I need tips on hand splitting large ammounts of wood

B

benchmadebob

Joined
May 12, 2008
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Im getting a 1-2 quards of wood and it all has to be split so what and some tips and tricks i have wedges a slitting axe and a axe.

So what do you do when you have to split a lot of wood by hand and i dont have to the option for a splitter.
 
I find the largest firewood round i can find , thats the chopping block. Then i get out there and use the spitting maul and chop chop chop chop away! I like a mix of large chuinks and small chunks.
 
i have found that the maul is actually faster than a hydrolic type splitter if your rounds are decent sized, or even for smaller ones. some rounds are just way too big to even pick up onto the splitter, so the maul is the only way to go.

my suggest to split it quickly with a minimum of bending over is to do one of two things:
1. get a block like bushman says, and set up wheelbarrows on each side (right and left). split wood on the block. when it splits in half, the wood will fall into the wheelbarrows, so it doesn't have to be picked up later.
2. line up a whole bunch of rounds in your yard, and just walk down the line swinging hard into each one. reline them up and keep doing this until they are the right size. this makes it very quick and you don't have to bend over and pick up each block to put it on your chopping block.
 
I go with siguys ideas. Catching the falling pieces is half the battle. The less bending over the better.
I also like to pick up the next piece by swinging the axe into the top edge of the next log to be split and tossing up on the chopping block.
Also the chop swing hitting the edge of the log works much better than sinking the ax/maul right into the center of it.
Pick a cold day and go to town with an ax
Good Luck.
 
scarysharp, that's something i forgot to mention. especially with larger rounds, it helps to make several light chops all in a line across the top of the round before driving the maul. this will allow the wood to open up more easily. sort of like tearing a piece of paper where its been folded.

get in a full breath in between each swing to make sure you aren't moving too fast. with a couple cord of wood, you will probably be at it for a little while. you don't want to tire yourself out.
 
Aim for the outside of the piece of wood, especially with the larger pieces. If you hit dead center it is a lot easier to get your axe or maul stuck in the wood, but when you just split down one side it's a lot easier to get your axe back out of the wood (aim for the side closest to you to avoid impacting the handle)
 
The colder the outside temp. the better. The best time to split wood is just after a major dispute with the old lady, the more heated the argument the easier those rounds break apart. Just sayin from many years of experience.
 
SAFETY FIRST!
Man, that's a lot of stuff to cover but Mors Kochanski covers this very well in his book Bushcraft.

Safety is the biggest thing regardless and for as much as I can talk, it's still too much to say here and never enough can be said about it anyway. Make sure the area is clear of anything you might catch in your swing; branches, other tool handles stupidly sticking out, kids, dogs, birdbaths (don't ask). Give yourself lots of clearance. I spilt an Ash stove-length the other day - burried the maul in a stinkin' little 8" round, raised the maul/wood combo overhead and spun the works around on the way down so the face of the poll on the maul hit first - the piece burst into three projectiles and one third of the round hit me square in the left shin. I was literally and completely incapable of coming up with a suitable new cuss-word at that moment - BUT, better a chunk of firewood than an axe or maul.

Make sure your tools are in top working order and use the longest-handled tools you can manage. Make certain the the head of the tool, at full swing's-length from your body, will not be able to contact your toes, shins, knees, etc. if you miss your target. If you use a block (unfrozen earth absorbs the too much energy), don't make it any taller than necessary - only as necessary so you don't split it when your maul goes through the round or when you miss - and you will miss. I still do. Set the round to be split toward the back of the block, so when you miss, the maul hits the block instead of swinging through to your shins as you will not be able to stop it and you will not be able to get out of the way fast enough. Don't use a waist-high chopping block. It might seem cool to not have to bend over in the final arc of your swing but it sets you up for a maul in the knee cap.

Don't muscle the tool - use speed (of the tool head) and stop before you get tired. Los off muscle control due to fatige means loss of control of the tool. Use the full arc of the tool to build up some speed - that last turn of the wrist at the end of the swing, just before the head makes its mark adds a significant bit of velocity. Don't "push" the tool handle - swing it for speed. The heavier the tool, the less speed required - or possible (per a given individual's fitness level). You're not "chopping," you're "splittig," so, if you're in the habit of "pulling back" just before the edge contacts the target - don't do that - follow through.

