Hickory

[Rburg44]

Ok so whats the trick to splitting hickory...? I have a huskee 28 ton splitter and it "breaks" it up but is sooo stringy it doesnt really split... What do u guys do to get it to firewood? I see it btu is pretty nice but starting to think its not worth the headache!

 

[Sagetown]

Hmm! Down here in Oklahoma we don't have that problem unless it's knotty. You sure it's not Elm you're working?

 

[Jere39]

Here in PA hickory is just about the stringiest I get. It's not so much splitting, as tearing the wood apart. Fortunately, my Hickory trees are very healthy, so I can cut dead Red Oak all winter and run into maybe one hickory. I usually pile it in rounds till one of two things:

Very, very cold day when the blocks are frozen.
Sob story buyer looking for a discount, I sell it unsplit.

 

[Sagetown]

Here in PA hickory is just about the stringiest I get. It's not so much splitting, as tearing the wood apart. Fortunately, my Hickory trees are very healthy, so I can cut dead Red Oak all winter and run into maybe one hickory. I usually pile it in rounds till one of two things:

Very, very cold day when the blocks are frozen.
Sob story buyer looking for a discount, I sell it unsplit.

Doesn't sound like it'd be fun to split at all. Now, what we call Red Oak is a real blast. Makes a weakling look like a HE-MAN poping rounds in to like a machine.

 

[Greg Perryman]

Knotty is my problem here in Mo. as well.

 

[Hedgerow]

Knotty is my problem here in Mo. as well.

Nice to see another SW MO member here..

 

[Hedgerow]

Ok so whats the trick to splitting hickory...? I have a huskee 28 ton splitter and it "breaks" it up but is sooo stringy it doesnt really split... What do u guys do to get it to firewood? I see it btu is pretty nice but starting to think its not worth the headache!

On your Hickory, you may notice 2 distinct colors on the ends yes?
If you try to split the sap wood away from the heartwood, you may find it separates easier...
Try not to hit both at the same time with the wedge of the splitter...
But if it's a twisted grain, you'll just have to carry on as before..
It is a very good burning wood when seasoned though.. I have very few here, but wish I had more..

 

[Woody912]

On your Hickory, you may notice 2 distinct colors on the ends yes?
If you try to split the sap wood away from the heartwood, you may find it separates easier...
Try not to hit both at the same time with the wedge of the splitter...
But if it's a twisted grain, you'll just have to carry on as before..
It is a very good burning wood when seasoned though.. I have very few here, but wish I had more..

What he said, take slabs parallel to the growth rings as much as possible and then bust the middle

 

[jerrycmorrow]

the hickory i took down was about 30" dbh. the only problem i had splitting with my fiskars and 10# maul was the first split down the middle. had to use my wedge and back of the maul to do that. after that, mostly easy. worked from the edges to the middle; pealing pieces off and then moving in. problems with crotches and knots but that's the same with oak. a 10# maul swung with intent will cut them strings. course its gotta be sharp.

 

[Zeus103363]

the two hickorys i deal with is Bitternut and shagbark. both are wonderful for firewood. It is abundant in Louisiana. My experience splitting with a hydro splitter is usually pretty easy unless its knotty. I usually keep a lot handy for smoking a brisket on my smoker. Just thinking about it, July 4th is coming up so its probably time to get some ready.


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[WoodTick007]

Very, very cold day when the blocks are frozen.
Sob story buyer looking for a discount, I sell it unsplit.

I know right?. I split some large green elm rounds one day when the temp was minus 17. They split soo nice. . . just bump them on the wedge and the just cracked apart.

 

[blades]

Long thin wedge vs fat short bust apart quick type. Thin wedge slices through vs trying to explode the piece in a few of inches of penetration. Same for Elm.

 

[Ron660]

the two hickorys i deal with is Bitternut and shagbark. both are wonderful for firewood. It is abundant in Louisiana. My experience splitting with a hydro splitter is usually pretty easy unless its knotty. I usually keep a lot handy for smoking a brisket on my smoker. Just thinking about it, July 4th is coming up so its probably time to get some ready.


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A lot of mockernut hickorys in my part of Louisiana. You can hear a squirrel a mile off cutting on "hicker nuts". You're right, great for smoking meat.

 

[Zeus103363]

A lot of mockernut hickorys in my part of Louisiana. You can hear a squirrel a mile off cutting on "hicker nuts". You're right, great for smoking meat.

I have kept my eye out regularly looking for one of those Mockernut hickorys. Never seen one though.


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[Zeus103363]

talking about hickory has me ready for some slow roasted brisket!

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[woodchuck357]

Often hickory splits different when it is split with the rounds setting the way they grew rather than upside down.

 

[haveawoody]

A cold night just below freezing will help quite a bit.
Waiting until the hickory has dried for a month in round format will also make it much easier.

I usually choose waiting 1 month then split, a very sharp wedge makes the knots less of a problem if you have yourself knot/hickory.
As woodchuck said splitting as the grain grows makes another impact on splitting.

Then you can always try splitting on the round for very tough to split rounds.
Just split the edge instead of across the center and keep splitting the edge on the round.

 

[brewmonster]

Hickory can be a bit stringy, but, are you seriously saying it's too hard to split with your 28 ton hydraulic splitter? Maybe wood heat is just not for you.

 

[sb47]

In my experience hickory and pecan both split very similar with hickory being the hardest of the two They both smell the same when splitting.
Both tear as much as it splits. Though both differ from tree to tree. Some just seems to split better then others.
Depending on the size of the rounds, I like to bust it right down the middle on the first pass and then work from the outside in.

It does bring a premium price for coking wood in areas that don't have it readily available.

 

[blacklocst]

If the wedge is on the foot you could just put another piece and push it through, not so much when the wedge is on the cylinder end as with splitters with this set up.