When to split Oak

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I split my rounds down to iftable sizes with steel wedges and 10lb sledgehammer. I only saw apart knots and crotches. Much fast to wedge a round apart than to saw it half way. Been heating with wood since 76 burning 6 cord/yr and selling up to 6 or 8.

Got somewhee north of 50 cords Black Locust in the stacks (includes about 10 cords still to split/stactk). That is my "retirement" wood - the Locust Borer killed B. Locust all over the county the past several years and I harvested every tree I could get permission to.

Harry K

TK
much depends on the saw. With a 372 and a 16" bar I don't think it takes me 2 minutes. I have the 12 pound mall and the chainsaw and I find this easier than using wedges. Ive been burning as long as you and have used the wedge method in the past. No buried wedges, no losing wedges and one wack with the mall for a 24" or larger round….done. Your black locust is wood burning gold. I found a complete 1 acre stand of dead and dying ones but unfortunately for me, the land owner also burns wood. I notice you and I have our 10 year TBN anniversary coming up. I wonder what they give you?

 

[turnkey4099]

TK
much depends on the saw. With a 372 and a 16" bar I don't think it takes me 2 minutes. I have the 12 pound mall and the chainsaw and I find this easier than using wedges. Ive been burning as long as you and have used the wedge method in the past. No buried wedges, no losing wedges and one wack with the mall for a 24" or larger round….done. Your black locust is wood burning gold. I found a complete 1 acre stand of dead and dying ones but unfortunately for me, the land owner also burns wood. I notice you and I have our 10 year TBN anniversary coming up. I wonder what they give you?

I would have guessed it at longer than that.

I can usually tell with a few strikes if a round won't split. I stop before the wedge is buried, knock it loose and onlyi then 'noodle' it with the saw. Of course that was 'then'. At my advanced age now (76) I noodle them more often.

Black Locust = gold for sure. I refuse to sell any of it. I finally had to put up "wood not for sale" signs to put an end to people stopping to ask.

Harry K

 

[Oaktree]

Have you tried a splitting maul rather than an axe? I have a 8 lb maul with a plastic handle that works pretty good.

Always had better luck with sledge & wedges than with a maul. If you don't split it the first swing, it's hard to hit the exact same spot twice.

 

[crowbar032]

Looks as though this has already been covered, but split as soon as possible as it will season rock hard. For a point of reference, I'm currently shoring up a pole barn that was damaged in a spring wind storm. It was completely built out of white oak about 60 years ago. I pre-drilled holes in the bracing for pole barn spikes and still bent several spikes.