' Splittin Blocks '

[x595]

how do you like your 595?

Hi chowdozer ,

It is an AWESOME MACHINE !!! It never runs out of power , I rarely
use 4WD when I plow snow , the HDAP tires are like suction cups to my
blacktop driveway ... I've pulled my 4x8 Trailer full of wood rounds out of my
neighbors woods , with 8" of snow on the ground , Trailer probably weighed
700-1000 lbs. with no problem , but that is with 4WD ...

Later,x595

 

[x595]

Don't use a block for anything but kindling...That last 12-18" is where most of the energy in the maul is at...Nothing better than frozen ground and a 6 lb maul...

Hi outdoorlivin ,

That's how I've been splitting and it works fine , but it just seems a little
more comfortable up about 12" , for me anyway ...

Later,x595

 

[x595]

10" thick, 18" square glu-lam beam, but I only hand split kindling, but it still will last a lot longer than a stump round. It takes the weather well.

Hi KD57 ,

Interesting , I never thought about that , would a lumber yard have a scrap
cut off laying around , do you think ???

Later,x595

 

[x595]

When you get a 30 inch White Oak find the part where two limbs over 6 inches grow out of the trunk. Cut that piece perfectly square on both ends to the desired splitting height (16 inch for me.) Even if it is only 8 inch thick the grain goes too many ways to split.

Hi 4seasons ,

The woods I cut in , which is my neighbors , does'nt have any White Oak ,
it consists of around 40%-Beech , 40%-Tulip , 10%-Red Oak , 10%-Cherry ,
and the woods is surrounded by an Apple orchard , but I'll keep your recipe
in mind for another species of wood ...

Again thanks for everyones replies ...

Later,x595

 

[KD57]

Hi KD57 ,

Interesting , I never thought about that , would a lumber yard have a scrap
cut off laying around , do you think ???

Later,x595

Probably not, I get mine from jobsites that has a piece of drop. You might find them at commercial lumber yard that carries Glu-Lam beams, and does custom cutting to length.

 

[IndyIan]

Don't use a block for anything but kindling...That last 12-18" is where most of the energy in the maul is at...Nothing better than frozen ground and a 6 lb maul...

I do mine on my gravel driveway, dulls the maul a bit but it takes no time to sharpen with the angle grinder once or twice a year.
Plus you get some good sparks hitting wood with a gritty maul. Kinda cool when you are splitting in the evening.

 

[woodbooga]

a 20" or better round, perhaps 16 to 18" tall will sure does seem to last a long time for me.

My stump in is the foreground. Proof that even normally easy-splitting wood makes for a good block. This red maple round does have a bit of a twist in the grain. Not knotty, but it did not want to yield to my maul and is instead the recipient of 2 years worth of whacks. Even with a somewhat soft middle, the thing's still solid.

The little depression in the center is actually a big help when I'm splitting the occasional odd-shaped piece.

 

[outdoorlivin247]

I do mine on my gravel driveway, dulls the maul a bit but it takes no time to sharpen with the angle grinder once or twice a year.
Plus you get some good sparks hitting wood with a gritty maul. Kinda cool when you are splitting in the evening.

If you talk to the old timers, a dull maul is a good maul...A dull maul drives the fibers down in the wood and creates an easier split...Not sure if I agree to the most part, but I have never sharpened a maul and can split w/ the best of them...

 

[Grubs]

If you talk to the old timers, a dull maul is a good maul...A dull maul drives the fibers down in the wood and creates an easier split...Not sure if I agree to the most part, but I have never sharpened a maul and can split w/ the best of them...

I've often wondered about this. My mauls have never been sharpened either and I've always thought the blunt leading edge adds to the explosive nature of the splitting process. To my mind a sharp leading edge will get the maul stuck in the end grain more often.

...but I will admit I havn't done the side-by-side comparison.

I'm splitting good Aussie hardwood (Eucalyptus) and most of the time a single hit has the split pieces flying (I really must get a tyre!).

 

[Henry G.]

I work for an electric utility and every now and then a fire wipes out our lines and the trees adjacent next them. About 5 years ago, a fire took out a bunch of red oak here and the crews brought in all the trees the they had cleared from our lines. I got a couple cords of sweet oak, and picked a round, about 16" across and 2' tall to keep as a splitting block, and split and burned the rest. To this day, I cannot make a 4lb ax I use to split kindling stick in the top of that round. It just bounces off. Like concrete. The hardest piece of wood I have ever seen. It must have a thousand little notches in it from that ax, and none are deeper than an 1/8 inch. Wow.

 

[woodbooga]

I've often wondered about this. My mauls have never been sharpened either and I've always thought the blunt leading edge adds to the explosive nature of the splitting process. To my mind a sharp leading edge will get the maul stuck in the end grain more often.

This has been my experience. The lone exception being the maul in the pic I posted above. Got it at a yard sale for a few bucks last spring. The edge had 'mushroomed' a bit under the use of the prior owner and was unable to split at all. A few minutes with a flat file fixed that. Haven't done a touch up since and doubt one wll be in order for a long time if at all.

 

[x595]

If you talk to the old timers, a dull maul is a good maul...A dull maul drives the fibers down in the wood and creates an easier split...Not sure if I agree to the most part, but I have never sharpened a maul and can split w/ the best of them...

I agree , I have never sharpened my maul either and when you look at the
edge it never changes , just gets shinier ...

Later,x595