# Monster Maul 1, Gnarly Gum 0



## bigbarf48 (Mar 10, 2013)

Earlier this week I brought home a heap of sweet gum thinking it was oak (https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/wodd-id.107250/), needless to say I was a bit surprised when I tried to split it. Well my axe wasnt gonna make much headway through all this wood, and I dont have hydraulics nor the wish to rent. So whats a guy to do? Well I went out and bought a big ol piece of metal welded to a big ol piece of pipe. 27 dollars out the door and its been putting the gum in its place since 







It is quite exhausting though. I split a few rounds and was really feeling it. I was initially weary about the short-ish handle but it hasnt been an issue. One pointer I can give is not to swing this like an axe, lift and drop is the easiest and most effective method. This sure is a satisfying tool to use


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## ScotO (Mar 10, 2013)

I've split a PILE of wood over the past 20 years with one of those, and I've had to bend the handle back into shape several times, sharpen the tip, glue the rubber handle back on, etc.....once you get the hang of that maul, you'll learn to love it.  Yes, it makes you sore after swinging it all day.  But it also make you STRONG LIKE BULL!!


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## Thistle (Mar 10, 2013)

Had this since I was 17.Needed fixed after loaning it out (never again) & the idiot "Uhmmm I guess someone backed over it or something ".So I took a piece of 1/4" wall heavy galvanized pipe (that fits very snugly over the original oversize  reducing collar where handle was welded on to) to reinforce it.Had to use 12lb sledge to drive it on it fits so tight.But guy at local shop welded a fat bead around the joint afterwards for me as a safety precaution. Best $5 I ever spent  I was in & outta there in 5 minutes.

With that heavy reinforced handle it weighs 20lbs now on very accurate bathroom scale (unfortunately ) so these old bones dont use it much now.But in over 30 years - it has NEVER gotten stuck in any log,period.Cant say that about the X25 or my other tools -except for those high dollar Swedish & German twisted steel wedges,those are the cat's meow!!


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## basod (Mar 10, 2013)

Yeah the stuff is a booger to split.  Heres the pile from 3 trees I took down a few weeks back.  The stack has already shrunk/settled about 8"


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## Thistle (Mar 10, 2013)

Original magazine ad from 1983.Same ad I seen in Mother  Earth News almost 4 years earlier.Patent expired years ago,hence all the knockoffs today.


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## andybaker (Mar 10, 2013)

basod said:


> Yeah the stuff is a booger to split. Heres the pile from 3 trees I took down a few weeks back. The stack has already shrunk/settled about 8"


 

Do you have to knock first to open the door to go into the woods?

Looks like a nice place there.  In Alabama how long does a pile of wood like that last?


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## Ralphie Boy (Mar 10, 2013)

basod said:


> Heres the pile from 3 trees I took down


 
Alice, where's the door go, Wonderland?


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## Woody Stover (Mar 10, 2013)

Thistle said:


> Original magazine ad from 1983.


Testimonial from a guy 5'4", 140 lbs. and 89 years old. I'll be doing well to even lift my Monsta off the ground at that age.  Another one says "We split at least fifty cords a year." Talk about being sore...

Now I'm gonna have to drag that thing out, just for the hell of it. I'll probably be done after a few swings...


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## bigbarf48 (Mar 10, 2013)

Nice looking stacks! Here's my pile, not too bad for a few hours work. The pic isn't cooperating on my phone but I guess a pile of wood looks the same from any direction haha


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## Locust Post (Mar 11, 2013)

There ya go BB. I had mine working a little Saturday on some big cherry rounds so I could lift them into the truck. I always found it was better to do what I call the round house swing....start off with the head toward the ground and just bring it around beside you and over your head.


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## andybaker (Mar 11, 2013)

bigbarf48 said:


> Nice looking stacks! Here's my pile, not too bad for a few hours work. The pic isn't cooperating on my phone but I guess a pile of wood looks the same from any direction haha


 
Am I mistaken or is that tailgate missing a truck.


