Beating wedges vs. Chainsaw splitting - tough rounds???

[Moddoo]

Hello all,
I am still pretty new to the firewood game.
I do have about 15+ cords under my belt though.

I tried a wedge and sledge on some knotty stuff one day, and it sucked and seems dangerous.

My routine has become:
split everything I can with the splitting axe
the rounds that are too tough get thrown aside
then I rip them down the middle with the saw when I'm done, and they can usually be split from that point with the axe.

Any reason some people want to beat the crap out of a wedge?

Granted it doesn't make a mess like the saw does.

 

[habanero]

...I tried a wedge and sledge on some knotty stuff one day, and it sucked and seems dangerous...

I guess danger's a relative term, but I'm not sure I'd say hitting a wedge is more dangerous than running a chainsaw. If I run into something that I can't split with my monster maul, then I don't hesitate to drive wedges. Never seemed all that bad to me (of course swinging the 10 lb sledge doesn't seem like much after the 15 lb monster maul).

Though I do have to say I have at times resorted to chainsaw use, but there's almost nothing I can't get through with my wedges.

 

[Al Smith]

My routine has become:
split everything I can with the splitting axe
the rounds that are too tough get thrown aside
then I rip them down the middle with the saw when I'm done, and they can usually be split from that point with the axe.

Any reason some people want to beat the crap out of a wedge?

Granted it doesn't make a mess like the saw does.

Good plan,I do the same myself.I've got an old Geardrive Mac 650 that will gooble it's way though any thing.Fact of the matter is,I used it last week to tame down some 30" knotty pin oak rounds that had more knots than Carter has little pills,works for me.

 

[computeruser]

Any reason some people want to beat the crap out of a wedge?

Because they only have a 50cc saw...

 

[coppermouse]

I do the same thing on crotches that are too big to move under my hydraulic splitter

 

[PA Plumber]

Because they only have a 50cc saw...

You got that right!!!

I tried a few with my 026. Good thing the vibration kept me awake, or I would have taken a nap on a 25" Red Oak Round. It didn't even have any knots.

With the 441 it is entirely a different story. It is making quick work of the 25" plus White oak rounds I have been working on the last couple of days. There are some pics on this thread...

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=53919

 

[habanero]

Because they only have a 50cc saw...

I own 4 saws in excess of 80 cc's (and the 995 is in excess of 100 cc's IIRC), and still use wedges, thank you very much. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, though...

 

[danlauer6]

When I run across anything that I can't do with the splitting maul I will Cut a slot maybe four inches deep with the saw and then use the wedge to split it.

 

[shawn.m]

why hit a wedge when I can split it with the hydraulic splitter
I will cut the really big ones ( 3 foot across) in half to make them easier to move

 

[Moddoo]

When I run across anything that I can't do with the splitting maul I will Cut a slot maybe four inches deep with the saw and then use the wedge to split it.

The old guy around tha corner from me does the same.


My saw is small and I still don't have trouble ripping rounds when going with the grain. (making noodles) even on 30"+ oak.
-yeah, saws are dangerous too-habanero

Maybe I'm just not a spoiled as some of you with your monster saws.

I guess to each his own.

I use a small 4# axe and can get through most everything with it.
Beating on a wedge with a 10# sledge just doesn't appeal to me.

Some of you guys are probably twice my size.

 

[wood4heat]

I did that earlier this year. Had a piece of Alder with a couple big knots in it that I just couldn't split. Had my saw right there so I figured why not, Afterwords had some funny looking chips and said "These must be what everyone calls noodles!"

 

[wdchuck]

Hydraulic first, then the ugly, gnarly, big stuff gets the saw to keep the shape stable for stacking.
I've used the bar-depth score, then wedges/maul when away from home, but more than a few dozen hits and my joints suffer for days.

It works for me.

