Love taps

EAB's only affect adult ash trees so I hear a lot of places adjacent to known sightings of EAB's have been cutting down healthy trees and replanting with saplings as a containment measure.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
EAB's only affect adult ash trees so I hear a lot of places adjacent to known sightings of EAB's have been cutting down healthy trees and replanting with saplings as a containment measure.
Click to expand...

Some areas are also imposing Ash transportation bans too. Here in Ontario you're not allowed to transport firewood or logs, but I think finished lumber is still allowed.
 
I've seen several loads of tall, for our area, timber going thru town. Someone is cutting down creek bank trees.

The two trees give me much needed shade during our long summers. I am going to wait till there is no hope left before having them cut down. Biggest one is 12 ft from the edge of the house. I had a guy put more of the weight on the down wind side 5 years ago but it is re-growing. If I hire a local company they will cut it into fire wood, even the long boles. I have no use for the fire wood. I am told lots of places won't take 'city' wood to slab because of metal. I have just enough free space to store wood to dry. But, cost may be the downfall. I just hate to see a great tree(s) that have to be cut and are straight boled for such a distance go to fire wood. The way they work it here the cutters get the firewood if you don't want it for haul off fees. I am not a fan of ash as decorative wood but so many other uses are possible. Guess I need to start search for a small understanding sawmill. I would have handles for the rest of my life and for all my friends. 300Bucks
 
On a routine basis I check bundles of firewood in my area for insect bores. If I find any I take samples and ship them in to our State Etymology Lab Dept. for analysis. So far we have not found this bore. Perhaps a colder climate is a good thing. DM
 
Took me a long time to circle back around but I'd suggest a splitting axe or lightest weight maul you can get if you prefer the weight of an axe - something wider than a felling axe. Pinching / over striking is part of the game if you strike toward the back of the round as Pegs was talking about, and it's unavoidable with chubby handles made today that are significantly wider than the head of the axe. You might also reconsider the length of the handle. Maybe you are aware of all this stuff, I dunno, I'm just throwing it out. My feeling is that a lot of people use 36" handles because that's all there is. I think that often leads to over strikes and the length is totally unnecessary IMO especially for splitting. Run a handle equal in length to your inseam or even your arm, arm pit to finger tips. I'd probably use whichever splitting tool (a splitting axe might be the ticket item) for big rounds and then split the quarters with my axe.
 
For overstrike protection I wind some lengths of 1/4" sisal or manila, or even synthetic cord if that's what's sitting around in shorter lengths - not good for much else. When it gets beat to tatters I replace it. The cord really keeps the vibration to a minimum.

Nice work David, I miss my woodstove!
 
Square_peg said:
I prefer to avoid overstrikes rather than absorb them. TEHO.
Click to expand...

Agreed! A wrap or any other protection should last a good long time. Sometimes on uneven footing or just plain fatigued they come more often than I'd like. Usually when splitting down oversize rounds.
 
Slim, I called Tennessee Hickory and they said they don't sell to individuals, unless I wanted to buy 100 handles.? She gave me numbers of some of their purchasers and suggested I give them a call.
cityofthesouth, my Hults Bruks is wider at the rear hammer head than my Kelly double edge felling axe.
When I returned my 1st handle at my ACE dealer they later that day found a handle with larger eye dimensions. I'll drop back in this week and take a look at it. Perhaps it will work.
Heavy, I believe your hitting at some real causes of my over strikes. Uneven ground & fatigue. Even dim light and rushing while trying to finish up and get my wood in the barn. I like your idea of a sisal rope wrap as I have plenty of that. Even a heavy leather shroud near the head. I have this on hand too. When I get the handle I'll give you some photos as I fit it to the head and "slather it with epoxy". Thank you for so many good ideas. You guys are just Great! DM
 
I believe I have enough wood in the barn to last until Valentines Day. So, this will give me sometime to work on getting this axe into my rotation. What do you gents know about the hardness of a Hults Bruks axe head? As it's off the handle and I was thinking, other than cleaning it up what else do I need to do to this head before mounting it?
Thanks, DM
 
David Martin said:
Slim, I called Tennessee Hickory and they said they don't sell to individuals, unless I wanted to buy 100 handles.? She gave me numbers of some of their purchasers and suggested I give them a call.
Click to expand...

Beavertooth is the usual go-to for retail purchase of Tennessee Hickory's handles.
 
David Martin said:
As it's off the handle and I was thinking, other than cleaning it up what else do I need to do to this head before mounting it?
Thanks, DM
Click to expand...

If you have a sturdy bench vise I suggest sharpening an axe or maul before hanging it. For me it's easier this way. After sharpening the axe I will cover the edge with tape to make it safe during the hanging process. I cut myself often enough without doing it intentionally.
 
David Martin said:
I like your idea of a sisal rope wrap as I have plenty of that. Even a heavy leather shroud near the head. I have this on hand too.
Click to expand...

Those things are fine for a sledge hammer that never enters the wood. But for an axe it's important to keep the haft slimmer than the eye. If some coating on the haft is fatter than the eye of the axe then it will be damaged for sure.

No wraps. Strike only the near side of the round.

Other rules apply for sledges and wedges.
 
The competition choppers put a mirror polish on their axe heads. Prior to the competition, they coat the head with soap to lubricate the cut. Friction is the enemy of winning the Paul Bunyan contest.
 
Square, so no wraps.
tiguy, it would take a lot of elbow grease but I can give it a shine and lubricate it. In those axe competitions they only cut pine. DM
 
To save my elbows, I would use a belt running over a contact wheel. Successively finer belts would prep the surface for the buffing wheel. The pine is softer, but they do cut across the grain.
 
David Martin said:
cityofthesouth, my Hults Bruks is wider at the rear hammer head than my Kelly double edge felling axe.
Click to expand...

That will help some. There are splitting specific axes but I have a couple traditional axes that are just much more wedge-like than a typical felling axe with thicker cheeks - great for splitting. I still managed to booger the handle on one just a few days ago when it caught a knot and shoved the axe head deeper into the wood, the split closed up and my handle hit hard. I been drying the tears for days. I don't really care for mauls but I have several of them and I am thinking about thinning the crap out of one to see if I like it any better.
 
I measured the thickness of the Kelly double bit metal handle axe and it's 1" . No more at any place. The Hults Bruks is 1 5/16" at the middle of it's eye and mostly keeps this all the way to the hammer head. Will this make it a better splitter? Thanks, DM
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top