beer and firewood splitting

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SPDRMNKY

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so this is mostly just a trash-talking thread about "automatic" or "powered" splitters vs armstrong splitters...but it is quasi-seriously-a-question.

kinda like the ford, chevy, dodge argument...no toyota and nissan...you don't get to play.

semi-seriously though...I logs onto AS tonight...clicks on the FH&WBE thread collection...and perusing shows me no less than 15 threads about non-armstrong splitters.

WTFlyingF*Fellas?

Does no one use an armstrong splitter these days? (fiskars, fancy euro, old 'merica metal, monster maul, etc)? You know...the kind you swing up over your head, and then crash down into an upright round...splitting it asunder...you know?

Don't you?

Or wait...maybe aliens have invaded AS member ranks, and I'm the last hold out...with a set of arms and a maul. Aliens without upperbody strength and a long streak of lazy? Maybe?

Now that your dander is thoroughly up...here's the real question...HOW are auto-powered-non-armstrong splitters faster?

And...wouldn't the exercise do us all good?

Venerable old-timer AS members are excluded from my intended dander-upping-shenanigans...all the rest of ya'll...answer!

BTW...I armstrong splits 8 cord a year. My dad (who will be 64 this Jan) armstrong splits 8 cord a year also...with a 30 yr old maul. FYI I noodle nasty knotty crotches and such.

Flame on! (but keep your humor)

Oh...the beer part...um...I heard all this stuff (locally) about auto-powered-splitting firewood whilst drinking beer...so I tried armstrong splitting firewood whilst drinking beer. I ended up splitting a quarter-cord in two beers...about 20 mins. Doubled my time. Weird.

Keep. Your. Humor. Seriously.
 
pictures make everything better...

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Carpal tunnel says me no split wood by hand any more. 10 cord a year for many a year. I got tired of being up all night shaking out my hands. I take a hydro thank you
 
It's very enjoyable to split a few rounds by hand every morning, but I just don't have the time. 8 kids and small income, and trying to sell some firewood on the side. I did enjoy splitting a few rounds in half today so I could lift them to the splitter, though. Such a great feeling!
 
I do 99% of my splitting by hand, saving only the gnarliest, twistiest bastard rounds for my buddies hydro splitter that I borrow once or twice a year. I'd love to spring for a hydro, but don't have the spare $$$ sitting around right now, so it's mainly out-of-default I have to do it this way. Like everything else in a firewood cutters tool bag, it's good to have a variety of round-busting implements. Of course if you had a powered splitter, it doesn't mean that you need to use it all the time, but it's nice having one stashed in your garage or shed should you need it. We had guys on here over the years still able to produce heat even when they were injured, thanks to hydraulics.
 
I have cut about 10 cords Willow this year, armstronged 4 1/2, rest is next up on my to-do list for an hour every morning to get the juices flowing again. Have power splitter but it only gets the tough stuff, maybe 5% of the rounds.

When I run out of the Willow there is around 20 cords of Black Locust rounds waiting in the wings.

Beer? I do my best to keep at least one brewery going but not while I'm working.

Harry K
 
I do all my splitting with ax and maul, try to do some every day, some days I split off and on all day. For the last few years there are a lot more breaks than there used to be. The hydro splitter is sitting at my son's place and hasn't been used for at least 3/4 years.
Beer or the lack of it doesn't seem to affect my splitting, if I am not running any machinery or firing up any saws there may be one or two consumed per hour on a hot day. Along with a lot of water, I always have at least a half gallon bottle setting within easy reach when working outside.
I do know from actual blood testing that I burn alcohol at a much faster rate than most, almost twice as fast as the average man of my size. So I'm not advocating anyone else drink a six pack while swinging a maul for an afternoon, but I may tomorrow!
 
Took me longer than it used to, but both stacks done by hand with a 12# maul and a very old axe. Notice the lack of a mechanical splitter. There was no lack of beer though. My aim ain't as good as it used to be, so the beer came afterwards.001.JPG 004.JPG
 
Am I the only one who gets it?

I am fine with a cold house. Wife likes it 80 degrees.

She uses the 6lb maul & the Fiskars axe to keep herself (me too!) warm. I drink the beer.

Yeah, so she stays in shape and is healthier than me, but my 12oz. curls sort of keep me toned! I mean look at the muscles in my gut.

:givebeer:
 
...here's the real question...HOW are auto-powered-non-armstrong splitters faster?

The not-so-simple answer to that question is... well... it depends.

No doubt, if the wood is straight-grained and splits relatively easy, at the end of thirty minutes the armstrong splitter will produce a larger pile of splits (and I'll use the armstrong method for smaller amounts of such). But can you keep up the pace for four hours?? Six?? Eight?? I guaranty, at the end of a long day splittin', my powered splitter will out work your armstrong... every time.

Are we splittin' tough, stringy elm or gnarly Bur Oak?? I'll make you a promise... even at the end of thirty minutes my powered splitter is gonna' make more ready-to-stack, split firewood if'n we are.

And... what is the measure of "faster"?? After the tree is bucked to length, do you...
1) Load the rounds.
2) Then haul them to the splittin' area.
3) Then unload the rounds.
4) Then split the rounds.
5) Then load the splits (or at least pick them up).
6) Haul (or carry) the splits to the stack.
7) And finally unload and/or stack?
My less than 200 pounds of compact splitter can be easily rolled into the cutting area, and it's it's fully hands free auto-cycle leaves both my hands free to be doing something else. After the tree is bucked to length, I do this...
1) Split, grabbing them (with my free hands) as they come off the beam mounted wedge, tossing them directly into the trailer (one operation).
2) Haul the splits to the stack.
3) Stack as I unload.
I'll make you another promise... if the measure of "faster" means reducing bucked rounds laying in the woods into splits stacked in your yard or shed, at the end of a long day my powered splitter is gonna' produce three or four times as firewood.

You can't simply measure the time it takes to split a few dozen rounds and claim the armstrong splitter is a more efficient method... there's a whole lot more than just splitting involved when converting a tree standing in the woods into splits stacked next to your firebox. Sometimes, giving up a little at one end to gain twice as much at the other end is the most efficient method.

Usually I find that "working smarter, not harder" will produce the most of anything over the long haul.
*
 
I save my arms, shoulders and back for bucking rounds and lifting rounds onto my splitter. I usually cut and move firewood in the am and split in the pm. If I do it in this order, I can get out of bed the next day and actually be productive. I used to hand split everything when I was in my 20's and had more muscle than brains (not a shot at anyone). Work smarter not harder is how I live. That being said, my son will learn how to split firewood the old fashioned way long before he learns how to operate the splitter. I want him to appreciate how much work goes into heating the home. When I was a kid, my brother and I WERE the splitter, that was our job. I have the scars and everything to prove it :)
 
Beer and ice cream... one of my favorite combinations.
The bitterness of the beer and the sweetness of the ice cream compliment each other... it enhances the enjoyment of both.
Some people say the same about red wine with red meat or pasta... white wine with fish or poultry... just give me beer and ice cream.
Besides... beer comes in a ready-to-drink-from can and ice cream comes in a ready-to-eat-from paper or plastic container... which makes both more convenient around the splitter than wine, meat or pasta.
*
 
The not-so-simple answer to that question is... well... it depends.*

Oh come on WS...humor...HUMOR! You have a very efficient process that works well for you...and very straight firewood stacks in your yard too.

We can measure "faster" any-number-of-which-ways...I plan to measure it the way that makes me look the awesomest?...most awesomer?...awesomerist?

Whatever. ;-)
 
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