Don't Split Big Firewood Rounds In Half (usually)
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2021
- In this video I tell the actual reasons it is often inefficient to split large firewood rounds in half. A common scenario is people thinking they need to split rounds in half, regardless of the size. Sometimes it is to put them on a mechanical splitter. In many woods, most of the blows spent splitting the wood in half could result in a finished piece of firewood instead. Once the mass is whittled down, you can split it in half much more easily. With large rounds, try slabbing off the sides first. I didn't say it in the video, but it uses the mass to advantage, by being able to hit a stable core, which directs more energy to removing the slab, rather than moving the round. There is usually not a good reason to split large rounds in half first, depending on the wood of course. Even if you are using a mechanical splitter, why hit a round 8, 10 12 times or more to get it in half, and then more to quarter it, when in many woods that would equal 6 to 10 pieces of firewood if you were slabbing off the side? Once it is smaller, then you can split it small enough to lift if it's not already, or maybe just finish with the maul instead
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I try to avoid big rounds, but when I cant, or I want to for boards or something, I find a large wooden maul and a couple steel wedges with wood inserts are a game changer. Just tap them in, and lift and drop the maul, almost no effort like one uses swinging hard with an axe or splitting maul, and in a few taps it splits, and exactly where you want it to. Once in quarters the axe normally makes quick work of the rest, as you show. I would probably avoid this technique if steel wedges and steel hammer were my only option, the sound and danger issue there is offputting, but the lovely thunk thunk of the wooden maul on the "socket wedges" is nice and pleasant, and no danger of mushroomed sharpnel. I guess the only downside is finding these style wedges, but a person could just weld a short section of square pipe to the struck end of a normal steel wedge and that would probably work.
I kind of like big rounds, as long as I don't have to move them too much.. It's fun to walk around and slab them off of a stable mass. I hate driving loud steel wedges. I've never used socket wedges, but the advantages seem obvious as far as that goes. I'm not likely to ever carry wedges into the field. I'm also not patient and methodical like you, though I might benefit from it ha ha. On the occasions I want to split something in quarters first, I'm probably going to either grab a couple of axes or heads and use them as wedges, or just use an axe or maul and tough it out. but that is usually only if I want to save some lathe wood or slabs like here. I have a couple of old wedges from the logging industry here. The are steel, but long, wide and thin. I"m not totally sure if they were for producing split goods, or felling, or both. Split goods was a big industry here in the redwoods. Homesteaders often made money cutting down trees on their place, or a friends, and splitting them into grape stakes and fence rails and such. If you ever come out here, visit the redwoods. The tallest tree in the world was in a park bordering my neighbors property. I think the top broke off and it lost it's status haha. They are amazing.
I hate to be a fangirl, especially as I am biologically male, but I love both of you so much. I wish I had more to add... I continue to learn from you both and just want to be yet another voice saying you’re doing the right thing and I appreciate it, and it tickles me to see you in conversation.
FINALLY! The physics of splitting a large area is demonstrated as being more difficult. Larger area or larger mass, means more fibres connected over a larger area and more work. Simple. AND, never strike an unsupported log to split it. Hundereds of You Tubers have not figured these things out, even the big names. Thanks!
I was joking about not hitting unsupported wood. It seems to make sense to never hit unsupported work, but it's more complicated than that in real life. I hit unsupported wood all the time. it's one of my favorite ways to split. A lot of the big names seem to be relative newbs .
@@SkillCult : some rounds i was splitting this fall were too big and heavy to put up on a block . i just made 4 saw cuts on the edge of the round at four corners and they popped pretty good .
I know you have a whole channel and all, but A+ for accuracy of your initial blows 👌👌👌
I've been watching these and chopping my own wood for years now and I'm still amazed by your accuracy with successive blows, I have gotten better technique over the years and don't tend to hurt my wrists or back any more. I've wanted a froe for a while now, I should have a look into it. Great video, not being a super beefy guy I've always picked my large rounds apart like this, brains can get you where brawn can't always.
Steven you're so awesome!!! I have 2 50-60 foot pecan trees I was hired to remove so this comes at the right time! All the wood is in our back yard... Stay blessed Brother
Amazing info. THANK YOU , SIR 🙏
Been splitting wood for some time, but (and this is especially true when there's spectators) I'm not one to deviate from traditionally accepted methods.
This here is GREAT!
Well, try it out and see how it works for you. I do it a lot, even on med sized rounds.
i always learn something new when watching your videos! love the axe content!
My father taught me this technique when I was younger. I came looking for this after seeing several "pros" putting in too much effort trying to split large slabs into half. I found exactly what I was looking for 👍
It is certainly not as common as it should be. It is very practical and efficient way to make firewood in many scenarios. There seem to be a lot of proponents of splitting them with wedges, but it doesn't make sense to me. I can split a couple of slabs off by the time someone picks up a wedge and starts tapping it in, then another slab for every blow of the sledge. Do the math lol. There are a lot of terrible wood splitting videos on youtube. I have a playlist of stuff that is worth watching. ua-cam.com/video/ZMTnhDr8Wa4/v-deo.html A lot of people showing off, but not all of it and impressive anyway.
Man great video, so glad to see this content!
It was your Axe knowledge and skills WHO brought me to your channel. Informative video.💯
You are right about slitting or bisecting the knots. Another tip is to split through the knots with the log 'upside down' from the direction of growth. I've split a lot of wood as my family heated our house with wood and I worked for my uncle who had a firewood business when I was a teenager. We had hydraulic splitters at the wood business but the same techniques apply. We would "slab" wood off the larger diameter logs, as you said. It makes no sense to try and "power through" a big log and risk breaking equipment or your tools.
