Firewood thread.

[Beirut]

Why would you ever buy wood split?

Joe Citizen, being busy, being un-axeman-like, being not in physical condition to do so, might, and often does, require his wood to be pre-split.

For my part, few things in my life were as subtle and glorious as going out early Sunday morning with my coffee and my dog and laying axe to wood that had been bucked up during the week. No motor noises, just the "shling!" of a proper swing.


Edit - I would refer to my previous post at the end of Page 1 of this thread. I do not wish my apologies to Don Corleone to go unnoticed.

[Samurai Waki]

I usually burn about 10 cords a winter. Then again its still snowy here...

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Joe Citizen, being busy, being un-axeman-like, being not in physical condition to do so, might, and often does, require his wood to be pre-split.

For my part, few things in my life were as subtle and glorious as going out early Sunday morning with my coffee and my dog and laying axe to wood that had been bucked up during the week. No motor noises, just the "shling!" of a proper swing.


Edit - I would refer to my previous post at the end of Page 1 of this thread. I do not wish my apologies to Don Corleone to go unnoticed.

There is certainly something magical about splitting wood. I feel trapped here, I'm surrounded by woods and all that, but my dad doesn't want me felling anything alone, doesn't really have the desire to do it with me most of the time (he's really busy) and I don't have a proper place to split wood either! I went to Germany and learned (sorta....) the fine art of splitting wood, destroying a hammer, axe and maul in the process of course, and now I'm unable to chop any wood!

Oh we don't have a proper axe either. Just an overgrown hatchet and three mauls. On that note what type of maul/axe/hatchet do you use Beirut? I'm really curious to hear what a true woodsman has to say about the tools required for splitting wood. Except maybe wedges and stuff like that, those seem to be fairly generic, though I could also be thoroughly uneducated in the use of wedges and other accessories as well.

[Don Corleone]

Gentlemen,

It appears I have given unintended offence to our honoured colleague and co-member, Don Corleone.

For any misunderstanding or badly worded comments on my side, I offer my apologies.

Boy, talk about feeling like an ass now. Actually, i think I should be apologizing to you Beirut, for that rather rash PM I sent I you. I'm a little frayed around the edges these days. Don't pay me any mind, just chalk it up to Mrs. Corleone being 9 months pregnant. Sorry.

[Beirut]

Oh we don't have a proper axe either. Just an overgrown hatchet and three mauls. On that note what type of maul/axe/hatchet do you use Beirut? I'm really curious to hear what a true woodsman has to say about the tools required for splitting wood. Except maybe wedges and stuff like that, those seem to be fairly generic, though I could also be thoroughly uneducated in the use of wedges and other accessories as well.

T'is the opinion of all of us in the crew that nothing beats the standard hardware store 8lb maul. Sledge hammers and wedges when required.




As far as plastic handles on axes go - No! No! No! No! No!



Don Corleone,

My dear sir, with a woman in a 9th month state of being "with family", you could be forgiven for burning down the Taj Mahal. But I believe the fault lies with my post anyway.


On with the firewood!

[Samurai Waki]

Thats a nice maul.... hmmmm.....

Edit: On a Side Note I should Say that Cedar is extremely difficult to split, Those Mammoth Trees on RTW are close to the same size as most of the Cedars around here. I've never felled one, but a neighbor needed one cut down as it was beginning to lean precariously close to his house. After the Lumberjacks got it down, he decided he wasn't going to sell it. And in return for about eight cords we spent the weekend trying to get the damn thing cut into about thirty 3' sections.

[Vladimir]

Free.

[Beirut]

Free.

Free... what?

[Vladimir]

Free... what?

Free wood, whatever I pick up/chop off that's dry. Soil around here isn't that well developed so there are a couple trees that have fallen over. It's only for outdoor use. I will make a note of what you use though because using it inside is quite different.

Oh and stop teasing people about the dimensions of their wood!

[Uesugi Kenshin]

T'is the opinion of all of us in the crew that nothing beats the standard hardware store 8lb maul. Sledge hammers and wedges when required.




As far as plastic handles on axes go - No! No! No! No! No!



Don Corleone,

My dear sir, with a woman in a 9th month state of being "with family", you could be forgiven for burning down the Taj Mahal. But I believe the fault lies with my post anyway.


On with the firewood!

