# splitting beech



## peterc38 (Feb 14, 2009)

Is beech supposed to be tough to split? Just wondering cause I am used to splitting oak, maple and occasional white birch and that splits a lot easier than this stuff. I split everything by hand and I got my hands on some Beech and was suprised by how tough it is to split.


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## zr900 (Feb 14, 2009)

It is the nastiest wood that I have came across to split. But it is excellent firewood. Even the straight stuff splits like crotch wood.


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## Ironbark (Feb 14, 2009)

All the beech I've split in the UK has split easily enough to me.

Needs a lot of drying out. "beechwood logs burn bright and clear, if the logs are kept a year"


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## Moss Man (Feb 14, 2009)

"beechwood logs burn bright and clear, if the logs are kept a year" 

That is a kick-bass saying!

Around these parts you do your best to have a powered woodsplitter when you get to the Beech in your pile. Even the straightest of logs can be tough to split. We have 50% Beech to burn this winter and it is really throwing some serious BTU's, love it.


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## Hlakegollum (Feb 14, 2009)

Burns like oak, good stuff, but yes U need a woodsplitter.


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## Kevin in Ohio (Feb 14, 2009)

We have a lot of beech in our woods. Splitting difficulty varies from tree to tree. Some of them will have a wavy grain that will split hard on ALL of the tree, even where no knots are present. Other beeches will be what we call "shin busters" as they pop apart when barely touched. Just like humans, some are harder to work with than others. 

We split it all with splitters unless it's walnut or something. On the average I wouldn't want to split beech by hand. Here is a big one we did this winter. 11 cord out of it and still have the 20 ft trunk standing. Yes, it was a wavy one.


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## PA Plumber (Feb 14, 2009)

The Beech we've gotten into so far has just popped apart. The splitter barely touches it.

Straight grained and well seasoned when split.


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## Labman (Feb 14, 2009)

I guess what I remember as easy must have been some of the good stuff, quartering 3' rounds with 3 swings of the axe.


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## 371groundie (Feb 14, 2009)

cut it in the winter and split it while its still frozen. or try to cook your wife a steak on valentines day then discover that the only thawed meat in the house is spoiled. so i go from hero to zero and now im eating pizza, WTF. what im getting at is you need some frustrations to take out on that son of a beech.


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## woodbooga (Feb 15, 2009)

I've split some with a maul that fell apart as easy as sub-freezing red oak. And some that's rivaled big rock maple, crotch popple, or even elm.

The tougher stuff, I've noticed, had bark that seemed blighted. The healthier, smmoth-bark beech seemed to split easier.

Beech is a fascinating species. It actually has tropical roots and slowly made its way north thousands of years after the last Ice Age. I've heard that that's why it clings to its leaves in winter. Still trying to figure out this change in season thing. The other theory I've heard is that its a defense against browsing animals. The deer nibble the leaves instead of the buds.


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## rngrchad (Feb 15, 2009)

woodbooga said:


> I've split some with a maul that fell apart as easy as sub-freezing red oak. And some that's rivaled big rock maple, crotch popple, or even elm.
> 
> The tougher stuff, I've noticed, had bark that seemed blighted. The healthier, smmoth-bark beech seemed to split easier.
> 
> Beech is a fascinating species. It actually has tropical roots and slowly made its way north thousands of years after the last Ice Age. I've heard that that's why it clings to its leaves in winter. Still trying to figure out this change in season thing. The other theory I've heard is that its a defense against browsing animals. The deer nibble the leaves instead of the buds.



Great background info on the Beech. I feel a little smarter after reading your post. We all know that is saying alot these days. Thanks man.

I split alot of beech using my Fiskars. It is slow going, but it can be done. The colder the weather the easier beech splits. It splits like a dream when it's 3 degrees out.
-Chad


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## peterc38 (Feb 15, 2009)

Well here is the pile, I got it split. I'm off to a good start for next winter as I now I have about 3 cords split and stacked for next year. Next I gotta start working on that pile in the background. :greenchainsaw:


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## peterc38 (Feb 15, 2009)

woodbooga said:


> I've split some with a maul that fell apart as easy as sub-freezing red oak. And some that's rivaled big rock maple, crotch popple, or even elm.
> 
> The tougher stuff, I've noticed, had bark that seemed blighted. The healthier, smmoth-bark beech seemed to split easier.
> 
> Beech is a fascinating species. It actually has tropical roots and slowly made its way north thousands of years after the last Ice Age. I've heard that that's why it clings to its leaves in winter. Still trying to figure out this change in season thing. The other theory I've heard is that its a defense against browsing animals. The deer nibble the leaves instead of the buds.



Woodbooga, thanks for the info. Do you know if Oak is related to Beech then because I always have noticed that a lot of oaks hang onto their leaves all winter too.


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## Blazin (Feb 15, 2009)

Nice pile! Beech does split pretty hard, and it is awesome burning wood for sure. It ranks up there with oak and hard maple in my book!


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## woodbooga (Feb 15, 2009)

peterc38 said:


> Woodbooga, thanks for the info. Do you know if Oak is related to Beech then because I always have noticed that a lot of oaks hang onto their leaves all winter too.



I'm no expert, but I've heard that they are distantly related from a naturalist who does a weekly radio piece in NH.

There are a few folks who post in this forum who are much more up on the science end of things and who could maybe expand on my post.


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## TreePointer (Feb 15, 2009)

peterc38 said:


> Woodbooga, thanks for the info. Do you know if Oak is related to Beech then because I always have noticed that a lot of oaks hang onto their leaves all winter too.



Oaks are in the Beech family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagaceae


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## Zodiac45 (Feb 16, 2009)

Which way too the beech! I love the stuff when I can get it. I never get the smooth barked stuff around here. It's all got those gnarly knobs on it when it's over about 14". Burns tops though! My Sister bought a 50 acre property (on the NY state/Mass border) that has some beautys on it! Very large old growth beech smooth as a baby's. Sure wish it wasn't so far away. I could clean up that lot for ever (10 cords a year) and never take a healthy tree.


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## Mike Van (Feb 16, 2009)

Beech is so tough it's used for mallet heads & runners on sleighs.


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## woodbooga (Feb 17, 2009)

Mike Van said:


> Beech is so tough it's used for mallet heads & runners on sleighs.



...And aging beer!


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## MishMouse (Feb 17, 2009)

woodbooga said:


> ...And aging beer!



Bud.... Bud .... Bud... 

Weis.....

Errrr......


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## johnha (Feb 17, 2009)

There are ten or so different kinds of beech, so I suppose splitting could vary by which kind.

Speaking of which, I think European Beech, fagus sylvaticus, is one of the prettiest trees I've ever seen.


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