# 29 splits from one oak round....



## ScotO (Sep 4, 2013)

I've been splitting that chestnut oak the past two evenings, and got to the stump of the one trunk....so I had a little fun and documented how many decent sized splits I could get out of it (a couple Angry Orchard Ginger Apple Ales in the process!)





rolled that heavy SOB over to the splitter (notice I'm splitting Backwoods Savage-style, no milk crate though, because with these big rounds, the seat just gets in the way!)





busted off one third of the round.....then the second third...





threw all of the splits over in a pile to be counted and....ended up with 29 splits...enough to heat the house for several days in one single round!!  I love those big rounds!!





and ran into TONS of these knots and crotches in the trunk.....just another reason I love those hydraulics!!


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## WellSeasoned (Sep 4, 2013)

Lots of splits indeed. Have a few more of them beverages, I guarantee you'll see double that. How'd the stuff split?


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## ScotO (Sep 4, 2013)

WellSeasoned said:


> Lots of splits indeed. Have a few more of them beverages, I guarantee you'll see double that. How'd the stuff split?


 some of it was miserable....especially the 'grow-over's (as seen in the last two pics).  The big round I wrote about in this post had some really stringy sections in it too (lots of rippling) that was pretty stringy......

But the whole back yard smelled like apple cider vinegar.....so I broke out the Angry Orchard.....


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 4, 2013)

For sure Scott one of the best things about the big rounds is that you get so many splits from them. I'm usually disappointed when folks complain about the big stuff being not worth it or too hard to split. In my experience splitting by hand and hydraulics (I've split much more by hand than hydraulics), I'd rather split the big ones unless they are knotty. I think folks get disappointed when they can't split the thing in one or two strikes. Of course not, yet overall it will take fewer strikes for the same amount of wood. Not sure if I made that one clear enough but hopefully so. 

Scott. Our place smelled like cider yesterday. We pressed about 6 gallons.


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## Locust Post (Sep 4, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> For sure Scott one of the best things about the big rounds is that you get so many splits from them. I'm usually disappointed when folks complain about the big stuff being not worth it or too hard to split. In my experience splitting by hand and hydraulics (I've split much more by hand than hydraulics), I'd rather split the big ones unless they are knotty. I think folks get disappointed when they can't split the thing in one or two strikes. Of course not, yet overall it will take fewer strikes for the same amount of wood. Not sure if I made that one clear enough but hopefully so.
> 
> Scott. Our place smelled like cider yesterday. We pressed about 6 gallons.


 

Nothing like some good homemade cider Sav. By the way I did find some corn to freeze and it ended up being the tastiest stuff I have had this year so far.

I have been itching to get the splitter out lately Scotty...maybe it's the coolness in the air. It'll have to wait a few more weeks yet though as I have some other projects that have to be done first.


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## Paulywalnut (Sep 4, 2013)

Hey Scott, I can smell that oak from here. Nice stuff. Worth all the work.


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## Ashful (Sep 4, 2013)

Awesome work, Scotty!



Backwoods Savage said:


> I'm usually disappointed when folks complain about the big stuff being not worth it or too hard to split.


There are vastly varying definitions of "big" and "worth it."

30" oak = 500 lb. rounds = no problem

42" oak = 1000 lb. rounds = okay

52" oak = 1500 lb. rounds = major PITA

(based on 20" lengths, 62 lb./cu.ft. green density)


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## DexterDay (Sep 4, 2013)

Very nice Scotty  

Love big rounds. But since I bought a 32" bar? I have yet to need it  Oh well. It's here when I do NEED it


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## milleo (Sep 4, 2013)

Joful said:


> Awesome work, Scotty!
> 
> 
> There are vastly varying definitions of "big" and "worth it."
> ...


17 inch rounds 12 to 14 inch....What does that weigh??? Red oak....Fresh cut...


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## Ashful (Sep 4, 2013)

milleo said:


> 17 inch rounds 12 to 14 inch....What does that weigh??? Red oak....Fresh cut...


Not sure I follow you, but:

17" long x 13" diameter = 81 lb.

17" diameter x 13" long = 106 lb.

.. again, based on 62 lb./cu.ft., for fresh red or white oak


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## milleo (Sep 4, 2013)

Joful said:


> Not sure I follow you, but:
> 
> 17" long x 13" diameter = 81 lb.
> 
> ...


Wowsa, cant believe I have been handling the rounds that I just got....Lol guess this old gal is stronger than I thought.


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## JOHN BOY (Sep 4, 2013)

Nice work scotty ,love those big rounds. Chestnut is great stuff ! Very heavy !  Looked a little punky ..was this tree dead


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## bogydave (Sep 4, 2013)

Them ain't baby kindling splits either. 
Be fun to split the big ones. The stack grows fast.

 29 splits/1 round a record here 

It is until it's broken


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## JOHN BOY (Sep 4, 2013)

bogydave said:


> Them ain't baby kindling splits either.
> Be fun to split the big ones. The stack grows fast.
> 
> 29 splits/1 round a record here
> ...



