Need some wedge wisdom

[preventec47]

Seems like whatever they make tool handles with would work well.
Wouldnt that be Ash and Hickory ?

 

[pdqdl]

Read a little closer, we're talking about the life of a wedge. Send a few blocks of bristlecone to NW Florida and I'll whittle some wedges out of it see how it holds up.

I think the word of preference might have been "outlast" rather than "outlive". I think you may have misunderstood my point, which was that you were making a generic statement that might be shown to be misleading or incorrect.
There are a lot of different pine species. So far as I know, there is only one live oak. I cannot tell you how all the myriad pine tree species do with respect to making wood wedges. Sorry 'bout that. I damn sure don't have any bristlecone in my area, either.

And... I was following this thread before you were; just sayin'.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

After reading all these posts I’ve gotten interested in making some wood wedges. Why do you say wedges can only be made out of limbs?

Because wedges can only be made out of limbs. Then I must consider from where. Different places grown different trees. The limbs here are dense and tough. You could try some different types of wood and let us know what works well. Thanks

 

[Limbrat]

Seems like whatever they make tool handles with would work well.
Wouldnt that be Ash and Hickory ?

Any hard wood will work but straight grained woods will split and break a lot faster than live oak which is gnarly, twisted and hard.

 

[Limbrat]

Because wedges can only be made out of limbs.

Not sure why you say that Ted. Limb wood is nearly always softer and weaker than heart wood. I never make them out of limbs.

 

[Kodiak Kid]

Just do your self a favor and buy some good quality plastic wedges! We don't live in the stone age anymore and felling wedges don't cost much and won't brake your bank. Check them out! Felling wedges have come a long way in the past 100 years and are made of tough plastic's like hard Poly's and hard Nylon for a reason! If wood or metal wedges worked that good? Professional cutter's would Stihl be using them! Double Taper or K&H are top line professional Felling wedges. Double Taper make both smoth for warmer weather and textured for frozen wood. Textured wedges won't s**t out as easily as smooth wedges in harder frozen timber. K&H are slightly textured, drive easy, and work well in both summer and winter. Try Madsen's or Bailey's. They both have a website and a wide selection of affordable good quality wedges. You can order online or over the phone. A good cutter uses good equipment in my opinion!

Cut safe, stay sharp, and be aware!

 

[pdqdl]

I suspect that the guys that are making their own wedges are doing so because they keep losing or destroying the ones that cost money. So it makes sense to make them out of the best wood when you happen to be working on the right kind of tree.

The only wedges I ever make are when I need one and forgot to bring it with the other tools. The bulk of my tree work never needs a wedge, so I often forget to bring them.

Now I've been known to make my own chock blocks and boards for the beaver-tail on my trailer out of oak. Faster & cheaper than buying, and better quality too.

 

[rwoods]

I have been thinking of making a couple flat aluminum stacking plates - say 3/8 to 3/4 inches thick with ridges for grip - to see if they work better in those situations where double stacked wedges tend to bounce out.

Those who have tried this, please chime in with your experience. I don’t want to needlessly chop up my aluminum stock.

Thanks,
Ron

 

[Pioneer]

Made my own wedges out of Ash, normal taper and size. In the future I'll have slight increase in taper but double thickness or even triple thickness wedges as well. As the thin wedges are driven in, it opens it up enough for the thicker wedges. With close to a standard taper there's no problem of them spitting back out.
Had a back leaner towards a house and my regular wedges weren't quite thick enough to get the lean forward I wanted. Had to use my thick steel splitting wedge after I got the cut deep enough where I could just wedge it over. Wooden wedges would have allowed me to leave the saw in the cut until the last second.

 

[tree MDS]

Omg,, you people are way over complicating this wedge thing!! They have there positives and negatives. The wedges get so far, then you’re out of wedge and wish you had a rope in it too (sometimes). I would say both is the cats ass, hands down (if the situation requires ultimate safety).