Fir is really hard to split through knots. Oak here I'll do it and cleave a knot right in two, but this stuff for some reason, it's easier to go around. I just object to people hitting a log many times to split it in half, when one or two of those blows will take off a chunk of wood and reduce the mass to split it in half when it's time. People do it all the time. They just don't know slabbing is a real option. Been there done that.
@@SkillCult True, I was thinking hardwood. I think the issue is conifer trunks seem to grow more around the limbs as it ages. "softwoods" absorb a lot of the energy of the maul also.
That is so true! My grandpa taught me this years ago, and it really works wonders! It doesn’t need to pretty to work.
Always enjoy your axe contact!
Very informative! Thank you!!
Don't forget to film yourself upgrading your maul! Can never get enough axe-videos
I realized your doing this to make things near the end. Most of the video i was saying in my head i just split from the outside the wood burns great in my stove lol. Great video tho new sub.
I have had some minor heart problems lately and seeing you wack the wood so many times without a break really turned up my anxiety :D
Don't die :)
"Maybe I suck" 😂😂 bro you hittin that wood like a sharpshooter. Mad skills
Well said: God help the aesthetic-firewood folks. A friend of mine sells cordwood, and he’s got one couple that comes equipped with a moisture meter. 🤣
Brilliant. That’s the missing link for me. Great video mate thank you 👍
Very informative and useful.
"I like doing improper things." Great quote!
Steven, With the big tough rounds, I use the sledge and wedges to split them in half. Once that is done, the rest of the splitting becomes relatively easy-most of the time. Slabbing, as demonstrated by your good self, does work, but, on occasion, the axe or maul that is being used can swing violently away to one side as a slab is being generated. For a fraction of a second, there is no control of the implement. The first time that it happened to me, I found it unnerving. For that reason I am reluctant to use the slabbing method. It happened to Terry Hale in his video about splitting firewood. Furthermore, if there are a lot of knots in the round, slabbing might not be an option. Anyway, whatever method is used should ensure that the work is made as easy as possible, because there is a lot of work in firewood.
Thanks for sharing! You are on point as usual and I know because I split tons of firewood as well as spoon and tool handle blanks with a maul and wedges. I learned the slabbing technique years ago from an 80+ year old guy. He called it 'peeling' a log. With relatively easy splitting woods, it's way faster than a hydraulic splitter. Another technique I use a lot that might be helpful if you do need to halve/quarter the log first is to stick a nicely tuned maul into the log and then drive it through with another maul as if it's a wedge. The handle of the 'wedge' helps control it and you can crank it sideways to help separate the last fibers and finish the split.
Yep, it just works better a lot of the time. The majority of the time with very large rounds, but I do it a lot on medium sized too. It's really fun too honestly, to just walk around a big round and slab off piece after piece and watch it shrink.
Good to see you back with an axe :-)
That is beautiful wood! Jelly!
Lovely grain, thanks for the video.
@@TubeMeisterJC I don't care for that handle, it's just one I had to stick on there. Like I said, going with a longer one and definitely straight. I usually use a 6 lb, but I'm pretty sure once this one is dialed, It will be my most used. Everything that I split besides the long center split was pretty easy. I literally picked the worst possible spot on the entire log to start that split. Otherwise, it would have been much easier. Many large rounds, even of fir, are hard to split down the middle. The point of the video is that if you can knock off slabs to reduce the mass first, getting most slabs off with one or two blows, it just makes more sense to do it that way. I have split every species here and I use slabbing all the time. Not just on large rounds, but often on medium, it just depends on how the wood reads.
that stuff is really nice. I cut some at about 3 feet and split some stuff out.
Looks like you could use a froe.
That is what they used in the old days, to make boards & shakes.
Have a GREAT day, Neighbor!
7:00 Looks like he did use a froe
I have one a viewer made for me. I use it sometimes for that sort of thing. I was out in the field though.
your reasoning of working from the outside in is the way to go. been splitting wood 50 yrs plus.. you've combined intellect with brawn for spitting both works best. your aim is good enough nobody hits it perfect all the time.
I'm 71 and still hand split 85% of my wood.
If it doesn't crack in a couple of hits it goes to the power splitter.
I'm off to the woods for my second truckload. If I need boards I go to the sawyer on the next crossroad.
Axes bold as Love
Thank you for the technic
Thanks
I've ground my maul to a fat concave shape, very similar to the Gransfors Bruk splitting maul, but even chunkier. It blows wood apart like a hydraulic splitter and I take very lazy swings with it. The head is 2,7kg, the handle is like 75cm.
I need to experiment with maul profiles. I usually use them as they are pretty much. I haven't got to try a lot of different types. I'd like to at some point and try to make some improvements. I have ideas...
@@SkillCult The fat concave grind seems to work best for me. It's got the thin edge for starting a crack and then it has the fat cheeks that spread it open
@@SkillCult They all come way too blunt. You don't need to go concave for a big improvement, just grind off the stupid speed bumps just behind the leading edge. No small radius curves allowed, much like grinding a regular axe just not quite as fine of an average angle. After that keep an edge, no need for a slicing knife sharp but don't let it get visibly rounded. Normally they hold an edge for a long time unless your chopping into rocks or letting it rust. I use an angle grinder a clamp and a sawhorse but a bench grinder with a course stone will do if you have elbow room to swing the handle, splash on some water to keep local edge temps below 250f. (They are tempered for hours in the 300f to 500f range, modest heat won't hurt.)
The two notable head style differences that I have seen are round eye vs teardrop (hammer handle vs axe handle) and the amount of metal behind the eye. More metal behind the eye makes it more useful for sledging wedges, and for this dual use you will want a totally straight handle with a decent knob at the end, like you find on a sledge hammer or double bit axe.
