What's your method for manually splitting the big rounds?

[Clarkbar2311]

Green or some drying time?
Noodle em up?
Wedges? Mauls? Telepathy?

I have a hydraulic splitter but I'd like to be decent at doing it the old fashioned way and to be honest I love it. It's good therapy for working a chitty job.

Just trying to figure out the big ones. By big I mean ~16'' or more. I have some 36"+ rounds of locus that are intimidating me.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[bsearcey]

First let me start by saying I use a Fiskars Super Splitter (I see you have 1 2). With that said 16" is only one or two whacks and you've got it split in half (well depending on the wood, but lets just say red oak). 36" if you really want to go at it without noodling first I would start around the edges knocking that off. This way you work from the outside in. All of this is only true for wood with a relatively straight grain of course. Locust can be a little stringy, but I think you'll be alright. BTW nice score on 36" locust. That'll keep you warm.

 

[thewoodlands]

Green or some drying time?
Noodle em up?
Wedges? Mauls? Telepathy?

I have a hydraulic splitter but I'd like to be decent at doing it the old fashioned way and to be honest I love it. It's good therapy for working a chitty job.

Just trying to figure out the big ones. By big I mean ~16'' or more. I have some 36"+ rounds of locus that are intimidating me.

Thanks,
Jim

American CLS V/H 24 ton splitter.

zap

 

[Flatbedford]

Do the big ones the same as the small ones. It just takes longer, but you spend less time getting the next round. As said above start on the edges work around. Enjoy beating the crap out of it. Locust should be a pretty easy split. I did a couple 30" White Oak rounds today. I'd rather do 30" rounds than 8" rounds. Less bending over.

 

[golfandwoodnut]

Whenever possible, I just split going down the middle, even on the big rounds. I just hit it starting on one end and keep working my way to the other. Locust should be no problem, I split alot of it. Once I got it cracked in half I just start halving and halving. If one really gives me trouble I will start on the edges and work in, but that is pretty rare. Twisted branches or crotches are the pain but normally either my Fiskars or Monster Maul will split most woods. Occassionally if I get some elm I have to give up, not worth the effort. I save the pain in the butt ones for an outdoor fire.

 

[LLigetfa]

Not only green but also fresh cut. When swinging the axe I would look right through the round and aim for the chopping block.

Now that I'm old I use 20 tons.

 

[wood spliter]

If I can't get it with going with my 15lb maul on the first 2 tries I use the sledge and wedge.

 

[Clarkbar2311]

Thanks for the input. I'll try to post some pics of the monsters I am trying to slay.

 

[Wood Duck]

I do it like golfandwoodnut, and try to go right through the middle of the round if I can. I keep hitting it along a line through the middle of the round, and eventually it splits. Sometimes the hits on the close edge seem to do the trick, other times hitting the middle or the far edge works - seems to depend on the round, and some factors that I can't always see. Once it is halved, the halfs go a lot easier. The first split is the tough one.

 

[mayhem]

Anything up to about 16-18" I can usually get cracked open with between 1-5 hits with the maul. Anything beyond that number of hits I bust out the wood grenade and the 12# sledge. Once you crack it in half its easy pickins for the maul or my double bladed chopping axe. I've never had a round I couldn't split open with a little effort and the wood grenade...real stringy stuff like elm will eventually blow open with the sledge but the grenade will get lost inside the heartwood and its still too together to pull apart by hand...thats where my axe comes into play...its almost shaving sharp and does a great job of cutting those strings apart.

I have a very needy family so I don't have the luxury of deciding if I want to split wood when its green or partially dry or whatever...I split when I can and do as much as possible at that time.

 

[zzr7ky]

Hi -

It usually works best to 'pop' off slabs so the round is about square. Then take off the resulting corners leaving a squareish shape again. If piece is especially anoying steel wedges, and even wooden wedges, or smaller splits may be pounded in.

That said I avoid nasty wood when I can. I'll leave some nasty crotches in the woods. If cutting at home I may cut them into 6" thich 'cookies' that can be split into chunks that will fit in the stove.

Life's to short to mess with nasty crotches!! You may quote me on that ; )

A couple mauls, a sledge and several wedges are handy.

ATB,
Mike

 

[willworkforwood]

Just one thing to add to all of the good stuff above. Unless the round has an obvious problem, I'll usually try to run a line down the middle first. But, all of us who do lots of hand splitting know that wood sends back sounds and vibes. Sometimes those signals say "maybe", and once in a while the message is "fugedadaboutit". If I don't like what I hear and feel from those first few shots, it's a quick switch to slabbing off the sides. And even the outside occasionally has places that needs to be "worked around". I do small splits, so slabbing isn't a problem for me. But, if you like larger splits, then working off the sides might not produce the split size you're looking for, and wedges are likely to work better. So if you want to get better at hand splitting, tune into what the wood is telling you.

