dumb question about splitting wood

[andrew7978]

When I see people typically splitting wood, they stand it vertically. Each end is usually cut with a saw which makes the end stand evenly.

Now say, you buck a large tree so each log is sort of pointed on the end, in which case it won't stand vertically well. What is the best way to split this. I suppose you could lie it horizontally and hit it with an axe along the grain but this doesn't seem that effective.

 

[stingray4540]

I dont have any experience with that, but the first thing that comes to mind is dishing out the ground, so it stands up...

Be interesting to hear what everyone suggests.

Great question!!!

 

[siguy]

andrew, when i was first getting into woodcraft more heavily about two years ago, and got my first axe, all of my wood was axe cut on the ends.

i simply did as you said, and laid them down on their sides on the block, and swung hard and fast into the sides. then i would lift the axe and wood together, and bring them back down on the stump until the log blew apart.

it is rather wasteful of energy, but works if you have nothing better.

another option is to simply lay the wood down on the ground with a stick under it, to angle it up slightly. stand with it between your legs (legs spread far apart) and swing your axe down from the waist into the end of the wood. intertia causes the wood to stay still and the axe to move through the wood, splitting it. if you want, you can butt the wood up against a log or something similar, to keep it from moving.

 

[locomike]

If you have a bunch of it that is cut at an angle, find a big piece to use as a chopping block and dish out the ground under it so it stands up straight. Since the chopping block will have a beveled top and the pieces to be split have beveled ends, just rotate the pieces to be split on the chopping block until they stand up straight.

My father in law has an old (and I mean OLD) Homelite XL that, by the end of the day, cuts logs at about a 20 degree angle. I need to buy him a new bar for Christmas...

 

[SkunkWerX]

Stand it up and/or lean it against something, like a tree, stump or even boulder.

Then split away.
I have split wood that is lying down, and log for log, it takes much more energy than one that is standing upright.

A problem you could run into, may be the angle of the end grain, and your axe or maul may want to deflect off of it, rather than bite into the grain.
That is something to be mindful of, from a safety perspective.

 

[Salamander42]

In the handful of times that I've split logs that weren't nice and flat on the ends, I just leaned them up against another log. A heavy forked branch or small log works really well for this.