FS---PA.---Manual Wood Splitting Tools

[Sixgun]

No, no, no, relax moderators. Just a joke to spice things up around here! Ain't nothin' for sale.........well, on second thought, this ain't no museum so Ben Franklins talk.

I have been manually splitting wood for 32 years. I split 4 cords a year, and that's not the sissy western pine that you can split with a razor blade, this is the real deal north eastern white oak, red oak, shag bark hickory, wild cherry, locust, ash, all kinds of maple, and of course, (if you know how to burn it) poplar. Much of this hard wood is stringy and when you get to knots, well, you better know how to do it.

Although I am a factory worker and therefore far from rich, it's not a question of money to buy a splitter. I call it forced exercise during the winter as I split as I use it and this is because as the weather changes, so does the size of the wood I split.

I'm 59 and have had enough. I am just hoping my 175 pounds does not blossom to 200 or more.

It's a long story so I'll save you the boredom of hearing it but a fellow worker bought this 2 years ago and as he had limited space at home, he shared this splitter with another guy down the road from me.

Both of these guys drink a LOT, and one day they went to fisticuffs over something stupid and the other guy told my bud to get it off his property.

That's where I come in. The Good Lord has always blessed me with excellent timing in most endeavors in life.

Between my bud and the other guy, they split around 15 cords of wood with it. He told me he paid $2,400 plus shipping and that I could have it for 15 Ben Franklins.

The new toy is a 42 ton with a 13 horsepower motor. Yea, much more than I need but I always did like buying the best you could afford, maintain it, and it will last you for life.-------6

Old tools of the trade


New tool of the trade. This splitter works both horizontal and vertical. Vertical is the way to go!


13 horse engine


This also has a 4 way splitter attachment, which I have been using. It will cut through wood like a hot knife through butter. It's really nice when I am splitting poplar for starter wood. With the 4 way splitter, I can have a wheelbarrow of kindling in a flash. (No pun intended)

[Mescalero]

It does make it easier, I can wear myself out doing it manually.

[86er]

Looks like you got a great deal Jack. Hard to pass that up. We don't really need the fireplace that much in Texas, but my wife really likes to light a fire whenever it is feasible. I cut a cord to two cords a year and we might burn most of it if enough cold days give the opportunity. I like to use an old heavy axe that my Dad gave me, made in 1970. I use a heavy wood platform to rest the logs on and split them in half first. Then I will take all the halves and split them again. The axe is heavy enough to get the job done even when it starts to dull. It is tough work, but I enjoy it. I can usually keep at it for almost an hour at once if I pace myself and I am not too hot or cold. I always thought about using a splitter but I guess the tradition of using that axe has something to do with my willingness to swing it to exhaustion. If I ever lose or break that axe I may be in the market for the easy way out.

[Mainehunter]

I bought one of those a year or so ago ever since I torn my left rotator cuff and why don't you take a wild guess how I tore it?

Mainehunter

[Blaine]

I swung a 8 pound splitter for years. To heck with that, I have gas logs now That is one dandy splitter, though.

[Pitchy]

Nice splitter 6
Now do as I did with mine and put a couple shelves on the sides to catch those big haves that fall off and weld on an extra four inches too the wedge so it reaches through better.

[Canuck Bob]

I've chopped a bit in my time so i appreciate the use of a splitter! Splitting those hardwoods sounds more like Siberian labour camp duties than exercise. My time was with Alberta spruce, pine, and poplar. It splits easy but you sure do have to chop large piles of the stuff for a short fire.

I voted for a gas fireplace with a switch and electric heat box. I haven't shovelled it in 10 years. I do burn wood in the yard for a whimpy campfire like experience for the girls. I actually buy a little bundle of birch from the gas station! Oh my, I've become such a tenderfoot!!!!!

[jnyork]

Hmmm, now to find a stout teenager to run it for you and stack the wood. Nothing like having the right tools for the job.

[rossim92]

careful! that's how my brother lost two fingers on his right hand! With a log splitter. As far as some of your old tools in the picture , if you don't want it, I will take the one standing upright on a log in the background. I can swing that all day!

[jdad]

I used to have to split 2-3 cords, of oak, per year. I always used a gas splitter. I never minded cutting and splitting, but just dreaded stacking. It always seemed that stacking took longer than cutting and splitting combined.

[mark08]

As always, work smarter not harder. You will enjoy this more than you think. Good buy too.

[Sixgun]

Funny thing, I am not overly happy with this splitter. My whole life I have been very active and do pride myself a bit in being in shape for my age. I can still keep up with the younguns climbing the mountains here and in Colorado while hunting. I can work all day doing physical stuff like digging ditches, mending fences, whatever. My dad was the same way and I never would have thought of getting into a tussle with him up to the day he died at 79.

I believe you should never let your life get too easy.

