Splitting wood
28 10 2006I’ve had a few emails and a comment on the blog (thanks, Dad) asking why I don’t use a splitting maul or block splitter when splitting firewood.
A splitting maul is faster and easier to use if you have the luxury of firewood that’s already been cut to length with a chainsaw. Set up your chopping block next to the sawn blocks, and then swing away.
But what if, like us, you have logs of up to 12ft long (or uprooted tree stumps) and a bow saw, not a chain saw.
Sawing logs to length by hand is seriously hard work, while seasoned tree stumps are a challenge even for a chainsaw.
It’s much easier to split the logs lengthwise into four long billets, and then saw those billets to length. Or to split the tree stumps in half, than half again and finally half again.
For those jobs, three or four steel wedges and a sledge hammer are by far the best tool for the job. And wedges can also be used instead of a splititng maul on shorter blocks of timber.
Of course, if we had enough money we’d have wedges and a blocksplitter - and someone else in to do the hard work!
Driving in the wedges to split the log. It’s important to give the wedges time to their work - drive them with the hammer, then a pause and listen while the wood splits, then resume with the hammer after the cracking sounds stop. (This is a shorter length of log brought inside the steading for photographic purposes!)
The log splits down the middle. If the wood doesn’t quite separate, slide two long lengths of wood into the split and then, pushing one, pulling the other, force the halves apart. With the log split in two, lie the halves face down and split them in two to give four long billets.
Sawing the billets to length to fit the fireplace. This is a lot easier than trying to saw an intact log into lengths. (And again, we’re using the boulder pile as a sawhorse for photographic purposes - well, actually, the Other Half had her slippers on and didn’t want to go out in the mud!)
Blocks of wood can be split with the sledgehammer and wedges. Normally, I’d do this on a block to get the height right, but the idea is to get the wedge started with a small tap or two until it’s secure in the wood and then give it a hefty smack with the hammer.
A final tap of the hammer on the wedge splits the block in half. Watch those fingers!
An hour’s work results in enough wood for a day and half of heating, or a day of heating and cooking. Only 200 more hours to go.
And those Bruks Gransfors tools? They’re aspirational!
Phew! That looks like hard work to me mate, I think I should have a cup of tea and a good lie down after that effort!
My idea of hard work today is digging a large hole in an old hard packed tennis court. I am looking for a “motorised” crow bar to help with the job.
But there is no doubt that such work is good for me and you. I am working on building a set of breeding kennels, erecting a workshop and an above ground garden. Far better than exercise programmes too.
P.S. What happened to the overalls? Don’t tell me they wore out in the middle of the job from hard work.
I don’t know if it’s good for me! Keeps us warm, though.
As for the overalls, I had to do some work with the pigs between jobs and they do like to get a bit friendly.
Good to see I’m not the only one who does without the chainsaw crosscut/hydaurlic system. I have just about completed 2 full cord’s of firewood over the last week or so, its taken several afternoon’s, oak, ash, birch, cherry etc. I have a bahco saw same as yours but a sharp disston crosscut is about 50% more efficient (faster cleaner, more comfortable handle, and doesnt bind in wet wood as it is taper ground and has set on its teeth, only takes a few minutes to sharpen-only needed to do that once during this session) so I use that instead. I used a full wooden maul with steel wedges so the clack clack clack of steel on sledge wouldnt annoy neihbours; I find the wedges are less prone to pop out at the start of the split with the wood maul (12 inch length of 5 inch diameter ash for the maul head, ash handle that gets reused when the head’s wear out) On some halved logs I quartered them just by laying them on the floor and a good acurate aim into the pith centre’s with a splitting axe did the job in 1 or 2 hits (all logs were 4 1/2 to 5 foot long) speeds things up a bit