Splitting Wood is Fun: Here Are Some Tips
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- My job as a 6 year old was to bring in the wood each winter. I did that most days until I left for college at age 18. The King of Axes here: • The King of Axes
From "Two Tramps in Mud Time"
...The weight of an axe head poised aloft, the grip of earth on outspread feet, the life of
muscles rocking soft, and smooth and moist in vernal heat...
Robert Frost has done this before...
Entire Robert Frost Poem here: • "Two Tramps In Mud Tim...
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Thank you, be safe, and be grateful.
Well, you gotta feel good when your community members let you know that you have been mentioned in a video from someone of this caliber. Mr . Essential Craftsman, what an honour. Thank you for your words.... and great video, sincerely, Buckin’ , Be Kind .
Salt of the earth hard working genuine folk here, Buckin'. Ya fit right in, brother!
Dear Scott and Nate, please do a podcast with Buckin! What a collaboration that would make 🤞🏻
Love it when quality channels "crossover"*
UA-cam algorithm took me from essential crafstman to buckin billy! Love both of your channels!
Two of the best channels on UA-cam! Thank you for your content, gentlemen.
I LOVE splitting wood. It's so much fun. There's just something primal and manly and energizing about it. I grunt like Tim the Tool Man Taylor every time 😂
He's the Chuck Norris of log splitting! Good job, old man!
How much wood could a wood Chuck chuck....
@@bradcavanagh3092 I don't know about a woodchuck but I know how much a Scott can split!!!
The older the man, the more accurate on that checking those hits will be
Buckin Billy ray can chop and drop! Great video Scott!
Scott, you're a firewood splittin' beast! Brought a grin to my face. Thanks
One of the highlights of going to visit my parents is that I almost always get to chop some firewood
I'm 63 too and I've been splitting firewood since I'm 12. Love it. Great way to relax after a tough, long day at work. Or, a cold weekend morning with a mug of hot coffee and a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. (It's a long island thing.)
From the hills of Tennessee.
When I was a kid, my granddad sharecropped a 375 acre cattle farm.
100 acres of those was on a ridgeside.
The grade was so steep the only way up was to go three miles down the valley and three miles back up to the back gate and the only vehicle that would pull that road was a tractor.
We were up there one day.
He was cutting
I was splitting and loading, or trying to.
He had cut an old growth oak and because of the grade it was a tall stump.
We sat down to lunch and after he ate, he picked me up and sat me on that stump.
I sat there eating my bologna and cheese, looking down at the scenery.
Mr Wadsworth, I love your channel because you remind me so much of my papaw.
He, too, was never one to sit still.
So many things I learned from him just through his actions. He never was one to say much.
My homelife was pure hell on Earth and the only place I felt safe, was when he and I were out having our adventures.
We always worked but it never seemed like work to me, because I knew I was with the one man in my life, that truly loved me.
I'm not much on such work these days.
Not much of that goes on around here now
But oh how I'd love to have one more time with just he and myself, up there on that ridgeside, making littleuns out of bigguns and knocking time off the clock dial.
Thank you so much for this...
@@essentialcraftsman
No sir
Thank you!!!
Your content is top notch and so helpful in far more ways than you realize for myself and so many others.
On their behalf, I say thank YOU sir.
Godspeed and God bless!!!
This guy is an awesome teacher about most anything.
I'm an 8 lb man, myself. Also prefer to go straight through knots.
That said, I grew up in Polk County, OR. Timber and firewood was a constant occurrence, in my life from the late '70's-late '80's. In the early 2010's, I ran a firewood company for 3 years. Rediscovering my enjoyment of slinging a chainsaw (ran an early '70's Homelite and a Stiel 360, both with 24 in bars), and how good it felt to swing a splitting maul. I was blessed to gather my material in Detroit Ranger District, which ment Douglas Fir. Honestly some of the most beautiful wood to split. In 3 years time, my company grossed over $100k, heating over 200 homes. I miss the work, sometimes.
