Wedge for splitting large ash rounds?

[turnkey4099]

Would those rounds really damage a half beam splitter?

I seriously doubt it. I have one and have shear ed through some really tough knots. It does get a bit "interesting" when it shifts to the high pressure side and grunts with very very slow progress. As long as it is still moving I just let it go.

 

[turnkey4099]

If it were dry I'd pick it up but green it's to heavy for me to stack and to heavy to lift onto the splitter.

Same here. I either split or noodle in the 'field' down to a size I can load on the truck. I have hauled home rounds heavy enough that I wondered how I ever got it on the load when unloading.

 

[chilly460]

I prefer to split to noodling, personally, if the wood is of a type that will actually split without having to beat it 100x. Some stuff like sweet gum, better off just noodling it.

That said, I have a couple generic traditional wedges, and I have the Estwing. All I can say is the Estwing is a royal pain in the butt to get started, I usually will hit a round with an X27 to leave a nice divot in the wood so it's easy to start the wedge. The traditional wedges, works like a charm. The Estwing wants to jump out of the divot no matter how you hit it....soft easy taps...hard taps...it wants to jump out. Certain wood is worse than others, the rounds that were from the flare of a white oak this weekend (still wet wood with very tough grain for a white oack) would absolutely not take the Estwing.

 

[Mustang71]

Same here. I either split or noodle in the 'field' down to a size I can load on the truck. I have hauled home rounds heavy enough that I wondered how I ever got it on the load when unloading.

If I were in a field I would have lifted them into the truck and when I got out of the truck been in pain but these are 50 feet from where they are being stacked. I took the tree down so it didnt fall on my truck or the house.

 

[Mustang71]

I picked up a 5lb straight wedge on the way home today.

An update on that. They popped right apart. The one I saw cut was the easiest because the wedge went right in.

 

[homemade]

Yeah. Those wood grenades suck. Use a wedge when you need to. If you have an. X27 you can usually shuck of pieces off the outside making a big round smaller and smaller. If you try and blast it in half, you’ll need a lot of power.

Ash splits easy cause it’s usually straight grained. If you don’t have the tools, make up for it with technique. After I learned about going around the outside first I only use my steel wedges as a door stop.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Same here. I either split or noodle in the 'field' down to a size I can load on the truck. I have hauled home rounds heavy enough that I wondered how I ever got it on the load when unloading.

Here's my first solution to this problem. Note the noodles in the bed of the truck and groove at 5 o'clock on the face of the hanging round.



Then I modified it.

 

[LondonNeil]

Yep, those are the kind I use. My wood grenade went to the scrap pile a few days after I bought it. Never tried the twister but can't see why it would be any better than a straight one. Been splitting wood for over 60 years now.

The twist wedges don't do anything special, but they have a nice thin profile at the start and then thicken up, ensue m that's all.

 

[Marine5068]

Cutting from the top is the slowest and hardest way to cut. Lay it on the side and noodle them, you can go all the way through in the time it takes to cut a quarter ways straight down. I throw a tarp on the grass and catch the noodles, just keep rolling the blocks on the tarp. Good luck.

That's what I do too.
Noodle sides of rounds.
It's way faster, easier and just plain smarter.
You could still line them up first.
Moving any large rounds on the ground by hand sux arse.
I have a Logrite 60" cant hook and use it a lot for large stuff.

 

[babybart]

Dry noodles are the best fire starters also. I will noodle a few logs just for that reason even if the rounds don't require it.

 

[turnkey4099]

I picked up a 5lb straight wedge on the way home today.

An update on that. They popped right apart. The one I saw cut was the easiest because the wedge went right in.

I'm going to put a sharp edge on my wedges, that may help them start. The season is here to do little 'roundtoit' tasks.

 

[alleyyooper]

My spliter bean sets nearly on the ground so I can just lay a few splits to make a ramp to roll rounds up on it.

Problem is getting the huge stuff small enough to put in the trailer across the creek where the splitter is never taken.
So I use a couple of these wedges.

I sharpen them before useing them. start them with a two pound black smith hammer a good inch.

Then give them hell with a sledge.
Those Ash is how I discovered thre Fiskers X 27 I bought was a POS and returned it.

Another tip is to split the wood when it is frozen and never try to do halfs. Take a bit off the sides all around the block too.

Al

 

[VirginiaIron]

My spliter bean sets nearly on the ground so I can just lay a few splits to make a ramp to roll rounds up on it.

Problem is getting the huge stuff small enough to put in the trailer across the creek where the splitter is never taken.....

Al

Unless you aren't permitted to cross the creek I would find a way to winch the splitter over to the other side. I think I have a winner idea here.

[Sound clip below]
http://goo.gl/tcgSA

 

[Mustang71]

My spliter bean sets nearly on the ground so I can just lay a few splits to make a ramp to roll rounds up on it.

Problem is getting the huge stuff small enough to put in the trailer across the creek where the splitter is never taken.
So I use a couple of these wedges.

I sharpen them before useing them. start them with a two pound black smith hammer a good inch.

Then give them hell with a sledge.
Those Ash is how I discovered thre Fiskers X 27 I bought was a POS and returned it.

Another tip is to split the wood when it is frozen and never try to do halfs. Take a bit off the sides all around the block too.

Al

That's the wedge I bought. I was wondering about sharpening it. After the first couple rounds I started hitting the round with my x27 first and making a spot for the wedge. That worked pretty well. A few of them split when I hit them with the x27. I had them all split in less than an hour. The next night I moved and stacked somewhere between 50 and 60 halves. Now they are of manageable size to move and put into the splitter when that day comes.

 

[Mustang71]

I just finished cutting and moving the stump. It was 43 inches one way and 32 the other. That was a big pain. The 051 only has a 25 inch bar. Then I had to noodle some of it and break it into 6 pieces to move it. The wedge was a great investment and learning to noodle helped too.