Have you ever heard of Mega Mauls? They're monsters. We have one, and two really shoddy old wooden mauls almost exactly like what you showed. Well actually don't get me wrong, they were probably great mauls, but they seem to be old and the head seems to be coming off the handle. Anyway back to mega mauls, they're 18-20lb I believe, pure steel, painted red, and with a big foamy thing covering the handle to lessen the blows. I would never use one for any extended period of time as the things are damn heavy and though I am no lightweight they'll really tire you out fast, oh and they have a fairly short handle so you don't get the same sort of swing out of it as a normal maul. They're great for the occasional odd-jobs. I've definitely used it more often as a hammer, or to break apart stone, but I bet it would do much better on particularly nasty pieces of wood than your standard maul. Oh and I can't imagine breaking one like I broke that standard maul, I nailed a piece of wood with the part of the maul just below the head and it just kinked to the side at a horrible angle. That was the end of that handle.

What's your opinion of fiberglass handled tools?
And do you just use a standard axe or do you have any tricks to extend the life of your axe, or of course use fiberglass?

After I broke an axe trying to take on pieces of wood that were too large for the axe my German host family got a new handle and I believe they screwed a piece of metal into the handle just below the head to reinforce it or something like that. Also our over-sized hatchet has a big rubber thing covering that part of it, I assume to lessen the impact of badly aimed blows and maybe help keep the wood from splitting down the grain? Any thoughts?

[Beirut]

Have you ever heard of Mega Mauls? They're monsters. We have one, and two really shoddy old wooden mauls almost exactly like what you showed. Well actually don't get me wrong, they were probably great mauls, but they seem to be old and the head seems to be coming off the handle. Anyway back to mega mauls, they're 18-20lb I believe, pure steel, painted red, and with a big foamy thing covering the handle to lessen the blows.

I might have seen a picture of one. The thing was big, and shaped like an equilateral triangle. Very odd.

I'd prefer a 10lb maul, but I have yet to find one. All the ones I see are 8lb. The really nice hand-forged mauls are about 6 1/6lb. Very nice axes but that's a bit small.

What's your opinion of fiberglass handled tools?

Bad.

We have a few fiberglass handled tools in the work truck, but they're the emergency tools. I find fiberglass handles transmit too much of the vibration to your back, and it hurts after a while. Also, as soon as they are damaged even a bit or become loose, they're finished. You can always rig a wood handle to last a bit longer if need be.

Also, a good axe is a classic tool of wood and steel. Fiberglass seems out of place.

And do you just use a standard axe or do you have any tricks to extend the life of your axe, or of course use fiberglass?

For splitting wood, it's the standard hardware store 8lb maul. I have a nice little plastic handled (Oops!) Gerber axe that I wear on my belt sometimes. it comes in handy on certain jobs. I have a lovely hand-forged Gransfors "small forest axe" that I fart around with, I'll bring it on a job just for fun. Good for limbing green softwoods. I also have a small hand-forged broad axe for log work.

To keep them in good shape, mostly you have to avoid letting the handle dry out and crack. Don't leave it out in the sun and the rain,m tbat sort of thing. For the splitting axes, most guys wrap the last few inches of the handle next to the blade with cement wire. helps protect it on bad swings. Some guys just use duck tape.

After I broke an axe trying to take on pieces of wood that were too large for the axe my German host family got a new handle and I believe they screwed a piece of metal into the handle just below the head to reinforce it or something like that. Also our over-sized hatchet has a big rubber thing covering that part of it, I assume to lessen the impact of badly aimed blows and maybe help keep the wood from splitting down the grain? Any thoughts?

I've never seen that "screwed a piece of metal into the handle" thing before but it sounds neat. As for the handle, I just wear gloves. I personally don't like foam handles, I lose too much feel and control.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

I'm not a huge fan of the mega maul's handle, but the thing is great for busting up stone and any other miscellaneous hard to break stuff you need to smash up, and as a post driver it's top-notch!

Ya know I've never actually used a fiberglass handled tool, I wish I had but my host family got a fiberglass handled maul right before I left so I never used it. I guess if I knew more about how to replace an axe-handle I wouldn't be so worried about them breaking. When I left Germany I was just barely getting comfortable with the length of a maul...

I'm glad you told me about the added strain and impact of a fiberglass handle, I was really enthusiastic about them before because I had heard they were harder to break, but splitting wood can be tough enough without that added vibration and damage...

Thanks for the tips!

[Beirut]

I'm glad you told me about the added strain and impact of a fiberglass handle, I was really enthusiastic about them before because I had heard they were harder to break, but splitting wood can be tough enough without that added vibration and damage...

Thanks for the tips!

My pleasure. Anything to help reduce back pain for a fellow Orgster.

