On 2/25/2014 9:08 PM, Jim Cathey wrote:
If the wood is relatively straight the axe is way faster.
It depends on the wood.
I like my engine-powered splitter. Especially as I take
culls, windfalls, whatever weird free crap falls my way...
This is pretty much my situation. Mostly firewood here starts
out as junky stuff that has been leaning out over meadows. Locust,
sassafras, red elm, cherry, maple, ash. When oak, hickory and walnut in
the deep woods fall across roads i try to keep open they get added to
the stack. Lots of tulip poplar too but it isn't worth the effort.
I have a ram splitter that plugs in to the hydraulic system of a
farm tractor. With a 4" cylinder with 24" stroke it cuts through
stringy wood and knots that otherwise would keep a round from
splitting. Setting the engine at about 1300 rpm moves the wedge at a
speed that is workable but safe. .My woodshed is long, open on the
south, and holds 8 -10 cords. Typically that is more than a two year
supply for my house. I burn the oldest wood first and fill in behind
with newly split.
In a normal winter (20F to 60F is my firewood harvesting
temperature) I saw and split 10 -12 cords. After filling the woodshed
the rest goes in a pile that I sell to some families I have been
supplying for years. I find it all a very satisfying activity. And I
have to get the stuff out of the way any how. I seldom cut a live tree.
By way of wisdom to pass on, I feel obliged to warn against the
use of the auger type splitters. These can still be found secondhand.
These look like a big wood screw that goes into the side of the round.
They run off a tractor pto or a small stationary engine. Bark buster
was a popular brand. I used one for several years. They are simple,
cheap and fast but dangerous. If the auger goes into a knot and twists
the round off the support bar the round will spin so fast you can't get
your hand out of the way. I disjointed a finger. Others have been hurt
worse.
Dave Gilmore, Cameron WV
The past is altered by the present as much as the present is
directed by the past.
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