Woe is me, still hand splitting

[El Quachito]

Still hand splitting

I guess I get sticker shock when I shop for splitters. And besides, with my cash flow problems, I don't really need one, right?

So I am still swinging an axe the way I have always done. If it's tougher wood, I noodle it. Using a really nice axe that I have really helps too. 36" inch straight handle. A good chopping block, 16" high with a good, wide base goes wherever I split. This old axe is killer and I don't use the 6lb maul unless I have to.

Youtube is great though. I have viewed Speeco/TSC spliters at work with 4-way heads, or Iron & Oak's compact 16 ton or the mini gas engine 6 ton splitters. Sure would like one.

But I am a good sensible woodsman. I sort of object to pouring gas in that Briggs engine, picking the rounds up etc. etc.

And that's the pickle I am in. Most likely I'll do another season this year with chainsaw and axe.

 

[hamish]

Still hand splitting

I guess I get sticker shock when I shop for splitters. And besides, with my cash flow problems, I don't really need one, right?

So I am still swinging an axe the way I have always done. If it's tougher wood, I noodle it. Using a really nice axe that I have really helps too. 36" inch straight handle. A good chopping block, 16" high with a good, wide base goes wherever I split. This old axe is killer and I don't use the 6lb maul unless I have to.

Youtube is great though. I have viewed Speeco/TSC spliters at work with 4-way heads, or Iron & Oak's compact 16 ton or the mini gas engine 6 ton splitters. Sure would like one.

But I am a good sensible woodsman. I sort of object to pouring gas in that Briggs engine, picking the rounds up etc. etc.

And that's the pickle I am in. Most likely I'll do another season this year with chainsaw and axe.

I have a 24ton splitter with a 4way wedge, yet most of my wood gets split with my Fiskars X27, go figure.

 

[TreePointer]

I went without a motorized log splitter for a long time, but there came a time when my body couldn't keep up with the volume of firewood I was producing. It happens to all of us.

 

[CTYank]

I'd suggest two things to you:

1. Take a rigid disc grinder to the 6 lb maul and slowly grind away the "chubby" cheeks. IOW, flatten the faces as possible. Finish up with a sharp edge, maybe with the help of a flexible disc. Works wonders. BTDT.

2. Use a pulpwood hook or, for longer reach, a hookaroon, to pick & place rounds for splitting.

An axe is not the tool for splitting wood.

 

[turnkey4099]

I'd suggest two things to you:

1. Take a rigid disc grinder to the 6 lb maul and slowly grind away the "chubby" cheeks. IOW, flatten the faces as possible. Finish up with a sharp edge, maybe with the help of a flexible disc. Works wonders. BTDT.

2. Use a pulpwood hook or, for longer reach, a hookaroon, to pick & place rounds for splitting.

An axe is not the tool for splitting wood.

+1

Anyone who relies on just one tool to split wood is handicapping himself.

Minimum artillery is:

Maul
Wedge/sledge

Add hookeroon ASAP
Add ax after that with the X27 leading the pack IMO.

I have the Troybilt splitter. Gets used only for the tough/knotty stuff or when the "to be split" pile gets too big. Spent 3 enjoyable hours today working on my recent harvest. I can't split as much as I can using the hydraulic but it is much nicer, enjoyable work. Nothing more depressing than to run a bunch through it and then be looking at a big pile that needs stacking.

Harry K

 

[woodchuck357]

I split most wood with an ax, by choice

the reworked mauls get used for the harder stuff or if one of them is handy. The wedges get used but seldom and noodle very seldom. It's been over three years since the splitter has been used and that was by my son and one of his friends. I'm lazy when it comes to exercise, so I get mine at the wood pile!

 

[Ironworker]

Roughly half my stuff gets hand split (about 4 cords), nothing like getting up on a cold Saturday morning and swinging a splitting ax for a couple of hours, good form of exercise.

 

[flashhole]

I find myself using my splitter more and more ... and more ... over the axe. I tackle some pretty big rounds with it and have become quite proficient using it. Now that I have a log catcher hanging off the back end of it I'm even more efficient and just split everything regardless of diameter.

 

[Preston]

I was doing the same till I found a used splitter that I bought. It has really been a God send for me. My back don't take the beating it has been and I'm getting so much more done. The only thing I need now is the logging dogs for the larger rounds I can't handle. But then the way the splitter is balanced, the rounds are almost to heavy for the splitter. All I need there is a little support on the tail of the beam.

