splitting logs

I have some Pine, Elm and Oak to split, the trees have been freshly cut, is it best to split the logs now or wait a season or two for them to dry out ? I will most likely be splitting them manualy so want to have the easiest possible time splitting.

thanks!!

I won"t haul any elm that is big enough to need spliting.

I've split a couple hundred or more cords of wood by hand (sold it in my younger days) and I never noticed much difference between green, dry, warm or frozen wood. It depends mainly on the species, the grain of the particular tree and the particular piece. The pine and oak will likely split relatively easily - elm is soft and stringy. You will need wedges for the elm and the uglier pieces of pine and oak. I copied the advice below from a post I made on the Tractor Talk forum a while back. Splitting good wood by hand can be faster than splitting with a hydraulic splitter. Good luck and enjoy.

This is a follow-up of sorts to a thread that went through here a few days ago re: splitting wood by hand. I sold firewood through college and grad school, and I have guessimated that I have split about 500 cords by hand.

It occurred to me a few years ago that when you have good or decent splitting wood the most work, and worst on your back is bending over to pick up the pieces that go asunder after most splits. Now I stand several pieces in a circle (3 or 4 in the center, surrounded by 5 - 8 depending on size) and binding them together with a length of rope wrapped around the "stand" and tied with a cinch knot. As you split the wood pieces stay up on end, no bending over, no time waste and you go through those pieces in no time.

When splitting interior pieces you need to lift up sharply on the maul handle just as the maul makes the split to avoid breaking the handle, but it is easy with a little practice. This is a great way to make kindling too. It is satifying to whack away at a few pieces of wood for 5 - 10 minutes and have half of the kindling you need for the year.

As far as my tool of choice, I only like a 7 pound maul. I have tried 6 and 8 pounders, and those giant wedge "bombs" but they are just a bit too light, a bit too heavy, and way too heavy respectivly. I also like Oregon brand or equivalent. This is just a simple "maul shape" and a wood handle. Don't go for the cross between and axe and a maul where the wedge side has a few inches of a straight blade shape before expanding into the wedge. This just gets stuck in the wood.

I now have a nice haudraulic splitter with a 2 stage pump, but I sometimes still split by hand. When you have good splitting wood, the method I described above is faster and I enjoy it more.

I would also agree with you that the grain pattern and knot size and dispersment is more of a factor than moisture content.. unless they froze green, and then they will pop open like your some kind of superfreak. If I had to pick green or dry wood to split I would pick the green regardless of species.

nothing like hand splittin wood.....

I bought my splitter; it is a Mighty Mac made by Tilton. Good little machine; one piece of advice when you go to make or by a splitter. Get one with the wedge on the piston and the stop on the end of the machine - with this set up the log stays put, so for those that need more than one split you just back out the wedge, turn the log and split again. Much easier and faster than having to pick up the pieces on the ground, or even to pull them back into place if the splitter has a table on the end.

I bought mine in the early 90s and could not find a horizontal machine on the market set up this way, so I had to modify it myself, which was a lot of work. With the internet now, it is easy to find horizontal models set up this way.

With regard to splitting by hand, try my technique of binding several logs with a rope to hold them up as you split - you will be amazed at how much easier and quicker it is. Just be careful not to break the handle, as you probably know, good replacemet wooden handles are not cheap these days (they can even be hard to find!)

Tim

/Fred

I'm in Montreal, so it will be plenty cold in Jan/Feb, I'll do some splitting when it's -20C!!

Thanks again.
/Fred

Dry seasoned wood splits easier than green wet wood. And frozen wood tends to split the easiest of all.

I still split wood for the exercise.... dont even have a place to burn it. My brother uses it.

Keith

Don't try to split thru the knots, split beside them or between them. If knots are on one end of the piece and not on the other, split from the knot free end.

If you insist on doing it manually, you will want wedges and a sledge hammer as well as a maul, because mauls and wedges can get stuck.

Make sure no one stands close, as a bad swing can send the maul off to the side.

My experience is that dry wood splits far easier than wet & the wood we have around here needs a full season to dry adequately.

Again, just rent a splitter. Put the $ you would have spent on mauls & wedges toward the splitter rental & you'll get the job done a lot faster and easier for not much more money.

Helps warm you up on those cold January days, too.