I've been reading that Norwegian wood chopping book so I decided to knock some wood apart by hand. The cheap maul knocks it apart but I'd like to try a fiskars axe. Everyone seems to think they're the cats pajamas.
Scrounging Firewood (and other stuff)
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I've been reading that Norwegian wood chopping book so I decided to knock some wood apart by hand. The cheap maul knocks it apart but I'd like to try a fiskars axe. Everyone seems to think they're the cats pajamas.
Ash is good wood. Doesn't seem to matter what I stuff this stove with, I get good heat out of it. I can put a couple hunks of silver in it and still have a good bed of coals in the morning.Lotsa good things about silver weeds. Light, dries fast, splits easy when dry, easy to carry in, lights easy, burns hot.
Only bad thing is it doesnt burn long, but depending on what region you're in thats not so bad sometimes. Most of the time during the day I could burn silver maple as a primary feul and use sugar maple over night then switch back to silver in the morning. But I have mostly ash, so I burn ash during the day, then switch to ash at night. Then switch back to ash. Then mix in some ash with the ash and burn more ash.Ash is my spirit tree.
Engineers should have to work on the things they design. After about two hours of cussing and beating, I finally got that leaking hose changed. The hose in question goes from the pump, thru the middle of the frame, and connected to a elbow fitting that was mounted outside the frame, right behind the rear wheel. They dont make a wrench that will reach thru all that mess and take off that hose. I had to remove the wheel, remove the oil filter, remove the oil filter base, drag the hose thru the frame where I could get a wrench on it. Now these new hoses have bigger jic fittings than what is originally on the machine. One I got the new hose connected to the oil filter base, I had to feed it back thru the hole in the frame and push it down thru the middle with all the other hoses. Of course that bigger fitting didnt want to fit thru the small hole in the frame, because not only is the fitting a larger wrench size, the crimped part is longer than the old style. This mean unbolting the cable mount that shift the rear end from low range to high range and prying the cable to the side so that dang hose would make the 90* bend to turn straight down. Now mind you, the bottom of the tractor only sets about 6 inches off the ground and I cant get on one knee and work, so here I am laying on my side, trying to reach over and into the frame with one arm, and pushing the hose with the other hand. Worked up a lather, but finally got it done and put back together. Took the splitter to the wood pile and those big pieces I wanted to split where just to big, even with the crane, to set on the beam. I split one little stick, looked at the pile and said to heck with it. Going to have to noodle those rounds one more time. Parked the splitter and tractor back under the shed and climbed in my recliner and took a nap.
woodchip rookie
Addicted to ArboristSite
Thats what happens when you give a college kid a computer with CAD on it.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
But you won in the end. Onya.
He who dies with the most tools, Wins!
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Steiners can be a treat to work on. I use a grinder and cut the floor boards out of mine to replace the hoses. Then I just bolt a new floor on. Saves hours of cursing. They are designed to never have a hose leak. And they don't as long as they stay in the showroom.
woodchip rookie
Addicted to ArboristSite
Fixed it for you
He who LIVES with the most toys wins!!!
The Fiskars X-27 is the best hand held splitting device I have ever used. Been splitting wood for over 40 years, and until 3 years ago did not own a splitter. Rented one once, but I would not split the Elm I could not split either! Ended up noodling that with the 044.
I have used traditional 6 & 8 lb with wook & glass handles, and metal Monster Mauls of various configurations (some home made).
There may be some high end stuff I have not tried, but IMO it is the best affordable hand held splitting device, and I have not been able to break it yet!
I havent cranked my steiner in years. When I bought the Ventrac, the steiner sort of became obsolete. One day I will drag the steiner out and get it back to running.. My Ventrac was the 7nt one sold in the southeast, so Its pretty old now too. It had a hard life, grinding stumps, trenching and pushing that power rake around. Its pretty much worn out. The hoses that keep bursting are original 2500psi hoses. The replacement hoses are 6000psi because thats all the local stores sale around here now. Newer equipment runs on higher pressures than some of the older stuff so nobody stocks the lower psi stuff anymore. Drawbacks of the higher pressure hoses is just the actual size of the hose. Bigger dia., stiffer to bend, fittings tend to be longer with a bigger wrench size. When your already working in tight spots, those bigger sizes can become a real pain to squeeze into.
woodchip rookie
Addicted to ArboristSite
I have an x27 and wish I could use it more but I have to use the isocore on everything I have. The x27 wont split it. Not even close. The last round of "splitting" I did was with a 395xp. Beats any swinger I've used.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
The most WORKING toys perhaps?
Agree, I love the x27, but some stuff just laughs at it. That's when the big boy, the 8lb stihl pro cleaving hammer comes to play. I don't like using that for long though, it's hard work.
Hand splitting is a lot of fun when the wood cooperates. Then you have the patience for the odd tough piece. When splitting species where every round it a battle it loses it's enjoyment quickly lol.
Bang on. A nice bit of oak or if I'm ever lucky enough again to get locust,,ooo the joy. A bit of super crotchety wavy grained and wire infested ash, or some wavy grained willow that is springy as cork.....that't the stuff that wore out my patience and sent me to ebay to bid on a bigger saw. Hmm, guess that means this story has a happy ending. I do try wedges and the sledge on some of the hard stuff, but that is never a satisfying experience.
I did up a big knotty norway pine. Three years of sitting in the sun and the water would still splash you in the face when you hit it with the maul. Finally noodled the whole works.
Hi Neil [emoji51]
This is why I cut end grain and noodle everything. I prefer shovelling loads of wood chip and noodles rather than end up hating the wood, which is more often than not with the **** knotted stuff the Arb guys give me. The splitting maul is in the garage as a door stop, it has been for a while...
Hello my new friend and fellow Brit :****you:.
I'll have to dig out some photos again, my biggest pile of frustration was the one load I paid for
. Not only did it resist any splitting and being 30+" was a bit beyond even a patient ms180 user, it was riddled with barbed wire, I blunted 3 chains in one half hour session. Still got a bit to get to stove size, but most just needs a cut or two and fingers crossed I've only 4 small pieces with wire left, and I think I can deduce where the wire is and cut safely.....I hope.
Anyway, welcome, us scroungers are friendly, not like the chainsaw mob. @svk can tell us all about them.
I'll have to dig out some photos again, my biggest pile of frustration was the one load I paid for
. Not only did it resist any splitting and being 30+" was a bit beyond even a patient ms180 user, it was riddled with barbed wire, I blunted 3 chains in one half hour session. Still got a bit to get to stove size, but most just needs a cut or two and fingers crossed I've only 4 small pieces with wire left, and I think I can deduce where the wire is and cut safely.....I hope.Anyway, welcome, us scroungers are friendly, not like the chainsaw mob. @svk can tell us all about them.
