beer and firewood splitting

[Dirtboy]

Split by hand for a couple years, than got a visit from Mr. Arthur Ritis in both my shoulders and elbows. Hydraulic ever since, can follow me into the woods and split rounds on location. One thing I have noticed-50 pounds weighed a lot less when I was in my 20's.

 

[Joesell]

Split this pile in a couple hours. Then me and my buddy sat and drank beers the rest of the afternoon.

I also have a maul I used exactly 1 swing. Then I threw it in the pile of tools that don't get used.

 

[idahohay]

I like to have a few drinks before splitting wood or operating any machinery. That way the occasional log on the toe or pinched fingers doesn't hurt as much.

 

[troylee]

FYI, none of you are safe with me swinging an AX.....I can't drive a nail with a hammer, let alone come close to hitting a log with an AX.

 

[Zale]

I climb all day so the last thing I want to do is split wood by hand. Just bought the DHT 22ton and love it. No beer in five years but I will have a cup of black coffee.

 

[Poindexter]

I do about seven cords per year. I do have two mauls and several wedges to go with my sledgehammer, but the vast majority of mine gets done with my electric splitter.

I try to get all of next year's wood onto the landing as rounds before the snow flies, and then split and stack out in the cold and the snow. At 20 below and warmer I can stay busy, but I leave the straight ones aside. Long about January when it hits 40 below I'll take a maul to the straight ones, they fall right open.

That's about all the maul swinging my rotator cuffs can take, maybe one cord a year.

Running the splitter takes both hands, but once I get around to stacking later in the evenings after the splitter is put away I notice my beer stays plenty cold if I push the bottle down into a snowbank.

 

[CTYank]

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.View attachment 369366 View attachment 369367

Sorry, Clint, but a 12 lb maul is way beyond optimum for me. Eight lb less so, but still not getting it done.

What splits best for me is a 5.5 lb Wetterlings for the smaller & 6.5 lb Mueller for the bigger. Dolmar 6100 flies through forks. What with recent hurricanes, storms and projects, I've been keeping them shiny on 5+ cords of hard stuff per year.

A safety problem for me with 8 lb mauls and heavier is keeping it under control if it gets deflected through/past the wood at speed, going for leg.

Brew definitely for later.

 

[benp]

Fiskars or noodled.

This was from today. Thats an X27 for reference.

I cannot justify the $$$$ on a splitter.

If things got bad enough, there's a guy down the road with a Hahn Firewood processor that cut's 28' lengths and charges 55 an hour. That's a heck of a lot of wood cut and split for the price of a low end splitter.

I will never use anything else for hand splitting except the Fiskars. There is ZERO shock transmission to you due to the handle design.

A couple years ago I used a yellow fiberglass handled maul. That thing beat the crap out of me and had my hand/wrists/forearms destroyed the next day.

 

[troylee]

No way I could hit a log that size, let alone hit it and split it.

 

[mainewoods]

The 12# maul definitely is not optimum for me either CTY. If I can't split a piece with the axe, I swing the maul one time at it. If that doesn't split it I roll it into the woods. It is a very old maul head and has sentimental meaning to me. You are right though, that 6.5# Mueller is a sweet splitting maul.

 

[stihly dan]

I split 99% of mine with the pa 80. I have an electric splitter and a hydro, don't use the electric and only use the hydro on tuff stuff like elm. Most of my wood is oak so I like busting those frozen rounds, and the snow keeps the beer nice and cold. Also I like to split around Xmas when I need to SMASH stuff.

 

[mainewoods]

Am I the only one who gets it?

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.

Round is a shape!

 

[bert the turtle]

I'm in a bit of a quandary. I really like to split with maul, fiskars, wedge/sledge- I enjoy the exercise. I don't even mind hand splitting gum provided I let it sit till it is very well checked. But now I've got a bunch of elms I want to take down and they make the sweet gum look like straight grained pine.