When doing physical work and accomplishing something at the same time, to me, it is very relaxing. Going to the gym is for yuppies. Working up a sweat with no thinking involved is good for the soul. I can split wood and stack it, cut grass/yard work, dig ditches, build things, and even rotate tires and when I'm done, I feel good. To hell with computers, watching TV, talking on the phone, and other things that guys who wear suits and ties do.

And Pitchy, THAT is an excellent addition to the splitter! That's real common sense at work.

Leverguns.com is the only forum I play...........that's all of the computer thing I can handle.

The jury is going to be out for some time on this log splitter thing. I ain't sellin' the old tools.......yet ---6

Oh , the 71 in the background. Today was the first day of buck season here in Pa. I don't hunt deer much anymore but I still take this week off and the 71 made me feel like I was in the mountains......and maybe......just maybe.....someone might push a 12 pointer past me while I'm splitting wood.

[Marlin32]

split the same every freaking day. My brother and I went off to college and suddenly Dad had a new hydro log splitter. Go figure.

[vancelw]

Ha. I never used to split anything. My firebox was HUGE! I just quit using the fireplace because of the mess I brought in the house (bugs, bark) and I got tired of poison oak and mashed thumbs. Around here the cold season is much shorter than the hot season, so I actually save money by capping the fireplace. The flue and the Jenn-Aire downdraft stove used to feed off of each other.

Nice new tool. I have plenty of dead trees after several years of drought....come and get 'em

[piller]

I can use a splitting maul and an axe, but I have a pellet stove. My Dad taught me to use an axe when I was young. Back in the Army we used to have to cut small trees to top our foxholes with. In my platoon, another soldier named Darren and I were the only two who could use an axe and get any work done. If I had a place to cut the wood, and didn't have the fireplace taken up by the pellet stove, I would be willing to make a few fires at home. Splitting the wood is more fun if you don't have to do it other than for a few fires for the enjoyment of it.

[w30wcf]

Sixgun,
Nice.......BUT.......they didn't have that new fangled contraption back in the 1800's!

That being said, where is your Black Powder Wedge?? Most useful for splitting logs 20-30 feet long..... AND.....dates back to at least the 1800's ........

w30wcf

[BenT]

I believe you should never let your life get too easy.

When doing physical work and accomplishing something at the same time, to me, it is very relaxing. Going to the gym is for yuppies. Working up a sweat with no thinking involved is good for the soul. I can split wood and stack it, cut grass/yard work, dig ditches, build things, and even rotate tires and when I'm done, I feel good. To hell with computers, watching TV, talking on the phone, and other things that guys who wear suits and ties do.

I couldn't agree more. I cut and split wood all winter if the snow holds off. It keeps me in shape and saves on the heating bill, (it heats twice ya know ). I do all my cutting and splitting in the woods. Cut a little , split a little, take a break and watch nature or walk a deer trail. Great for the soul. Of course I always have a gun on me in the woods.

My brother has a splitter like yours and it works great. But they are hard on the back also , spend most of the time bent over moving wood.

[ollogger]

I burn propane!!!!!!!!!
nice splitter ya got, you need to bye a pick to set the blocks up so ya aint bending & twisting
so much, that's what always got me, id even use it when splitting by hand
bought my wife Boots
a log splitter when we lived in Wis. she would sell bout a 100 full
cord a year, she was quite the Lumber Jill


ollogger

[BrentD]

...it's not a question of money to buy a splitter. I call it forced exercise during the winter as I split as I use it and this is because as the weather changes, so does the size of the wood I split.

I'm 59 and have had enough. I am just hoping my 175 pounds does not blossom to 200 or more.

Man, I can identify with that. We heat with wood too, and I'm plumb afraid to give up my splitting mauls.

[Sixgun]

Well, I just weighed myself in my birthday suit ( whew! cold scale ) high 170's. If it climbs more than 10 lbs, the splitter is gonna get covered over.----6

[BigSky56]

wood is the only heat I have, burn lodge pole and larch I cut split and stack during the spring & summer, falls for hunting and winter is the time to get on a sled and hunt for fur. danny

[1894c]

I swung a 8 pound splitter for years. To heck with that, I have gas logs now :lol: That is one dandy splitter, though. 8)

NICE LOG SPLITTER...I'm with BlaineG, all I do it split natural gas molecules...as soon as my home super-conductor is finished I'll be going fusion...just saying... :)

[earlmck]

One of my "excuses" for not having shoulder replacement surgery was that one of the things you're not supposed to do with the new shoulder is to split wood. Heck, that's one of the things I like to do. However I did almost retire my splitting maul and sledge when I got a Fiskars splitting axe. I still use the old maul occasionally, but just when I need to use the sledge to pound it through a big knot.

Yeah, an old guy like you are becoming, Six, needs to start finding nice shortcuts. I'm just not sure a log splitter is one of those, but then I am mostly splitting juniper and not those hardwoods you get to deal with.

[gamekeeper]

I enjoy splitting wood the old-fashioned way but there are times when I wish I had a log splitter, some of the wood I get is rough old stuff, I prefer Ash and Birch but have to take what I can get. You certainly do not need to join a gym when you have a wood stove...