One or two of the other guys mentioned the same thing so I don't think it's just my imagination. We all noticed an increase in lower back pain when splitting wood with a fiberglass handled axe.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

So I went outside and downed a very small tree today, a sapling really, because it was edging into our field and that's not cool with my dad. Anyway I was wondering what the usual length of an axe haft is. I know that what we have seems to be pretty short for an axe, but big for a hatchet. It's probably about as long as my forearm and has a fairly normal/nondescript axe head. Any thoughts on both the length of a standard axe and what the actual purpose of this device is?

[Beirut]

So I went outside and downed a very small tree today, a sapling really, because it was edging into our field and that's not cool with my dad. Anyway I was wondering what the usual length of an axe haft is. I know that what we have seems to be pretty short for an axe, but big for a hatchet. It's probably about as long as my forearm and has a fairly normal/nondescript axe head. Any thoughts on both the length of a standard axe and what the actual purpose of this device is?

Interesting.

I guess most mauls and full size axes have handles about 24" to 30". My Gransfors Small Forest Axe has a 19" handle. Long enough to work with but still portable. My hatchets have handles about 10" or so.

There are countless varieties of axes and handle lengths. The are carpenter's axes, wood building axes, shingle making axes, all kinds of things, so it's hard to say exactly what yours is. Sounds like either a big hatchet or a small forest axe like I have.

Check out the products page at Granfors, maybe you'll see something resembling what you have.
http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/index.html

[naut]

Not Eucalyptus, way to much oil and resin inside. Mostly we just pick up what ever's cheap and dry since it doesn't often get that cold round here.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Excuse my ignorance, but what's the difference between an axe and a maul? We city folk don't get to do much wood-splitting. At least, the police in Hyde Park weren't very happy the last time I tried.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Excuse my ignorance, but what's the difference between an axe and a maul? We city folk don't get to do much wood-splitting. At least, the police in Hyde Park weren't very happy the last time I tried.

I'm no hardcore lumberjack but basically a maul is a bigger heavier axe with a much longer handle and much bigger heavier head. Mauls also tend to have much squarer blunter blades and can be used much more easily as hammers. Mauls are awesome for splitting wood, and driving the occasional wedge or stake, but as far as I know they're much worse at doing any of the finer work. For example chopping up a tree, or chopping off branches, though I did use one for that once and wasn't too disappointed. Beirut may have some more to add though.

EDIT:
Our axe is probably most like the Large Swedish Carving Axe. It has a very similar haft, and the axe-head is pretty much right on, the size sounds about right too. About 10-16 inches. Luckily I was only felling a sapling otherwise I would have been in trouble. It was the first tree I downed alone too so starting small and simple seemed like a good idea.

http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/pro...orkofotar.html

[Papewaio]

I put the air conditioner on reverse cycle.

Way back when I was in NZ, hardwood was used a lot in pot belly stoves and the wood oven was a treat.

On a scout camp once we decided to use bamboo... luck being that the shoots were only finger width as they went off like crackers.

[Xiahou]

I haven't done any splitting for years, but when I did it was using this thing which was called a "monster maul".

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I'm sure the steel construction made it pretty terrible for my joints, but its weight, 15-20lbs iirc, definitely got the job done.

[Beirut]

Yep, that's what I saw before; Xiahou's Darth Maul of Doom.

My lower back will thank you not to lend that to me.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Yep, that's what I saw before; Xiahou's Darth Maul of Doom.

My lower back will thank you not to lend that to me.

I have something very similar too, but I also have two normal 8lb splitting mauls. At least one of those is getting old/loose though. I mainly use the Mega/Monster Maul as a hammer/to break rocks. Due to the size of the wood I have, and the fact that it just goes in a campfire very little splitting is required/possible.

Hey Beirut do you have any idea if there's any reason to split wood other than to make it smaller? I get a feeling it might make it easier to burn as well, and maybe that and the wind helped make some of my fires difficult to start, but I unfortunately have not reached that level of enlightenment yet.

[Beirut]

Hey Beirut do you have any idea if there's any reason to split wood other than to make it smaller? I get a feeling it might make it easier to burn as well, and maybe that and the wind helped make some of my fires difficult to start, but I unfortunately have not reached that level of enlightenment yet.

Splitting it dries it out faster. If you leave a piece whole, the moisture only evaporates through the ends but if you split it, you open up a lot of surface area for the mosisture to leave from.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Splitting it dries it out faster. If you leave a piece whole, the moisture only evaporates through the ends but if you split it, you open up a lot of surface area for the mosisture to leave from.

Ah right, I have heard that somewhere. Hmmm unfortunately I don't know if I could split this stuff. It's probably big enough, or most of it is, but as I did all of this work with a tiny little axe there aren't really any flat parts. I'll check it out later.