Some Like It Hot said:
btw, that tire trick is an old one but few ever use it. Usually once you learn how to properly use an axe or splitting maul it is just as fast and you don’t have to take the time to sit the blocks into the tire or the tire over the blocks.
That trick is so old you forget how it works. The tire is screwed down to the splitting block. This way when you split the wood doesn’t go flying. It is a super time saver and you don’t have to break your back picking up the splits.
And I’m so old that I’ll be darned if I’ll try it again. Never did like that method and more than once I went head to head with other fellows; me with a splitting maul only and they with there rubber. Let’s just say it was not close and I did not lose.
Backwoods Savage, I am confused by your side of this discussion. I have been hankering after this tire setup for a while, but never got hubby to do it this year (I did ask) and never did it myself either. It would be especially good this time of year when the ground is covered by lots of snow. Are you saying it is possible with lots of practice to not have the splits fall on the ground when splitting? From a physics standpoint I don't see how, lacking any containment around them, it would be possible to split a piece of wood and have all the pieces still standing on the chopping block. Right now getting the snow off the darn pieces is QUITE annoying. I never split wood in contests, but I do always have to pick up the wood and carry it someplace afterwards, so the tire setup seems ideal to save bending (and brushing snow) all the time. I don't see how more experience would make any difference here or do away with the usefulness of the tire.
Marcia.... ssssshhhhhhsssshhh..... please don't tell anyone
!....actually I learned this from Kathy, my beautiful Lady. I had been splitting for years (actually decades) on a convential block and picking up the splits off the ground... sometimes once... twice... three times depending upon the size of the rounds.. and then pick them up again to stack them.
It was passed down to her from a friend and Kathy and a MOD wrote up a Wiki on another wood site with descriptions and photos.
Originally we just used the tire sitting on the splitting block, the tire did shift around but worked fabulous..... actually we said... This is better than Ice Cream... Sliced bread and S-*&^... ooops! So we screwed a tire down and tried it... WOW...WOW...WOW
!
The next step was to cut the sidewall with some tabs in it and screw it to the outside of the splitting block...... Now we are really talking!
It doesn't always keep the smaller splits in the tire.. but boy it cuts the percentages really down. I think it is also a handle saver... when you go all the way through a round it softens the blow and lessens vibration through the handle.
Another thing it really helps with are the smaller rounds... ya know.. the ones that really just don't want to stand up straight (physics... isn't it wonderful?).. well with the tire that little extra support is just that third hand that we always wished we had.
Baloney skinned tires are free for the taking at most junk yards, garbage dumps and even along the road sides(I bet Backwoods Savage has a couple a dozen on his front lawn ;-P ). We have 3 splitting blocks that we use depending upon the size of the rounds and they are all time savers.
I'm still waiting for Backwoods Savage to take up the offer of a split-off... me and my baloney skin tire atop the block and him with any maul and splitting block...heck.. he may even just say his axe will do.... but you know how those guys are that just sit down and split their wood..... you wonder how their 'rounds' ever get off the ground? :roll:
little seat from Matco tools that works great! :coolhmm:
I didn't mention it yet but I should.. Kath loves to gather, jack, split (yep.. all 125# of her) and stack wood and we do it as a
'two-gether' project... I am a very fortunate guy! :cheese:
![[Hearth.com] OK.. what tire size do you use?](/talk/data/attachments/6/6130-f960a7aa3930e1e2a0189be87b0ec970.jpg?hash=idPbYm_ylt)
