Cut A Load of Oak

[David Martin]

With snow in our forecast for Saturday, I went out and cut a load of oak. I picked this Emory tree with a dead limb on it's east side to fell. Here I'm cutting the henge. We had a WNW wind to help, coming in on my right side. This half of the tree was a 16" trunk. DM

 

[David Martin]

I stepped back for the felling with some help from the wind. Here she came down. DM

 

[David Martin]

Now we have some of it loaded. I dropped my phone and the pictures are coming out poorly. I carried my Hults today to do the limb work with. DM

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

I stepped back for the felling with some help from the wind. DM
View attachment 1106306

Even a blurry picture is worth thousand words. Thanks for posting!!
I can only imagine what kind of knowledge Bernie could possibly share if he used digital camera

 

[David Martin]

Thanks axe men.
Here's some better photos taken with my wife's phone. Unloading it into the barn. DM

 

[David Martin]

These 24 rounds need some splitting. DM

 

[David Martin]

To split all of them took less than one hour. I'd hit them 2-3 times with the Hults and if they were not in half I got the Council flat head ax. And usually one
hit later they were in half. DM

 

[David Martin]

Here I go to the wood box with them. The wheel-barrow held 21 of them. I had to make another trip to get them all in the box on the porch. DM

 

[David Martin]

Thanks axe men. A nice day and I had a good workout today. We'll stay warm through this coming cold spell. DM

 

[David Martin]

Ok, here it is mostly cut up and ready to load. It's been drizzling today and getting colder. So, I'd like to get this into the barn. I may need to split some logs before loading them. More after lunch. DM

 

[David Martin]

Ok, ax men we got it all split, loaded and ready to head home with it. A good half cord not counting what we hauled home 2 days ago. I'm holding my Craftsman splitting maul. Which saved the day by splitting many of these rounds. DM

 

[David Martin]

This happened to my Council flat head ax while splitting. The haft wasn't damaged from an over strike. Just lots of hard hits on hard oak.
This will be my third haft for this ax this season. The Craftsman splitting maul saved the day by helping me finish splitting the last 10 rounds. I'm real glad I have enough tools in my arsenal to allow me to keep working and finish splitting & get the load home. Thanks to crbnsteel. DM

 

[crbnSteeladdict]

This happened to my Council flat head ax while splitting. The haft wasn't damaged from an over strike. Just lots of hard hits on hard oak.
This will be my third haft for this ax this season. The Craftsman splitting maul saved the day by helping me finish splitting the last 12 rounds. I'm real glad I have enough tools in my arsenal to allow me to keep working and finish splitting & get the load home. Thanks to crbnsteel. DM
View attachment 1109378

Just wow.
This Emory Oak is real axe handle killer.
I just got crazy idea. It could be waste of time but maybe worth to consider; Those interconnected strings of fiber, that are so hard to split might make a good material for a new haft. In such arid environment dead standing Emory Oak won't need a lot of additional curing/drying time to be ready for shaping.
Please, chime in if anybody thinks that using already dead tree for a haft is just stupid idea.

 

[David Martin]

crbnsteel, thanks. The original haft, as new lasted one month (December). I hung the second haft on the first week of January. It lasted
3 1/2 months. I have another spare one on hand and I'll hang it this coming week. These hafts cost me 16$ each and 1-1 1/2 hours labor
to hang. The trip to the hardware store I'll throw it in with a trip to the grocery store. So, I'm not considering that cost. Just my cost to make it through one wood cutting season is about 50$ in hafts. Plus, my time. A chain for my saw will last me 2 or more years. I have bought 2
other hafts this year but those were for a pack ax that I acquired and a splitting maul. So, 5 hafts so far this wood cutting season. Now, you see why I welded a metal handle in my Kelly True Temper double bit. No down time and cost. But I thank you gents for pushing me to
go to wooden hafts because the vibration from the other was noticeable. Still, purchasing hickory hafts sends a vibration to my wallet. DM

 

[Square_peg]

Damn! That wood is tough on hafts. Tough on a man too, I bet.

 

[JSutter]

That is a workout. Congrats on your firewood.

 

[muleman77]

You're working for it, and it looks like you're axes are too!

No way around it, if you use an axe a lot, you'll break some handles
Way to go, getting some tough wood in the shed. Stay warm

 

[tiguy7]

View attachment 1110036 You’re just too strong for the equipment. How about a steel haft and a rubber handle. It might even have guarantee.

 

[David Martin]

Thanks ax men. That's a good axe but not much handle. DM

 

[David Martin]

We are serious about making it through the winter and getting a head start on the next. DM