I've never even heard of a 5lb maul, 6 is common, 8lb was the standard when all houses used wood and the wood was big, I've seen a few 10lb. (I've seen 5lb axes)
The heavier head will carry more momentum for the same energy, and more energy for a fall from the same swing height. (force over time vs force over distance) And the slower action is more mellow on the body. Basically match the size of the maul to the size of the wood, hatchet for kindling and so on up.
Add to that some nice steel wedges (also grind the edge down to a nice thin taper), or a second maul. If one maul sticks just leave it stuck and hammer it in like a wedge. Again a heavier maul will be much better at sinking wedges, it will also cause less damage to the wedge and maul. (A light thing moving fast does more damage than a heavy thing moving slow. Tackling a person vs shooting them, the tackled person will be moved much more and damaged less while the total energy involved is around 1000J in both cases.)
To Savage, I think you meant CONVEX cheeks on your maul, rather than concave.
@@shermanhofacker4428 i absolutely meant concave, like ground against a big grinding wheel
The froe clip has me intrigued. I saw a guy on UA-cam use direction of pry to be able to control the runout in a roof shake making context--have you ever heard of or accomplished such?
In some circumstances it works, in others it is pretty useless. But yeah, steering the split is part of the design and functionality of the 90 degree handle of a froe. That clip was not really completely what I was talking about, but it looked close enough to get the point across quickly.
Looks great! I just got done working in my yard and now I want to go split some wood.
Hi anthony. Yeah, right it's fun right! :D tom sawyer effect.
My 80 year old uncle was married to a Indian woman her family taught him to ,as he called put a twitch in your axe were you strike wood on slight angle instead off striking straight down takes some practice, force of blow kicks wood out instead of wedge of axe doing work keeps axe form getting stuck all the time
Evening SkillCult,
Recently i have watched your husqvarna axe series. As a concequence of that [positive] i have been wondering your opinion of the estwing campers axe 26".
cheers.
I'm not a fan of any estwing axes. They don't break, that's about the best I can say for them.
@@SkillCult Aye thought so. Luckily i made the reyt choice and acquired an old axe in need of a new handle&sharpening etc. Appreciate the advice throughout your axe videos.
Yep this is exactly what I do. I’m 69 and this is part of my exercise. If you cut enough wood you will figure all this out.
Just had a question, are you still doing the Wim Hof method? If so how's that working out?
No, but I'd like to be. I'd recommend anyone give it a good trial. It's a matter of time and energy for me. If I'm not sure I'm going to get out more than I put in I can't afford to do it. And I'm not sure. It is hard to cut out the time for me. Try it though.
@@SkillCult tried it for probably 8 months and it really helped with my sleeping and cardio (assumption) during winter time, I guess it all depends what kind of lifestyle you have, wouldn't do much good for a desk jockie
Taking chunks off the side of a round is a good way to sprain your wrist's as it kicks the maul and causes it to twist. It's dangerous! get some splitting wedges for the big stuff, have a splitting block to bring the top of the rounds you are splitting to a comfortable height, and always aim for the middle of the piece you are splitting,
I think we are pretty much at odds on all that ha ha.
Never suffered any injury slabbing. I know lots of others do it too. A lot of people grip their handles too tight. Maybe that's the problem. Let the axe go where it wants to.
Wedges? Too slow, not a fan of any kind of regular use. Not for firewood anyway. I will rarely resort to splitting firewood with wedges, but they are occasionally useful.
Splitting blocks, no thanks. That is a good way to lose the ability to generate velocity and velocity is key. speed x mass = momentum and you can't change the mass. Give me a round on a block and a round on the ground and I"ll generate more velocity the lower it is to a point below the usual length of stove wood. You have to set the tool down and lift the wood up, for what real advantage? That ends up being a lot of time and work and stressful bending over. And, finally, all the wood has to be brought to the block instead of dumping it and splitting it where it is. There is a theoretical advantages to having a solid mass behind the round, but it has to be weighed against global energy expenditure. In reality, I don't find it makes so much difference as long as the ground is not very spongy. Very little use of splitting blocks in the best woodsplitting videos I've found on youtube. ua-cam.com/play/PL60FnyEY-eJBEqSSPEPbpfNHoOHiKb72p.html a lot of us eventually realize they are more of a hinderance. I use one once in a while for small pieces mostly. But I recommend everyone try quiting for a while and then going back. If they have to use one, the shorter the better. Some say a block is safer for the user, but that is not always true.
Always hit in the middle. A lot will disagree, including me. I prefer to start at the far edge, then toward the middle or close edge and fill in the blanks. It's the same as the phenomenon that splitting the wedge end of an axe cut log is easier to split than hitting the flat end of a saw cut. I think most rounds split easier from the corner to set the first crack. or from both ends. Mine wasn't, becasue there turned out to be a big fat knot directly underneat. I couldn't have a picked a worse spot on that round period lol. It makes every bit of sense to me why that is- splitting into a 90 degree corner, v.s. the center of a large mass going straight out into a plane, while also fighting all of that inertia to push the sides apart. Occasionally I'll smack the middle first, but if I'm paying attention, I'll start at the far edge, often even with the toe of the axe hanging over the end.
@@SkillCult I grew up splitting wood to heat our house, Ive had my fair share of injuries from doing things wrong, and learnt from them. Splitting wedges makes easy work of those big rounds and its safer! The splitting block does a few things for you, stops your axe or maul from going dull from hitting the ground, it stops the axe from over swing preventing you from putting an axe in your leg or foot, It also brings the wood you are chopping to comfortable hight, That axe/maul head has the most energy potential half way through your swing, not at the end of the full swing. You put all your energy in the first half of a swing, and the second half you are just holding onto the handle. Hitting in the middle gives you a lot of area to aim at, it also keeps the wood you are trying to split stable. when you tell your viewers to work there way in from the sides, they are going to try that on smaller rounds, That axe/maul is going to have less friction on one side than it does on the other, causing it to kick to one side, twisting the handle in your hands, or its going to twist your wrists. which ever is weaker. Im glad to see Mr. Chickadee leaving a comment, Im a huge fan of his!