Thank you, Mr Wadsworth, for this video.
Nothing beats some good Ash or Red Oak that is split-friendly.
Red oak makes you look fantastic , white oak , not so much ! Most of my red oak is dieing not sure why , no apparent reason . Biggest one I've seen still alive is 18 diameter .
@@mikesr3407 Not sure what part of the country you are in but it could be a water mold. The amount of rain we've had in the south this year is insane. Consider myself lucky to have hundreds of 24" to 30" red oaks on my property. Lost a 38" a few months back in a storm and have loads of firewood now.
I feel like I am the only one in the heart of Tacoma still burning wood. I get free delivery from arborist in the area, and always have a group of older folks watching and talking when I am out there splitting on a nice sunny morning. buckin billy ray is a master of his craft and his love for what he does in life is absolutely amazing.
I’m up near issaquah and building a house has giving me plenty of cords of wood for years to come. As you know, firewood heats you up three times, when you cut it down, when you split it, and when you burn it.
@@steven_farmer89 Love that quote, I think I heard Buckin' Billy Ray Smith say it before.
Just watched this again such a great video .. firewood has salvaged so many wondering men out there just wanting to accomplish something. It’s where it all started for this busted up ol’ faller. Thx again Scott
Tip: if you live in an area with actual winter wait until the temperature is below freezing. The wood will often almost split itself. Great technique Scott!
And there's a lot fewer skeeters to hone in on their stationary victim
Thanks for the video. I have not long ago found the joy of splitting logs . In fact found that I would ask my neighbor if I could help him. Not for profit but for the shear joy. Thanks again for the video.
I split wood for the first time in a very long time yesterday and had an absolute blast. Would love to have logs like yours to split!
Nate, did you read the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and how Tom get Ben to paint the fence?
Scott, thanks for the tips and the efforts. I also am 63 and love the manly excitement of logging. Cutting wood, splitting, and stacking. I now cut wood for my neighbors also. Just to do it. Love your show.
Buckin billy Ray is definitely the man to watch for any tree content
Hope Buckin comes across this.
I heard something else then buckin, had to rewind
@@snettan as did I. Would've been the first time he uttered it.... me? It's hard to complete a sentence without it...
Nothing but good clean content here, ALL THE TIME EVERY TIME ! Way to go Scott and Nate 👍🏻
@@pauledwards9493 Buckin left a comment 5 hours ago!!
What bring back some memories is the smell of the exhaust of a 12 valve Cummins. And yes for some reason 24 valve Cummins exhaust smells different
I haven't seen any of your videos for a while, not sure why to be honest. But watching this reminded me of how calming I find your approach to life. Splitting wood can be so good, though I reckon one in twenty of the logs I end up with splits as easily as those!
One of my favorite memories is splitting wood for my mom. She had (strategically) put a sign by the wood pile that read “He who splits his own wood, warms himself twice” I always think of that to this day while working a woodpile.
You can also warm yourself up by hauling that wood to the house!
I love this
@Mikfinity depending on the wood, if you care about soot anyway
I was impressed how you are able to hit the same spot on every swing. That is experience ! We often had wood that didn’t split well so we used a wedge more often than not. Not fun when you have to use a wedge and sledge hammer. Thanks for another great video !!
I'm 53 and am just learning this year. I have been using a wedge, because my lovely neighbor cut the stumps with a lot of angles. I'm getting it done, but it's taking a bit longer than this guy. 😄
Its so nice when one of my favorite channels shouts out one of my other favorite channels, i love it.....now excuse me as I have about a cord and a half of various wood that needs splittin
What a legend. Once he got slammin' I just couldn't stop grinning.
My father used to say..."...wood warms you twice!!" That was a good workout! Fun to watch. I used to put each log up on a bigger log, then pick up the next and the next...wish I had done your set up...but man I was warm!!
Also, lately (and I'm sure this is sacrilege...) i love my hydraulic log splitter! 67 now so i pick my battles!