I gotta few more big ones to get this week Dave , i'll post a pic and see what i can do  Its a big red oak


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## ScotO (Sep 4, 2013)

JOHN BOY said:


> Nice work scotty ,love those big rounds. Chestnut is great stuff ! Very heavy !  Looked a little punky ..was this tree dead


 John, no it wasn't punky at all.....all those brown stains you see on the ends of the rounds/splits is tannin........this tree was alive and pretty much well, albeit the feeder roots were disturbed last year during some excavation work and the tips of the branches on the tree were stressed......

Looking forward to seeing some of your red oak split.  Good "stove chow" for sure, that oak!!


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## bogydave (Sep 4, 2013)

JOHN BOY said:


> I gotta few more big ones to get this week Dave , i'll post a pic and see what i can do  Its a big red oak



Gonna have to come up with some  rules.
Size minimumsTriangle splits have to be at least 6"  squares 5" ?  ? 
Post requirements : 
Pics, species & size of the round . 
You have to be the one who fell  & bucked the tree. (at least bucking as Mother nature might fell a big one  )

Make it a new thread if it gets going ?
I got a 24" birch  a few years back for my biggest here ever,  so I'm not gonna be in the running.


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## ScotO (Sep 4, 2013)

Backwoods Savage said:


> Scott. Our place smelled like cider yesterday. We pressed about 6 gallons.


oh, man does a glass of homemade cider with a lil' shot of moonshine sound good right now!!


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## Ashful (Sep 4, 2013)

bogydave said:


> Them ain't baby kindling splits either.
> Be fun to split the big ones. The stack grows fast.
> 
> 29 splits/1 round a record here
> ...


Okay... the 49" round gets split this weekend!  :lol:

What's the qualifying split size?  Big stove, so I usually split real big.


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## Dairyman (Sep 5, 2013)

Nice work Scotty!


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## Jags (Sep 5, 2013)

I never counted the splits, but this bucket load was from a single round:


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## ScotO (Sep 5, 2013)

Jags said:


> I never counted the splits, but this bucket load was from a single round:
> View attachment 110548


I remember you posting that one a while back, Jags.....that definitely has this round beat....
We did a tree several years back that yielded over 40 splits, took me and my cutting partner both to wrestle each round onto the splitter......that was the biggest I've ever done.  Didn't count how many splits I got from those 40+" red oak rounds this past June......probably close to 40-45 splits each!!


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## pen (Sep 5, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> 40+" red oak rounds



Phew, sweating just thinking about working with rounds like that.  At that size, my level of enjoyment/fun will diminish quite a bit.

It is rewarding though.


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## Jags (Sep 5, 2013)

pen said:


> Phew, sweating just thinking about working with rounds like that.  At that size, my level of enjoyment/fun will diminish quite a bit.
> 
> It is rewarding though.



I whack them suckers up like a ninja slicing up an apple.
WASABI.


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## pen (Sep 5, 2013)

Jags said:


> I whack them suckers up like a ninja slicing up an apple.
> WASABI.



pics???


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## Jags (Sep 5, 2013)

pen said:


> pics???



I am too fast to capture with a camera.


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## ScotO (Sep 5, 2013)

Jags said:


> I am too fast to capture with a camera.


I did those 29 splits the other night in around 12 minutes......the reason I know it was that fast is (a) I drank TWO Angry's while doing it (I know, I shouldn't have been while splitting) and (b) dear wifey had called me for supper, and when I don't cease and desist upon her call for supper, the chit hits the fan in a hurry!!


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## ScotO (Sep 5, 2013)

pen said:


> Phew, sweating just thinking about working with rounds like that.  At that size, my level of enjoyment/fun will diminish quite a bit.
> 
> It is rewarding though.


Pen, it isn't every day that I wrestle rounds that big.......when I do them, though, my body feels it the next day! 


I love getting a whole cartload of splits from one round.........


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## Reckless (Sep 5, 2013)

Angry orchard....... YUMMMMMMMMMMM! Perfect irony?


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## ScotO (Sep 5, 2013)

Reckless said:


> Angry orchard....... YUMMMMMMMMMMM! Perfect irony?


yep!!  Maybe I should've looked for Angry Oak, because that oak was hurtin' worse than I was at the end of that splitting session!


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## Seasoned Oak (Sep 5, 2013)

You know its a big round when you need 2 guys to put it in place under the splitter,and still do even when  its halved. Especially when they are cut at 18-20 " long. I hired a guy for 8 hours on my last splittin project mostly to jockey those big rounds into place,still took me 4 more the next day .


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## Seasoned Oak (Sep 5, 2013)

Stalled a 32 ton splitter several times on some o them angry oak rounds ,speschly when theres a knot in there somewhere.


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## PA. Woodsman (Sep 5, 2013)

HOLY CATS you guys play with BIG TOYS!   Damn Scotty, how much did that monster weigh??? Really great stuff-thanks for taking the time to post and lay out all those splits!


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## clemsonfor (Sep 5, 2013)

bogydave said:


> Them ain't baby kindling splits either.
> Be fun to split the big ones. The stack grows fast.
> 
> 29 splits/1 round a record here
> ...


 Nah i had some i think i got more than that on but i dont remember, they were like 40" diameter. But this is not really a contest as you can split as small as you like.


