How BIG a splitter do I need for this project?

[aczlan]

aczlan
I only wish I had access to a splitter that powerful:licking: the chips would really fly.

Its not super powerful (10ish HP engine running a 2 stage pump) but it is big (they started with a 12' long 10" wide x 12" tall I beam), has a drop down leg in the back (so it doesn't tip when loading big logs) and has a log lifter.

Aaron Z

 

[Ted Summey]

Thanks for the details on making a glut. My dad and I made sling shots from dogwood. He helped me strip the bark and bake the forked branches.

I looked online for a splitting glut and of all things Roy Underhill of The Woodwrights Shop, produced here in NC, had instructions on making a glut.

Seems like my FIL spoke of using black locust for gluts.

 

[muddstopper]

First time I have seen the term "Glut" used in a long time. We used to split Locust for fence post. The splitting was usually accomplished using a 16lb sledge and metal wedges to start the split. We then would use a glut and wooden maul to run the split the full length of the post. While dogwood would make a good "glut", we usually would just saw off a length of the locust post we where splitting, sharpen into a long wedge using the chainsaw. Locust would last forever, but I have used dogwood, hickory, oak, and even pine whenever I needed a quick wedge to split something with.

As for those large rounds that need splitting. I built my hydraulic splitter with a 2ft tall wedge and if you took a Fel and a set of log tongs to set those rounds on it, I can make splitters out of it pretty quick. To heck with twisting and turning something that large to split in a vertical splitter

 

[dave1949]

Arkaybee

I think you are using what you have well. I was going to recommend going up to an 8 pound sledge until I got to the part about your age. :laughing: My 8 pound splitting maul is about all I want to swing anymore, and you have 11 years on me.

That's going to be some great firewood once it is split and dried. I wouldn't kill myself on the gnarly pieces, just whack them up with the saw or use them for a weenie roast in a fire pit.

 

[schmism]

when i was a teenage i split rounds 8' in diam with nothing more than 2 wedges a splitting maul, a sledge and an axe.

oh and grind off those mushroom caps on those wedges before you wind up with a chunk of steel in your leg. I learned my the lesson the hard way when a chipped off a 1/4" chunk and the only thing that saved me was the kevlar chaps i still had on.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Iv done it with my 18T. Never a problem beyond handling the 900lb rounds.
larry

 

[Ductape]

oh and grind off those mushroom caps on those wedges before you wind up with a chunk of steel in your leg. I learned my the lesson the hard way when a chipped off a 1/4" chunk and the only thing that saved me was the kevlar chaps i still had on.

I'll go ahead and second this. I've got a piece of steel in my left thigh that will set off a metal detector.

 

[triptester]

I always wondered how a electric jackhammer with the right bit would work splitting big blocks.

 

[TNhobbyfarmer]

Arkaybee....couple of observations:

1) Kudos to you for taking on such a project. I am 11 years your junior and doubt I would have the kohunas (sp?) to tackle such a project.

2) Your communication/writing skills are excellent. I enjoy your skillful use of words. What was your chosen profession? I expect you were successful given how you possess that rare talent.

 

[Arkaybee]

dave 1949:
There is an 8-pound sledge in my arsenal but after picking it up recently I quickly dismissed the thought of using it and chose the 6-pounder. Besides, the 8-pounder had no handle--wonder how that happened

schism and ductape:
Thanks for the reminder about the mushrooming tops of those steel wedges. I have been thinking the same thing--that they need to be cut off.

Triptester:
Good idea on trying the electric jackhammer and if I had one I would certainly try it. I think it might work.

TNhobbyfarmer:
Well, now, you really know how to pour syrup on the cornbread, don't you. That's good old southern vernacular for a generous and favorable compliment or as they also say "laying it on thick."

Your kind remarks are much appreciated. It takes just a little more effort to write with clarity and to do a proper spell check and then to rewrite to improve the narrative. I enjoy telling a story clearly. And I do love expressive words.

It has been almost twelve years since I retired as a professor in a graduate school . I retired because of illness and have had several surgical procedures in the intervening years. After a vertebrae fusion I thought I would not be able to do hard physical work again but the Lord has blessed me with strong recuperative powers. It took over a year before I begin to think that I might be able to regain my physical abilities. Slowly, my body has responded positively and that is why I decided to try this wood harvesting experiment. Besides, the wood was just too pretty to let go to waste. And I REALLY ENJOY the challenge of splitting wood, especially the old school way. Each piece is a new challenge.

The heroes of my youth were the hard working farmers and wood-cutters who did impressive things with only simple tools and the power of the horse . I am a big fan of Roy Underhill and The
Woodwright Shop on TV as well as his books. The Foxfire series of books are favorites also.

Arkaybee