As documented in two other threads, I recently retrieved a large Post Oak that had fallen in a neighbors front yard. Once I got it all down I had ten 20 inch rounds that had to be split so I could carry them up a little hill to my truck. Several of these were about 27 inches in diameter and even the smallest was over 20 inches.
So, I decided to try something new that I had read about on this forum. I took my MS390 and cut grooves into the top of the rounds. On the larger rounds I pre-cut into quarters then eighths. I noodled the groves to about 3/4 inch deep.
Then I took my two splitting wedges and a hand sledge and pounded the wedges into the groves. I was amazed that the first one I tried split in half with only four or five half hearted taps. Not all of the rounds split so easily because of twists or knots.
For most of the rounds, I knocked the wedges into the grooves then used my ten pound sledge to drive the wedges on in.
Most of the rounds split right along the grooves but not all did. Some splits started along the groove then ended up following the natural grain of the wood. (Like the one in the photo below.) Regardless, I found it much easier to get the first splits done after noodling grooves, then using wedge and sledge. Subsequent splits were done mostly with my Fiskars SS.
Below: The splits on the tail gate came from one round.
So, I decided to try something new that I had read about on this forum. I took my MS390 and cut grooves into the top of the rounds. On the larger rounds I pre-cut into quarters then eighths. I noodled the groves to about 3/4 inch deep.
Then I took my two splitting wedges and a hand sledge and pounded the wedges into the groves. I was amazed that the first one I tried split in half with only four or five half hearted taps. Not all of the rounds split so easily because of twists or knots.
For most of the rounds, I knocked the wedges into the grooves then used my ten pound sledge to drive the wedges on in.
Most of the rounds split right along the grooves but not all did. Some splits started along the groove then ended up following the natural grain of the wood. (Like the one in the photo below.) Regardless, I found it much easier to get the first splits done after noodling grooves, then using wedge and sledge. Subsequent splits were done mostly with my Fiskars SS.
Below: The splits on the tail gate came from one round.