Remember that every piece of wood is different and will react differently. Frozen Hickory splitting sounds like bowling pins scattering on the lane. Mulberry is s booger about any time, Ash, when soaked, can bounce the maul back up head high (I mean YOUR head, not the tool head). Softer woods are not always easier to split, as they compress and absorb the energy the faces of the wedge impart, and on and on............... Work with a rythm. Steady, paced work will yield a bigger pile for how tired you are when done. If you get a particularly boogerly piece, suck up the pride, chuck it in the "specials" pile and go to the next one. Split the easiest stuff first, because if you don't, your fart-faced brother will! Oops! Sorry - flashback.:o
 
I used to split 5 cord of wood each year, thats a rough time. I dont know if I'd want to do it now, not in the same shape I was.

Honeslty every has given the best advise, really just get out, get a pace going and watch the rounds fly, because they do.
 
Mine comes all virtually quatered. Are you sure yours is coming in full rounds ?
 
I fell, bucked (good ol Husky saw) quartered and split over 10 cords last year. Sold em all for beer money. I technically lost money if you do the math but i was (and am ) in wicked shape from all that woods workl.
 
This is my second year of cutting wood with our new house.. Last year I bought a maul and 2 wedges along with a chainsaw.. The chainsaw work good but I CURSED the day I bought those wedges.. I totally hated them as it was the biggest pain to keep those wedges in the wood.. A bud of mine suggested the "wood grenade" from lehmans, and that was the biggest blessing ever to come to me..

I would suggest trying one of those if you want to get a lot of wood split ...

HTH

Tux:D
 
You can rent a 26 ton (pressure) splitter that will split the most nasty, twisty log. Not all logs will be easily split by a maul. I split some wet oak (some about 18 inches wide) and the maul just bounced off some of those logs for the first 8 or 10 swings, then it finally cracked and I could get a good split. Other logs practically flew apart at a light touch.

If you do use a maul, remember to let the maul do the splitting. You want your muscles to be relaxed at the moment of impact, or all the jarring will transmit into your muscles and joints.

Look at the log -- if it has small cracks in it already, that's what you want to aim for. Hitting the crack itself is less important than hitting the log parallel to the crack.
 
dont forget to check the wood your getting from the person too, alot of people got ripped off in Nova scotia from buying without trying.
 
ok...as mentioned in some of the posts:

Let the tool do the work. Don't try to muscle, it is self-defeating, and self-fatiguing.

Don't compete with knarly wood, put them aside until the weather gets below zero, or close. You will then feel like Thor the god of thunder. Wood gets very brittle and splits relatively easily. Cold is the enemy for survival, but the boon companion to splitting twisted, knarled wood.

Both wedges and grenades work. Grenades seem to accelerate the work, but wedges have split a lot of wood over the years.

If you are cutting to length, set up a jig to size, so you can cut the right length. Can be just a couple of pieces nailed together, but helps immensely.

Fires have to be started. Make sure you cut slim splits for starting/kindling.

Start slow. Your lower back will need to develop for extended cutting periods. No sense in doing a super-workout and then being disabled for a week.

Plan your stacking for air-flow, convenience to the house, and if you choose, some snow cover protection.

Make a wood box for the house big enough to cover a couple of days' wood.

If your wood pile is some distance away, create a "staging" area to which you can bring wood, perhaps just outside the house door.

Finally, don't compete with the wood. Use your energy wisely. The chain saw will 'splain the rules to tough wood. Set it aside.

Do the work alone, let other admire you from a distance. Don't let kids try it, for sureashell they'll try it on their own.

Edged tools have no compassion.

Be safe.



Kis
enjoy every sandwich
 
Good advice so far. I'll add that if you get a piece that is twisted or otherwise just won't split, set it aside. There's no reason to waste too much time on one piece. Later, use your chainsaw to cut a slot across the top of those pieces a couple inches deep. Strike your maul or wedges in the slot and they'll split much easier. I used that technique this fall on some nice chunks of hard maple that had limbs out the side and it really helped.

When using wedges, keep them parallel to you! If you hit them off-center and they fly out, you don't want them coming towards you. A five pound chunk of sharp steel flying through the air will ruin your day in a hurry. And wear eye protection, they chip and the chips fly.
 
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