Triangle or Squares?

[PunKid8888]

So I split some BIG wood last night with my cousin with a log splitter. it was all locust most around 2ft to 3ft in dia. I was very impressed that the log splitter rarely even struggled.

But I quickly realized that we look at the logs differently when it comes to creating splits. We start the same by looking for the biggest crack or check and splitting it in half and then into quarters along those to help the splitter out.

He then continues to cut into pieces of pie, now these rounds were so big that you still had to split the pie pieces the opposite way to make them stove friendly. the net result was a lot of thin triangles and not many squares.

I use to do pretty much the same thing but lately I have been splitting into quarters, then I just keep splitting parallel to the last split. Then I turn them 90 degrees and split them to a friendly stove. The result is a lot of squares and a few triangles, but the triangles are 90degree triangles.

I hope this makes sense.

I like my method cause it seams like you get similar sized peices and they are supper easy to stack.

So do you prefer Triangles or Squares and explain.

 

[Wood Duck]

With larger diameter rounds, say larger than 10 inches, I like to split a thin crescent along the outside edges of each round. With really larg ones I might do all four sides this way, with smaller ones I might get only two decent crescents. I save these to use as decorative shingles on the holz hausens. This leaves a rectangular piece that I split into smaller rectangles. With smaller rounds I might just split into halves or triangles. I think the rectangular splits stack better than triangles.

 

[gzecc]

I don't have the luxury of choice, I do what ever happens the easiest. I only use a maul.

 

[LLigetfa]

Well... since you said BIG and not just big, then rectangular it is but I still voted square. Logs up to around a foot in diameter will be pie shaped but the bigger they are the more rectangular the pieces. A little more than a foot, I will take four triangles out in a # tic-tac-toe pattern.

 

[smokinj]

I like the squares but still wind up with more Triangles

 

[rdust]

Bigger rounds I make squares or rectangles but still end up with plenty of triangles and halves in my stacks. I usually keep the bigger squares and rectangles that split cleanly in a separate pile and use them for my ends.

 

[Hurricane]

I voted something different because I do both squares and triangles, if you had both for an answer I would have chosen that. I do what gzecc does, split with a maul and whatever is easier. If the triangle is large I usually take the point off and have a small triangle and a large rectangle. I have a splitter now but have not used it for my wood yet only my dad's and he has a smoke dragon and uses gargantuan size splits.

 

[BucksCoBernie]

I prefer the squares, about 3-4 inches wide since they are easy to carry and stack. I always try to split into square shape but i dont mind the triangles either as they fit into the gaps of the stacked wood. what drives me nuts are the chunks that wont split...i just throw them into a different pile to season since they dont stack nicely.

 

[LLigetfa]

Here's a pic showing some of the rectangular splits. Once they make it to the shed, they're mixed in with the other sizes.

 

[Corey]

Nothing like a couple of rectangular blocks to pack into the stove for a good overnight burn. Triangles are harder to pack, and burn faster - which is also desirable sometimes. I usually just let the wood to the talking. If it's splitting easily and straight, I'll knock it down to little triangles, squares or what ever I need. If it is being a PITA to split, I'll shell some crescents off the sides and leave it as a big block for overnight.

 

[LLigetfa]

I prefer the squares, about 3-4 inches wide...

Some people might call that kin'lin. Is that for a cook stove?

 

[drdoct]

I voted for squares too. Rectangles are what I end up with mostly and those crescent things. I try to split everything so I end up with lots of half logs. I also try to keep a great assortment when splitting... I'll keep one big and make the others all different sizes. This seems to help more when loading the stove because it gives me a much greater choice when trying to get that last little bit stuffed in. That includes 'kinlin' shaped ones too.

