live oak??
- Thread starter ben2bue
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As long as its Dead and dry when you go to burn it.
Yes live oak is great firewood, if your man enough to split it.lol
c5rulz
Addicted to ArboristSite
Are you serious? Oak is one of the easier things I split. It's a ton easier than hickory.
memory
ArboristSite Guru
I normally like to split oak by hand, especially the bigger rounds. Oak usually splits fairly easy compared to some other stuff.
zogger
Tree Freak
I have never done one, they are extreme southern and coastal trees, so couldn't comment on how hard or easy to split.
link, check out the range map
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_live_oak
memory
ArboristSite Guru
Normally, on the oak I deal with, I am able to split it in half with my Fiskars with a couple of hits as long as the round does not have any knots.
zogger
Tree Freak
Most of the oak I get is like that as well, but I have never tried one of these other ones.
What do you split with? I have had the opposite experience. Hickory is harder to come by here (oak, especially red is plentiful) but I split up some rounds of hickory this week that where 22-28" and thought it was pretty easy to split.
memory
ArboristSite Guru
In my experience, oak is far easier to split than hickory. I am not saying hickory is impossible to split, it is just more stringy.
Kfd518
ArboristSite Operative
Quercus virginiana is severely interlocked. Some is only made usable by means of noodling. Here are some pics of live and texas red oak photo number one is live oak note the interlock photo number 2 is live oak and red oak note the straight grain of the redoak
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We have lots of oak down here of all species. Most split pretty well but live oak is another story. Red oak, post oak, bur oak, saw tooth oak, holly oak, white oak and live oak are common where I live and I have split them all.
I am often asked if I want free live oak and I always pass.
The grain of the live oak is like a weave, it wants to tear more then split.
It does burn very hot and a long time if you manage to split it.
I can put a 30” piece of post oak in my 22 ton splitter and it splits no problem. Put a 10” piece of live oak in there and the splitter comes to a sudden stop.
I am often asked if I want free live oak and I always pass.
The grain of the live oak is like a weave, it wants to tear more then split.
It does burn very hot and a long time if you manage to split it.
I can put a 30” piece of post oak in my 22 ton splitter and it splits no problem. Put a 10” piece of live oak in there and the splitter comes to a sudden stop.
zogger
Tree Freak
Those pics tell the tale, that live oak looks maximum gnarly to split
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
Oaks vary in grain structure, live oak the most difficult to split--red oak the easiest. Some black jack oak and some post oak can also be hard to split when the next tree of the same variety just pops apart. Also, some trees split easier with the rounds setting like they grew others split easier with the root ends up.
Some oak and some hickory seem to me to be easier to split with a maul than with hydro. The more complex the grain structure is the faster a maul works compared to a splitter.
Some oak and some hickory seem to me to be easier to split with a maul than with hydro. The more complex the grain structure is the faster a maul works compared to a splitter.
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Uncle John
Addicted to ArboristSite
I don't think some realize Live Oak is a sepa
rate species
rate species
HuskStihl
Chairin'em for the sound
Live oak when fresh is nearly impossible to split by hand. It is almost guaranteed to get you noodling. Totally different than the red, pin, and water oak on my property
HuskStihl
Chairin'em for the sound
Oh, and BTW, it burns amazingly well. Super slow, great coals and minimal ash
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Kfd518
ArboristSite Operative
The live oak I have here at my place is all hand sit with maul and wedges, have split with splitter for other people and stalled 33 ton splitters in it on 8-10" rounds green and some dry with cracks running one end to the other. Some splits like a dream most will kick scream claw and bite every bit of the way though.
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