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## bigbarf48 (Mar 11, 2013)

Locust Post said:


> There ya go BB. I had mine working a little Saturday on some big cherry rounds so I could lift them into the truck. I always found it was better to do what I call the round house swing....start off with the head toward the ground and just bring it around beside you and over your head.



I've actually found myself doing more of that cause it isn't as hard on the shoulder and elbows. I also hold it so the flat of the head touches my lower back and then just use my legs to bump it up and over and it delivers a powerful swing. This is how I usually split with my axe as well



andybaker said:


> Am I mistaken or is that tailgate missing a truck.



Haha good eye yes it is. It's a tailgate off a 79 I believe f100 that I made into a bench


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## andybaker (Mar 12, 2013)

bigbarf48 said:


> Haha good eye yes it is. It's a tailgate off a 79 I believe f100 that I made into a bench


 
Cool  I admire you guys still splitting with a maul.  I wonder how long I'd last these days doing it that way again.


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## Woody Stover (Mar 14, 2013)

Well, I dug that thing out of the cobwebs and dragged it out to a pile of rounds. The reason I dragged it is that you don't want to pick it up any more than you have to.  [12#] If you can get it started, it send the splits flying. If it bounces out, I grab the 8-pounder with its smaller angle and greater speed. I _did_ narrow the angle of the leading edge a little bit. At my age, I probably shouldn't even be messing with it but I can't help myself. Man, the way it plows through the wood without even slowing down, this thing is a_ gas _!  It's all original, purchased sometime in the mid '80s and benched soon after by the 8-pounder. As a result, it's in great shape (although the wedge-beatin' end is mushroomed slightly.) I wonder if I could get a few hundred for it on ebay...it's a vintage classic! On second thought...not for sale at _any_ price! Feel free to make an offer, though...

_Here that bad boy is, posing with a pile of Silver Maple splits._





_The Monsta and the rest of the crew take a load off after unloading on a bunch of Red Maple rounds._


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## tfdchief (Mar 14, 2013)

https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/monster-maul-jpg.68645/   Had this one for a long, long time.  Can't hardly use it any more, but in my younger days, it split a lot of wood.


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## Woody Stover (Mar 14, 2013)

Don't use it unless you've eaten a good meal. I just tried that and it sucked all the energy right out of me. Now I'm sitting at the keyboard, trying to revive myself with an apple, banana and toast. I'm having a hard time holding up my eyelids.


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## Woody Stover (Mar 14, 2013)

_In a knarly, knotted round of Red the Monster Maul has met its match._


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## Locust Post (Mar 14, 2013)

If you lived closer we would get the mig after it Woody. She can still live to see a few more rounds.


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## HDRock (Mar 14, 2013)

Woody Stover said:


> In a knarly, knotted round of Red the Monster Maul has met its match​


 
Your not getting older your getting better, you broke that mother 
It's not dead though, just needs to be mended


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## Woody Stover (Mar 14, 2013)

Locust Post said:


> If you lived closer we would get the mig after it Woody. She can still live to see a few more rounds.


I was thinking, cut it off and square up the mating surfaces, make that weld, then maybe put a reinforcing strip of flat stock parallel with the handle, on the edge side of the handle. It could lie on the collar and extend down the handle a short way. Does that sound like it would keep the same thing from happening again. I want to minimize the amount of weight added.  I'm open to other ideas...


HDRock said:


> Your not getting older your getting better, you broke that mother



Thistle reported the same type of break on his. I'm no gorilla so I'm writing it off to a design flaw...


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## Locust Post (Mar 14, 2013)

I think I would get it straight and just try welding it the way it is. If that doesn't hold I'd either grind the narrower top bar clean,cut it off and see if you can slip it down in the lower piece and weld (would make the handle shorter) or make a round sleeve and slip in both pieces and then weld. Third option clean the head and put a whole new handle on.


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## HDRock (Mar 14, 2013)

Locust Post said:


> I think I would get it straight and just try welding it the way it is.


 Yep, I would try that, then this, make a round sleeve and slip in both pieces and then weld


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