Splitting advice

[cre10]

I have a hydraulic splitter and I've used an old maul splitter for years. Just this past week I though everyone was full of #### talking about the Fiskars so I bought one. Holy cow, that thing is in fact amazing.

 

[Whitespider]

Axes should be the workhorse of someone's splitting tools because they can handle most wood, with the least wear and tear on your body, and the least fatigue so you can split safely longer.

For larger pieces you may need to "slab" off the sides first, taking bites around the perimeter before you're able to split the center in half.

I could not disagree more with those two statements.
It probably makes a difference on the type of wood, but…

I split a lot of Bur Oak, and it doesn’t split easy. The Fiskars “can” split a larger round in half with two, three, four, or even more swings… but I’d rather swing 8-pounds once than 4-pounds twice any day. It takes more energy to pick up and swing 4-pounds twice than it does to pick up and swing 8-pounds once. With the proper technique, even rounds approaching 30-inches will split wide open with a well swung 8-pound maul (sometimes two swings).

“Slabbing” off the sides of a large round just flat requires more swings, and more bending over to reposition “slabs”… not to mention the wasted “test” swings, “Oops, that didn’t split… guess I need to do some more slabbing.” I can halve a large round with one swing from a 8-pound maul, or quarter it with three, and then make a handful of swings with the lighter splitting axe… done!

 

[rmount]

What is the best way to hand split firewood?

Hire a young lad :hmm3grin2orange:

But if you are going to do it yourself, slow and steady while paying attention to the wood you're about to split is more productive than just whacking away at whatever's in front of you. If you look at the block you can often see where it wants to split, maybe a crack already there or an area of wider grain between areas of tighter grain. If you can't see where it wants to split you can often figure out where it doesn't want to split, big knot on the side or curly grain on the end are going to be hard to get through. You change what you do according to the size of the round and the species. On a 6" or so round, split in half; 9", take a third off one side and split the rest in two; 12" split in half then split each half to get four; 16" split in half then each of those into 3 to make six pieces; 20", split a slab off each side then split those 4 in half and the square block left from the centre can be split into 2 or 3 pieces; 24" slab off each side, corners off the square centre block; over 24" much the same, just keep whittling away from the outside in. Of course, that's all in a perfect world - I don't think i've ever got through a whole stem following those instructions.

Take your time, work WITH the wood, no need to prove you're superman by trying to split a 16" round of rock elm through the middle - but a 30" round of straight grained white birch on a cold February morn, go ahead and impress the ladies by splitting it in half with one swing (they'll never know they could have done it too!).

 

[trailmaker]

My preferred system is a stump with a tire on top, for the aforementioned reasons. I have lots of splitting axes and mauls ranging from 2.25lbs up to about 12lbs. If I'm splitting "easy wood" I use the lighter axes (no sense in swinging more weight than necessary). A guy could probably have all his bases covered with a 4 pound splitting axe, a six or eight pound maul, and a few wedges. Always wear eye protection, and hearing protection if you're pounding wedges. Steel toe boots are a good idea too.