Anyone who has split a winter's worth of firewood knows where the time really goes. The swing takes a second; bending down to collect the halves that fly off the block, setting them back up and lining up the next strike takes far longer. This short clip from the YouTube channel Killed8Times shows a log split on a chopping block while the pieces stay gathered together, so the axe can keep working through the round without a break.
Why keeping split pieces together saves time and your back
Splitting wood is one of the classic jobs of the cold season, and most of its strain comes from repetition. When every half falls to the ground, you bend, lift and reposition after every blow. Keep the pieces standing together and you can work around the round, taking halves down to quarters and quarters down to stove-sized splits or kindling in a steady rhythm.
Wood-heat specialists have long recommended doing this with a containment ring on the block. The best-known version is the old-tyre method described by woodheat.org: one contributor uses a 15-inch tyre fixed on a splitting block about 18 inches high and 20 inches across, and puts one large log, or several smaller ones, inside the opening.
How the old-tyre method works
- Fix the tyre to the block. Cut slits through the lower bead and a few inches into the sidewall to make tabs, slide the tyre over the block with the tabs pointing down and nail them to its side. Leave plenty of tyre standing above the splitting surface.
- Small block? Stack four or five old tyres around it so the top one rises above the block, and bind the stack with rope or parachute cord.
- Split, then split again. The pieces stay inside the ring, so you can keep reducing them without resetting each one.
- Drill drainage holes. Tyres collect rainwater, so a few holes or slits in the lower side stop them becoming mosquito nurseries.
The ring has side benefits too. After a clean split it limits how far the blade sinks into the block, and on a miss it catches the head of the axe or maul before it reaches your legs. A rope or strap cinched around a round does a similar job when you only want to make kindling from a single piece.
Axe or splitting maul: choosing the tool
A felling axe has a thin, hollow-ground edge designed to cut across the grain. For splitting along the grain, a splitting maul is the better tool: its broad, wedge-shaped head, typically 6 to 8 lb (2.7 to 3.6 kg), forces the fibres apart and is less likely to stick. One side of the head works like a sledgehammer, so it can also drive steel wedges into big, knotty rounds.
Stand the log on end on a sturdy base, such as a flush-cut hardwood round about a foot tall. Most sections part with one downward blow; on very thick logs, strike off-centre and work in from the edges. Swing straight down, never to the side, and make sure the head is firmly fixed to the handle.
Seasoning and stacking split firewood
Splitting matters for more than size. A split log exposes far more surface area, so it dries much faster. Seasoned firewood has a moisture content of about 20% or less, and green wood can weigh 70 to 100% more than dry wood. Air-drying normally takes one to three years.
- Raise stacks off the ground on pallets or scrap timber for airflow.
- Cover the top to shed rain, but leave the sides open: wood will not dry when completely enclosed.
- Outdoors, stack pieces bark side up.
- Keep the main woodpile away from the house to avoid bringing in termites.
Dry wood burns hotter and cleaner, because less of the fire's energy is wasted boiling off water. For more cold-season ideas, see winter preparation beyond viral shortcuts and why a snow-removal clip also needs context.
If only one can find a perfect flat cut piece of wood in the wilderness...
ReplyDeleteGreat idea if one does!
Most of these easy to cut woods are softwoods like pine,this would not be possible with Australian woods such as Jarrah and certainly no good with Red gum both hard woods for wood burning stoves/heaters.
ReplyDelete