Maybe it's time to start thinking about using a wedge and a sledge...

[OHutton]

I was wailing away on a big old walnut round today. You know that mode you get in where it's you vs. whatever the inanimate object is, and you absolutely refuse to lose? That was me. I was really surprised this happened to be honest. It seems like really thick tubing. I can't imagine what it would have done to a plastic Fiskars.

You may have won this "round" but I'll have the last laugh when you're burning in my fireplace.

 

[D8Chumley]

Been there. I hate when it gets "personal" lol. That's why I went hydro

 

[NordicSplitter]

Put it to the side for a year and use it as a all nighter

 

[OHutton]

Put it to the side for a year and use it as a all nighter

I wish. There's no way that thing seasons in a year or ever fits in my stove.

 

[drz1050]

Work from the edges! That's a big heavy round.. would take a HARD hit to split it right down the middle.

 

[OHutton]

Been there. I hate when it gets "personal" lol. That's why I went hydro

Ugh, I know. Hydro would be so nice. I don't mind splitting smaller or easy stuff by hand, but I have an ever increasing pile of rounds that I haven't been able to get through.

A buddy of mine got a splitter in his last house flip but it needs some work. Probably just a gunky carb and old gas in the tank. I'm like, "Hellllloooo, you don't even burn. Let me sort that thing out." It's at his in-laws waiting to get worked on. Apparently it's on the to do list—so maybe in the next year or two it will be ready. Harumph.

I'm hoping I can buy it off him and it's a decent quality splitter.

 

[OHutton]

Work from the edges! That's a big heavy round.. would take a HARD hit to split it right down the middle.

Now they tell me!

 

[Woody Stover]

It happens. I think I'm gonna cut the handle off, then re-weld, plus a piece of angle stock along the handle, bridging where the crack was originally. Too much weight up there is gonna killya. If you don't have one, get an 8# maul and some wedges; The angle on the Monsta Maul is too fat for it to get started in really tough wood. You can see where I tried to make a little sharper angle. I do the same with my mauls. BTW, the Fiskars wouldn't break, it would just get stuck.

Now they tell me!

Oh, yeah, and work from the edges on big ones.

 

[ZZ Tom]

Don't do it. You just might get called names

As far as splitting with a maul and wedges, well.....
like my daddy always said. If you going to be dumb, you got to be tough!

 

[Ashful]

I've seen a few MM's break just like yours. One friend heats his house 100% with wood, and the MM is his only splitting implement. He repaired his with a heavier-wall handle (it may have been black sch.40 pipe, I think). No angle, on the outside... I'll try to remember to ask him next week how the repair was executed. In any case, 6 - 8 years since the repair, and no failure.

 

[Isaac Carlson]

I went hydro because of the knotty pieces I was getting. I got some iron wood and a lot of elm and there was no way I was doing that by hand. The hydro goes through it like a hot knife through butter and will turn wonky chunks into nice straight pieces if you do it right. I like a splitter that cuts rather than splits when I get into the tough stuff. I try to keep my wedge razor sharp.

 

[BobUrban]

Clean it up really well with the grinder - your weld will be way more important than the piece of angle as far as longevity. I am sure these are mass produced and failure is weld related due to poor penetration originally. Make two become "one" with a quality weld and forgo adding extra weight. JMO

 

[OHutton]

(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Vintage-Sotz-Monster-Maul-Axe-Wedge-Splitter-Splitting-Firewood-Wood-Stove-/261778197376?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cf3324b80)

I didn't realize there was a market for these things.

"All steel construction, no more broken wooden handles." Well, maybe no more broken wood handles...

 

[MrWhoopee]

I doubt that the failure was caused by a single, or even a few hits. It was caused by "cyclical loading", a million hits, each one flexing the steel and causing it to become gradually harder and more brittle. It happens at the weld for two reasons. First, the stress is concentrated at the point where the larger diameter meets the smaller one. Second, unless the weld was annealed, the heat affected zone is harder and more brittle due to the rapid cooling of the area after welding. In critical applications, it is common to torch anneal (heat to cherry red and allow to air cool) a weldment.

 

[Dune]

1. The fiskars wouldn't have broken.
2. Your tool did break, why are you making fun of a better tool?
3. The right fiskars would have easily split that.

 

[OHutton]

1. The fiskars wouldn't have broken.
2. Your tool did break, why are you making fun of a better tool?
3. The right fiskars would have easily split that.

