Favorite set up for a Splitting Axe

A year is best here for green wood but a lot of it depends on the climate. This will be ok to burn this year.
Switched to the round house swing with most pieces. It's busting things apart with a lot less effort because you rely on the speed from wrist action and a lot less grunt. I still add a twist to most hits. The ground is too soft so you need a heavy chopping block. The round house gets the impact needed at the higher elevation.
 
So, summer is your dry time. Here that's our rainy season. But still, you get 80" of rain each year.
East TX. gets about 45" a year and the summer (July & August) was the dry time. I guess similar to your area. DM
 
thunderstick said:
The ground is too soft so you need a heavy chopping block. The round house gets the impact needed at the higher elevation.
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You lose a lot of the force of your swing when you stack 2 rounds. So, I don't do that. I'll have a piece of old plywood or 2"X 12" and roll them onto that. This way I make use of that last 1 1/2' of the swing. DM
 
My preference is about a 12" chopping block but I don't always use it in the woods. From a safety stand point I prefer my swing ending still going down rather than coming back towards me. I also think having a large object to resist the impact, rather than the ground to absorb the impact, aids splitting. However I do often split larger rounds on the ground (as they are not so likely to bust through and come back at you), and certainly if I'm using wedges. If you wind-mill a round house you will get plenty of speed, even on a chopping block. However the windmill roundhouse takes more eye hand coordination for accuracy, but I think the railroad men proved the efficiency and accuracy potential of the round house swing.
 
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I might also add that I definitely prefer an axe eye handle for a round house swing. A round handled maul does not give as much control if you use a slight twist at impact--so for me it's an axe or an axe eye maul for the round house swing.
 
I use a 4lb axe for splitting my hickory rounds. The current axe is a cheap Husky mystery steel job. I am not unhappy with it. It gets the job done. But I am currently looking at 4-5lb Hytest Tasmanian patterns as a vintage replacement. The cost of shipping one to the States is frequently more than the price of the head but I would gladly pay for the right one. Of course, I could be making a mistake about the intended purpose. If any of you has one, how do you feel about its capabilities as a splitter? They look to me like a great option, all expenses aside.
 
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Well, I am sure they are. However, here's the profile of a 5lb:
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Which looks pretty nice for splitting, if a bit flat cheeked. And the wide bit should be good for working larger rounds. That's how my mind is working, but I may be wrong. Maybe I am just looking for an excuse to have one. Probably.
 
I think of them as choppers not splitters but I honestly can't think of a reason why they couldn't do both.

As a chopper I'd set one on a 32" curved haft. As a splitter I'd use a 36" curved haft.
 
This is my thought as well. I've been wanting one for a while now. But I don't really need a chopper, I need a splitter. Well, I don't honestly need a splitter, I really just want another vintage axe to replace a newer one of questionable quality that happens to be a pretty good splitter. These are attractive to me for some reason. The weight is right for the job at 4 to 5 lbs. But they tend to be pricey when you figure shipping from Australia (which is the only place I've found any for sale). I see no obvious reason they would not be fit for the task, but I figured I'd ask here. I appreciate your opinion Square_peg. The suggestions for hafts as well.
 
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I haven't had to yet, but if I did, I would prefer a sledge hammer for that. I don't see myself using wedges for felling any time soon. But I will be getting to some rounds that will be on the order of 3 or 4 feet across. That will wedge and hammer territory for sure. In my ignorance, I have been guilty of the sin of using a hammer on an axe as wedge in the past. In mitigation of that fact, it wasn't a vintage axe. I think I might cry if I were to see it done now.
 
One thing nice about a rafting style axe with a long tapered bit is you can put a couple swings into the round to use as a starter crack for your wedge so it starts out with some purchase. Sometimes a maul doesn't sink deep enough and a wedge is sometimes hard to get started unless you have a starter wedge with a long sharp and shallow taper.
 
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