@@drydenstewartenterprises I don't know how you swing an axe, but I gain more speed at the end of the stroke. It's quite obvious to me now that I rarely use a block. When I do use one, I feel very limited in the power I can generate. it take space to build momentum in a mechanical system of any kind. The idea that using a block is safer is not that simple. It also puts the work and the edge higher, with potentially more likelihood that it will stick in us. But it depends on the size of the block, and how the tool is used. In splitting on the ground, the axe bit is already close to the ground when the potential chaos of impact occurs. It is also safer to drive everywhere at 40 mph wearing a hockey helmet. But I'll pass on that too, because it sounds lame and I probably don't need to. As far as the axe edge, I've been splitting at least half my firewood on a gravel driveway for years. Like other people whotsplit on the ground, we don't really care that much. If I'm using an axe ground thin for chopping, I can usually avoid hitting the ground, because i'm careful and there are things you can do, but with a maul or old more obtuse axe edge, I really don't care about not just a few, but a lot of ground strikes. Like I said to my tech, we can revisit this is 10 years and see if it was a fluke that I've had no accidents, or repetitive stress injury, ever, from splitting wood in the previous decades. I'm 53, not 23. Besides being hit by a piece of flying firewood, which is hard to predict or avoid. I didn't quit using a splitting block because it is dangerous and inefficient, and neither did all the other people that don't use them. And no one told me to, I just gradually quit using them, noticed how much less annoying, more fun and more efficient it was to split on the ground, and never went back. Most of the people that tell me to not split on the ground haven't done it out of fear or theory or because every one says to split on a block. I've done a lot of both. blocks have a place, but I often don't even have one around when I'm splitting and just use a round of wood that is handy if I want one and then split it up for firewood too. And that round is often very small, but I'm not just going to swing wildly at it any old way, even if it appears that way to someone from the outside. The way I see the issue of working off the block is that when slabbing, the still inertia of the mass of the large block seems to be an advantage, instead of a disadvantage, as when trying to move two very large masses apart. Of course, as the split starts, the mass of the maul with the forward inertia it embodies, is going to travel toward the smaller mass, the firewood slab, and push it off, because it can. Presto, firewood slab. Bottom line is that if rounds are at all big, that is how I do it. Sure there is some handle shock, but here I am, injury free, with every reason to continue and no reason to stop.
@@drydenstewartenterprisesa splitting block actually increases the chance of hitting your legs if you really look at it, if you need wedges it’s far easier to cut it with the saw and if you are spraining your wrists slabbing wood maybe splitting is something you shouldn’t do.
Wooden mauls is badass, very fun to make too, remember to chamfer the edges obviously :)
Socket wedges is great! I saw some aluminium ones but ehhhh, seriously I want a steel. Have you seen any commercially?
Curious if you know of any sources where I could purchase some socket wedges!
We always preferred to quarter the stump with a hammer & 2 wedges, and then move to the axe. I have never tried to split a whole stump with an axe. The ratio of surface area to volume will directly affect the burn rate of the log. A log with a flat cross section will burn faster than a log with a round, square, or triangular. Wood pallet fires get brutally hot, scary fast. I don't know of any other benefit to the shape. I think the preference is for logs that will burn more slowly.
I'm not much of a wedge user. Some slabs can be quite thick if you hit them that way. Of course the thicker they are, the more likely they will need more than one blow. As far as surface area to mass ratio, that is true theoretically, but I have never noted it to be an issue. Aside from choosing very large pieces, it's not something I think about when I go to the woodpile. Thanks for commenting
I have a suggestion. You can just stockpile any such logs, provide a couple more mauls, and advertise your exclusive RUSTIC RAGE ROOM. Mother’s Day weekend would be a good date for reservations. Pissed off people who don’t normally have a safe target. Can’t let off loads of steam. As a woman, we are discouraged from hitting some early childhood on. Sometimes, a person just wants to go nuts and let something have it without worrying about actually sending someone to the hospital or damaging relationships or wronging someone. But I am sure you could easily find a couple dozen folks who would turn your most imposing logs into kindling just for stopping it in their stilettos and thank you monetarily for the unconventional therapeutic opportunity.
What Tom Sawyer it. Advertise a five dollar workshop on how to cut firewood and have your students make short work of a pile.
The full round has more mass to absorb energy?
I think that is a legit way to say it. Tthe way I think of it is as the maul attempting to move the wood, or the wood resisting the outward force of the maul. If you hit around the edge to slab, the large mass of the round will very much resist the energy of the head, so the head will move toward the smaller mass. it is easy for the maul to push that small mass off of the side. So you could say I think that less of the energy may be simply absorbed to no or less effect. If we hit it lets say in the center, then the maul has to push both sides apart. If it does not form a deep crack, then most of the energy is simply absorbed as vibration, which doesn't do anything for us. If we hit a small round in the middle, the axe can push the two halves apart more easily. We might split it all the way, or most of the way, through, and the wood might even fly outward. then more of the energy would be used to move the wood around, vs just absorbing the energy as vibration, or transferring some of it to the ground or back up the handle, etc. Makes sense to me when looking at it as where the energy goes.
The question that I have is how and where did you find a 5lb maul? The only ones I can find are 7 or 8lb heads.
