- Joined
- Jul 16, 2011
- Messages
- 993
Its a very nicely stacked, and relatively large pile O' dry wood. Anyone who has wood heating would appreciate the work that goes into making it. It's a compliment
Wood splitting with the Twist
- Thread starter Steve Tall
- Start date
Its a very nicely stacked, and relatively large pile O' dry wood. Anyone who has wood heating would appreciate the work that goes into making it. It's a compliment
Uh yes that would be me. I live in Florida and I'm out of wood. Having wood also means I get time to use my axes and split which I also enjoy doing. I live in the suburbs. ... so it is not so easy to gather logs here. When the storms start to roll in for summer there will be a bunch of downfall available and I'll have wood. In the meantime every time I see a woodpile, well you get the picture. I'm good for about a cord a year maybe a little more.. Hope that explains it.
Oh and the street price is a dollar a piece.
I have an offset BBQ and I cook with hickory or oak too.
Anyway when I am lucky enough to have a pile that high the squirrels around here like to knock it over...I see yours is stacked very neatly that might be harder for them to knock over. And yes I meant it as a compliment.
cheers
Nicely stacked? what? that was just a rough stack!
cattledog, I was just kidding.
Sorry to hear that you're out of wood; I know that I'm very lucky to be living in a piece of land with a large woodlot, though I've just run out of any bucked up wood to split, and now I'm itching to get another load cut! And the only thing knocking my woodpiles over would be donkeys or horses rubbing on them...
I've never been very good at taking compliments, but thank you!
Chainsaws??? No way! I don't use chainsaws…
…but others in my family do.
And ain't that the problem? I'm lucky enough to have learned to file and "service" my own saws and have enough of the tools required to make it work. Most people unfortunately don't have access to the tools, don't have the skills or just don't have time. I would hate the feeling of paying filer a thousand miles away 100 bucks to file a saw only to drop it in the gravel or something. Maybe thats why I am a sap and charge people 25 bucks to fix their saws up and tune up/adjust for free. I wish it were like an axe where you could just touch up the edge after work and file it a few times a year and call it good.
It's defenitely a transplant thing. My Grandpa lived in the country growing up but has lived in the city for years. He always comments on the "beautiful" (shoddy) wood piles dotted around the yard. The only wood piles you see in the city these days are covered in blue tarps and bungy cords vehemently stashed away behind a pre-fab shed or something.
Last edited:
This was my last good woodpile. When I thought a 8lb maul was the best tool for splitting lol I've learned a lot since then.
My favorite splitter is a Fiskars splitter.
I will definitely try the twist method on my next batch if the wood lets me.
My favorite splitter is a Fiskars splitter.
I will definitely try the twist method on my next batch if the wood lets me.
Last edited:
This was my last good woodpile. When I thought a 8lb maul was the best tool for splitting lol I've learned a lot since then.
My favorite splitter is a Fiskars splitter.
I will definitely try the twist method on my next batch if the wood lets me.
I love your "chopping block" where you keep your maul! =p
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 13,727
I think it's just because it's a substantial pile of wood. In some places (the poster was from Florida) large piles of firewood aren't common. And if trees aren't plentiful then firewood might be more expensive than it is where trees are plentiful.
[Edit] Oops. Didn't see the next page of posts.
[Edit] Oops. Didn't see the next page of posts.
Last edited:
So, I've been using the twist with a 3lb S&N on a 29" handle lately. It works really well, even for me as someone who has very little practice, but MAN does it ever hurt your hands! I am getting callouses in parts of my palm I've never had them before. I think the problem at first was that I was holding the axe too rigid and it wasn't throwing itself to the side as sharply as it needs to. In the soft wood I have been splitting you can clearly see the spot where the axe hit at an angle, couldn't bite and threw off in the opposite direction.