I guess. I just figured that after reading a few reviews on Amazon about Fiskars breaking...literally the head dangerously flying off the thing. I've never used one, only read a few different reviews on them so I guess you got me there. Most people seem to really like em, some don't. Shrug. I was pretty close to getting an x27 at one point. Maybe I still will.

My bro has one and he said he likes it but that the metal seems cheap as he's always having to sharpen it.

Not trying to bash the beloved Fiskars here or start a debate. Just my impressions based on what I've seen online. You can't beat the lifetime warranty though.

 

[Dune]

I have three, never broke any, and you have to sharpen it because it is so sharp.
There is nothing cheap about the metal in anything made by Fiskers, your monster maul though....

 

[OHutton]

I have three, never broke any, and you have to sharpen it because it is so sharp.
There is nothing cheap about the metal in anything made by Fiskers, your monster maul though....

The maul was given to me by somebody who no longer burns and it worked much better than my old axe. The metal head is pretty junky, no doubt about that. It's a blunt instrument that's probably not worth a sharpen, if that's even possible. It worked well while it lasted.

 

[drz1050]

I think the X27 is definitely worth a shot. I tried it, my favourite is a 6 lb axe eye maul though. Old mauls also have sentimental value to me, so there's that. Wood burning is sorta old fashioned. I'm sorta old fashioned. Mauls are old fashioned... it just fits. Also works damn well.

A lot of it depends on what you're splitting and your technique.

 

[Ashful]

The maul was given to me by somebody who no longer burns and it worked much better than my old axe. The metal head is pretty junky, no doubt about that. It's a blunt instrument that's probably not worth a sharpen, if that's even possible. It worked well while it lasted.

I borrowed the repaired MM I mentioned above, and because the owner kept it so blunt, I did sharpen it for him. I think it worked better sharp, but it could've just been my imagination.

 

[mopar440_6]

I guess. I just figured that after reading a few reviews on Amazon about Fiskars breaking...literally the head dangerously flying off the thing. I've never used one, only read a few different reviews on them so I guess you got me there. Most people seem to really like em, some don't. Shrug. I was pretty close to getting an x27 at one point. Maybe I still will.

My bro has one and he said he likes it but that the metal seems cheap as he's always having to sharpen it.

Not trying to bash the beloved Fiskars here or start a debate. Just my impressions based on what I've seen online. You can't beat the lifetime warranty though.

I just bit the bullet and got an X27 last week. In my search I learned something, the Fiskars "super splitting axe" that is sold at Lowes, HD, etc. is NOT the same as the X27. The X series tools are made with a better grade of steel so if it doesn't say X27 on the handle its a cheaper grade of steel. That said, I have a weakness for good tools (most of my box is Snap-On) so I was willing to spend the money on the X27 because of the lifetime warranty. Any tool can break, it happens, but the likelyhood of breakage can usually be predicted based on how the manufacturer is willing to handle it. Well, IMO, the X27 lives up to the hype. I went out into snowmageddon today and spent about an hour splitting some gnarled up cherry. The Fiskars went through it like butter, usually on the first swing. I still think my old multipurpose axe and 8lb maul have a place but they're going to see a lot less use now that I have the X27.

As far as your monster maul, I think MrWhoopee is dead on. The step at the weld is a stress riser and that appears to be a fatigue failure. That is not a new tool, it has probably seen hundreds of thousands of impacts. If you want to fix it, I think the best course of action would be to grind down the weld until you can pull the handle pipe out of the larger pipe that is welded to the head. Then you can replace the entire handle. Failing that, you could grind out the break to a nice bevel and find a piece of pipe that fits snugly inside the handle and weld it back on with a sleeve inside.

 

[Dune]

Clean it up and reweld it. Make a plug for extra strength. It isn't a space shuttle linkage. Then give it a nice hollow grind to reduce the stress on the weld, and Keep it sharp.

Even the simplest design still needs to be sharp. An axe handle would snap off too if you used it that dull.

If you want to eliminate stress risers make 5 passes then file it smooth. It will stress relieve itself from residual heat. File it while it is still hot to save some effort.

If you are worried about metal fatigue end for end the handle.

 

[BIGDADDY]

Work from the edges! That's a big heavy round.. would take a HARD hit to split it right down the middle.

looks like it was a hard hit!!

 

[BIGDADDY]

I have three, never broke any, and you have to sharpen it because it is so sharp.
There is nothing cheap about the metal in anything made by Fiskers, your monster maul though....

I sharpen mine because it gets DULL!

 

[Ashful]

The well-tested repair I mentioned above was a new Sch.40 pipe handle welded to old stub, with a 4" sleeve welded over that.