which species to split green and which to age before splitting

[Ericcc]

I seem to have noticed (splitting all my wood by hand as I do) that some species of wood split really well green but then not very well at all after they've aged (e.g. yellow-poplar/tulip-poplar) and that other species are very difficult to split green (hickory, beech) but split pretty well if they've aged first. Has anyone else noticed that aging affects splitting ease differently according to species? If so, what are your observations?

 

[Woody5506]

I was told Sycamore would split better if the rounds were aged at least a year. This was far from the truth and after that time I bought a splitter. Problem solved.


I think all wood should be split ASAP so it actually starts seasoning.

 

[SeanBB]

I was told Sycamore would split better if the rounds were aged at least a year. This was far from the truth and after that time I bought a splitter. Problem solved.


I think all wood should be split ASAP so it actually starts seasoning.

I completely agree. I split mine at the first opportunity. When I've tried splitting well seasoned wood the maul often just bounces off it!

 

[johneh]

I split it all green ! It dries faster and the splitter
doesn't care if it is green or not

 

[Sawset]

Most of the time I don't have a choice of aged or green. Everything is dead or down (oak wilt). I do find that frozen is far better though. The wood tends to snap apart the colder it is. I hand split what I can and rent a splitter for the rest. Ends up about 80/20 hand vs splitter.

 

[weatherguy]

I split all green except for hickory, I set the rounds in the sun a couple weeks and they split much easier.

 

[Wood1Dennis]

I split it all green. Get it drying as soon as possible. I do a lot of splitting by hand. The colder the better. Last weekend I had some soft maple and birch downed trees to work up. It was about 3 degrees F. The splitting is fantastic when it is cold like that, and I worked up a pretty good sweat!

 

[xman23]

With a splitter, it doesn't care how hard it is. A lot of wood splits best when it freezes and get those natural splits at the end of the rounds

 

[Bigger_Al]

I was told Sycamore would split better if the rounds were aged at least a year. This was far from the truth and after that time I bought a splitter. Problem solved.


I think all wood should be split ASAP so it actually starts seasoning.

It splits well frozen!

 

[billb3]

I wait for the sap to dry up with pine, usually three or four months.

 

[coutufr]

ASAP when freezing outside

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I split with a maul. I can't name anything that doesn't split easier seasoned. Ash, pine, and cherry do split pretty easy right after cutting.

Most wood splits easily seasoned. Not sure about siberian elm, osage orange or locust -- the tougher stuff. But hickory and oak are easy once they are dry enough.

 

[Woody5506]

How is it seasoned if it's not split?

 

[Commodorefirst]

I had to put up rounds of Elm, I split by hand, and the fibrous intertwined fibers of elm resist hand splitting for at least a few years.