# How long should I let oak rounds sit before spliting?



## RORY12553 (Jan 8, 2012)

I was spliting some rounds of oak today that was cut down about a month ago and boy was it a pain! How long should I let it sit as rounds before splitting? The tree wasn't dead it was to close to a electric line so it was cut down in my next door neighbors yard.


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## iskiatomic (Jan 8, 2012)

Split them ASAP. Then just sit and wait about 2-3 years to season before you burn them, for best results.


KC


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## moody (Jan 8, 2012)

stack the rounds and let them set 3 or 4 months let the ends star up real good ,then it will be easy.


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## javier (Jan 8, 2012)

I have always had the most luck splitting right away.  It seems if I let it sit a"round," it just strings up and wants to stay together.


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## eyefish2 (Jan 8, 2012)

split them right away.  I find them harder to split when they start to dry.  They also seem to split easier when frozen.


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## cptoneleg (Jan 8, 2012)

javier said:
			
		

> I have always had the most luck splitting right away.  It seems if I let it sit a"round," it just strings up and wants to stay together.




  Thats because that is the easiest way; Oak splits easy when done ASAP


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## oldspark (Jan 8, 2012)

Well he has missed the sweet spot, so the question now is how quick do you need the wood, if you dont need it for a couple of years yea wait for another few months and it might be easier, if you need the wood as quick as possible then suck it up and get to splitting.


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## firefighterjake (Jan 8, 2012)

I'm a big believer in splitting up stuff as soon as possible . . . just to start the seasoning process.


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## red oak (Jan 8, 2012)

oldspark said:
			
		

> Well he has missed the sweet spot, so the question now is how quick do you need the wood, if you dont need it for a couple of years yea wait for another few months and it might be easier, if you need the wood as quick as possible then suck it up and get to splitting.



+1.  If you're not going to burn it for a couple of years a few months won't make that much difference.  If you're intending to burn it next year you should split as soon as you can.


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## kingfisher (Jan 8, 2012)

I split and stacked all my oak as soon as my guy dropped it off


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## artmos (Jan 8, 2012)

yesterday i split about 20 or so red oak large rounds from a deadfall. most were 20" plus. the small ones split like an axe through a pumpkin,but the large ones took some doing. had to nibble around the edges a bit until i could get them to split in half so i could split the rest easily. probably would wait a cuppla months to have a go at yours. art  p.s. i was too lazy yesterday to hood up the 3 point splitter-needed the exercise anyway after the holidays. ha  back at it today and tomorrow. art


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## quads (Jan 8, 2012)

I can't think of a really good reason to wait to split your oak rounds.  Split it right away, get it over with, stack it, and let it season as long as possible.  Here is a video showing how long I wait to split my oak rounds:


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## SolarAndWood (Jan 8, 2012)

Your production, Oak and film, is fantastic Quads.


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## Wood Duck (Jan 8, 2012)

I have split fresh oak and really old oak rounds. There is more difference between rounds than there is between fresh and old. Some are easy, some are less easy, a few are a real pain whether they are fresh or old.


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## yanksforever (Jan 8, 2012)

Ask Santa to bring you a nice new splitter next year and you can split that wood when ever you feel like it!  ;-)


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 8, 2012)

I can't work as fast as quads anymore but I like his style. 

By all means, split the oak asap. I can see no good reason to wait. Besides, the stuff drys slow enough as it is so why not get it split to hasten the drying process?


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## pyper (Jan 8, 2012)

Where I live it will rot if you don't split it.


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## oldspark (Jan 8, 2012)

pyper said:
			
		

> Where I live it will rot if you don't split it.


 That sucks, I cut oak that has laid on the ground for years and its not rotten, might be an inch or so of punk on the outside but thats about it.


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## Larry in OK (Jan 9, 2012)

> Where I live it will rot if you donâ€™t split it



Around here what doesn't rot gets eat up by the bugs. It doesn't get cold enough long enough in the winter and most of the wood boring bugs stay active pretty much year round A 2 year old stack of wood will have a coat of fine wood dust from under the top layer down.


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## Rick Stanley (Jan 9, 2012)

I was told, here in the Boiler Room, and I have seen it mentioned in there many times, that a gasifier runs best on splits the size of a playing card. I cut and skidded some Red Oak along with some Red Maple last Jan-Feb and I sawed it to length (30 inch) right away. It laid there until April- May when it was split, small as a playing card with effort made to split the Oak especially small (smaller than a playing card) and stacked outside. It was put in the Garn Barn in October and I started burning on Nov 22nd. I ended up with well mixed, Oak and Maple stacks that I'm burning from so I always end up with a mix in the firebox when I build a fire. Everything is reduced to ash after a burn. I did cut some standing-dead Red Oak in the Fall, 3-7 inch dia, and the butt ends of some of those smoked and didn't do as well.
          Anyway, to answer the original posters question, I'd say that it depends on how small you split it and what you're burning it in.


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## Rick Stanley (Jan 9, 2012)

Oops, sorry, I see you're asking about ease of splitting, not burning. Senior moment. :red:


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## Adios Pantalones (Jan 9, 2012)

Thirty seconds.  I split ASAP with a sharp maul and it's no problem.  I'm working on a hypothesis that a dull maul likes rounds that have sat longer, as that seems to line up with opinions here.


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## Flatbedford (Jan 9, 2012)

I say ASAP too. Oak rounds will get harder to split as they dry. When green they will split very easily usually with a little splash of sap as you whack 'em.
Red Oak split within 1/2 hour of being cut. Click on the picture.


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## Backwoods Savage (Jan 10, 2012)

Steve, watching that video made my back hurt even more!


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## RORY12553 (Jan 10, 2012)

Flatbedford said:
			
		

> I say ASAP too. Oak rounds will get harder to split as they dry. When green they will split very easily usually with a little splash of sap as you whack 'em.
> Red Oak split within 1/2 hour of being cut. Click on the picture.



Thanks guys for all the advice and boy was that video something else. What type of splitter is that? Maul I had bounced off the top


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## tfdchief (Jan 10, 2012)

Backwoods Savage said:
			
		

> Steve, watching that video made my back hurt even more!


+1 :-S


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## iceman (Jan 10, 2012)

I try to split asap if not, winter is great frozen oak splits nice 
But wood will never sit unsplit in my yard long


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## Flatbedford (Jan 10, 2012)

RORY12553 said:
			
		

> What type of splitter is that? Maul I had bounced off the top



Fiskars 7854 Super Splitting Axe. Recently replaced by the X25.


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## stefan66 (Jan 10, 2012)

+1 for splitting right away. then stack where it falls. Let it dry right there. Move it when it's dry (lighter).
BTW  IMO splitting from the bottom up makes it easier also


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## golfandwoodnut (Jan 11, 2012)

I usually split as soon as I can. However, I have a white oak that got the best of me this year and just will not split easily.  I am hoping when it is frozen it will be easier, and I am waiting for an elbow injury to heal.  If you have a log splitter, of course right away.


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## seeyal8r (Jan 11, 2012)

I leave oak rounds laying there for a couple weeks. When the ends star up it makes splitting with a maul a lot easier because you can see where the round automatically wants to split. Of course cold weather seems to help as well but that may just be me.


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