friggen knotty stuff could
drive a man to drink
is when I have the splitter out
friggen knotty stuff could
drive a man to drink
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Pine is an easy splitting, straight-grained wood when there's no branches nearby.
Oh, and there's branches every 2 inches all the way up, all the way around.
It's still not in my bastardwood list (which contains elm, elm, elm, elm, some hickories, and some maples).
Someone needs to come up with a chainsaw chain that is harder than steel so you can safely cut all of your wedges out of elm.... not that we even appear to have elm where I live now, so moot point for me.
hickoryhoarder
Minister of Fire
I've hand split some pretty good sized white pine. One thing I do, is first 2-3 swings with the maul. If it hasn't started to split after that, I use a wedge to break it apart. After it's broken apart it usually splits easily. If you have some pieces with big knots/branches those can be pretty tough. I've found that the bottom third of the tree splits pretty easily, the top third splits easily and the middle can go either way - sometimes easy and sometimes not even worth trying.
Ashful
Minister of Fire
Pine is an easy splitting, straight-grained wood when there's no branches nearby.
Oh, and there's branches every 2 inches all the way up, all the way around.
It's still not in my bastardwood list (which contains elm, elm, elm, elm, some hickories, and some maples).
Add cedar to that list. Soft and unthreatening appearance, but the damn stuff grows branches like a lumberjack’s beard. Never have seen a round without at least 30 knots running thru it.
Looks like I have some work to do. Thanks everyone. My Dad starting cutting a bunch and left all the branch stubs about 2 inches long. That was fun.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
They have chains with tungsten cutters. They even have them at my local ace. I think that they are standard fare for rescue folks who can't stop to sharpen or change the chains. Handy to have around in the event you need to cut the roof of a car, when you're not cutting your elm wedges.Pine is an easy splitting, straight-grained wood when there's no branches nearby.
Oh, and there's branches every 2 inches all the way up, all the way around.
It's still not in my bastardwood list (which contains elm, elm, elm, elm, some hickories, and some maples).
Someone needs to come up with a chainsaw chain that is harder than steel so you can safely cut all of your wedges out of elm.... not that we even appear to have elm where I live now, so moot point for me.
They are axpensive, and hard to sharpen, I imagine.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Because I kind of grew up in a woodworking shop, I have never split cedar. I just can't bear the thought of using it for firewood. (Tends not to be an issue these days, as I also never cut the trees down.)
I do have one cedar trunk that I got on a tree service load. So far it's made a footstool for the wife, and the rest is still waiting for a mission.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
Wow, $5 a link, and you need diamond grinders... I hadn't heard of those. There's also a bastard child wirh tunsgsten carbide chips welded onto regular steel cutters. Much cheaper but apparently it's not hard to break the chips or the weld if you hit metal.
Next question: What noise does it make when you cut through a wedge or two with a tungsten chain?
It's not the noise it's the sparks
When you do here one it sound a lot like
money falling from your pocket (new chain)
When you do here one it sound a lot like
money falling from your pocket (new chain)
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
Harbor Freight- $200 and change. Many of these electric splitters are all the same guts, slightly different, mostly cosmetic differences. All made in China, so I just went with the least $$$ and one-handed operation. When one of my "helpers" accidentally discarded the handle, we called the number in the manual to get a replacement. They transferred us to the Boss phone line, so I figure they are made by whoever makes Boss splitters over in China.
Easy Livin’ 3000
Minister of Fire
I feel the same way with oak, maple, birch, beech, mulberry, ash,... even poplar and pine. What I could make if I just had a bandsaw sawmill!
Then I settle in front of the toasty stove on a cold winter night, and all regrets just drift away.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
I split some maple last year that I still feel guilty about. The tree had some water damage and the colored graining was just beautiful.
I have the homlite 5 ton and it is amazing. I have split over 5 cords of white pine with it. Worth every penny
For pine I wait for the sap to dry up - usually when the green bark turns red.
I use wedges on the bigger rounds.
I've used a 5 ton electric splitter in the garage but wow some splits can go flying when they pop suddenly.
I use wedges on the bigger rounds.
I've used a 5 ton electric splitter in the garage but wow some splits can go flying when they pop suddenly.
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Always amazes me how easy I can split a 20 inch red oak, but pine kills me. Poplar too.
The oak I cut green and it is just no effort.
Pine after a year in my opinion is better, but still a lot of knots.
I use it for the fire pit so any pieces that require a wedge just get put in whole regardless of the size haha.
I took down 6 pines last year near the house that were 50-70 ft tall. Saving some to mill and build a woodshed, chipped 4 dump trailers full of brush, and must have had 20 fires in the back yard of just limbs.
I wish I cut them down one at a time lol. We didn’t finish cleaning it up until August and they were cut in January.
Sorry for the rant haha!
The oak I cut green and it is just no effort.
Pine after a year in my opinion is better, but still a lot of knots.
I use it for the fire pit so any pieces that require a wedge just get put in whole regardless of the size haha.
I took down 6 pines last year near the house that were 50-70 ft tall. Saving some to mill and build a woodshed, chipped 4 dump trailers full of brush, and must have had 20 fires in the back yard of just limbs.
I wish I cut them down one at a time lol. We didn’t finish cleaning it up until August and they were cut in January.
Sorry for the rant haha!
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