Splitting wood old style

[jj3500]

I went out and bought by first two steel wedges. I already had a little sledge and then a larger one.

I took to this new beech I had just gotten. This is new to me so I actually had a decent time working the wood with the new wedges, small and large sledge hammer. On occasion, both wedges were sunk in and the round was still intact. I had to get my 6 pound maul and hit it from the other side in. That worked.

Now I know how to split wood with these new gadgets.

 

[JoeyD]

I went that route for my first three cords or so. The whole time I was splitting I kind of knew I was going to have to give in and find an easier way or just find a good supplier and buy CSD. I just couldn't see myself doing it this way for the next ten years. Soooo, I broke down and bought a splitter rather then wait for later. Now when I scrounge I take any and everything where as before I left the tough looking pieces behind for someone with a little more ambition then me.

 

[LLigetfa]

I've never owned a maul, having always split with an axe and wedges before I got my splitter. I've had my axe stuck plus 3 wedges sunk to the hilt as well and had to resort to laying the round on its side to whack it with another axe.

 

[billb3]

I found I can move right a long with a couple wedges and a maul.
Usually don't even swing the maul.

 

[DriftWood]

Practice makes perfect, I got a collection of wedges 3 to 5 is the minimum I take to the rounds. I can bury 5 and go to the garage and grab some more. The more the better. Just split with the cracks and through the limbs and knots.

 

[stee6043]

I went approximately 1.2 seasons of splitting with a maul before giving in and buying a splitter. My back would be the shape of a pretzel right now had I not done it....

 

[quads]

Splitting is my favorite part. I've done it the old way with a 6# maul my whole life. When I was a little kid, Dad ran the saw while I split. Your body will get used to it, and be better because of it.

 

[xman23]

When a maul can do the job, one shot, one split. It's hard to split much faster. But when the wood is stringy or knarley, get out the wedges. Since I got the log splitter I don't do much hand splitting

 

[KeepItNatural]

I've used a splitter on my family's farm, but we also had an axe to do it the old fashioned way.
Here at my house I have a couple axes, a maul and some wedges. Beneath is by far my favorite wedge. I have yet to come across a piece of wood that it couldn't handle, and I've split some sugar maple, which is by far the gnarliest wood I've come across.

 

[CTburning]

I love splitting by hand. I'm starting to get a variety of tools to get the job done. Most of the maple I have I can do easily with the Friskars. Some of the Oak I have is a different story. I've buried the axe, both wedges, and the maul in it. I have to use the sledge on all four to get them free. I've even picked up 200+lb rounds and dropped them on rocks to get them to break apart. It is the toughest part of the burning process but in my opinion the most enjoyable. I try to split for a couple of hours on a weekend. You get some fresh air and out of the house for a little while. If you plan it right, you get just enough exercise to make the beer afterwards euphoric and your woman doesn't mind it if you spend the rest of the day watching football. For me its a win,win win!

ps. you learn very quickly how to split rounds to your advantage. I visualize the splits, center or edge, following the grain and have made the chore much easier on myself. good luck

 

[KeepItNatural]

Yeah man, us western connecticut guys have to stick together.
When I split wood for my parents recently my mom went out to get beer for my dad, my buddy and I. Hard work is appreciated.

I think visualizing the splits is a pretty big part of it. Its sort of like the baseball adage of "keeping your eye on the ball". When I see one of the cracks in the wood, I'll aim for it, and keep my eyes on it as long as possible to ensure a direct impact.

I like to cut the tree down and into 16" sections and wait about a year or so for it to dry out a bit and crack a little before splitting it. (Does anyone see any flaws with this plan?) Then I set out to split it up. When I've tried to split it too soon after cutting it, I feel like I'm working again too much pressure if that makes sense. But in the end, i suppose this is a bit of a novelty for me. I'm young, I don't burn very much wood... so, splitting it by hand is "fun". If I were older... if I burned more wood, if it lost its novelty, I'd probably have a powered splitter, but for now I really enjoy my setup.

 

[LLigetfa]

I think visualizing the splits is a pretty big part of it.

Ja, X-ray vision helps. Focus on a spot about 6 inches deep down into the wood.

As for fresh cut versus checked ends, I always found that the end grain was tighter on fresh cut and more likely to bounce the axe back out if it didn't split. Dried out end grain would open just enough to get the axe good and stuck. When I was scrounging, if I didn't have time to split it right away, I would buck them to twice as long. Then I would cut them in two later when I had time to split it so I had a fresh cut face to work on.

I suppose if you left the rounds sit around long enough to develop heavy checking that went all the way through, that it would be quite a different story.

 

[TreePapa]

I suppose if you left the rounds sit around long enough to develop heavy checking that went all the way through, that it would be quite a different story.

It would be nice to always have wood that splits easily when fresh cut. But most of what I get seems to split lots better after it's developed some nice splitting cracks. I split some of the 2 or 3 yr old fruitwood yesterday, with checks all the way down. That split really nice. OTOH, I've gotten some "sweetgum" ("gumball" wood) that stained even a 20 ton rental splitter if it wasn't seasoned in the round for a year.

All depends on the wood.

Peace,
- Sequoia

 

[Levi2u]

My dad was really old school.
He taught me to split with a double bit ax. It's surprising what you can do when you really believe you can.
It's sort of a zen experience for me. And it's so satisfying when you feel and hear that sound that means the wood has given way to your will.
Levi

 

[John_M]

When I was a "young 'un" I really enjoyed the workout benefits of hauling and splitting wood using wedges, sledges, axes and mauls. There was a feeling of exhaustion and pleasure at the end of a long day of splitting. Now that I am an"old 'un" (and wiser?) I really enjoy towing the 26 ton H/V splitter to the splitting area, working until about 5:00pm, hauling the splits in my Gator, and doing at least some stacking to close out the day. Seeing wood stacked neatly (I admire the work done by BackWoodsSavage and others on this site) still gives me a sense of pride in the excellence displayed by others. It is reassuring to know that so many others take such pride and pleasure in a job well done.

I still have the feeling of exhaustion and pleasure at the end of a day of splitting but machines have done most of the work.

John_M

 

[quads]

My dad was really old school.
He taught me to split with a double bit ax.

That's what my dad used too. He hated mauls. I can't split a thing with a double bit ax and I still don't know how he did it! 6# maul for me.

 

[johnsopi]

I splitt by hand then started renting a power splitter,then bought a used splitter off CL for 300$