Log splitting for firewood

Lo dudes.

If you have or will have an open fire or stove.. you're gonna want firewood and probably fancy cutting and splitting your logs yourself.

While sawing (the slow way by hand or the quick way, with a chainsaw) to the right length is essential... splitting the wood to allow it to dry out and season faster is also key.

Let me introduce you to a maul.

The Roughneck 8lb Log Splitting Maul (from Screw fix for my purchase)
http://www.screwfix.com/p/roughneck-...estid=2122362#

It has genuinely NEVER got stuck in a bit of wood... it either splits it... or bounces off !

oh man .. you gotta be careful.. clearly.. you're swinging a mammoth steel head on a long shaft.. but with zen concentration, and the inner belief, Karate Kid Style.. that the log WILL split....

it does. It just blows it apart... splits it assunder!

And MAN I've split some big bits of wood.... some monsters.

So... if you've got axe's stuck in bits of wood in the past, and spent all day trying to dislodge them... this bad boy is for you :)

Woo, that's a monster, Zak! My folks used to have a log burning stove when I was in my teens, and I used to split wood with a fairly basic 1.5lb hatchet. The key is having a really solid splitting block (usually a big chunk of tree trunk) to rest your larger log against. Plus, with a smaller axe you need to take a good swing and it's a great way of working out aggression! (even better than kneading bread, IMNSHO!).

We cheat and use a hydraulic log splitter :) Then again we are chopping trees up on site, and filling a twin axle, high sided trailer. With the hydraulic splitter it takes a couple of hours to clear the trailer. The heater it feeds is an old parkray, over 30 years old and still going strong. Its got a back boiler to run radiators, and provide hot water. The wood is all free, either from a local farmer, or picked up from sites tree surgeons are working, we clear the wood for them. They get a nice clear site, we get the wood.

Now to buy one of these: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vThcK-idm0 :)

Thats dual purpose, come the zombie appocalypse it will be awesome :)

I've used the fiskars maul he uses in that video and really liked it. My first maul was the biggest 14lb maul I could find. I grew up, and now own a simple 6lb maul. It's all in the technique.

I have the exact same model. The back also doubles as a sledge.

There is something 'wholesome' about chopping up your own firewood.

Proper man mode ON.

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Originally Posted by abaxas

There is something 'wholesome' about chopping up your own firewood.

Proper man mode ON.

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Certainly is, and SO satisfying when bits of wood go flying off - works off aggression too!

I like the idea of it, I just don't have the time to go chopping up my own wood. There is a guy local that will supply wood cut and split just how you want it, he's very reasonable and the wood is good. Sometimes life can be too short to do it yourself :)

If you are buying wood by the cord, pre-split means more wood!

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Originally Posted by Funkstar

I like the idea of it, I just don't have the time to go chopping up my own wood. There is a guy local that will supply wood cut and split just how you want it, he's very reasonable and the wood is good. Sometimes life can be too short to do it yourself :)

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True, but on the other hand, is as good as a work out at the gym!

Oh they're called mauls are they? I just assumed they were long handled axes or something. Always used one for splitting wood. Yes, you have to be sensible with them (no problem splitting your shin bone I expect) but fine with good technique, and as mentioned, a good workout!

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Originally Posted by TeePee

If you are buying wood by the cord, pre-split means more wood!

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We are completely backwards over here. No law governing volumes of wood sold and the sellers rake it in. Typically 1m3 is advertised for about £50-65. Its usually a builders bag which is only 0.91mx0.91x0.91m and poorly packed and the wood is rarely well seasoned. Lorry/trailer loads are advertised and its common to see these as a acceptable unit of measurement.

I have not bought any wood in a long time now but I promised myself to agree to the volume and asses it on arrival. If its not up to scratch re-adjust accordingly.

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Originally Posted by Domestic_Ginger

We are completely backwards over here. No law governing volumes of wood sold and the sellers rake it in. Typically 1m3 is advertised for about £50-65. Its usually a builders bag which is only 0.91mx0.91x0.91m and poorly packed and the wood is rarely well seasoned. Lorry/trailer loads are advertised and its common to see these as a acceptable unit of measurement.

I have not bought any wood in a long time now but I promised myself to agree to the volume and asses it on arrival. If its not up to scratch re-adjust accordingly.

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yeah I tend to agree. Log bags are all over the place in terms of what you get, Truck loads are all over the place too.... all different sizes and depths... and no one pulls people up on bad descriptions on the age of it's seasoning.. nor is the wood described as split in advance or drying or not.

When it comes to dryness a moisture meter is key really. I've ordered a very cheap 2 pin to experiment with, and a 4 pin probe is cheap enough for future purchases.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Freelogix-Pr...975947&sr=1-15

Used one this weekend in Welsh Wales while chopping logs for my mates. (also had a lesson in technique.. aching left butt cheek gone)
I got through a mountain of felled timber over 2 sessions of about 2 hours each. Very happy.... really enjoyed it. Wore me out big time.

Rain clearnly makes a huge difference, but not as much as wood being stored on the soil...it just never dries properly.

I tested 3 lumps of wood from the same source this week, it was all 2 years old, and all stacked outdoors on the mud when I arrived:

1 -was left on the floor where I found it
1 -I moved under cover for only 3 days
1 -I moved into a poly tunnel that was very warm and quite well ventilated during the day. a Tad moist but not horribly so.

Bear in mind it was all 2 years since it was felled.

Simply moving it under cover for a few days reduced moisture from high 20%'s and low 30%'s to mid 20% though it was all different in different sections of the timber. But it DID make a difference. And it clearly burned better.

The polytunnel stuff was down to 22% after only 3 days.

Now.. to get the NATURAL TREE SAP to dry from timber takes MONTHS/YEARS according to size and being split, much of which would have gone over the last 2 summers and long windy seasons.... I was just reducing rain water effect.

And to confirm the pure dryness of stuff.. I tested it on a piece of 2x2 timber that had been in the polytunnel for over 1 year. It registered zero%

Ands because you all wonder... yes my moisture content was quite high and yes the 4 sharp probes hurt like hell !!

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Originally Posted by Zak33

...also had a lesson in technique.. aching left butt cheek gone...

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If I had room in my sig....