The splitter has really made a tremendous difference in what I can get done.

 

[BrokenToys]

When my log pile is bigger than my truck; than out comes the log splitter [small yard space so making room is #1 priority]. When the pile is manageable; hand split is the way to go.

 

[rarefish383]

I have two splitters, both just there to scare the wood. A big home built with a 12 horse Kohler electric start, dead pump. The other is an early 60's "Lickity" that I'm restoring just for the technology in the machine. I'd love to get it 100% original and put it on auto cycle, just to scare the folks at OSHA to death. But, that's another story. I have three tools at the woodpile, two axes that I use now, a Fiskars knock off and a no name 4 pound chopping ax. I'm lucky and can "Cherry Pick" my wood. Mostly arrow straight Oak. Anything that won't pop in one of two swing goes in the noodle pile that I clean up at the end of the day. A Homelite 100 CC Super 1050 with a 24 inch 404 bar takes care of making big piles of noodles. But, I turned 57 last week and I am starting to slow down. I think the rebuild kit for that hydro pump is moving up on the priority list, Joe.

 

[jthornton]

I split with a double bit axe

All I've ever used is a double bit axe to split wood since 1968... mauls and sledges are much too heavy for me and wear me out too quick. I'm building a splitter cause I'm getting too old to split everything with the axe and well I want one.

Everyone is different in their needs and abilities...

John

 

[stihl023/5]

I use my splitter 100% of the time, sorry.:bang:

 

[Chris-PA]

Still hand splitting

I guess I get sticker shock when I shop for splitters. And besides, with my cash flow problems, I don't really need one, right?

So I am still swinging an axe the way I have always done. If it's tougher wood, I noodle it. Using a really nice axe that I have really helps too. 36" inch straight handle. A good chopping block, 16" high with a good, wide base goes wherever I split. This old axe is killer and I don't use the 6lb maul unless I have to.

Youtube is great though. I have viewed Speeco/TSC spliters at work with 4-way heads, or Iron & Oak's compact 16 ton or the mini gas engine 6 ton splitters. Sure would like one.

But I am a good sensible woodsman. I sort of object to pouring gas in that Briggs engine, picking the rounds up etc. etc.

And that's the pickle I am in. Most likely I'll do another season this year with chainsaw and axe.

I do the same but have no interest in a powered splitter. An axe is my primary and easily most effective tool - yes I have a maul and several different axes, but I only use the maul when I have to. Mostly it is used to pound wedges. Crotches and twisted bits get noodled so I get pieces I can stack. Or left in the woods.

I truly enjoy swinging an axe.

 

[El Quachito]

I filed my Mexican steel maul head last year to better match the taper of an old maul that has been in my family for years. A very good mod indeed, as posted here already.

I'll swing the axe over the maul all day of I can help it.

 

[snowdingo]

100% hand split here. I only cut wood for myself and I enjoy the exercise. I cut for a bit, split for a bit, and when I'm tired enough I head home for a beer. Works for me.

 

[VW Splitter]

I split about 5 cords/year by hand for 10 years. Decided if I was going to burn wood all my life, I needed a splitter. Built my own, and there is no turning back. Maks life a lot easyer.

 

[grandpatractor]

I have 4 splitters.

One hydraulic and three Fiskars. 95 percent gets done with the fiskars. Me and the foster son split about 25 cord this winter. I have one X27 and two older ones like the x25. He wants an X27 so bad he is going to use his own money to buy one.

 

[stihly dan]

I've split about 40 cord in the last 2 yrs, all by hand. It's not that hard and gets done pretty quick. If I could find a way to split someone Else's wood if he would stack mine, I would be all over that. Its the stacking that sucks.

 

[Jere39]

No Woe here, I prefer the x27. My Dad, at 83, split the price of a splitter with a neighbor and they cut and split together. Every once in a while I stop home to help them out with a particularly big tree, and end up splitting with them. Thanks, but no thanks. I'll stick with my Fiskars as long as I can. Cut and split close to 20 cord this year. 90+% straight grained Red Oak that splits very nicely. I end up with maybe 2-3 crotch pieces per tree that I bring out the wedges and maul for.

And, I admit, I take breaks. I usually cut a tank of fuel. Then split for a while, then load and haul to my staging area. And, when the weather is right, and the sun is warm, and I need a break:

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