Splitting by Hand

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jthornton

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Location
Swamp East Missouri
I've been splitting firewood for 45 years off and on with an axe like this, and since my heart attack 21 years ago I never could split more than a couple of rounds at a time and I would be out of breath.

axe.jpg


A while back I picked up an X27 and really needing to get some wood split before I finish my splitter I started splitting some red oak that I had and to my amazement I could split 10 times the wood well maybe 5 times as much at each session. The X27 weighs about the same as the axe but splits so much easier that I found myself splitting less than easy rounds like huge chucks and rounds with knots in them.

hand-split.jpg


Of course I still want to finish the splitter as soon as time allows.

splitter-16.jpg


JT
 
Good for you! Hand splitting to me is about the second most fun "work" I do.

Most fun is having to use the tractor where it is real muddy..I get paid to go bogging! HAHAHAHA!
 
It took me a while to get the hang of not twisting the X27 as I hit and where to best hit the round, but it is much more fun than the double bit axe for splitting. I can't wait for my splitter to be ready to run so I can use the X27 for odd jobs. In the mean time my wood crib is filling fast. Too bad it is full of wood that is not dry yet...

JT
 
I bought a Fiskers because of the loyal following here but I don't use it very much. What is the bore size on the cannon? I have a 2.25" Hern casting. I have been using billiard balls with 3oz of fg powder and yes it turns trees into firewood.
 
I've been splitting firewood for 45 years off and on with an axe like this, and since my heart attack 21 years ago I never could split more than a couple of rounds at a time and I would be out of breath.

axe.jpg


A while back I picked up an X27 and really needing to get some wood split before I finish my splitter I started splitting some red oak that I had and to my amazement I could split 10 times the wood well maybe 5 times as much at each session. The X27 weighs about the same as the axe but splits so much easier that I found myself splitting less than easy rounds like huge chucks and rounds with knots in them.

hand-split.jpg


Of course I still want to finish the splitter as soon as time allows.

splitter-16.jpg


JT
JT, A very close friend of mine when i lived out in SE Ohio in the *0's was John Thornton. He lived in Barnesville, OH. We won a few doubles tennis tournaments together. He was a coal miner by profession but loved tennis!!
JT, the formul for strenghening the heart is Hawthorne, CoQ10, cayenne, and garlic. Guy named **** Quinn wrote a book called " Left For Dead!" about how the doctors botched his bypass surgery, and how he healed his own heart doing these supplements! Been doing this regimen since having a heart attack in the early 90's!
Was out this afternoon splitting wood for 2 hours, then went shopping with the wife for 4 hours that was more difficult! :laugh:
You can get all these supplements right at Wal-Mart! They work!! But get the real garlic! Not the odorless!
 
I bought a Fiskers because of the loyal following here but I don't use it very much. What is the bore size on the cannon? I have a 2.25" Hern casting. I have been using billiard balls with 3oz of fg powder and yes it turns trees into firewood.

Mine is a 1/2 scale 6 pounder from Dixie Gun Works with 1 3/4 bore so we can shoot golf balls. I have a few photos of the construction of the cannon here. I can imagine the damage a billiard ball with 3oz of fg will do...

JT
 
JT, A very close friend of mine when i lived out in SE Ohio in the *0's was John Thornton. He lived in Barnesville, OH. We won a few doubles tennis tournaments together. He was a coal miner by profession but loved tennis!!
JT, the formul for strenghening the heart is Hawthorne, CoQ10, cayenne, and garlic. Guy named **** Quinn wrote a book called " Left For Dead!" about how the doctors botched his bypass surgery, and how he healed his own heart doing these supplements! Been doing this regimen since having a heart attack in the early 90's!
Was out this afternoon splitting wood for 2 hours, then went shopping with the wife for 4 hours that was more difficult! :laugh:
You can get all these supplements right at Wal-Mart! They work!! But get the real garlic! Not the odorless!
Thanks for the tips, I've never lived in OH but they tried to arrest me in Louisiana because a John Thornton aged 19 ran off with a 15 year old girl... the only problem was I was only 17 at the time and my Dad ran the cops off.

I have taken up the sport of mountain biking about a year ago and that has helped a lot with the endurance and helped me to lose some unneeded gravitational attraction. But I still only have so many watt minutes of energy I can expend at a time before a catch up is needed.

JT
 
My x25 is probably my favorite and splits most of what I need to split. My x27 is good to have because it splits most of what my x25 can't. I use a hydraulic splitter for those big nasty pieces that the Fiskars can't handle. But even then, I just split them twice and then pick up a Fiskars because the Fiskars are much faster and a lot easier on my back. A Fiskars and an old tire on a large splitting stump is winning combination!
 
My x25 is probably my favorite and splits most of what I need to split. My x27 is good to have because it splits most of what my x25 can't. I use a hydraulic splitter for those big nasty pieces that the Fiskars can't handle. But even then, I just split them twice and then pick up a Fiskars because the Fiskars are much faster and a lot easier on my back. A Fiskars and an old tire on a large splitting stump is winning combination!

What do you do with the tire? Do you have a photo of your setup?

Thanks
JT
 
I use the x27 almost exclusively for splitting wood. The other is a True Temper splitting axe as backup. For the smaller rounds, I use the tire. Just load it until it can't take any more and whack away. Think Whack-A-Mole. I don't have the tire fastened to anything, but I usually place it over something solid. Usually it's a large cookie 2 to 3 feet across by 4 to 6 inches thick.
 
Using a long thin knife, cut thru the side walls, removing the beads, leaving 2 to 3 inches of the sidewall with the tread. Stack two trimmed tires, poke holes with a hot soldering iron in the side walls and use wire to sew the tires together.

Works best setting on the ground, using a block shortens your swing and makes a miss more likely to hit your foot. Longer handle, longer swing means more force delivered to the split.
 
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