 

[Sprig]

As a have-not splitter wise, I tackle big ugly rounds with my old wide wedge, take my time, read the wood, go between the knots, and do not sink it in where I cannot get it out, if that happens you can always turn it upside down then touch it in 'inline' with the saw, usually works fer me. Having an extra wedge of some sort is a bonus imho. Hey, its a bit of work but very statisfying when you don't have to waste gas and it finally pops on ya.
In my 'MS270 does its duties' post there were several logs over 2' that were darned ugly and the old wedge an' sledge managed to quarter them all, its a matter of technique imho.





Serge

 

[Brushwacker]

[QUOTE=
.

I tried a wedge and sledge on some knotty stuff one day, and it sucked and seems dangerous.

I agree + I like running chainsaws. And then the noodles make great animal bedding. I have poultry and an outside dog. The price of wood shavings and straw isn't cheap considering my income. It also makes excellant fire starter and my dad uses it for mulch.

 

[Patrick62]

I do this often

When I am loading a large (for me) tree I will cut the large wheels in half. When it exceeds 24" D then I might quarter them!

Yesterday I was working a green Douglas that is 26" DBH. The bottom 9 feet is still up there, the 1 ton was full. Even the quarter blocks were getting heavy.

I have noodled with the 260, it isn't as fast, but it cuts. The reason that a larger saw is faster is because the chain is more aggressive.

As for splitting, I have done the wedge/sledge thing. It works. However,
My splitter will bust anything I have here, sideways.

-Pat

 

[Freakingstang]

I guess to each his own.

I use a small 4# axe and can get through most everything with it.
Beating on a wedge with a 10# sledge just doesn't appeal to me.

Some of you guys are probably twice my size.

I used to use a 6lber myself.... The big knotty stuff was brutal. I would swing all day long on some of the stuff. I tried a 14lb monster maul from my uncle and found myself not getting tried as quickly. BTW, I'm a buck 40 soaking wet. One hit with the monster, or six with the baby......Give it a shot sometime, and after you swing that monster for a while and get used to it, it is like nothing to swing a 10 lb sledge and drive some wedges.

 

[turnkey4099]

I wedge/sledge almost all mine. Anything with a knot I can't work around goes on a pile for the splitter. Any thing the splitter can't handle goes on a pile for sectioning by saw. This year at end of season I had about a dozen blocks that needed taming with the saw.

In the field I have taken to halving the big ones with the saw. On a warm day, putting 2 wedges into a big block with a sledge is masochism.

Harry K

 

[Haywire Haywood]

I use a 6lb maul to split most of my wood. If I run across something that it won't split, I start to question whether ID'd the tree correctly. I ended up with an elm by accident this summer (dozer pile, no leaves). Once I figured out what it was, it all went in the burn pile. I don't have the time or energy to mess with something that won't pop in a few licks. I have a sledge and wedge where I split, but after getting it stuck a few times and having to chainsaw it out, I figure it's faster to just start with the chainsaw and be done with it. I like running my saw better than swinging a sledge anyway.

Pat, the chain on my big saw (372) is no more aggressive than what's on my 361 or 346, it just has more power to pull it and that results in better chain speed. That is why it rips better.

Ian

 

[logbutcher]

Zen of Wood

There is a Zen to wood that says: if the bastard is not amenable to splitting then leave it. Who has the time to fight crotches, cross grains, forks, just plain tough wood ??? ?
I just want to make my woodpile, drool over it daily, place the butt (mine silly :spam: ) near the stove on a minus zero day, then sip a nice malt, perhaps watch those spandex linebackers pat each other on the butt, maybe even spend quality time with the love, read a book, practice my horn .
Those SOB unsplittables go into the giveaway pile for the fireplace friends. You do fell more trees than you need anyhow....don't you ? Besides, the unsplittables are only a tiny part of the harvest, maybe 1 butt out of 20-30.
Hey, I've got more to do than fight crotches: "you do know how to whistle, don't you.............." :monkey: :monkey:

 

[goof008]

I use an 8# maul and wedges (one diamond shaped and one regular) when I feel like getting exercise and not running the splitter. But I have some nasty ash and elm crotches and knotty pieces to go thru and I'm cutting those...especially because I have both of my wedges buried in two diff crotched pieces and they will need to be cut out...carefully.