Coal Reaper
Minister of Fire
A generous cord. I stack tight. Takes an hour to buck a tree and load rounds in truck, 8' bed. Two hours to unload and split with x27 and stack. Done that twice in a morning. Beers all afternoon. Cheers.
Most wood hand split in a day....
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Backwoods Savage
Minister of Fire
Don't think I've ever split more than a cord in a day. Most times when I split by hand it was a task I took on for maybe an hour at most with occasional gusts to 2 hours. Then there were a few times in my youth when we had to have a few contests but they weren't for that great length of time. Today, I enjoy the hydraulics.
Thistle
Minister of Fire
In past year & 1/2 best I did was 2 large p/u loads (1 cord) felled/bucked/hauled/split/stacked in about 8-9hrs with several breaks.That's splitting with X25.Straight grain dead Red/Black Oak up to 20" diameter almost no knots.Outside temps no more than 75 degrees,low humidity.
In early -mid 20's with 15lb monster maul in any temps under 80 I could do same amount in 3-4 hrs. Sucks getting old
In early -mid 20's with 15lb monster maul in any temps under 80 I could do same amount in 3-4 hrs. Sucks getting old
If its easy splitting red oak, and if im using a tire to hold the rounds on the chopping block,I can split a half cord an hour, and thats splitting pretty small. The tire is the key to saving time. It keeps the round on the block and saves your back cause your not bending over after each whack to pick your wood. I know some guys just split em where they lay but I like having something solid underneath.
KaptJaq
Minister of Fire
Never split by hand, usually use a maul or a sledge & wedge.
Since the wood I gathered after Sandy is all clean red oak rounds I can do a full cord in about two or three hours (if my wife is not home). Most of the time the oak splits on the first hit. Only the largest rounds take a whack or two with the wedge to get started. The rounds are on one side of my splitting block, the stacks on the other so there is no moving the rounds or splits involved. Stacking takes another hour or so.
KaptJaq
Since the wood I gathered after Sandy is all clean red oak rounds I can do a full cord in about two or three hours (if my wife is not home). Most of the time the oak splits on the first hit. Only the largest rounds take a whack or two with the wedge to get started. The rounds are on one side of my splitting block, the stacks on the other so there is no moving the rounds or splits involved. Stacking takes another hour or so.
KaptJaq
jdp1152
Minister of Fire
I split 2 cords in a day in September. I didn't bother with the knotty stuff though. It was a "I'm not too old to do what I did back then" moment (despite splitting one tree at a time as a kid). I slept pretty dang good that evening. That is what prompted me to get a Fiskars. The in stock splitting axe from HD was a piece of crap and the head flew off at 1-1.5 cords. Sledge and wedge is just too much work for average rounds. I was hurting, yet proud, the following day. I should also note that a few days later I rented a splitter for the remaining cords and knotty rounds. As glorious as a 27 ton hydraulic splitter was, I can't justify the cost (nor storage space) since wood isn't my primary source of heat.
Split 2/3rds of a cord just before Christmas in probably less than two hours...then quartered what I would guess to be another 2+ cords. That was actually a lot more work since I had to use a lot of sledge and wedge over splitting axe for the latter. Wasn't too worse for the wear after that one though...probably just in better splitting shape.
Stacking wood is a completely different beast. I don't get in a rush for that unless the Mrs. is riding me about a pile of unsightly wood. All in all, splitting is some of the easier work. Limbing, moving trunks and rounds, and stacking are the time consuming events that make me really sore. Spilling is actually somewhat therapeutic. Just get out of my head for a few hours and do some monotonous yet fulfilling work.
I'm certainly envious of some of the tools of the trade you see on here, particularly for moving trunks/stacks around. Last year it was delivery and I'd stack the cords by the armload....up a steep incline to the covered porch. This year, I stacked all of it on the driveway. I do plan on building a covered stack that is on my property line at some point. Give the wood a better chance of drying since the driveway is full shade during the summer.
Split 2/3rds of a cord just before Christmas in probably less than two hours...then quartered what I would guess to be another 2+ cords. That was actually a lot more work since I had to use a lot of sledge and wedge over splitting axe for the latter. Wasn't too worse for the wear after that one though...probably just in better splitting shape.
Stacking wood is a completely different beast. I don't get in a rush for that unless the Mrs. is riding me about a pile of unsightly wood. All in all, splitting is some of the easier work. Limbing, moving trunks and rounds, and stacking are the time consuming events that make me really sore. Spilling is actually somewhat therapeutic. Just get out of my head for a few hours and do some monotonous yet fulfilling work.
I'm certainly envious of some of the tools of the trade you see on here, particularly for moving trunks/stacks around. Last year it was delivery and I'd stack the cords by the armload....up a steep incline to the covered porch. This year, I stacked all of it on the driveway. I do plan on building a covered stack that is on my property line at some point. Give the wood a better chance of drying since the driveway is full shade during the summer.
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