 

[madrone]

I try for squares, but I split by hand so I take what I get. I can pretty much split old doug fir to any shape I like, but young doug or gnarly fruit wood just gets split however it can. I also scrounge, so I tend to take a lot of branches. I have as many round pieces as split ones.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I don't look for cracks or checks before splitting but do look for knots. Small logs I split through the middle almost all the way through and then simply turn the whole block and split the middle again ending up with 4 splits with only 2 strokes of the hydraulic ram.

The big stuff, I usually split down the middle and set half aside while I do the other half. Most gets split into squares or rectangles.

 

[karri0n]

My preference is rectangular pieces because I can pack the stove better, but I split with a fiskars and take what I can get. I do, however, like trying to smack the edges off the big rounds to make a square then splitting this into smaller rectangles. I have yet to accomplish this perfectly with an entire round.

 

[Slow1]

I like rectangles - doing by hand I don't ever expect to get perfect squares

Why? Easy stacking - need as many as I can get for the ends or corners of my stacks. Mind you I don't get as many as I would like simply due to my aim and the fact that wood does seem to have a mind of it's own sometimes doesn't it? I'll be off slightly once and it'll break the wood into some other weird shape - I have L shaped pieces in there as well as some that look like almost like jigsaw pieces. If not too odd and already small enough I leave them, those will be fun to pack into the stove eh?

 

[Cluttermagnet]

My vote: other. I split mostly by hand with a maul or an axe, and I let the wood tell me what shapes I get. It's mostly triangles. No real problem stacking triangles- if you alternate pairs of about the same size, you get a rectangle anyway. Skinny side left, then next piece goes on top skinny side right. I get nice, stable stacks whether or not the wood is square. Most of the wood here has been Red Oak so far.

 

[Duetech]

"Small logs I split through the middle almost all the way through and then simply turn the whole block and split the middle again ending up with 4 splits with only 2 strokes of the hydraulic ram. The big stuff, I usually split down the middle and set half aside while I do the other half. Most gets split into squares or rectangles."
.............+1
I recently bought a 4 way slip on wedge for my hyd splitter and am waiting to see how it works (the splitters at a friends right now where I scored about 1 1/2 cords of silver maple and he's doing the primary splitting) as I have to doctor the wedge to fit it correctly.
Knots are not realy conducive to squares or triangles as a general rule unless there is a Y in the description. With a hand maul, old tire and clean wood I flake the sides and work to rectangles or squares for the most part.

 

[CowboyAndy]

we split alot of firewood each season, and i am not particularly concerned about what they look like. i do like to have some squares for cross stacking on the ends. otherwise i just make sure i have a combination of large and small splits.

 

[flash49]

I split mine in circles

 

[mayhem]

I don't pay a lick of attention to the shape of the split I wind up with, its making it the right size that counts in my book. In general, the smaller rounds wind up as triangles, the big stuff winds up as rectangles. I tend to use the rectangles for overnight burns because in general i can pack more in and have less air space left over in the firebox...triablges are good for quick heat because you get alot of surface area across a smaller split, yielding a faster, hotter burn. Again, only speaking generally...there are exceptions to everything. I leave some of the 8-10" rounds whole and occasionalyl will stuff the whole thing into the firebox for a nice, long slow burn.

 

[Bootlegger]

I get quadrangles with large rounds, triangles and crescents with smaller rounds. I like the variety.
Those weird-shaped leftover pieces go in a separate place and are burned in the morning.

 

[gpcollen1]

I like a healthy mix of all shapes and sizes, though I do like the squares/rectangle slabs better...

 

[WoodPorn]

Here's a pic showing some of the rectangular splits. Once they make it to the shed, they're mixed in with the other sizes.

That's a funny looking tarp.

 

[firefighterjake]

I voted for "other" since I split with a hydraulic splitter . . . I split some squares/rectangles for overnights, smaller squares/rectangles for medium-length burns, triangles, slabs and well just about any other shape I can come up with as I grow bored with myself while splitting. Actually, all kidding aside, I tend to do a lot more slabs and triangles, but I do try to get a few squares for those overnight burns.