Best Way to Split This...?

[Gareth83]

I have some freshly cut oak similar in size to the following:

As it is freshly cut my Fiskars Axe wont even touch it. What is the best way to cut and split this size timber?

Saw it down into say 10" discs?

 

[Sandhill Crane]

One option is to stand it on end and cut the depth of the bar to start wedges. This generally keeps them, the wedges, from jumping back out. Once halved they should split a bit easier.

 

[TMFARM 2009]

let it dry a bit then split it with fiskars...

 

[offroadaudio]

Don't go right for the center - try whacking a few slabs off of the sides first.
Then wok inward - it's easier this way.

 

[8433jeff]

Nice wood. Thats what splitters are for, but I agree with both guys above. Start the wedge with the saw, split from the outside, or stack and split later.

 

[Hedgerow]

Don't go right for the center - try whacking a few slabs off of the sides first.
Then wok inward - it's easier this way.

+1 on above... Knock some slabs off the edges... But what I don't understand is why oak of maybe 14" -16" diameter would be so difficult to split? Is it knotty or knarly? I'm gonna start questioning the usefulness of that fiskars if someone don't clarify...:msp_sneaky:

 

[Gareth83]

Actually I only quickly found the photo in a recent thread. The oak is more like 24"+

I haven't got time to store, I need to split now and stack ready for next December.

Would it be a good idea if I just split in half to leave 2 semi circles then split that?

 

[banshee67]

screw wedges and all that hard work... just noodle them in half

in the time it would take to rip cut a few inches down, and start driving wedges witrh a sledge, youd already have it noodled in half

 

[Hedgerow]

Actually I only quickly found the photo in a recent thread. The oak is more like 24"+

I haven't got time to store, I need to split now and stack ready for next December.

Would it be a good idea if I just split in half to leave 2 semi circles then split that?

You mean noodle them? Then start knocking corners off? Yes!!! I never understood wedges either... Not sayin' I never used them, just sayin' I never liked them.

 

[banshee67]

I never understood wedges either... Not sayin' I never used them, just sayin' I never liked them.

i dont understand them either.. a saw can do the job so much faster
i think a lot of people get noodling confused with ripping though, that might be one of the reasons

 

[Gareth83]

can you clarify noodling and ripping? thanks

 

[Hedgerow]

can you clarify noodling and ripping? thanks

Tip the round up on it's bark side... Start cutting with the grain."opposite of what you did to cut the round off the log" You'll see how much faster it cuts! When you're done, you should have 2 halves of a pie...

 

[TreePointer]

The Official "Noodles" Pic and Vid Thread

 

[banshee67]

The Official "Noodles" Pic and Vid Thread

nice find!:msp_thumbup:

 

[TreePointer]

Thanks. I got tired of explaining noodling, so I put it in my signature.

It's an easy find for me now.

 

[Wife'nHubby]

Bag up the noodles. They make great firestarters.

Shari

 

[Hedgerow]

Thanks. I got tired of explaining noodling, so I put it in my signature.

It's an easy find for me now.

Thanks for doing that. I remembered "someone" putting it in their sig. But my dumbass couldn't remember who...:bang:

 

[artbaldoni]

I split fresh cut oak up to 30" all day with my 4 1/2# tru temper maul and the monster maul. I have maybe 3-4 crotch pieces put back to noodle or use a hyd splitter on. I have found if you find a piece you can't split at the end of the day, try it first next time you're out and it will usually pop. Probably has more to do with my age than with the extra day or two drying.:msp_laugh:

 

[mattellis2]

i skimmed the first few pages of the noodle thread, but didn't see it addressed specifically. what kind of chain for noodling the big rounds in half are you guys using? is a standard full chisel chain OK, or are you using some kind of modified/rip chain?

-matt

 

[TreePointer]

Use your regular firewood cutting chain for noodling. I use whatever chain is on my saw at the time, but I prefer to noodle with the biggest saw I have that runs a bar longer than the log. It's not necessary to do that, but it makes things easier.

If you are milling wood with your chainsaw, then you'll want a different/modified chain. See the Milling & Saw Mills forum.