Junk shop :/ You can probably get one from Europe, not likely many, if any, made in the states. But you might be able to modify a 6lb? I'll know more when I get a long handle on it, but I think I'll use it more than 6lb. I actually wish it didn't have the axe eye, so I could put a regular maul/sledge fiberglass handle on it. It's cool though. I got it for the shape too. it reminds me of the German style with a pretty bluntwedge on the end. They almost never stick. They either pop the wood in half, or bounce out. Not sure where that is an advantage and disadvantage yet
@@SkillCult thanks for answering my question! I'll have to check around my local junk/antique stores to see if I can find one. I just want to say I really appreciate the content that you create on your youtube channel.
@@patricksullivan2816 They are pretty unusual. good luck.If you have a 4" grinder, you can probably grind a pound off of a 6
That might work-grinding it down. Would grinding it down make the steel of the maul head too hot and therefore make the whole thing too brittle? If my thinking is correct the bit of the blade is harder than the rest of the maul's head. Grinding down the sides of the maul would make the most sense to me at least.
haha, I am glad to see that I am not the only one breaking the rules by driving the axe with steel when no wooden club is within reach. I really don't think it's a big deal though, as long as you are not using it as a wedge in gnarly, knotty wood with a 10 lbs hammer. It's a rough tool that can help us process wood not a baby, lol!
The damage adds up. I very rarely do it, but it doesn't need to be a hard and fast dummy rule. It depends on how hard it is hit too. I was going pretty light on it. The vast majority of used axes and heads out there have been beat on and they are still usable.
For what purpose would you use such boards? Thanks :) fellow redwooder here.
Boxes would be good. I want to split a few longer ones out. Also thinking bread board and tortilla press right now. Otherwise, who knows. I'll just stash them away for later.
I kind of agree and won’t argue your logic. But I certainly do take the time to split the initial round in half. Then the wood splits so much easier. Perhaps the fibers are not bound as much.
Depends on the wood too, but it's usually easier to slab for me. If its easier to split in half, obviously you should do it that way. Unfortunately, it's just a default for a lot of people that don't know slabbing is a real viable option. If I can bust slabs off with one or two blows, I'll slab first. I can't think of a species here that it's not usually easier to slab first, then split in half when the mass is reduced. If I had enough wood (and energy), I'd do a comparison study. Someday.
@@SkillCult I like the way you think. I have content comparing tools, but only one comparing wood species while splitting. Let’s just go ahead and tell everyone right off the cuff, use a mechanical splitter for Elm🤣 if you’ve hand split it, you know!
What you are saying might support what I was saying, that once the mass is reduced, it splits easier when making long splits. but slabs are short splits. Not only that, I didn't talk about it in the video, but the stable mass of the large round, pushes the force out pushing the slab off. Or an easy way to say that is it is nice to work off of the stable mass of the heavy round. Lastly, if you were to say 1/4 then right away you can start having problems with the things falling over. In slabbing, you get to work around a lot and get most of the wood finished, by the time it starts to want to fall over.
@@IndianaDoug No elm here, but people bring it up all the time. closest I've seen out here is some eucalyptus logs can be insanely tough.
@@SkillCult the stability of the mass is determined by how the fibers are bound together in a certain pattern. This is what makes a species unique. The pattern that’s created (along with other factors) is what builds the strength and rigidity of the entire tree. My question is where does this strength release? Is it held from bark to bark? Is it held inside each growth ring? If we find these answers, we might know the most efficient way to split.
Thanks as always for the instructional videos.
At least the wood was "properly" dried. 😄 😄 😄
Would have loved to see what you made with the boards.
What did you end up making?
P.S. I take a chainsaw to mine when it gets that big. I know it ain't "proper", but I can't help myself. After awhile I remember my father taught me the same technique when I was a youngen.
I didn't make anything, they are just sitting around.
It might be the tool swinging the tool 😂
Usually see maul's with straight handles, that curved handle fits your maul handsomely.
yeah, but it's part of the reason I can't hit anything lol. I actually really dislike the curve on that one. It's a house handle. their axe handles are too curved. I think I took some of the curve out too with shaping and thinning. I don't like the length either but I can tell that is going to be my go to maul once I get the right handle on it and dial it in. I like the 5 lb v.s. 6 and up for most stuff.
I am not a fan of 8+ pound mauls. 5 would be great. 6 is lowest I've found so far. I also split with full sized axes though. You ever see those ridiculous monster mauls? I saw one at a flea market. It's so incredibly heavy and the handle is also heavy and made of metal. I picked it up out of curiosity and immediately thought it would be horrible to use.
The mass and size explanation makes a lot of sense. I think of it like a small asteroid hitting a mountain. Tiny amounts earth will give way around the impact, but that mountain isn't moving.
I found that head in a thrift store and snatched it up. I like the design and weight I think, just need to hang it better on a longer straighter handle I don't really perfer to split with short handles. it's too curved as well. House handle axe handles are too curvy for me. I talked about monster mauls when I shot this, but I cut it out ha ha. They're terrible. Think of hitting a 4 inch wide slab of the same length as the face of that round. It would definitely split easier right? that's the side mass issue. The other, of separating is not totally independent of the bulk factor, but it's a different specific problem.
Awww, don't hate on monster mauls. They aren't that bad.
@@stillwatersforge3957 why do you like them? If I was to create a dystopian society one of the rules would be you have to carry around a monster maul and split a round every hour lol.
@@ethicalaxe LOL. Idk, that might do people some good. I like the weight and durability. For me it takes less swings with my monster maul than with my lighter maul. I can get through almost any knot with it and if it gets stuck I don't have to worry about breaking it when I hammer it out.
Look at it this way. Take it to extremes with a little 2oz maul, you can hit the round with this thousands of times day and night for weeks with the total cumulative energy being equal to a hundred swings of a full size maul and yet the round will not be split, or reduced, or really even significantly damaged. While a large enough maul simply dropped on the round once will split it.
