# Splitting Oak, Cherry, and Ash - What a Pain!



## BurnIt13 (Dec 13, 2011)

So I'm starting to split my wood for next year and the year after.  I have about 3-4 cords of oak, black cherry, and ash that has been bucked to 16-18" long rounds.  They've been hanging out for almost a year.

The cherry was TOUGH!  My 5lb maul litterally bounced off of the 6-12" rounds.  My X25 Super Splitter was not very effective either.  It took about 3 swings just to get it to embed into the cherry!  Finally once it stuck I was able to pound it with a sledge hammer to drive it in.  It still look about a dozen whacks of the sledge to split it!

The ash was equally touch but in a different way.  It was stringy!  Even though the wood split after a few whacks, I had to drive the maul all the way through the split to break through the stringyness.

And Oak....well it is just plain tough.  After a few whacks from the heavy maul it basically explodes into two pieces.

Okay, so I'm done ranting.  But for future reference does black cherry, oak, and ash like to be split fresh or after its had some time to sit and think?  Any suggestions for the future?  

If all my wood would split like maple I would be happy as can be!


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## Adios Pantalones (Dec 13, 2011)

Split fresh next time.  Oak pops open with no effort (unless knotted) with a sharp maul.  This is my experience.  Others like dull mauls and dry wood.  Phehh


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## firefighterjake (Dec 13, 2011)

I use a hydraulic splitter . . . but I found that all three of those woods you mentioned typically split wicked easy . . . especially the white ash and oak (I've split some of this by hand for fun in the past) . . . of course I was splitting freshly cut wood so it probably makes a big difference.


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## aansorge (Dec 13, 2011)

Cherry splits super easy when green...I've never tried it after leaving it sit.

Your ash sounds more like elm.

Burr Oak is easy splitting but I've had tougher times with regular white oak.


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## fahmahbob (Dec 13, 2011)

I find white oak to be tough to split almost no matter what. Red oak is a dream, as long as it's either green or fairly dry. I've never run into stringy ash that I can recall. Elm, yes. Ash, no. Cherry splits nicely green unless it grew corkscrew. That stuff sucks to split.


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## golfandwoodnut (Dec 13, 2011)

Yea Cherry is a piece of cake except for the twisted pieces.  White Oak can be tough, Red Oak/ Black Oak is as easy as it gets.  Ash I do not have much of but stringy means ELM to me.


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## ISeeDeadBTUs (Dec 13, 2011)

GolfandWoodNut said:
			
		

> Yea Cherry is a piece of cake except for the twisted pieces.  White Oak can be tough, Red Oak/ Black Oak is as easy as it gets.  Ash I do not have much of but stringy means ELM to me.



Pretty much concur, 'cept MOST cherry around here is knotty, and sucks to split.

Not trying to be an asz, but . . . um are you sure you know how to identify your wood? 'Cause if you have trouble splitting Ash or red oak . . .

In case you don't know it, you should NOT be hitting a splitting maul with a sledge hammer. The sledge is forged in such a way as to stricke 'softer' metals, as in splitting wedges. Striking a sledge and a maul together is bad news. And unless you ENJOY getting your maul 'stuck' in wood, get a heavier, blunter one. Monster Mauls do NOT get 'stuck', and work great on Oak and Ash, often splitting with one shot.


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## Grisu (Dec 13, 2011)

BurnIt13 said:
			
		

> The ash was equally touch but in a different way.  It was stringy!  Even though the wood split after a few whacks, I had to drive the maul all the way through the split to break through the stringyness.



Must be the sitting in rounds for a year before splitting. I had the same problem last summer with ash that I got from a neighbor who cut it 2 years ago. He probably thought he could get away with not splitting it as most were between 5 to 8 inches wide. Too bad he stacked everything tightly together and completely covered it with tarp. I soon realized I needed to split those rounds rather quickly to get them dry but, man, were they stringy. Whacked them with the Fiskars pretty well to get them to finally split.


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## pen (Dec 13, 2011)

Usually ash is very easy.  Same w/ cherry.  Some buggers always exist if there are knots / twists.

These happen to be hedge row trees?  Or trees that stood alone in someone's yard? 

I've found that trees that came from those conditions are tougher to split vs ones pulled out of the middle of a wood lot.  I have always figured it was because they were battered more by not having the protection of tress close by.

pen


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## fahmahbob (Dec 13, 2011)

pen said:
			
		

> Usually ash is very easy.  Same w/ cherry.  Some buggers always exist if there are knots / twists.
> 
> These happen to be hedge row trees?  Or trees that stood alone in someone's yard?
> 
> ...



I've noticed this too. But I figured with hedge row trees it was because they had more branches due to exposure to the sun (making more knots), and the twisting was caused as they grew around other trees/branches that were also competing for the sun. But the wind thing makes a lot of sense, too.


