So I started splitting some white oak. Its so stringy. Real pain. The tree was just taken down alive. Does it make sense to let it sit for a couple months or will it be just as much stringy then?
white oak splitting is a pain
- Thread starter tumm21
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
- Status
I never seem to have much issue with it. Some of it can be stringy but the hydraulics handle it with ease.
I will say it's one of my favorite smelling woods though.
I will say it's one of my favorite smelling woods though.
Locust Post
Minister of Fire
If it is stringy and hard to split now it will be just as hard likely in a few months especially oak as it does not lose its moisture quickly. In the round it will stay wet for a long time. The only thing that might help is if you leave it until freezing weather it may split better then. You can always take the saw and cut the top of the round down a few inches and then split, may help.
Locust Post
Minister of Fire
It can be pretty stringy,especially after its set a few months.I cut a bunch of dead 8-14" rounds in Dec.2010,busy with other stuff so they didnt get split until 6 months later.X25 was barely 2 weeks old,it just bounced off them or got stuck.Even straight grained knot free logs.Much tougher than the Red Oak that I split a few minutes earlier,it just flew through that stuff......
White Oak has that great vanilla scent though & burns incredibly hot with long lasting coals.I use scraps/chunks of it all the time in Weber kettle & Brinkmann water smoker,havent bought commercial bagged charcoal in years.
White Oak has that great vanilla scent though & burns incredibly hot with long lasting coals.I use scraps/chunks of it all the time in Weber kettle & Brinkmann water smoker,havent bought commercial bagged charcoal in years.
tomc585
Member
![[Hearth.com] white oak splitting is a pain](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/71/71226-436074a4ac9bf1870d5dbb143ede28d9.jpg?hash=WsycMsh8p5 "[Hearth.com] white oak splitting is a pain")
It depends on the specimen. Most of it I find pretty easy to split, and it is one of my favorite woods. I had one tree I cut last year that was a real bear, and it made me buy a logsplitter for that very reason. Even the Monster Maul had problems with it.
I think it is better than Red Oak (that splits way easier). The Red Oak seems to go punky faster, I have some White Oak in the woods that has been laying on the ground for over 10 years and it is still great. I have heard White Oak does not allow moisture back into the wood like Red Oak does. The smell reminds me of Whiskey Barrels, someone else came up with that smell, and it is very enjoyable to me.
I think it is better than Red Oak (that splits way easier). The Red Oak seems to go punky faster, I have some White Oak in the woods that has been laying on the ground for over 10 years and it is still great. I have heard White Oak does not allow moisture back into the wood like Red Oak does. The smell reminds me of Whiskey Barrels, someone else came up with that smell, and it is very enjoyable to me.
In my experience it will get hard to split with time, not easier. Seems like that fresh cut end is the key to getting it to "pop"....once it dries out it just dents with the maul.
Even if it is harder to split its still worth it...you'll burn a lot less compared to some easier splitting woods because of all those cooped up BTUs.
Even if it is harder to split its still worth it...you'll burn a lot less compared to some easier splitting woods because of all those cooped up BTUs.
clemsonfor
Minister of Fire
White oak is the only species that they make oak whisky barrels out of. Its the tyloses that are inside the cells of the wood, basically stopping the transfer of water through the wood.
But anyway yes it is generally stringier and harder to split than red species. I have had plenty of 12 and 18" rounds split fairly easy though.
But anyway yes it is generally stringier and harder to split than red species. I have had plenty of 12 and 18" rounds split fairly easy though.
red oak
Minister of Fire
I split 2 white oak trees yesterday and they did seem kind of stringy - much more so than the red oak that I normally split. I don't think waiting would have made it any easier so I went ahead and got it split and stacked so it can start drying. Should be ready to burn by 2028.
I concur with Dennis. Do yourself a favor and get it split. It isn't going to be any easier down the road. I split cords of white oak per year and I just get it done when I can. Waiting till the 3rd full moon of the 5th month while the cicada's are singing doesn't seem to make any difference in how it splits.
It's just the sapwood on red oak that can punk quickly. The heartwood stays good for many, many years - Even laying on the forest floor. But the sapwood punk can be messy. I'm partial to red oak though, since it splits like a dream and burns great (seasoned properly of course), and it makes up 90% of the trees on my property.
- Feb 10, 2006
- 259
Currently in the process to splitting some white oak. Its not too bad but its heavy as hect due to the moisture content. I sawed a few logs and had some rounds facing up and others on its side (bark hitting the ground) for a few weeks Noticed that the rounds on its sides where lighter than the rounds face up due to rain not entering the wood due to the bark..
Due to the dramatic heat this summer, I have two racks of white oak already seasoned I split in March..
Due to the dramatic heat this summer, I have two racks of white oak already seasoned I split in March..
must've been dead for quite a while if its seasoned already. Green white oak, you're liking at at LEAST two to three full years before its at its peak. That stuff takes longer than any other wood to season.
TimJ
Minister of Fire
and that's coming from a squirrel smoking a cigarette
Scott, just having fun..........you have great knowledge and are a great contribution to this site, plus you have a good sense of humor.
Scott, just having fun..........you have great knowledge and are a great contribution to this site, plus you have a good sense of humor.
Tim, no offense taken! Thanks for the compliments, we're all a brother(and sister)hood here, and a damn fine one. And as for the sense of humor, what's the sense of living if you cant have some fun! As for my squirrel avatar, who said it was a cigarette?and that's coming from a squirrel smoking a cigarette
Scott, just having fun..........you have great knowledge and are a great contribution to this site, plus you have a good sense of humor.
Cedar is the best smelling wood.. When splitting and burning..
I love it but I also think Sassafras smells even better. Cedar is certainly lighter so if you have to carry it....
Locust Post
Minister of Fire
Can't be a left hander because his eyes aren't red unless this is another one of those "but I didn't inhale"Tim, no offense taken! Thanks for the compliments, we're all a brother(and sister)hood here, and a damn fine one. And as for the sense of humor, what's the sense of living if you cant have some fun! As for my squirrel avatar, who said it was a cigarette?
osagebow
Minister of Fire
Plus sass is fun to split - and doesn't rot if left on the ground for a few years.
- Status
