Wood pucks, how to dry?

[smokingolf]

I can get my hands on some tree trunk chunks of maple and oak 15" and larger I have no way of splitting this size of wood. I read a thread a year or so ago about a guy who throws wood pucks in his stove, so that got me thinking hh: if I cut pieces 3 or 4" thick and break up the larger diameters with a sledge, how would you season them? I was thinking the best way may be to just disperse them into a stack of regular splits. What are some ideas?

Thanks

Brian

 

[WOODplay]

I set them on top of the wood piles. That way the ugly wood gets burned first.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Sledge and wedges to bust them up if a maul doesn't get it done. Shorties are a PITA.

 

[billb3]

What kind of splitting axe should I get my hands on as a way of splitting this size of wood.
Brian

 

[Danno77]

I'm lost. Why can't you split 15" rounds? Is 15 the diameter or the length?

 

[smokingolf]

I'm lost. Why can't you split 15" rounds? Is 15 the diameter or the length?

I have a small task force 5 ton electric splitter, it doesn't work to good on the larger rounds and my back isn't up to swinging a maul. It sucks I'm getting phone calls about fresh wood in friends backyard woods that's there for the taking and I'm cringing about the thought about how to get it without wiping out my back, my savior is spending a lot of time in my hot tub lately.

Brian

 

[EatenByLimestone]

Use the splitter to take slivers off the outside. Keep rotating the round. That's what I do with my electric splitter.

Matt

 

[SolarAndWood]

As far as drying, how about a row of pallets and a tpost welded wire fence around three sides of it. If you want to get fancy, set the tposts up so you can run rafters between them and cover it.

 

[smokinj]

Get the hot saw going and make up a big batch of cookies. These things are great on a very cold day. (Just spike the fire as needed) ;-) They also season very quickly.

 

[ecocavalier02]

i built one of these to throw all the chunks into. i also split them kinda small so that they'll dry better and i can just toss them in the stove easily. i have some rubber roofing over it now just to keep the water from getting in there. these will get burnt next year. possibly some of them end of the year this season.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I can get my hands on some tree trunk chunks of maple and oak 15" and larger I have no way of splitting this size of wood. I read a thread a year or so ago about a guy who throws wood pucks in his stove, so that got me thinking hh: if I cut pieces 3 or 4" thick and break up the larger diameters with a sledge, how would you season them? I was thinking the best way may be to just disperse them into a stack of regular splits. What are some ideas?

Thanks

Brian

Brian, a 15" oak or maple is not difficult to split. Most folks tend to think so if they have to swing a maul more than one time but it is not all that hard. Just don't hit them center and expect they will split because it won't happen. If you want to split down the center, then make the first hit on the side away from you and then the next hit on the side closer to you. A sledge and a couple of wedges work really great.

For the bad backs, I split enough for a couple winters using a sledge and wedges and did the whole thing while sitting down. I had to sit because I could not swing the sledge while standing! Hurt the back terribly. Yes, it took me a long time to get the splitting done as I could do only a little at a time but the job did get done. I did finally break down and got a hydraulic splitter because I simply can't split much wood with sledge, maul or axe. Now I continue to sit while splitting! lol

 

[Danno77]

If you are going to do this wood thing and you can't split by hand, then you need to get ahold of a real splitter by renting or buying.

 

[weatherguy]

Ive been splitting 24" rounds with my 5 ton electric splitter, mostly oak but I had some big maple rounds that I split too.

 

[xman23]

That stuff is called "Chunkey Monkey" at my house. I don't stack it, just a big pile of it on pallet, covered until it's dry. I burn it to start the fire and shoulder season.

 

[Battenkiller]

Get the hot saw going and make up a big batch of cookies. These things are great on a very cold day. (Just spike the fire as needed) ;-) They also season very quickly.

Anybody who cuts cookies for fun knows how fast they dry. Even a 4" thick round that is 16" across will dry inside a couple weeks in dry weather, while a 4" thick split that is 16" long will take all season to dry.

 

[firefighterjake]

Whenever I have a round that is splitting hard (even with my large hydraulic splitter) I think about how I eat an elephant . . . one small bite at a time . . . and so I just start taking out small bites or splits off the round until it gets to the point where larger splits can be achieved.


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In case anyone from PETA is reading this . . . no elephants were hurt during the splitting process . . . and I have not ever inhaled any elephants.

 

[nate379]

I use the same splitter and it has no trouble splitting 15" long logs unless they are HUGE!. I had a couple birch logs this summer that took 2 guys to lift onto the splitter and I had to work it back and forth a bit to get it to split. I could have just cut them down the center with the saw I suppose.

You can adjust how close the "pusher" can go to the wedge. I adjusted mine all the way so it is maybe 4" from the wedge.

The short "junk" that is 5-6" thick I throw in a bin I made with 5 pallets and use for campfire wood.

 

[pen]

How much wood needs to be done? Might be worth renting a splitter for the day. If you need this wood quickly, then the "cookies" (as Jay called them) might be your way to go. Just work with what you have.

Maybe making a rack out of pallets might work well for seasoning these? Like a bin?

pen

 

[weatherguy]

Whenever I have a round that is splitting hard (even with my large hydraulic splitter) I think about how I eat an elephant . . . one small bite at a time . . . and so I just start taking out small bites or splits off the round until it gets to the point where larger splits can be achieved.


---


In case anyone from PETA is reading this . . . no elephants were hurt during the splitting process . . . and I have not ever inhaled any elephants.

Does elephant taste like chicken?

 

[firefighterjake]

Whenever I have a round that is splitting hard (even with my large hydraulic splitter) I think about how I eat an elephant . . . one small bite at a time . . . and so I just start taking out small bites or splits off the round until it gets to the point where larger splits can be achieved.


---


In case anyone from PETA is reading this . . . no elephants were hurt during the splitting process . . . and I have not ever inhaled any elephants.

Does elephant taste like chicken?

More like spotted owl.