I don't want to buy a splitter- I don't need the temptation, and besides, I don't have enough ongoing need for one to keep the engine healthy. I'm thinking about renting, but for the price of a few days I could probably craiglist a working used splitter. Not sure what I'm going to do, but I don't want to waste the elm and I really don't want to split the elms by hand.

 

[benp]

I'm in a bit of a quandary. I really like to split with maul, fiskars, wedge/sledge- I enjoy the exercise. I don't even mind hand splitting gum provided I let it sit till it is very well checked. But now I've got a bunch of elms I want to take down and they make the sweet gum look like straight grained pine.

I don't want to buy a splitter- I don't need the temptation, and besides, I don't have enough ongoing need for one to keep the engine healthy. I'm thinking about renting, but for the price of a few days I could probably craiglist a working used splitter. Not sure what I'm going to do, but I don't want to waste the elm and I really don't want to split the elms by hand.

Bert,

Any way you could rent a splitter for a day or two, get some friends together, and just bang it out? Or do you know someone with a splitter that would lend it to you for a bit?

 

[mainewoods]

Up here you can rent a splitter for $50 a day. If you have the rounds all ready, you can split a lot of wood in a day. You could easily do a years worth of wood, in most cases, by renting two times a year. At that rate I can rent a splitter, twice a year,for 15 years, for the price I would pay for a new one. Just something to think about.

 

[greendohn]

Most times the wood is brought home, the truck backed up to the woodshed where the splitter is waiting.
Start the splitter, pop a cold frostie while the splitter warms up, 'cause the splitter has to warm up no matter the temps outside..swill cold frostie while taking the saws into garage, pop another cold frostie if the 1st one was a delicious, which of course it was,,,, slurp 2nd cold frostie while admiring the truck load of firewood and maybe split some wood before the evening is done..or pop another top, and split wood in the morning,,
Anvil on a stick?? Yea, I've got one,,swung it and others growing up,,the hydraulics have more appeal to me these days..

 

[MechanicMatt]

Im 33, since third grade fire wood splitting has been my job. Third grade might seem a little young but my father got deathly ill and for a while it was me or be cold, MustangMike, my uncle would come with my other uncle Nicky and help on the weekends. But it was my chore to keep the house warm. Strong arm is the way to go. My Pops has since mostly recovered and I was able to convince him and Uncle MustangMike to convert from monster maul to Fiskars. Were a strong arm family, but that being said, this fall I am going to buy a hydro, just because Me and a BIL are burning some big amounts of wood and well I know Im young, but I aint gettin any younger and work smarter not harder right???? OH and everybody that knows me knows COORS LIGHT is my beer of choice

 

[bert the turtle]

If I can get a rental cheap enough, I could bang out a bunch with my son. Not a bad idea.

 

[CWME]

Too fat and lazy to split anything but straight grained red oak by hand. Got muscles that I haven't used in years and try to keep it that way.

Beverage of choice is iced tea. Beer is too expensive and cuts into my tool budget. If I am going to work smarter I need the right tools for the job. Can't get the tools if I am drinking the $ away.

 

[zogger]

Im 33, since third grade fire wood splitting has been my job. Third grade might seem a little young but my father got deathly ill and for a while it was me or be cold, MustangMike, my uncle would come with my other uncle Nicky and help on the weekends. But it was my chore to keep the house warm. Strong arm is the way to go. My Pops has since mostly recovered and I was able to convince him and Uncle MustangMike to convert from monster maul to Fiskars. Were a strong arm family, but that being said, this fall I am going to buy a hydro, just because Me and a BIL are burning some big amounts of wood and well I know Im young, but I aint gettin any younger and work smarter not harder right???? OH and everybody that knows me knows COORS LIGHT is my beer of choice

Ya, plus, one day whenever, you get old and out splitting by hand and OUCH! Hmm, what was that..another swing OUCH AGAIN!.. I think it sneaks up on ya, like carpal tunnel or something.