And the large maul will be slower, less jarring on your arms, and less likely to cause a muscular-skeletal injury like a strain or tennis elbow.
Two mauls of two sizes, big for big wood, small for small wood, this is most efficient.
Splitting along the growth ring.
Brilliant! The WOW, American kind, not the ho-hum British version!
lol
Good video, loved it when you said not proper lol
I want to make a t-shirt that says "not proper"
@@SkillCult i'd buy one
@@benscottwoodchopper Count me in.
I always work my way from the outside
👍🏻💯
So quarter sawn means vertical grain. Thank you. I never understood all that strange terminology when it comes to wood.
Depends on who you ask. Terminology is all over the place, confusing and contradictory. From what I have gathered, quartersawing used to mean various sawing methods in which the log was first quartered. Refering to a board as sawn a certain way is problematic. It is much better to just refer to boards by their grain, because you can't look at a board and say what sawing method was used. The convention used by a lot of lumber sellers is totally wacked out. Quarter sawing produces mostly diagonal grain. the only method that produces 100% vertical grain is probably best termed rift sawing, but in the industry, rift sawn lumber is diagonal grained, which makes no sense. ua-cam.com/video/kon52CGdai4/v-deo.html
Have you ever been tested for adhd/add?
Not meant in a mean way im just wondering:)
No, but I'd probably test pass. Probably aspergers too, but what's the point. I won't be taking ritalin anyway :)
@@SkillCult true. But maybe some type of therapy to help… might make sticking to projects easier.
But i enjoy your videos nonetheless :)
@@sempi8159 I have ideas and stuff to try and that is actually on the agenda. It's an issue. It's not just the attention, but the constant noise in my head. the gears never stop turning. Probably meditation. One thing about people with those kind of issues though, is that we are ironically often capable of extreme focus. but we aren't good when we aren't focused on something and not so good at big picture efficiency and tasking. I think of it as less of a disorder than an ability poorly used and uncontrolled.
@@SkillCult good Point. I have the same „condition“. I do enjoy the hyper focus but i really don’t enjoy the constant noise and interest switching. Lets hope the „therapy“ helps with that/helps managing it better :)
5:45 what do you mean you don't have a wooden maul with you? You have 50 pieces of firewood on the ground that don't matter if they get smashed up! I use chunks of firewood as a hammer all the time, and if you need it heavier just hammer with it longways like a fence post pounder. Obviously you would need a heavy chunk though, or a round. Also I very highly recommend the fiskars splitting axe because it's lightweight with a good shape. Can't change the handle though
I'm not a fan of holding onto large diameter wood while beating on stuff. I do it, but only up to a certain size and it usually sucks unless it's just a few whacks. I think I ended up chopping one out later that day for some other long stuff I was splitting.
If I were to try going for the edges like this, I would chop my legs off at the shens!! I do good to hit the log!!
Bro, save yourself huge amounts of energy and use a couple of wedges (Stihl, or Estwing)! Makes it soooo much easier!
I think you might have missed the point. Slabbing, especially this wood, is often 1 blow per piece of finished firewood. Why would I use a wedge? Its slow, I have to hit it multiple times and have have to bend over more and lug more stuff around.
It looks to me like you could have split that big round with half the effort with an 8-pound maul. If lighter weight meant less work, why not go to a tiny 1-pound maul?
Also, when the first strike near the edge doesn't do the job, I work across the round on the diameter (probing for weak spots, or making them) and usually get it open. Just because a blow doesn't seem to do much it, it can still be weakening the structure, and this weakening is cumulative as you work across. This is what you eventually did, but those first ten blows at the same place near the edge were mostly wasted.
By the way, I thought your accuracy was initially quite good. You didn't get sloppy until you had worn yourself out.
Splitting slabs off the sides does not work well with brash wood. What you were explaining when describing splitting slabs in the interior of the log is true at the sides, too. With unbalanced stiffness on the two sides of the split, the cleavage plane works to the outside of the log and you wind up with a "slab" that's a wedge half the length of the log.
Does anyone actually care about the shape of their firewood? I’ve never heard of a stove spitting a piece of wood out. 😀
yeah, funny huh.
Some guys need that perfect stereotypical firewood shape in the backdrop of their lumbersexual Instagram posts. You know along with the red and black plaid shirts Denim pants and the Red Wing shoes, probably a tobacco pipe and some finger tats in there too. You know the real tuff guys that know their shit. 😂
@@winterfar2814 lol.
@@winterfar2814 lumber sexual IG posts 😂
knocking slabs off the side is a good way to send your axe into your leg - use wedges instead
I'm not sure why you would think that. I think it is actually one of the safest methods. Not impossible to hurt yourself, but splitting wood is just unsafe if you don't do it right. I will eventually explain how to do it safely. Not a fan of wedges and rarely use them.
@@SkillCult When you get a close call (if your lucky its only close) it may change your tune. It's also not sustainable to have your arm repeatedly torqued like that, even with a loose grip its not an ergonomic motion, repetitive motion injuries are a real thing.
You don't need to wedge every piece or every round, but to avoid their use is just going to needlessly cost a lot more effort than you think you are saving. (I have the same species of trees around here.) Sort of like thinking you are being thrifty by buying the small packets of something because the cost per piece is low but then buying 100 of them, rather than just getting a couple of 10lb sacks for a lower unit cost.
The surface area of final split wood will be about the same with either method and the amount of wood mass moved aside will likewise be similar. While the difficulty of making one big split is high you are also gaining a large surface area, the total energy expended for the round is actually the same or less with a big split because the wood is only moving aside a little bit and it sets you up for better follow up splits. Slabbing small pieces from a round tends to move the wood a larger distance even though it is in smaller pieces.
