AIM
Addicted to ArboristSite
Spliting by hand just sucks.
beer and firewood splitting
- Thread starter SPDRMNKY
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AIM
Addicted to ArboristSite
I guess i just can't see the hype about splitting by hand.. God invented hydraulic power for a reason. (It's just better)))
I spose if you need the workout it's cool but if you don't then why the hell think about whackin through a log by hand.
I can get to work by horse but trucks are better.
I can bake a cake over the fire but an oven is better.
I can wash my clothes in the crick but my machine is better.
I can squat in the woods but my toilet is better.
I can drink tea but my beer is better...
I spose if you need the workout it's cool but if you don't then why the hell think about whackin through a log by hand.
I can get to work by horse but trucks are better.
I can bake a cake over the fire but an oven is better.
I can wash my clothes in the crick but my machine is better.
I can squat in the woods but my toilet is better.
I can drink tea but my beer is better...
Well said AIM
("wash my clothes in the crick"...he he he...good one...made me laugh)
I could cut all my rounds with a bow saw, but my chainsaw is better...ha,ha.
I have a good axe, maul and various smaller hatchets, but only use them for kindling, knocking stringy unsplits in half or when I find a few bigguns that need to be sized down.
It is fun to whack a few, but I have a good electric splitter that takes care of almost every round it sees. I just slice up those knotted, hard-to-split rounds with the chainsaw....
sunfish
Fish Head
Tom Clark was the best wood splitter by hand that I ever knew, look him up. But he is the man that turned me on to the Super Split splitters... Helped him split and load a cord with the SS one day and was absolutely sold. Couldn't afford one at the time, but was able to buy one 10 years later.
zogger
Tree Freak
You knew him, way cool! I have just seen his vids, that guy was a machine! He inspired me to try and pull off the match trick!
sunfish
Fish Head
Knew him well, he lived about an hour and a half east of me. Met him through blacksmithing (part of my occupation), he was a master of that also. He had a huge firewood business too...
Chris-PA
Where the Wild Things Are
Well, the things that motivate each of us to heat with wood are not all the same, and so it makes sense that our approaches to the job will not be either. To some swinging an axe would be a chore, but I look forward to it. To others standing next to droning machinery is no big deal, but I would dread it, along with the cost and fuel.
There is still plenty of common ground in the wood heat experience though.
There is still plenty of common ground in the wood heat experience though.
I don't really notice the noise from my splitter... I mean, heck, my saw is louder than it is.
Of course, it does help that my splitter automatically idles-down whenever the ram stops moving.
Standing next to an engine running a continuous 3600 RPM might get a bit bothersome I suppose... especially when it was off-load.
*
Of course, it does help that my splitter automatically idles-down whenever the ram stops moving.
Standing next to an engine running a continuous 3600 RPM might get a bit bothersome I suppose... especially when it was off-load.
*
Highbeam
ArboristSite Guru
I wear ear muffs when sawing and when splitting so the 3600 rpm drone just becomes a background hum. Like when mowing all day long in a tractor at full PTO rpm, that roar of the tractor is white noise.
If I could buy a machine that would automatically stack the wood then I would do that too.
beerbelly
Mouth breather
I want an electric Supersplit soooooooo bad, but I just can't justify the cost. I still know how , and can, swing a maul and an axe.......wait....wife does!.....and as long as it is still works for me as it has for the last 35+ years, it is all I have. Good thing is, now I have beer. When I was 15...I did not (not that Dad knew about anyway!) Exercise is good! My back & shoulders are not anything what they used to be. But I am no longer a teenager either. I'll use what I have 'til it don't work no more. At that point, I'll load up on propane or fuel oil.
Better start buying small amount now and stockpiling it now because when your all worn out and cant do work anymore you wont be able to afford fuel... We're all screwed anyways.
stihly dan
Addicted to ArboristSite
beerbelly
Mouth breather
steved
ArboristSite Guru
Same here...I still try to hand split the easy stuff, but a wrist injury makes it hard.
My solution is similar:
Buck cut the big rounds:
Noodle cut to size:
Quarter noodle cut if necessary:
Load and ship to the splitter:
There is a nice bar about 300 yards from the splitter that serves very cold beer and heats the whole building with my wood.
Buck cut the big rounds:
Noodle cut to size:
Quarter noodle cut if necessary:
Load and ship to the splitter:
There is a nice bar about 300 yards from the splitter that serves very cold beer and heats the whole building with my wood.
spike60
Addicted to ArboristSite
I like to enjoy the best of both worlds. Hand split the straight and easy rounds. Difficult and gnarly stuff gets run through the splitter. Still get the workout, but without the abuse that comes from fighting the stubborn ones.
I was splitting some beech on Sunday, and I couldn't imagine doing that by hand. At one point I even heard the splitter engine grumble, "Is he freaking serious?"
And yes to beer when splitting....IPA please.
I was splitting some beech on Sunday, and I couldn't imagine doing that by hand. At one point I even heard the splitter engine grumble, "Is he freaking serious?"
And yes to beer when splitting....IPA please.
The wood I show above is big elm, and at that stage it was not dry with the bark falling off. I split it two months later when the bark started to drop off. Splitting green elm is a PITA using any splitter (hand or hydraulic).
That was really cold beer after I split it all. The barmaid even knocked the head off the draw.
That was really cold beer after I split it all. The barmaid even knocked the head off the draw.
benp
Addicted to ArboristSite
My solution is similar:
Buck cut the big rounds:
Noodle cut to size:
Quarter noodle cut if necessary:
Load and ship to the splitter:
There is a nice bar about 300 yards from the splitter that serves very cold beer and heats the whole building with my wood.
Yep. That's how I do it.
How does the Makita do oiling the big bar for you?
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