Twisted Cherry, the name of my new band

[hickoryhoarder]

I've said about once a year here that black cherry is the ideal wood to teach someone how to use a maul. "Splits like butter," I say.
(And that has held true. People have been delighted to learn that splitting with a maul is no big deal. You do not have to power through cherry, just hit it in the center and watch it fall into two pieces.)

Yeah, until you run into the exception. I'm working on a giant cherry tree from a neighbor's yard where 100% of the rounds so far (I've done about 20, big and small), have twisted grain. I have yet to succeed with any other technique than a wedge and sledge hammer. Not just on making the first two halves. But sometimes in making the next two. Even if the round is only 12" long.

So today I taught her son, who really needs something easy to begin on, how to split twisted cherry. He was up for it.

 

[clancey]

I think that if you try to do that with Maple you will have a surprise for I think that is one of the hardest type of woods out there to cut for my late husband carved maple and he told me it was the hardest wood in the world--now I do not know about the world--but its real hard wood...clancey.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

Cherry is one of my favorite woodd to split and burn. Its super easy to split and dries quick and smells great when burning. I did run across my first really twisted one this past January. I didn't like splitting it at all.. as a matter of fact.. it sucked.. all the split pieces wound up curved and odd size.. not the square stuff I like to split. Free wood is free and that's what it was. I'm on the hunt today for wood.. back in scrounge mode..

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I think that if you try to do that with Maple you will have a surprise for I think that is one of the hardest type of woods out there to cut for my late husband carved maple and he told me it was the hardest wood in the world--now I do not know about the world--but its real hard wood...clancey.

I'd agree, with little experience with twisted wood, other than Chinese elm. If twisted cherry is a bear to split, twisted oak or maple are likely to be far worse.

 

[WoodScrounger]

I find a lot of times, what I call fence row wood is twisted and tough to split no matter the species. Standing up to the wind, alone on the edge of a field makes it tough and stringy.

 

[kborndale]

When it comes to maple it depends on the type. Silver maple I find very easy to split, even if twisted. A big sugar maple is much more difficult, even if straight.