Yes, a 'lose grip' on the handle is pretty much a necessity with this technique. Well, more like keeping your grip loose until the moment of impact, where you flick the ax from it's vertical line of travel to one that's nearly horizontal. Also, in soft or somewhat rotten wood, this doesn't always work as well because the ax sinks down into the wood before it has a chance to pry it apart. It shouldn't really hurt your hands though, if anything it's sometimes hard on the wrists. As far as the callouses, I never noticed getting extra ones from splitting, but maybe I haven't done enough at a time... and I usually have callouses anyway.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2011
- Messages
- 993
Oh, Ashley. I was going to mention that I just picked up a True Temper Black Prince/Walland Vale double bit up at a local garage sale for $2.00! Its in great condition too! looks almost exactly like yours Can't wait to start fixing it up. I will post some pics a little later, still have to take some
Can't wait to start fixing it up. I will post some pics a little later, still have to take some
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2011
- Messages
- 993
Are you still using dial up? If so I can just post one picture so you can download it easily.
Thanks for being so considerate Yes, but I sometimes take our laptop into town and hijack someone's wireless signal to download files. Photos are fine, videos not so much...
Btw, I'm probably going to be away for a few days (working with bees, not axes!) so not rush on the photos for my sake.
Yes, but I sometimes take our laptop into town and hijack someone's wireless signal to download files. Photos are fine, videos not so much... Btw, I'm probably going to be away for a few days (working with bees, not axes!) so not rush on the photos for my sake.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2011
- Messages
- 993
Whoever hung this bad boy last put the head on upside down...So I (or rather my little brother) took the picture upside down, so you can see the head right side up! This is going to be a great axe after a little TLC
I think the pain was coming from me repeatedly smacking the side of the axe against the still upright half of the wood, and the handle always turning 90 degrees in my hand. Hopefully I can become as graceful at it as you are and in a hurry! What also struck me odd was the varying effectiveness of different axes. I tried a whole slew but I settled on this Snow & Nealley which (apart from being a single bit) is a lot like the one you use in relation to general shape, weight and handle length. It seemed to "throw" the wood apart a lot better than some other axes, even ones 1/2lb to 2lb heavier.
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2011
- Messages
- 993
I've been splitting with the same "twisting" method as Ashley for about a year. I find its best to wait until your bit actually penetrates the wood, then twist. It all as to be timed down to the 1/2 second upon impact to get it perfect. But if you do twist it too early, you will end up with some sore hands! Too late with your twist and your axe may get stuck in the piece your trying to split.
I'm no expert, just trying to help
Whoever hung that axe last may have deliberately put the head on upside down My dad has done this a few times with axes that are very worn on the top of the face, to wear the lower end down and thus even out the face through use instead of lots of grinding and reshaping. This one was slightly more worn on the top, but not too much. It looks to be in great shape; have fun with it.Whoever hung this bad boy last put the head on upside down...So I (or rather my little brother) took the picture upside down, so you can see the head right side up! This is going to be a great axe after a little TLC
And thanks for the photo.
I've been splitting with the same "twisting" method as Ashley for about a year. I find its best to wait until your bit actually penetrates the wood, then twist. It all as to be timed down to the 1/2 second upon impact to get it perfect. But if you do twist it too early, you will end up with some sore hands! Too late with your twist and your axe may get stuck in the piece your trying to split.
I'm no expert, just trying to help
I made my first attempt after watching the Tom Clark videos where he said he actually swings the axe at aproximately 30 degrees. I found the only thing I ended up "consciously" doing was loosening the grip a bit and kind of helping (or rather, not fighting) the axe throwing itself off the projected plane or whatever right word is. Usually when my hands got raw it was because I was getting over zealous with the "motions" involved.
You don't need to be an expert, but you obviously understand the principles of this technique. I should have mentioned that it's important not to do the twist too soon, because the axe will likely glance off the wood if if doesn't have that extra split second to penetrate the wood and start the split.
I'm guessing that this had more to do with the shape of the face than it being single bit versus double bit. At some point I'd like get back to the subject of single bits vs double bits for splitting wood... but not tonight