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## xman23 (Sep 5, 2013)

This trailer load is two rounds of 26 inch oak. I'm not sure how many splits but there are a lot of very large splits.


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## basod (Sep 5, 2013)

Love the big rounds that yield a dozen or so center splits
When I split by hand(rarely but some rounds are too damn big to maneuver by yourself) I find the wedge placed ~3in from the edge and pounded with back side of the maul will get it close to halved --if the wedge gets stuck bust a quadrant off with the maul and you're good to go - finish with hydraulics


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## WellSeasoned (Sep 5, 2013)

bogydave said:


> Gonna have to come up with some  rules.
> Size minimumsTriangle splits have to be at least 6"  squares 5" ?  ?
> Post requirements :
> Pics, species & size of the round .
> ...



Start the new topic when your ready Dave. Im in soon


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## BrianK (Sep 5, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> View attachment 110492
> View attachment 110493



That's awesome Scotty! 

My 17yo and I split a half dozen rounds that size this past weekend Scotty. I wish we had counted how many splits we got from each round.

We finally finished that big oak at my dad's in Hollidaysburg that fell earlier this summer. We were saving the biggest stuff for last. This was the first time we really put the truck crane hoist on our log splitter to the test and it worked well. There was no way I was going to try to lift them without a hoist.

Here's a photo of our log lifter from earlier this summer when we were experimenting with a decent sized locust round.


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## ScotO (Sep 5, 2013)

PA. Woodsman said:


> HOLY CATS you guys play with BIG TOYS!   Damn Scotty, how much did that monster weigh??? Really great stuff-thanks for taking the time to post and lay out all those splits!


 I'm guessing it was around 400lbs, give or take.......I think I felt my nuggets hit the ground when I was rolling it up onto the trailer at the jobsite BY MYSELF.........


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## PA. Woodsman (Sep 6, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> I'm guessing it was around 400lbs, give or take.......I think I felt my nuggets hit the ground when I was rolling it up onto the trailer at the jobsite BY MYSELF.........


 

Geez, be careful boys


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## Jags (Sep 6, 2013)

PA. Woodsman said:


> Geez, be careful boys



If you are gonna play with big wood, you have to make sure that you have a firm grip with both hands.


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## ScotO (Sep 6, 2013)

Jags said:


> If you are gonna play with big wood, you have to make sure that you have a firm grip with both hands.


what if its just too damm big for one person to handle, Jags?  YIKES!!


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## Jags (Sep 6, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> what if its just too damm big for one person to handle, Jags?  YIKES!!



Dunno Scotty - Haven't found one yet that I couldn't deal with in one manner or another.  I never let the wood win.


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## ScotO (Sep 6, 2013)

Jags said:


> Dunno Scotty - Haven't found one yet that I couldn't deal with in one manner or another.  I never let the wood win.


yeah, me either......even if its a total monster, I do whatever I have to do to get it busted up......

I just can't stand the thought of another guy helping me wrestle my wood........


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## PA. Woodsman (Sep 6, 2013)

This thread is going in a rather "odd" direction fellas!


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## Jags (Sep 6, 2013)

No need to feel insecure - after all, we are just talking about firewood.


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## WellSeasoned (Sep 6, 2013)

Since we are all mature men here, I have this growth on my wood.......and uh


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## Ashful (Sep 6, 2013)

Who are you calling mature?


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## JOHN BOY (Sep 6, 2013)

This oak was 27 inches across , this was one of 2 ive been working on for the past 3 weeks . The  other was 24 inches across.  30 splits ranging from 4 - 6 inches


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## Seasoned Oak (Sep 7, 2013)

JOHN BOY said:


> This oak was 27 inches across , this was one of 2 ive been working on for the past 3 weeks . The  other was 24 inches across.  30 splits ranging from 4 - 6 inches


I got a few on my property like that. They are in good shape so,ill be leavin em stand.


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## Coal Reaper (Sep 7, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> yep!!  Maybe I should've looked for Angry Oak, because that oak was hurtin' worse than I was at the end of that splitting session!


This is where its at!
http://www.arrogantbastard.com/oaked/


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## Seasoned Oak (Sep 7, 2013)

Jags said:


> No need to feel insecure - after all, we are just talking about firewood.


I dont like to cut wood from my own property. I only have an acre with some bigass oaks (30" base) i guess im selfish,i want to burn "other peoples wood"


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## firecracker_77 (Sep 7, 2013)

Scotty Overkill said:


> I've been splitting that chestnut oak the past two evenings, and got to the stump of the one trunk....so I had a little fun and documented how many decent sized splits I could get out of it (a couple Angry Orchard Ginger Apple Ales in the process!)
> 
> View attachment 110489
> 
> ...


 
Nice Scotty

If I lived out your way, I'd be drinking Yuengling non stop.


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 7, 2013)

JOHN BOY said:


> This oak was 27 inches across , this was one of 2 ive been working on for the past 3 weeks . The  other was 24 inches across.  30 splits ranging from 4 - 6 inches
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Both my wife and I see either a fish trying to grow horns or perhaps a devil cat.


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