Splitting Hickory

[drz1050]

Got a log load delivered this Spring, I've just been chipping away at it in my spare time for a while now. Had a few large-ish (20" diameter or so) hickory logs in there. Found them a pain in the ass to split when fresh.. Stringy, and the bark was holding everything together too. Finished bucking up those logs, then let them sit for a while.. just went back to them this morning, and it was worlds easier. Still stringy-ish, but nothing like what it was, and the bark was a non-issue anymore, just breaking right off like oak bark.


TL; DR- if you're having a hard time splitting hickory, buck it up and let it sit for a few months. Way easier then.

 

[illenema]

Good information.

 

[Woody Stover]

I keep it covered if it's going to sit for any length of time. I doesn't hold up very well if it gets rained on. A few months won't be too long, though.

 

[Wood Wules]

Yes and no. I had some hickory that's been laying about since Obama first term and when I split it up it was as ornery as a wife who fill in the blanks. The bark however did fall right off.

 

[drz1050]

Lol, I said a few months, not a few years.