And my shoulders thank me for it!
Right on time. I was given a tractor trailer of eucalyptus logs and branches last week. I've cut all of the branches and some of the logs with the chainsaw. I have to finish that and then the splitting should begin. However, eucalyptus is a bit harder to split compared to ash, so when I cut them with the chainsaw they are about half or so as long as your logs seem to be. Also, they're not going to a chimney or so, they have to get into the fireplace and that also dictates its maximum possible length.
By the way, I don't tend to try and split them in half unless their diameter is small enough, I'd rather go kind of around the border, as if I were peeling the log all around, not just taking the bark away but some of the wood with every hit of the axe (yep, that's what I have, that's what I use). Not my case this time, but I remember having to splitt logs that were nearly 1 meter (3 feet) wide, and trying to split them through the middle is quite hard, and if it's already dry, even harder.
Thank you!
I like the trick of putting the wood in an old tire to keep them upright for multiple splitting.
Yup...Spent many a day splitting wood with my best friend while left to ourselves. Good times. Good skills. No one watched us back then.... and we just wanted to discover what we could do. Sometimes we had some stories to tell....sometimes we kept our mouths shut about what happened. No one got hurt (though very close at times), and that's all mom needs to know. Dad always knew there was more to the story and he would just tell us how to make sure we were safe without asking too many questions. We learned a lot....and are better for it.
I loved splitting wood as a kid and still do. It is enjoyable. Good job for kids, it teaches you to think about a task before starting. And hard work can be fun if you make it that way rather than just a chore
Right up until I got my Eagle Scout I would always just go off right outside the camp and split all the firewood we would need over the weekend/week. My favorite memories from my childhood were spend, that maul and I just doing our thing. Great video!
I did this for the first time today and really enjoyed it. We've got a lot of wood to get through, so I'm quite excited to test these tips out
One season I earned all my sprig break money splitting wood... also earned a spring break body. Cheers buddy happy Saturday.
I like the subtle shout out to Buckin’, shows the respect these men have for one another. He’s the man if you’re trying to learn about trees and splittin.
It's just good to watch! Thank you for these videos!
Thank you man me and my friend needed help it worked so much faster!
Love firewood. I live in the north east and after a storm I go on Craigslist and look for free wood. Some people will DELIVER FREE LOGS to my driveway. Then just get out the splitter and chainsaws and go to town. Each year I get roughly 4 cords for free which is more than enough for my two stoves (house and shop) and for having a fire pit with friends over. Love firewood heat, love the smell, love the way a stacked cord looks on my property and love the work it takes to get it there.
Knot my favorite childhood memory. 😁
Haaa!!
I *saw* what you did there!
Hope you weren't too *board* by this video!!
I ALWAYS learn something from you! Thank you!
I split a lot of wood in my youth too.
TIPs:
1) Use a base ! Just like an anvil enhances the work efficiency of hammer blows, having a good base under the log you're splitting helps the work efficiency of your axe. So
... dont split directly on dirt. An old tree stump leveled off to ground level is a common choice - its harder than dirt, but also wont dull your axe if you miss or strikethru. Other options will occur if you ponder them.
2) Wedges: if you wood is green or irregular grained, or just really wide, splittng wedged can be a big help. Use the hammer side of your maul to drive them into splits to help spread them.
Cool of you to shout out Buckin Billy Ray! Guy is a tank with an axe
My favorite splitting tool is an old fireman’s axe. Heavy as a maul, sharp as an axe. Plus the tang on the other end works well for picking up wood without breaking your back.
Dude can swing good!
So glad I’m not the only one who’s favorite past time is splitting wood
Pass time, because, you know, you’re passing the time
@@thegodemperorofmankind7yea704 that’s what I meant, thank you haha
You are the grandpa I never had. I’ve learned so much from you, and I in turn, I am teaching my two boys. We have the sharpest knives in the city, and are getting very handy. Thanks so much for the time you have spent to to show us your hard earned experience. We built primitive shelters in the forest yesterday and used many skills that I learned right here on your channel.
