Wood Splitting Purists.....

[firedog]

My chainsaw of choice is a Husky 372XP with a 24 inch bar will full compliment chain. (I don't like to use the anti-kickback chain, I like the aggressive stuff.) I figure if I can't cut it with the 24 inch bar, then its too big for me to do anything with.

Oh yeah...That 372's a nice saw. I've been running a 257 w/20" for about 16 years; runs just a good now as it did new.

 

[studor]

"Any fool can be uncomfortable"
I used to split the two to three full cords we burn in the winter by hand but now the HF logsplitter seems to just make so much more sense. Now in my mid fifties I can still split wood but the question I ask myself is why???

 

[randy41]

not sure how much wood i burn per year but whatever i burn i split by hand. maybe a couple of cords.

I quote myself to add my age....58. used to have teenage sons to do the splitting but they grew up and moved on. i expect I will burn more wood this year and as long as the ground is frozen and the wood is not knotty (mostly locust) once I get into the swing of it its a piece of cake. I like the whole scenario of making firewood. Splitting by hand is great exercise during an otherwise couch potato time of year.

 

[Youare]

Well... we have been heating our home with only wood since 1974 and I was 22 then which I figure makes me about 56 now.

On average we use around 7 full cords of wood a year plus a few cords for friends. Up until three years ago every thing was split by hand which included an axe, 6 & 8 lb. splitting mauls, and steel wedges. I enjoyed hand splitting and most of the time I could split by hand faster than the hydraulic splitters I tried.

As age crept into my elbows I decided to purchase a wood splitter. I bought a SuperSpilt which has a 4 second cycle time. There is no way anyone could split faster by hand than this machine can go. I only wish I would have bought one years ago.

Alone it takes me 45 minutes to split a cord of wood, if I have a helper to feed the chunks to me I can go though a cord in half an hour. I liked splitting wood by hand but now I really like splitting wood with the SuperSplit.

Randy

 

[AndyinIowa]

The term purist is very relative! Hand splitting doesn't make you a purist!

I use a stone axe, and pull a wooden hand cart to the timber. After whacking down a tree, I use a flint knife to cut it into firewood..

I drag it back to the cave, and wait for someone to discover fire...

Now THAT is a firewood purist. No matches, no kindling. Just wood...

IowaAndy

PS - I *might* use a BX2350 somewhere in that process, but as a purist I won't admit it!

 

[BigEddy]

I burn about 5 full cords a year. I'm 42 and I guess I'm "in between". I have 75 treed acres, and cut and split right where it falls, then haul it home to the pile. Up until last year, I split everything by hand. Last summer I built a splitter and in the spring this year, I did some of both. I find with the smaller stuff and the clear trunks, it's a lot faster and easier to roll the blocks upright, whack them once and toss them in the trailer. But with the big stuff, the twisted elm, and some of the crotches, I drag those over to the splitter and let it take care of them. Heck of a lot more lifting and bending, harder on the back overall, and not as pleasant, but it takes care of those stubborn ones.

I think I'll probably keep using that approach going forward - splitting the easy stuff by hand and using power for the tough stuff. Nicest thing about the hand splitting (besides the peace and exercise) is that I'm only ever moving small chunks around, instead of trying to man-handle large rounds.

 

[HickoryNut]

50 yo, put up 4-5 cords per year for the past 12 years. Maul and sledge/wedge for me. A splitter just doesn't make economic sense with a couple days use per year. As sadistic entertainment, I like to use a magic marker and draw a quick rendition of my boss, mother-in-law, or neighbor's face with their eyes straddling where I want to smack the log.

 

[kernal]

Cut ~6 face cord this past sat, another 5 two weeks before. Split by hand with a go-devil aka maul. Brother burns ~20 a year as primary heat source. My new (old) house with an insert burned around 5 face cord, estimating this years use around 7, full winter. Really thinking of a wood splitter.