[M. M. Wright]

That's a great lookin' splitter 6. I've had one for 40 years or so that my Dad and I built. I've modified it by putting a quick connect on the pump and running it off the back of a tractor PTO. Always seems to me as if I get plenty of "Chain Saw Aerobics" even when using the splitter. It's my method to fell a tree, trim up the log and drag it to the splitter where I cut it into blocks.
Were's the battery for the electric starter? And I don't see a cylinder for tilting either.

[Sixgun]

Were's the battery for the electric starter? And I don't see a cylinder for tilting either.

Those two questions hit a nerve. A 13 hp engine is not easy pulling when it's cold outside.

And it's impossible to tilt it by yourself. I had to hook a strap to the bucket of the loader.

Well, I ain't fooling with it today. Today is going to be dedicated to loading ammo.---6

[cas]

Splitting wood is like plowing snow. It's a lot of fun for the first half hour.

I don't know anyone who's bought a splitter that didn't end up thinking it was the best money they ever spent.

[6pt-sika]

When I still had my steam engines I used to cut up all the dead locust I could find and bust it up with a maul . When I got rid of the steam engines I think I had two stacked dump truck loads of wood left !

I did that back in my early to mid 20's now at 50+ I wouldn't think about it to that extreme .

Now I cut maybe half a pickup load each year to put in the fireplace if we happen to loose power for an extended period of time in the late fall or winter .

[Steelbanger]

Hey Six,

Cold? You're supposed to stand on the scale, not sit on it, assuming that those 59 year old eyes can still read something on the floor while you are standing.
Frank

[Sixgun]

Hey Six,

Cold? You're supposed to stand on the scale, not sit on it, assuming that those 59 year old eyes can still read something on the floor while you are standing.
Frank

Oh man! Frank, that was good. Yea, these 59 yo eyes can still read and although they are getting a little fussy with iron sights, I still have that one brown eye that's in pretty good shape.

I do have a hard time seeing the scale and it's not because of my eyesight, there's this huge protrusion sticking way out that blocks my view. (Yea, right) ---------6

[GoatGuy]

...there's this huge protrusion sticking way out that blocks my view. (Yea, right) ---------6

Six, you are referring to your big belly blocking your view, right?
If so, I can almost relate to that. Have lost several pounds in the last year!

[J35]

I burn propane!!!!!!!!!
nice splitter ya got, you need to bye a pick to set the blocks up so ya aint bending & twisting
so much, that's what always got me, id even use it when splitting by hand
bought my wife Boots
a log splitter when we lived in Wis. she would sell bout a 100 full
cord a year, she was quite the Lumber Jill


ollogger

My goodness 100 full cord, I can't imagine that ,I do 4 or 5 a year of hardwood and think I have really done something, I even woosed out this year and bought a splitter now it's almost fun

---J

[geobru]

I'm 62 and I am really blessed that I can still go out and cut and split wood with guys half my age any day of the week.

Only thing is that they can go out and do it the next day. I have to wait about a week before I can do it again!

[Grizz]

I heated with wood until this winter when the ladies installed a gas heater. it can't compete with wood but it is a lot cleaner inside now.

I prefer splitting with a double-bit, but also have a monster maul like 6's, and a handful of wedges and sledges. I love splitting wood, it beats the alternative.

The useless for BTUs sitka spruce splits like a dream when it is green, and is super hard to split when it's dry, the way beach logs are dried inside. I've trapped all my wedges inside a big spruce round and had to use the chainsaw to get them out. Useless for fires though, burns like rolls of paper towels. Makes great kindling though. Sometimes it's the only thing available.

Douglas fir splits best when dry and frozen. Then when you find the seam you can make firewood of any size round.

Hemlock splits best dry and frozen also. Frozen helps.

The way I split wood isn't much work. Even with an axe there is such a thing as working smarter, letting the wood talk. I'm gonna miss that, but the AK spot is wood heat only and I expect to put in some quality splitting time whenever I get to be there.

It's good to know there are so many folks heating with wood and using their hands tools for something really useful. I'm surprised that I never got a splitter since I like hydraulics so much.

Simple pleasures of life.

[Old Ironsights]

I prefer Detcord... maybe not cheaper, but more efficient... and fun.

(Actually, once you get the hang of it, splitting firebox-length logs with a bit of Black isn't hard and is VERY satisfying...)

[w30wcf]

Sixgun,
Nice log splitter! Now here's quite the log splitter.... faster than any I have seen....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bVAAx3mMKY

w30wcf

[BrentD]

this guy might be a little bit faster from start to finish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdXzaGFkWfU

[Sixgun]

Jack,
That old splitter would be worthless for the hardwood I split. Maybe poplar, that's about it. But that one Brent posted would be nice to have around. ----6

[horsesoldier03]

NICE!
But it is a proven fact that hand split wood has more BTUs. IT WARMS YOU TWICE as much as when it is split on a hydraulic splitter.