@@mytech6779 I"m not a spring chicken here. I've had a lot of repetitive stress injuries from other activities. We also don't all have the same susceptibilities. How about we revisit in 10 years when I've gone through another 10 years of firewood and we'll see if the previous decades with no injuries was just a fluke ha ha. All the internet experts are sure I'm about to cut myself now, even though I never have. Eventually it will happen if I chop enough, but I doubt that I'm going to suffer any significant injuries from splitting after all this time. If so, it will be when using an axe.. I'm not buying the physics lesson. I like working against the large mass. it feels like an advantage to me. The small wood moves far because it is a small mass, because it actually separates all the way, and because the head is pushed away from the larger more stable mass outward. Seems like an advantage to me. If the round would split easily in half, maybe I'd do it, but my usual approach to large and even medium rounds is slabbing. I don't have to touch the wood until it is down to a medium sized round, when I might pop it in half, or slab it til it falls over. Depends on the piece, knots and other attributes. Now if I had to split a couple of cords a day, I might accumulate some kind of repetitive stress effect. But I don't and I'm not going to. I also know professional firewood splitters that slab. I'm pretty sure that none of us do it because it sucks and is inefficient and injures us.
@@SkillCult I have done multiple cords in a day though I don't anymore, and I do use slabbing on a round here and there, it just shouldn't be the primary method.
I've found knots to be the primary hindrance to splitting fir, with diameter hardly an issue. Length can add some difficulty though, short rounds seem much easier all around. A 30inch round should crack without much fuss if you have the right tools. (Nothing wrong with placing blame on tools where valid. A good craftsman doesn't blame his tools ...because selecting the right tool to own or use is part of being a good craftsman.)
Wasn't really saying you would get cut,(especially with that club you're using, HA) there are other ways to get injured by a glancing swing. Bruises, pull muscles, sprains, chunks of wood bouncing back. Not generally life threatening but neither is a punch in the face and I avoid those just the same.
Physics don't got need for buy in, they be regardless. (Though the total energy benefit is minor, and I'm not going to waste my time or yours with a drawn out derivation.)
The maul being moved sideways is the majority problem with slabbing both from [total] energy waste and injury hazard, not an advantage. You want the wood and maul to deflect as little as practical, its back to the old velocity squared issue. Yes, a single slab is smaller than a half but there are many of them.
All you need to do is work your way across the middle. Do not hit the same spot over and over. Imagine a line and the mall is your pencil. That piece you have could be split with like 6 or 7 blows.
I over did it on the one end with the knot there, but in the moment I was trying to prove a point. Not to say my strategy couldn't be better. That knot may not have looked like much, but it was very resistant. Picking a better spot would have been much easier, but the knot was healed over and I didn't know it was there until it became obvious that something was keeping it pinned together. But once I got most of the round split, I still had to wail almost full force about three times to tear that knot apart. Douglas fir knots are notoriously hard to split through, v.s. around, as I would guess some of your conifers are. That was literally the worst exact place to split that round lol.
I'm not suggesting not ever splitting big rounds in half as a dummy rule. As I said, the video doesn't have so much to do with this round, as it does with a common phenomenon, which is that many large logs are very difficult to split apart across the whole diameter. It's just true, strategy or not. Many of those logs can be slabbed very easily, with most slabs requiring only one or two blows. People should just do the math and try it instead of insisting that the log be split in half first. I use the technique a lot and will most often go in on large and medium rounds with some slabbing before I think about knock them in half. Works for me.
That's the way to do it
Works for me.
2:20 🤣😂😂😂
i wish i could bring you a truck load of locust from my area. you could make videos for a year i bet from it.hard as a rock and burns super hot and rot resistant.
One of my favorite woods, if not favorite :) splits amazing when the grain is straight and not crossed. truly a pleasure.
I split small pieces off until it can split normal
I know, I know, I know
Did you stop using urine as fertilizer?
No. I did for a while, when I sold at farmers market.
Thats a pretty grain.
who even cuts logs into rounds? what?
one winter I chopped a few cords of cottonwood logs 2-3' in the round, all punky in the center. an old guy suggested I try steel wedges and sledge hammer which turned out to be much easier, you could try hammering them in with back of the maul
hah ok should have watched the rest of the video first ;)
Once I had one of those spongy cottonwood logs swallow an entire axe head and not split lol. It was hard to split it back . there is no need for wedges here. it would perhaps be a good choice, but I would have to have planned and brought them into the field and I'm not going to do that.
Yass! Make a bread board
I need one. I was just thinking about rolling out a pie crust and making an apple pie a little while ago. I have a big wooden table, but it's usually dirty and cluttered and all the cutting boards are too small. It would be nice to have a big dedicated bread board. I'd probaly still glue up two of those though. It's a bit small yet. One piece would be really cool though. it would really make a fun video.
@@SkillCult mmmmmm- apple pie
My goodness get an 8 pound fiskars maul . Split it in half then use the axe
Why? sounds like a waste of time and energy, when almost every blow can be a piece of firewood. working the edges. I've done it all, spiltters, big mauls, little mauls, axes, splitting stuff in half first. I do this because it works and it's efficient.
@@SkillCult sounds like a waste of time …and if ur doing it that way u must be cutting wood with no knots . I got knots where I live and going around the corners doesn’t always work
Is that a bottle of vodka lying on the ground?
vodka bottle, with water. I don't usually drink out of plastic. I like my testosterone.
@@SkillCult I've watched about all of what I can find online as far as your content goes, but still get stoked when I find comments that take me some time to dissect because you're so thought out in your responses. You're one of the few pages I follow because your comments are a trove of information on their own. Actually enjoy watching how your brain works and how you seem to problem solve, and don't know if I could think of a better use of my time than to watch you walk around your homestead and share your thoughts! The testosterone comment got me, I recycle kombucha bottles and do the same!