I split a lot of Doug fir in my younger days with a single bit axe. I think the faster speed helps (kinetic energy=1/2 my ^2) but when we got down the butt, the maul came out and the real work started. Frozen wood alway split better, think it had a little more internal tension built up. The worst stuff was wild cherry, if you didn’t run your saw nose down the length of the log prior to bucking and split the bark, it was a real mess. Lots of chopping bark to free the maul, burned nice though.
A colleague used to say "chopping gives you thrice the heat: once from the actual chopping, once from the actual burning, and once from the ladies gratitude.
I tried, but found no much use in chopping air for my heatpump...
Hope I can still work like that when I’m 63 ! Impressive!
I'm about 75/25 axe/maul when it comes to splitting the birch birch for firewood. I get less fatigued with the axe, and get more done. Green spruce needs the maul and maybe wedges too. Knotty birch could go either way. May favorite is when the birch is still frozen, and splitting it with my Cold Steel Rifleman's Hawk.
Oh, man, this took me back!! Some of my most favorite times as a teenager were those spent splitting up the winter's firewood in the late summer. Maine, August, a strong, healthy 16 year old with the sun on his back, a grin on his face and the world at his feet. Gosh, those were wonderful years. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Hi good work I'm currently sat in my armchair with a bottle of beer, I have been outside today doing some small jobs and I've hung 6 mirrors on the wall. I think that you win and I hope you have a glass of something to finish the day with
Buckin Billy Ray is a monster. He knows & loves his craft. So do you. Hah, it's sort of funny, many of these simple tasks (anyone can do), draw us in. But, doing it well & drawing energy & good spirit from these tasks is a different story. Thanks for all the super helpful, in-depth videos you both do. Sharing life wisdom & knowledge to spread better quality work & life!
For me (living in Iceland) the closest thing was ripping/splitting driftwood logs into fenceposts using big wedges and a sledge.
Buckin also has very little hardwood up in Vancouver axes will split that however knarly oak and hardwoods the maul is the tool of choice.
Nice video and hard work! Hey from the Buckin army in Michigan!
Make sure to check out the Buff Dudes Log Splitting Challenge too!
Dear Scott, between you and Buckin Buckin, I have survived two existential crises. Honest craftsmen with a wider message.
Thanks for the tips. Growing up my dad had already grown tired of the maul and therefore we had a hydraulic splitter, so my maul experience is very limited.
One summer I decided I needed to lose some weight so I had a full truck of logs delivered to the house. I sawed those logs and and then split it all with a maul. Took all summer but there was about 8 cord of stacked firewood as a result. One log, one round at a time.
Nice work!
My friend Nick told me that one summer, back in the early 1930s, he and his brother Ralph were given the task of gathering fire wood for the next winter. They decided to get the job over and done with as soon as they could so they could spend the rest of the summer playing with their friends. In about a week they had the cellar packed from the floor to the bottom of the first floor joists. Their dad was surprised but not exactly pleased to find so much wood the next time he went into the cellar.
Is there *ANYTHING* you don't know how to do well? 😁 You certainly are the valedictorian of School of Hard Knocks... Scratch that, you are the Dean!! Mad respect!
That was satisfying just to watch!
You look great!! Keep it up brother!!!
Many Thumbs Up!
You know that feeling when your favorite channel mentions your other favorite channel. The best moment was wen a great "gamer" "welyn" showed a chainsaw clip from your chainsaw video.
The road to success is always under construction~ Civil Engineer
I am a billy ray fan i also enjoy splitting wood by hand am 49 yrs old and i can hold my own with any one i grew up we splittng hedge apple, oak ,ash,hickory, cherry and locust tried not to burn much maple it doesnt seem to last long its good to thtow a piece in to get the rest going fast i the morning or coming home from work
Nice.