 

[quads]

I've never split anything over 3 feet in diameter. I've been hand splitting my whole life. I've been using the same 6# maul for 30+ years, with the same handle for 25+ years. I split a minimum of 5 cord per year, some years double that. All of the rounds are split out in the woods right where they lay after I cut the tree up. Here are a few videos showing how I split everything, large or small.

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And one of splitting a crotch:

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[Adios Pantalones]

Sharp maul splits best (though some worry about safety). You will get olde timey wisdom about using a dull maul, but NO WAY does it work better as the edge is what starts and guides the blade in.

If I can pop it in half, I do, but if it's a PITA or I have a lot of them to do, I whittle away from the sides.

Fresh as you can get the log is better, but some woods are tough no matter what.

If it's a crotch- try and take pieces off that follow from one leg straight through, rather than through the crotch first.

Sledge and wedge when the going gets real tough.

 

[jeff_t]

I wasn't that impressed with my Fiskars when I first got it. I had a red oak trunk in my driveway I finally got cut up into three rounds about 40" diameter. I started whacking right across the middle of two of them and they split right into two pieces. I don't think my 15 lb maul would have done that. The third round had a big branch that came out the side. I had two make a cut into that one to get the wedge started, but the Fiskars did a pretty good job after that. I only had to make three splits with the hydraulic on what was left.

 

[quads]

On the subject of dull or sharp maul. Dull maul works best for me. My maul has been sharpened once in over 30 years and I was sorry I did that. It sticks too much when it's sharp. I like to keep my ax sharp though, because I'm cutting across/against the grain. I'm not trying to cut anything with the maul, just split with the grain. As long as the maul is reasonably pointy, it splits the grain open just fine for me. It definitely does not cut anything very well though.

But your results may vary. Do what you want.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Huh- my maul doesn't get stuck- even right after sharpening- it just splits better.

It's a steeper angle sharpening than an axe, but still sharp.

 

[quads]

Huh- my maul doesn't get stuck- even right after sharpening- it just splits better.

It's a steeper angle sharpening than an axe, but still sharp.

I think my maul has a more slender 'nose' than most, so that may be the difference? Many of them that I have seen, especially the 8# mauls, have a much thicker 'nose' (the area between the edge and the handle hole, I'm not sure if there is a correct name for it), which gives them a more blunt shape overall. Possibly a razor-sharp edge on those makes them work better, since they are more blunt-shaped to begin with, might not stick as easily?

 

[golfandwoodnut]

It depends on the weapon of choice. The Fiskars is an axe, and wants to be sharp. The Monster Maul doesn't even have an edge, and I agree with Quads, it is better left dull, no getting stuck that way. My Monster Maul is just a wedge of steel with no edge, never had one, and I like that, one less thing to worry about.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Quads- I have an 8#er, and you may be right. The difference in effectiveness is quite striking when I hit it with the file. I admit to being tempted to get a Fiskars, only because I like having sharp toys around.

I have a couple of Gransfors Bruks axes (limbing axe and hunting hatchet)- I axed for one of them for Christmas, bought the other for myself. Those things take a serious edge.

 

[Clarkbar2311]

Thanks for the info guys. I truly appreciate it. This is one of those tasks that I want to be able to teach my kids as they get older.

 

[ken999]

Sledge with wedges. I like a heavy long handled sledge and a shorter, 8 lb sledge...both have there uses. On the wedges, one is a wood grenade that I sharpened to a point, the others are a mix of standard hardware store and Wetterlings wedges.

Big rounds usually take 3-4 wedges. After the biguns are popped, I switch to a Gransfors splitting mual.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Sledges with wedges and a torpedo. I have an 8 lb and a longer 10lb sledge. I could probably use another wedge or two, but the 3 pieces I have now just about do the job for me. I split a lot of big Red Oak recently, some 36in+ and fairly wet. Some had knots or a little twist, so it could get hard. Ultimately, most I could split. A couple of them I lost my patience on and took the saw to them.

I start near the edges with a wedge. If it goes well, I add a second wedge closer to the center. Then the torpedo increases the gap and frees the wedges (usually) to be used at other points to widen the split. Eventually, a few good whacks with my 8lb maul to cut through any strands still attached to both sides.

Oh, BTW I have found it very effective to take the saw and cut edge notches at about a 30 degree angle, trying to match likely split lines already starting naturally. This really helps to get the first wedge going quicker and easier.

 

[Cluttermagnet]

Here are a bunch of ~24in rounds split with wedges. These were
too easy- almost like cutting through butter. Well, OK- maybe you
don't need the sledge for cutting butter.