Scott

 

[dfkrug]

I am up to about 2-2.5 cords per winter. All manually split with large maul.
I find the chainsaw work to be harder than the splitting, partly due to the
position. I am in my 50s now, but I still have no interest in using a hyd
splitter. Moving the cut log rounds to the splitter would be even harder.
I can barely move some of my cut rounds, even at 16-18" lengths. So I
split in place. I have enough wood to burn all the hardwoods and give away
the Douglas fir.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Ok so I am a young 50. Being in the tree business I get the opportunity to see and split plenty of wood. I really enjoy splitting with a 8 lb maul dry fir and straight maple. With the big gnarly rounds with branches and twist I use a tow behind 34 ton splitter. Nothing has stopped that beast so far. My saws are from 16" top handle Husvarnas, 260 Husky and 40" 2100 Husky, along with 046 and 026 Stihl saws.
I cut and split the wood at my Dad's place right now I have 10 dry cords all ready for him and myself. Although we only burn about 2 cords each season. I end up donating a cord or two to low income retirees each year.
Nothing beats splitting rounds by hand though.

 

[czechsonofagun]

I am younger - 44. I split all the wood with a big axe, never used splitting maul, probably because thats how we do it in my country. For big pieces I have wood grenade.
But we don't have a stove in the house, all my wood is for outdoor fires and for my pizza oven.

 

[EdC]

I'm 55 and we go through 3 cords or so per year. I use a maul most of the time but last year i had shoulder surgery and switched to a Gerber camp axe (and smaller rounds ). Swacked the axe as hard as I could (safely) into the wood left handed then smacked the back of the axe with a 4 pound sledge to split the round. It was pretty slow going but got me outside in the fresh air. This year I'm back to the maul.

 

[Sackett2]

I'll post this for my dad, as I burn pellets.
He is 72 and tries to keep a few cords of wood for the shops and emergency heat. Untill this year it was done with mauls, wedges and axes and chainsaws.
The recent addition of a tractor into out lives will make the retrieving of the wood easier, and as I was buying a rear blade for my tractor the seller also sells small electric/hyd. (cute) desk size splitter. He bought one at about 230.00 and it went right through a large piece of wood he already bounced a maul off of. We don't expect it to last forever, nor be able to cut massive yards of wood every year, but if it saves his back and keeps the shop fire going then it's money well spent.

 

[ToadHill]

When I was younger, up to about age 55 I used to split all 4 cords of my wood with a maul and wedges. The last year I did it I had back issues and the wife suggested I get a splitter so I bought what is called a BarkBuster. It looks like a big screw that is driven by the PTO. After the arm that stops the wood from spinning broke and almost broke both my arms, We converted to a Hyd. unit.

 

[have_blue]

I quit splitting wood many years ago. I've split quite enough in my day.

Growing up, I had to split wood or freeze. By the time I was 14, I had chopped and split so much wood that it made me swing a bat and golf clubs cross handed. I used a single bit ax for the straight grained blocks, but gave in to a sledge and wedges for the gnarly blocks. To this day when I cut up a tree, I automatically assess how the blocks might split. Just sitting here typing I can smell freshly split oak. I think all that splitting traumatized me.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I burn pellets now, but my dad is in his 80's and he still burns several cords a year all hand split. Course his stove can handle some big pieces, so he doesn't have to split under 10"-12" or so.

 

[deerefan]

30 years old and a die hard by hand wood splitter. I can't stand lifting weights, running etc. in a gym so I try different rustic form of exercise (wood spliting, hiking, tracking wildlife). Now I say I'll never own a mechanical splitter, but being a young buck who knows what the future holds.

 

[tbalz]

30 years old. I hand split 5-7 chords a year. I need the exercise and I am too cheap to buy a splitter. I have had back surgery and it helps keep me limber. Nothing like splitting frozen Ash. Flies across the yard.

I split all year round no more than 2 hours at a time. Keeps the supply topped off and I dont lose any weekends.

 

[dfkrug]

Do all you manual splitting fans have one of these? I got this from my
FIL about 15 y ago, and what a discovery it was!

When I was a kid in the 60s, we used a sledge hammer and wedge....that
was AWFUL.

 

[john_bud]

My buddy has a 5hp hydro splitter. We work in tandem, he saws and I split. Probably about 4 cords for me and maybe 5-6 for him as he heats both house and shop.

I used to use a 8# sledge and an 8# maul and a single bit ax. Whew, that was work! Who ever said, "wood, heats ya twice" had no clue. It heats me up about 8 times before it gets burned!!

jb