Nice. I wish we had more straight-grained wood at our disposal, but mostly we have live oak. A knotty nightmare.
Very satisfying great video
Buckin Billy Ray is splitting Douglas Fir though, I'm certain that is easier to split than most hardwoods like Sugar Maple and such.
Some good hand splitting footage. I prefer an axe all day as well over a maul. You can hit many angles with an axe that are far more challenging to accomplish with a maul. One of many reasons I prefer an axe. Thanks for sharing!
Love splitting with a maul. Nothing like cruising through a cord of nice straight ash. Avoid sweet gum at all costs, unless you’re using a splitter; it’s like woven wood.
You look and have the energy of half your age. I don't see any signs of slowing down from you😂
Love it :)
My dad was bound & determined to use ONLY a mechanical log splitter when I was a kid (read: wanted me to split the logs while the exhaust blew in my face haha). I eventually found some peace and, quite frankly, some exercise value in splitting by hand. I'd spend hours just busting piles of firewood! Mom & dad had firewood and I had an excuse to get out of the house & get sweaty haha!
Loving your chanel. Thank you so much!
I loved teaching my boyscouts to split wood at summer camp. They were begging to get into the axe yard and make kindling! I watched a lot of boys turn into men in that axe yard.
One of the "chores" that never fails to satisfy...thanks for taking us along!
Great video
Can believe how straight that grain is. Those logs fell apart just looking at them. You should try your hand at some curly Australian eucalypt, that'll test you!
These West Coasters dont know what splitting is.
Nothing like a good maul!😉
I did it differently; I hauled wood. scrap 2x4s and 1x4s by the trailerload. as a kid after school I got to fill milk crates with piecesthem, and haul them into the house. I hated every cursed minute of it. still do haha!
Tell ya what brother that always gets my heart rate up lol
Yes ole Buckin is wood splitting and tree felling master!! But you sure cracked those rounds like eggs on the video also
Stand the wood the same way it grew helps too.
Splitting wood is good for the soul.
Absolutely love splitting wood, absolutely hate picking up the ones that fall over. So my girlfriend puts them up right for me, and I'll swing that splitting maul all day long then and absolutely love it.
Fires wood, the only job that warms you up twice.
Splitting wood is also one of the finest full body workouts you can get
What a coincidence I just started chopping some wood today
I like how this methods lets you wreak havoc, then rest your guns while you pick up and re-stand the pieces.
My dad splits wood he could deff use this tutorial....pretty sure he swings for the fence like sammy Sosa and has alot of bounce back back buster
I might enjoy splitting wood more if it split like that! All of ours is stringy sticky and won't split without a fight. Perhaps that is why I now burn Liquid fuels.
Nice video 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
I too love splitting wood by hand, my brother always offers the use of his wood splitter but where is the fun in that?
4:40 thats like watching anakin vs the children
Buckin sent me here. Great video
I cut firewood with my dad in the hills of central Missouri in the late 70's/early 80's. We usually cut oak or walnut. We put anything we could lift straight onto the trailer, and he split the logs that were too heavy to lift right where they fell, with probably an 8 pound maul, so I could load them. This looks like heaven compared to that!
I inherited some good-sized rounds from a neighbor recently that need to be split. I bought a Fiskars Splitting Axe to try out. Has anyone used a purpose-built splitting axe instead of a maul?
Splitting wood is good for the body, mind and soul. It WILL increase your level of humility! ( especially if you get into some gnarly knotty Osage Orange.) That stuff will test your problem solving skills and expand your usage of expletives best not used in mixed company
When did you put the nick in your 6# maul and how? Madrone, very tough to split when you do it in a conventional manner, after splitting a few cords of it I am here to tell you there is a better way. Don't split it across the block, box off the edges first then split across the block. Madrone bark is wrapped around that block like a steel band, you have to get part of that band broke lose. I split with a single bit axe, 3 to 4 pounders, had a 5 pound that worked great, but wore you out in a hurry. Neat video, thank you.