I Thought Ash Was Easy To Split?

[Todd]

I was splitting some Green Ash the other day, (came from the city recycle area) and I was thinking this will be a breeze to split right? Nope, this stuff was full of knots and twisty grains. It was a pain with maul or axe so I had to break out the little 8 ton power splitter and I even stalled that a couple times and got a round stuck in the wedge! Glad that's done, it will be a pleasure to burn that gnarly stuff.

 

[smokinj]

never had an issue with it but I am hitting it with a 27 ton

 

[quads]

We don't have much ash, the few we have are small and I believe they are also Green Ash. In fact, we have so few ash that I have actually never burned one. The first one I ever cut was a year ago because it was dead and the wood is still in one of the piles somewhere waiting it's turn to burn. It was about 10 or 12 inches in diameter and the grain was very straight and clear. It split easily, certainly easier than some.

I run across oak sometimes that has had an old fence stapled to it and for some reason that seams to make the grain all twisted and harder to split. Maybe your ash had an old wire or something in it?

 

[rdust]

I just got done splitting a cord of white ash and it splits great until you run into knots or twisted grain. Those pieces usually get tossed on the outdoor wood pile. If I'm in the woods cutting I'll cut around the knots since it's not worth it to me. The stuff I just got done with I took it all since I was cutting dead stuff for someone who wanted it gone, ran into some tough spots but the 27 ton did just fine.

 

[Todd]

This stuff looked fine on the outside, nice and straight, but inside there were hidden knots. Maybe the tree was trimmed through the years and it just grew around the knots? Anyways, I just wanted to vent a little, I have a small amount of White Ash in my pile and I hope it doesn't act the same.

 

[JBinKC]

It seems like every ash score I seem to come across around here has knots or twists in the wood and is fairly difficult to process by hand. So I can understand your dilemma.

 

[joshlaugh]

I have never had a problem with ash. I can sneeze and the stuff just splits for me. At least white ash around here, I can split right through the knots(similar to silver maple)

 

[Birdman1]

some of the crotch wood busted my hump but rest was good splittin

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I was splitting some Green Ash the other day, (came from the city recycle area) and I was thinking this will be a breeze to split right? Nope, this stuff was full of knots and twisty grains. It was a pain with maul or axe so I had to break out the little 8 ton power splitter and I even stalled that a couple times and got a round stuck in the wedge! Glad that's done, it will be a pleasure to burn that gnarly stuff.

Todd, you just wasn't holding your mouth right. lol

 

[Redburn]

I split 2 cords of green ash by hand last month over 2 week span a little here and there it was no problem I gave the knotty stuff to friend with a splitter . I have some black cherry that is just terrible to split I usually make 18in splits but have been making the Cherry smaller it makes it easier to break for me ..

 

[Corey]

Twisted / knotty grain in most any wood is a pain to split. Instead of your maul force going directly through the wood and causing a split, it follows the lines of the grain and knots. I've had a few (very few) pieces of straight grain elm which practically fell apart on the splitter - and twisty pieces of pine and oak which were a real PITA.

 

[Wood Duck]

Seems like every tree has a few tough-to-split pieces, usually at the Ys or larger knots. I don't think it matters what type of tree it is, it will still have a few. Of course some trees seem to be a pain the whole way through. Some trees, like red maple, seem to have a few branches that originate in the middle or even on the opposite side of the tree from which they grow. These make a very nasty piece of an otherwise easily split tree.

 

[gzecc]

Just had a norway maple, about 12" round that was unbelievable. No visible branches protruding, hit it 10-15 times with the 8lb and just barely cracked it open. Had curly grain. Guess its part curly maple!

 

[ksting]

Sounds like a pain in the ash!

Ba dum bum!