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## basswidow (Dec 13, 2011)

If you can post a pic of the wood, perhaps someone can make a ID.  I've never had a problem splitting any oak, cherry, or ash.  I've never seen stringy ash.   Perhaps twisted grain and branchy pieces can be tough, these species always give in.   I've split all three green and dead for some time - no problems.  Funny, I find Maple tough!

I also agree that sinking a Fiskars and then sledging it like a wedge is asking for trouble.  You will damage the head and handle.  And possibly run the risk of having a piece of metal fly off and get you.  I am guilty of this myself with a Stanley axe and the tempered head split.  It's not meant to be hit like a wedge.  

Good luck


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## ISeeDeadBTUs (Dec 13, 2011)

basswidow said:
			
		

> Funny, I find Maple tough!


+1

If you can split 24" Hard Maple with a 5# maul, then the Red Oak and Ash should just split when you look at it cross-eyed!


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## bogydave (Dec 13, 2011)

Splitting most wood when green is easier. 
Some split hard green or dry (spruce) & limbs or twists  amplify the difficulty.
Try to hit the round on your side of the middle, about 1" from the edge, sometimes helps.
Sometimes if the maul is stuck,  (medium to small rounds) I'd pick it all up, flip it & come down with the hammer end of the maul on the  stump.
None fall apart easy,  some is easier, it's all work


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## wishlist (Dec 13, 2011)

I have split a ton of ash , and yes it can get stringy. However, its all dead standing thanks to the eab. I split some cherry that was tuff this fall. It almost had the same twisted grain as elm.


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## Waulie (Dec 14, 2011)

Ash definately splits easier when green.  Can't say I've really had any "stringy" ash though, and I've also split tons of it.  As has been pointed out, trees that grow in the open have tons of knots and all bets are off regardless of species.


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## Garand06 (Dec 14, 2011)

BurnIt13 said:
			
		

> Any suggestions for the future?




There is this new invention that combines a gasoline engine and a hydraulic pump....


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## Backwoods Savage (Dec 14, 2011)

Those all should split easy when green. Yet, when the wood gets old it gets hard to split. Sometimes waiting until late January or February will help as the remaining moisture will be frozen and that will assist you. 

On the older wood, many of us watched last October when Tony tried to split a cherry that had been cut and split in December 2002. Tony was trying to resplit the cherry using a maul and wedge. The cherry just laughed at him. Well, a few of us guys did too.


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## Flatbedford (Dec 14, 2011)

Those are three of the easiest splitting species out there! Next time split them green or at least halve or quarter them if you don't have the time when they are fresh. As Dennis said, they may split easier frozen, or you could give in and use one of those gasoline/hydraulic machines. they can be rented for around $75/day and make quick work of what may be very hard to split by hand.


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## Thistle (Dec 16, 2011)

:lol:  Like Flatbed said those are among the easiest woods to split manually,even after they sit a while.Though White Oak is tougher than Red Oak & can be stringy,its still not bad if totally green or frozen. Cherry practically splits itself when you drop it off the truck,only Ash I've split was a neighbor's 17" Green Ash I dropped in 2002.It was among the easiest ever for me.


You need to try some 12" + green American/White Elm,large & gnarly Mulberry or Honey Locust stumps & some misshapen & very old twisted Silver Maple yardbird with spiral grain then get back to me about 'tough'.


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## CTYank (Dec 17, 2011)

Thistle said:
			
		

> :lol:  Like Flatbed said *those are among the easiest woods to split manually*,even after they sit a while.Though White Oak is tougher than Red Oak & can be stringy,its still not bad if totally green or frozen. Cherry practically splits itself when you drop it off the truck,only Ash I've split was a neighbor's 17" Green Ash I dropped in 2002.It was among the easiest ever for me.
> 
> 
> You need to try some 12" + green American/White Elm,large & gnarly Mulberry or Honey Locust stumps & some misshapen & very old twisted Silver Maple yardbird with spiral grain then get back to me about 'tough'.



Sez me-too. Except for forks & knots, and the bit about black cherry. Some black cherry can be a real sumb**ch; working on one now, from our Oct. snow-storm. Major PITA, but it'll burn. Even if I have to noodle some pieces a bit, they'll come apart. About 18" dbh. I'd love to see it split itself.

If only for the fragrance.


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## Gark (Dec 17, 2011)

"You need to try some 12â€ + green American/White Elm,large & gnarly Mulberry or Honey Locust stumps & some misshapen & very old twisted Silver Maple yardbird with spiral grain then get back to me about â€˜tough."  -Thistle

+1. Right on.


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## Ehouse (Dec 17, 2011)

Do not strike maul with sledge and make sure you grind burs off wedges.  The force with which a chip comes off can send it right through you.  Wear goggles.  I spent 37 years driving spikes for the railroad and I've seen it happen.  A co-worker and friend had a splinter miss his heart by a fraction and lodge in a rib.  Same guy has a scar under his right eye from same.  

Ehouse


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