Ash wood is almost impossible to split

[stihly dan]

I have had 2 large roadside ash trees that would not split. By hand or 25 ton hydro splitter. Had to use the chainsaw as a splitter. Can it be called noodling if you get chips instead of noodles.

 

[lefturnfreek]

Doesn't look like the ash broke it, just finished of the damage/ weld(chicken scratch) that was already there.

I never said I built this splitter....

Considering it was bowing the main beam before splitting the piece, firing it off the knife 20ft or more some times, I would say they were a lil tough....

 

[TMFARM 2009]

i also leave big rounds go until sub zero.
they tend to split easier for me then.
then if they still are a p.i.t.a. i just chunk them with a saw.
i never rent splitters. i use a fiskars or the original log blaster. but my age prefers the fiskars.

 

[06switchback]

Another thanks to the eab I have been burning a lot of ash the last few years unsure what variety but it's mostly woods trees and the tend to split very easy with a maul but I can't ever get a maul through the last block or 2 on the bottom of the tree the stumps just won't split by hand so I throw them aside for the hydraulic to take care of

Maybe I give up to easy but if it doesn't break after 5 or 6 hits I toss it for later

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

 

[svk]

Another thanks to the eab I have been burning a lot of ash the last few years unsure what variety but it's mostly woods trees and the tend to split very easy with a maul but I can't ever get a maul through the last block or 2 on the bottom of the tree the stumps just won't split by hand so I throw them aside for the hydraulic to take care of

Maybe I give up to easy but if it doesn't break after 5 or 6 hits I toss it for later

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk

The stump piece on most any species is usually extra tough. Wavy grain and it starts to flare outward in anticipation of going to the roots.

 

[haveawoody]

chipper1,
Who wants to be normal lol
What is normal these days, living life on a cellphone, eating takeout 7 days a week and having 10s K owing on a credit card because things you didn't need you got anyway.
Work and math are a mystery now.

I'm ok with being not normal.

 

[chipper1]

chipper1,
Who wants to be normal lol
What is normal these days, living life on a cellphone, eating takeout 7 days a week and having 10s K owing on a credit card because things you didn't need you got anyway.
Work and math are a mystery now.

I'm ok with being not normal.

I agree. We are getting ready to start a school of common sense (not common core). You know one where 2+2=4, not 2+2=5 nice job jonny. You know they say common sense ain't so common these days.
Lefttutnfreak I don't think I said you welded it or built it, just that that was an underlying cause. Also if the main beam is arching that would probably be a good time to let off the handle and move to another piece .

 

[WoodTick007]

I broke my splitter on some dry Ash.

This is the end of the ram mount and I broke the main frame....grrrr

P
Next time you weld your splitter increase the power while your welding heavy steel. . . if you look at the point it broke (your root weld) was cold and there was no fusion. It appears you piled on all kinds of weld material thinking it would increase the strength of the weld. This might be true to a certian point if they were all quality welds(which they are not). So I have serious doubts that splitting Ash broke your splitter. . . what broke your splitter was poor design and lack of fusion during the welding process.

 

[chipper1]

P
Next time you weld your splitter increase the power while your welding heavy steel. . . if you look at the point it broke (your root weld) was cold and there was no fusion. It appears you piled on all kinds of weld material thinking it would increase the strength of the weld. This might be true to a certian point if they were all quality welds(which they are not). So I have serious doubts that splitting Ash broke your splitter. . . what broke your splitter was poor design and lack of fusion during the welding process.

Be cautious, he was already offended when I said it was the weld and he said he did not build it.
A term more familiar than fusion in welding is penetration (at least to the common guy although it is only really talking about the depth of fusion). You need more heat on the beam so the weld will penetrate(fuse deeper) into both the beam and the knife or wedge.
It doesn't help when the beam is flexing(wrong metal maybe) as that would only exasperate the problem.

I want to be clear that I'm not saying that the wood is not tough, but that it just brought out an underlying problem.

 

[flashhole]

My wife is Irish. That makes me Irish by penetration.

 

[chipper1]

My wife is Irish. That makes me Irish by penetration.

I'm not gonna touch that with a 10ft pole saw lol.

 

[ropensaddle]

I'm not gonna touch that with a 10ft pole saw lol.

Ahhh just chop it with the fiskers

 

[chipper1]

Ahhh just chop it with the fiskers

That's funny, I was just finishing up an email to them saying thanks for getting it back to me so quickly when I received the alert to you response.
Go figure. Guess I could use that on the Irish deal and on the ash lol.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Funny that nobody mentioned spiral-grain ash. It occurs when the ash tree is leaning really hard for many years or most of its life. The tree tries to straighten itself up but fails and eventually dies, sometimes after 50 to 70 years. Even the tree trimmers hate taking it down.

Rounds cut from a tree like this are almost impossible to split because the grain is anything but straight. If you try to split from the outside in, chunks flake off. If you try to work dead center, the log splitter stalls out. My solution is to commit these rounds to a bonfire of the vanities.

On the other hand, most of the time I have found ash rather easy to split and it's a top-notch firewood that seasons fast.

 

[ropensaddle]

Funny that nobody mentioned spiral-grain ash. It occurs when the ash tree is leaning really hard for many years or most of its life. The tree tries to straighten itself up but fails and eventually dies, sometimes after 50 to 70 years. Even the tree trimmers hate taking it down.

Rounds cut from a tree like this are almost impossible to split because the grain is anything but straight. If you try to split from the outside in, chunks flake off. If you try to work dead center, the log splitter stalls out. My solution is to commit these rounds to a bonfire of the vanities.

On the other hand, most of the time I have found ash rather easy to split and it's a top-notch firewood that seasons fast.

knarly

 

[haveawoody]

chipper1,

Just sad isn't it.
lord knows what happens if the power goes out for a week. lol

Oh well maybe we are over rating basic skills and people really don't need them anymore.
Should be an interesting world if it happens.

2+2 =3 less the work, wood and food

 

[chipper1]

chipper1,

Just sad isn't it.
lord knows what happens if the power goes out for a week. lol

Oh well maybe we are over rating basic skills and people really don't need them anymore.
Should be an interesting world if it happens.

2+2 =3 less the work, wood and food

I know all my wood would be in the basement by then, at least the stuf thats split.
I don't think it's an "if it happens" scenario, my wife is a teacher and we home school for a reason, it is happening.
Go back to the top of this post, it's one example of it, at least he is using his resources, that being this forum. Unfortunately in the chance we have a large scale power outage noone would be able to click to get the answers. Then we would what basic survival skills do and don't do for a persons sanity.
You can watch any number of movies to find out it won't be pretty. Thats whe you see just how civilized people are.

 

[haveawoody]

chipper1,

Guess just a matter of time and nature will thin the herd to those that can endure.
Winter here would be a beast for survival but I at least have the basic survival knowledge to last.

One big solar flare and earth goes back to bow and arrows for 2 years or more if you know how to make a bow and arrows .
I agree it would be an ugly scene around the world.

 

[flashhole]

Wouldn't surprise me to see most of the guys on this forum also participate in gun forums. Don't have to go back to bows and arrows if you handload and cast your own bullets. It's good to be self-reliant and capable of providing what is needed.

 

[WoodTick007]

Huh? You think the rod he used was too small to get good penetration? Maybe he just drags a 70xx rod and he need to increase the motion. . .or prehaps he has a very short duty cycle and right when he thinks things are getting going he has to stop because he is reaching the limits of his equipment.
Hell, I don't know lol I thought welding was about fusing metals when in reality its about penetration and penetrating metal.

Either way a weld should hold up while the forces of the ram are stressing the beam. . .