shin guards while splitting horizontally.

[gzecc]

Am I the only one that routinely gets hit in the shin with a split falling off the beam while splitting horizontally?
I used to play hockey and thought shin guards would work well.

 

[Jags]

That is because of the design for splitters that go horizontal/vertical. Any errant split is gonna drop on your toes (or shins). Wedge on beam pushes that wood away from your body parts.
Not bashing that type of splitter, just pointing out the difference in design.

 

[Fifelaker]

I can't recall ever getting hit in the shins while splitting. I always keep a hand on the side of a round to not only keep it from hitting me, but also from hitting the ground where I have to pick it up again. I usually have my chaps on so there would be some padding is something did jump off. I will back away if the round is giving me a hard time and let the pieces fall where they want, but that is seldom.

 

[pen]

Wedge on beam pushes that wood away from your body parts.

Yep, when the wedge was on the beam of the splitter I used when I was a kid, I never even thought about this being an issue. When I started using the more modern style where the wedge is on the ram, and took a good hit to the hip, is when that difference became evident.

This is why virtually all the splitting I do on a machine that can go vertical, is done vertically now.

pen

 

[mustash29]

I keep one hand on the control lever, and the other hand allmost on the round being split, with that arm slightly bent at the elbow to act like a shock adsorber if anything tries to "pop" toward me. I have 12x12 tables on both sides of my MTD, so the only thing that tries to roll off is the really huge stuff.

 

[mstoelton]

I have a pair of shin guards for just this situation - they work pretty good.

 

[Danno77]

This is me when I split horizontally:

 

[BrotherBart]

What is this "splitting horizontally"?

 

[Danno77]

It's how they split wood near the equator I think. Don't even ask me how they do it in Australia.

 

[Jags]

I am afraid that splitting vertical is going to put me way to close to my hairy palm, knuckle dragging roots. My ancestors worked hard to go bi-pedal and I don't want to reverse that trend.

 

[JRHAWK9]

My shins do get banged up, but it's from my own clumsiness and not from wood falling off of the splitter,

My splitter's beam has a cradle the wood sits in and I also have the optional log catcher which bolts on the beam opposite where you stand which catches the other half of the split. Makes things easy when splitting large logs seeing there's no need to put one half down just to turn around and pick it up again.

I do not like splitting vertically. I'm 6'5" and it's hell on my back to be down that low for long periods of time. My splitter is nice and tall in the horizontal position, so I can stand straight and not get a sore back at all. Only time I split vertical is when the logs are too heavy for me to lift. Even then I sometimes choose to noodle it in halves or quarters before using the splitter vertically.

 

[gzecc]

I orient the splitter in the most efficient orientation for the task at hand.

 

[firefighterjake]

Can't say as though I've ever used any protection while splitting . . . typically no gloves, no ear protection, no hard hat and definitely no shin guards.

That said . . . I will never dissuade anyone from wearing more personal protection rather than less.

 

[Charles1981]

The problem with me isn't my shins or my toes. It is the damn bridge of my foot where the laces are. I've dropped a few logs on there and busted a vessel so bad my food swelled up and I thought it was broken each time. Just ended up being a really bad bruise each time.

 

[midwestcoast]

The problem with me isn't my shins or my toes. It is the damn bridge of my foot where the laces are. I've dropped a few logs on there and busted a vessel so bad my food swelled up and I thought it was broken each time. Just ended up being a really bad bruise each time.

Metatarsal guards are cheap. Look'em up & order a set. Broken foots are 'pensive.

 

[BrotherBart]

What I like about my Matterhorn Miner's boots with the steel metatarsal guards in them. Of course I split everything vertically except with the little electric splitter on the breezeway for re-splits. The danger with it is when it launches the Oak splits across the breezeway away from me.