I split huge rounds down the middle for fun. I like the challenge I guess.
Study the log, and fine the deepest longest cracks > start there > The best maul is? The 6 pound maul! Not the 4 and 8 pounders
I often don't go for the cracks personally, it depends. If I'm slabbing like this, it doesn't matter much.
@@SkillCult You should Stop! Look! and Listen! To what i'am saying! hard head
@@426superbee4 I did, then I responded. I've read jillions of rounds of wood and attacked plenty of cracks. Sometimes I go for cracks, but I often don't. A curious person might wonder why, but apparently I couldn't be right if I do something different than you. BTW, this maul is 5 lb. I like it. I usually use 6 lb. One size fits all doesn't fly in woodsplitting. More than one way to skin a cat.
Your not getting penetration. Either its dull, or to blunt !
but if it was sharper, I'd probably be getting it stuck over and over. In mauls I'm typically partial to obtuse edges. I don't think there is a perfect edge. If it's perfect for one wood, it won't be for another.
@@SkillCult Its not a AXE! ITS A MAUL! Every freaking maul. The edges are way to blunt! I have to slim them down! Kinda like a AXE . Then they will easy start splitting> YES! SOMETIMES, THEY DO GET STUCK.. Beside i don't split my rounds with a MAUL! What i used is a 4 pound TWISTED CONE WEDGE and a 8 pound Sledge hammer. To split them into halves, Then use the maul. Then finish up on the log splitter
@@426superbee4 You sure seem to have a lot invested in this conversation. I usually slab first on big stuff, especially very big. I can be slabbing off a piece of firewood per blow while someone is picking up and starting wedges. it doesn't apply to every round, but it's often the fastest easiest way. I wanted to experiment with a maul that was similar to the german mauls that tend to have more obtuse edges. that is actually why I bought this one. I'm sure they are wrong too though lol. So far I like it, and I've use it a lot. Most of my mauls are more or less like that and I like them that way. Since I split on the ground and driveway all the time, they are super tough when slammed into the ground. Splitting haphazardly, and not having to worry about the edge saves a lot of time and extra effort. Miles of split wood behind me and lots of different tools later, it works for me. But I don't use own or want a wood splitter, so my approach is going to be different. I'm not trying to reduce things to something I can move to the splitter. I barely move wood at all until it is reduced to firewood. No splittting stump. a lot of it even with the maul is hit however it lays on the ground, or I just kick it into position a little or lift it with my foot.
Of course every round is different and you make the best of the tools you have. but....
Yes splitting the round in half involves more surface area for that one split, but generally wood shrinks more tangent to the grain than is does radially, which is why you often see radial cracks in a dry round. This makes radial splits easier per unit area than tangential splits and all splits after the initial halfing will be easier.
The problem you are demonstrating here is mostly how to work around a limitation of the tool, it is bouncing off because it is blunt, too light for general purpose splitting, and on a short handle(maybe it was a boys' maul?) so the energy of the hits is dissipated and wasted rather than cumulative. Use of a sharp wedge, or a heavier and properly ground maul would greatly reduce total effort.
I respect the challenge of making do, I've split larger wood than that with a small hatchet but it isn't efficient. (Using the hatchet as a wedge pounded in with a small log to make a crack that I then widened with wedges I split/whittled from smaller wood.)
One reason I'm interested in that maul is that it's got something like the blunt German grind on it, which I've always been curious about. I need to get a long handle on it. I just had that lying around and it is an axe eye maul, so I can't just slap my usual fiberglass maul/sledge handle on it. I don't like splitting with short handles much. The other reason is the weight. It is much easier to swing than a 6 lb or higher. I'm curious how it will perform in the long run, but I'm not going to make any assumptions until I use it a lot. I definitely miss the mechanical advantage and whipping effect of a longer thinner handle, but I don't miss pulling it out of the wood, because, for better or worse, like the German mauls, it never sticks. Most of their splitting as far as I can tell is on meter long, mostly smaller diameter logs. Yet for those limitations, I still can efficiently slab out this round without going all in on it. Properly, not my favorite word. But for someone that has tried every size, grind, length of handle and technique on every wood, I suppose it might be justified.
@@SkillCult When I'm talking blunt I'm only referring to transition radius from the edge back about 1", not the overall average head angle. I find getting stuck in a significant way happens further back from the edge.
Then again I may not notice the frequency of sticking. With my style I keep two mauls or a maul and a sledge so if it takes more than a moderate yank to unstick the maul, it immediately becomes a convenient wedge.
Sticking usually means some progress as a starter crack, while bouncing almost always means total energy dissipation and no cumulative progress.
Thank god someone else out there has stated each swing could be a piece of wood......i tell every dam video stop trying to split so much grain
yeah, right?
Lol nEvEr... it's not pRoPeRrrr
Guy know his shit that’s for sure.
Just go and buy a bit of wood, much easier 🥴
Lol why would you post this video when theres lot of videos showing you how to do this properly? You did it the hard way and still only managed to make kindling, not firewood... lol get a proper maul (not 5lb) then hammer it in pie pieces until you have some spider web cracks then you swing at the edges to split good sized chunks off. Its less pieces, less swinging usually and better sized wood for heating.
properly lol. Better sized wood for heating what in what stove? context is king.
Dude, you are working too hard and over thinking everything. Just tune in to Bucken’ Billy Ray Smith’s channel and learn how a professional splits wood.
I love buckin' and have recommended his videos and channels. You seem to have missed the point. From the looks of this comment I don't think it's worth trying to get through to you.
This felt like watching Call of Duty, but with axe 🪓 and wood 🪵
Is that a bottle of vodka 😮
No, just a vodka bottle. They make good water bottles. I make bitters every year with vodka.
@@SkillCult 👍🇺🇸