Put the hurt on some more red maple

[Rebelduckman]

This should finish me up for this winter. I'm glad i have a ton of maple and cherry on my land because the oak needs another 12-18 months. This batch was really straight

 

[Z33]

Love that maple, Beautiful stuff and one of my favorites to burn. unfortunately, I don't come by it that often down this way.

 

[Fred Wright]

Nice. Red maple typically doesn't come out straight like this.

In a woodlot of nothing but tall, straight forest trees, the reds here always seem to be leaners with twisty trunks and tops. One I took down last year, the entire trunk resembled a barber pole. Never seen wood so twisted.

 

[TimJ]

That was my mainstay last winter and I couldn't complain about nothing

 

[Woody Stover]

The Red is supposed to be a hair less BTU, but is much more interesting to me than Silver...
Dude, is that your splitting block?? Cut 'er down to about half as high and give yourself a full swing! Or maybe you got so much POWAH that you don't need a full swing. Of course with grain that straight, I probably could have just dropped the maul from chest-high and the rounds would have still split apart.

Red maple typically doesn't come out straight like this. One I took down last year, the entire trunk resembled a barber pole. Never seen wood so twisted.

A couple years ago I scrounged a Red that I noticed down in a guy's yard. Even with the power splitter, that yard bird was some of the twistiest, nastiest wood I've ever tackled.

That was my mainstay last winter and I couldn't complain about nothing

Yep, I burned a lotta Red and Silver last season...stuff is good enuff.

 

[splitoak]

Nice score...im also tryn to get some maple an cherry fer this year...

 

[Rebelduckman]

The Red is supposed to be a hair less BTU, but is much more interesting to me than Silver...
Dude, is that your splitting block?? Cut 'er down to about half as high and give yourself a full swing! Or maybe you got so much POWAH that you don't need a full swing. Of course with grain that straight, I probably could have just dropped the maul from chest-high and the rounds would have still split apart.

Haha! Yea it was pretty much effortless. Poking at me about my block eh? Lol, What you reckon is a good height for a block? I'm 6'3. I think it's about 20" tall now. Seems to do ok but maybe it could do better a little shorter

 

[midwestcoast]

Nice Stuff!
Man, after the wood-stack decimation of last/this season I could really go for a bit of Red or Silver Maple to square things up. Got a whole bunch of red oak in the back yard takin' it's sweet friggin' time "seasoning".
Good news is I'm planing to have one around 28" diam taken down here any day & my neighbor is making noises about doing the same with an even bigger one in his yard. Here I thought I was 2-3 years ahead and now scrounging for next winter like a noob…

Block height is a personal thing. I used to just use a regular round ~20" with the shorter Fiskars. Then started using less than 12" and liked it. Now I use a chunk of plywood screwed to a few scrap deck boards with the X-27 so I don't have to (can't) lift the big rounds. All my splitting surface does is (hopefully) keep the axe out of the gravel.

 

[Woody Stover]

What you reckon is a good height for a block? I'm 6'3. I think it's about 20" tall now. Seems to do ok but maybe it could do better a little shorter

I think that no matter your height, you have more time for the maul to come into line with your arms and deliver max energy to the round. And the closer the head is to the ground, the safer, is my thinking...as long as you don't get lazy and let the head arc back toward your feet. I guess my blocks are about 9" or so. I would rather just split on the ground, but like midwestcoast says, putting the blade into dirt and gravel is no good. I'd think that plywood would get chewed up pretty fast, though. On a side note, I found on old 8-pound maul I forgot I had. It has a kind of hollow-ground shape to the head, but had the fat angle on the cutting edge, like many stock mauls do. I tapered the angle down today with an angle grinder, so that it more resembles an ax cutting edge taper. No more bounce-offs! I was tearing up some 24" Ash rounds to be able to lift them into the trailer...no problem popping most of those big boys apart. I'll get a pic if I think of it tomorrow...

 

[TimJ]

I think that no matter your height, you have more time for the maul to come into line with your arms and deliver max energy to the round. And the closer the head is to the ground, the safer, is my thinking...as long as you don't get lazy and let the head arc back toward your feet. I guess my blocks are about 9" or so. I would rather just split on the ground, but like midwestcoast says, putting the blade into dirt and gravel is no good. I'd think that plywood would get chewed up pretty fast, though. On a side note, I found on old 8-pound maul I forgot I had. It has a kind of hollow-ground shape to the head, but had the fat angle on the cutting edge, like many stock mauls do. I tapered the angle down today with an angle grinder, so that it more resembles an ax cutting edge taper. No more bounce-offs! I was tearing up some 24" Ash rounds to be able to lift them into the trailer...no problem popping most of those big boys apart. I'll get a pic if I think of it tomorrow...

Woody, you sound like you could correct my golf swing

 

[yooperdave]

Hey Rebel! Good job on getting the wood before the high temps hit. Well, it'll be awhile before they hit around here anyway.
Now is it me or are a few of those splits a tad long? Lower left and right corner of your pile? I know the 13 sure is unforgiving on the longer pieces...sometimes when I cut, the pieces get longer and longer, ya know?

Can't wait for winter, can you?!!

 

[Woody Stover]

Good job on getting the wood before the high temps hit. Well, it'll be awhile before they hit around here anyway.

Some years, they never hit up there, true?

Woody, you sound like you could correct my golf swing

Remember what Lee Trevino said when asked about swing coaches; "I don't take the advice of anyone who can't beat me." I would be lucky to beat an infant...or a monkey!
But I think a lot of the same principles do apply, like letting the 'club' swing itself, and gripping only tight enough so the club doesn't fly out of your hands.

 

[Woody Stover]

I tapered the angle down today with an angle grinder, so that it more resembles an ax cutting edge taper...I'll get a pic if I think of it tomorrow.

Check out the hollow-ground head shape of the 8-pounder, compared to the Truper 6#.
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Ground the fat "V" down to a skinnier V.
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You could shave with this baby. It now gets deep into the round, cracking it before trying to pry it apart. This thing is a WEAPON, I'm tellin' ya!
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