How would you tackle splitting big Doug Fir rounds?

[North by Northwest]

Depending on your physical abilities and timeframe , a maul or wedges and sledge will easily split fir . Also a splitter will do the same , however at a much quicker rate . Lifting the rounds up onto the splitter deck may be chore for the older or anyone with back issues ! lol. However at 66 I handled the same size white pine last fall , over 20 rounds in 4 hrs split & piled , along with 4 Miller Tall Boys !

 

[sb47]

I know in some areas pine is the only thing people have to work with. I avoid any conifers at all cost. To much work for the BTU's it produces.

 

[TrekJeff]

I hired a tree service to remove some storm damaged trees. What you're looking at is 36" Doug Fir rounds sliced in 16" sections. I'm just curious how you'd split these? Would a 27 Ton splitter in the vertical position split these? Should I quarter them with a chain saw to get them more managable. Just looking for a plan of attack for these monsters.

View attachment 891752

Just get one of Bucking Billy’s axes and “FLICK” it!

 

[president]

My rounds are in my trailer, I get my trailer tail close to my splitter, run a plank from the trailer,,, roll em up split em it at least gets them il half.
Or
I also have a pipe across my sea cans,, i use a log dog into round and a good rope and my atv to pull the round up,, the splitter is rite under the pipe.
Splitter i burried under the snow now.
View attachment 892349

Thats gotta be your cabin in Tullameen ?

 

[North by Northwest]

I know in some areas pine is the only thing people have to work with. I avoid any conifers at all cost. To much work for the BTU's it produces.

I don,t know of anyone who burns pine as a primary firewood source . It is however a good source of kindling or along with cedar for spring & fall mix slab wood to any hardwood , that is a frequent happening up North here . The large white pines I mentioned were from a wind blow down not a selective harvest lol. White Pine has a lower btu index 15-16 compared to Douglass fir which actually has a rather high btu factor of 24 , higher even than seasoned Red Oak surprisingly , unfortunately without the density for longer burn times. However 36 " is not on my selective harvest chart .

 

[windthrown]

I cut them into quads, 6's, 9's or 12's, depending on the size of the rounds. I have cut and blocked down up to 8 foot diameter old growth Doug Fir and 6 foot diameter Silver fir rounds. Typically I noodle them into 2'x2' chunks that I can haul home on the trailer and split later into firewood splits with a maul, splitter or chainsaw (saw the burl and knot wood). I spent all day today doing that on a large bigleaf maple here with my brother. Now I am set for firewood though 2022.

 

[windthrown]

I know in some areas pine is the only thing people have to work with. I avoid any conifers at all cost. To much work for the BTU's it produces.

What a farking laugh! Many conifers have PLENTY of BTUs. More than many hardwoods. All you guys that trash talk pine all the time? I have a stand of Lodgepole pines on my property here that makes for PREMIUM firewood. Burns great all winter here. Never mind Larch and Doug fir that I also heat my house with year in and year out. Silver fir, excellent firewood. Douglad fir, excellent firewood. Larch, excellent firewood. Lodgepole pine, excellent firewood. Old growth pretty much any conifer, excellent firewood. I will put pinyon pine up against ANY eastern hardwood for heat value. It has the same heat value as Black Locust.

But hey, stay ignorant and do leave all that trashy conifer for me to cut and burn here. Trash talk it all you want... now white pine, yes that stuff sucks ass. As does most white fir here. As do the tops of most firs and pine, or any 6-8 inch DBH conifers. They peddle that crap on people here a lot as firewood. But older growth conifer? Thar be the dense wood for good heating. You people simply have no idea...

 

[Jasent]

What a farking laugh! Many conifers have PLENTY of BTUs. More than many hardwoods. All you guys that trash talk pine all the time? I have a stand of Lodgepole pines on my property here that makes for PREMIUM firewood. Burns great all winter here. Never mind Larch and Doug fir that I also heat my house with year in and year out. Silver fir, excellent firewood. Douglad fir, excellent firewood. Larch, excellent firewood. Lodgepole pine, excellent firewood. Old growth pretty much any conifer, excellent firewood. I will put pinyon pine up against ANY eastern hardwood for heat value. It has the same heat value as Black Locust.

But hey, stay ignorant and do leave all that trashy conifer for me to cut and burn here. Trash talk it all you want... now white pine, yes that stuff sucks ass. As does most white fir here. As do the tops of most firs and pine, or any 6-8 inch DBH conifers. They peddle that crap on people here a lot as firewood. But older growth conifer? Thar be the dense wood for good heating. You people simply have no idea...

Couldn’t agree more

 

[North by Northwest]

Couldn’t agree more

I'll 2nd that ...Cheers !

 

[Mad Professor]

Two mauls, 3 steel wedges, and a sledgehammer

 

[djones]

Thanks guys. My 27T splitter went thru these like a hot knife thru butter. All it needed was a couple inches of bite from the edge. The splitting is relatively easy. Getting these monster to the splitter and positioned is the hard part.

That's why I quarter mine first, near the splitter is better than far away. Quartered rounds don't roll.

 

[djones]

A couple of flips and they're at the splitter. Just noodle them and they go quite fast. Do a bunch and then split.

 

[Herman the German]

My rounds are in my trailer, I get my trailer tail close to my splitter, run a plank from the trailer,,, roll em up split em it at least gets them il half.
Or
I also have a pipe across my sea cans,, i use a log dog into round and a good rope and my atv to pull the round up,, the splitter is rite under the pipe.
Splitter i burried under the snow now.
View attachment 892349

This is a good looking set up. I just had told the wife that I'd like to buy a small piece of land and fill it with those trailers and fill trailers with firewood. Vent them properly and use a solar panel fan the circulate air for free and sell the nice dry wood in winter without bringing folks to my house although all my firewood customers are very nice and down to earth.

 

[Wyrdman]

I'd give them a few whacks with a maul to see how they split, if they split nice with a maul its faster than using the splitter vertical. If they don't split with a couple hits of the maul and there's not that many of them or they're in the woods and I can't move them to the splitter whole I'll use a sledge and wedges to quarter them. I don't use the splitter vertical very often since most of the time its straight grained ash or oak which usually splits good especially frozen.