It's time. I've decided to sell my splitter.

[johnnylabguy]

I've got a huskee 22 ton splitter I bought 7 years ago and it's been a good piece. Always starts and runs great. Has split everything I throw at it. Not sure why a woodburning homeowner would need more for the 6-7 cords I go through a season.

The problem is I have only used it twice in the last 2 years. Crazy as it sounds for this forty year old to say is that I actually enjoy splitting with a maul so much more! It's good exercise and just as fast solo. So down the road it goes. But not far. My brother is buying it. And I have permission to use it for those rare nasties that wont budge. And I score some more shop room and cash for other toys(tools I mean. For the wife).
Here's a pic of this morning's quick hit with the mauls efforts:


Got the green light to cut at nine. Tree dropped and bucked at ten. Loaded and drove home by 11. And split and stacked by 12:30 with a four year olds "help" while listening to a Buckeyes game. Splitters are great for long sessions but mauls are better for enjoying the experience! The wood gorilla approves.

Ask me again in ten years when I'm 50. By then I'll probably be using my "Laser Maul" or something. And maybe a better woods trailer!

 

[turnkey4099]

I've got a huskee 22 ton splitter I bought 7 years ago and it's been a good piece. Always starts and runs great. Has split everything I throw at it. Not sure why a woodburning homeowner would need more for the 6-7 cords I go through a season.

The problem is I have only used it twice in the last 2 years. Crazy as it sounds for this forty year old to say is that I actually enjoy splitting with a maul so much more! It's good exercise and just as fast solo. So down the road it goes. But not far. My brother is buying it. And I have permission to use it for those rare nasties that wont budge. And I score some more shop room and cash for other toys(tools I mean. For the wife).
Here's a pic of this morning's quick hit with the mauls efforts:
View attachment 528978
View attachment 528974
Got the green light to cut at nine. Tree dropped and bucked at ten. Loaded and drove home by 11. And split and stacked by 12:30 with a four year olds "help" while listening to a Buckeyes game. Splitters are great for long sessions but mauls are better for enjoying the experience! The wood gorilla approves.

Ask me again in ten years when I'm 50. By then I'll probably be using my "Laser Maul" or something. And maybe a better woods trailer!

Splitting manually is great exercise and a pleasant way to spend time around the wood pile. I have a 27ton splitter but it only sees the knots/crotches, do around 10 cord/yr (sell some). Stack the rounds as I brind them home and do most of the splitting during the winter.

'Maul? I rarely use mine after I bought the Fiskars X27 (now itis "splitting axe). That thingis amazing. Maul now only sees use to tap onthe back of the x27 when it doesn't quite finish a split or to chop apart a knotty round.

 

[JeffHK454]

You're nuts...that is all.

 

[muddstopper]

^^^^^ Yep!

 

[Dirtboy]

I tip my hat to you, but I will never go back to hand splitting. But I am a lot older than you

 

[muddstopper]

Torn rotator last Sept, couldnt of hand split any wood If I had to. Had knee replacement in June of this year, wouldnt want to swing a maul or axe now either. Dont even want to think about running the hyd splitter either for that matter. Knowing I was going to have my knee replaced, I was able to get all my wood split for this year before surgery. I couldnt have done it without my splitter. Wood in wood shed now is what I had worked up before rotator surgery, and what I have piled up now is for next winter. Hopefully, I wont be out of commission next season and can stay at least a year ahead. I believe my hyd splitter is what will keep me ahead of the wood game, because my arms, back and knees are letting me down.

 

[sundance]

Knees (still on original issue), back and hip (also still original issue) help convince me the splitter I built in '95 was a smart move.

 

[greenskeeper]

manual split now and you'll pay later with aches and pains....I'd never give up my splitter.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

manual split now and you'll pay later with aches and pains....I'd never give up my splitter.

There's a flip side to that too. Splitting is good exercise. Not exercising because it makes you sore can contribute to poor health, which also causes aches and pains. Sitting on your bottom or standing at the splitter all day can make you fat and lazy. You will pay later for that too.

I split between 10-15 cords a year by hand. I use an x27 and a Gransfors Bruks splitting maul. It's a great way to get your heart rate up and build upper body strength. Also, it's exceptionally satisfying.

Yeah, splitters have their place. Personally, I'm hoping to keep expanding my maple syrup operation. At some point I won't want to do it all by hand. I'm saving up for an electric HD Super Split, myself.

As far as paying later, though, none of us are gonna make it outta here alive.

 

[johnnylabguy]

Ryan's milling I agree! Two years ago I got more of a "desk job" and between that and my metabolism slowing down boy did I pack on some weight. 30 lbs to be exact. The only exercise I got was woodcutting in the winter. Since I started running and exercising a bit(and I mean a bit. 20 minutes total of push ups/run a measly mile 3 times a week) I feel so much better. Only have got 20 lbs of it back but boy I feel way better than I have in years. Gotta use it or you lose it! How old is Harry turnkey still handsplitting 9+ cords again?

That said I know eventually I'll have a splitter again. Time wins. But I might as well let my older brother use mine in the meantime and gain some much needed shop space because it kind of works the same for engines and equipment sitting idle too!

 

[MountainHigh]

with nice clear no-knot wood like you show in that photo, I like hand splitting for fitness as well, but a lot of the wood I get is knotty and just takes too long any too many swings to get them split. I run my spliitter about 50% of the time.

 

[turnkey4099]

manual split now and you'll pay later with aches and pains....I'd never give up my splitter.

I've been manually splitting for 40 years, I'm 80 now and still doing 10+ cords/year. No aches/pains from it yet. I figure that activity saves me big money over going to a gym

 

[blades]

Each person is different , other events in life sometimes limit ones ability to do certain things, I personally can no longer swing an axe/maul for a cords worth of splits. just not physically possible, too many damaged/ worn parts in combination. On the other hand I am 65 and can generally run my 30 ( age) something offspring into the ground. ( which gives their wives a real chuckle).

 

[muddstopper]

As far as paying later, though, none of us are gonna make it outta here alive.

True, but no use making the trip any harder than it needs too be either. I grew up swinging a 10lb sledge splitting locust post and rails. When I started working for the railroad, a 10speed (10lb spiking hammer) was a piece of cake. I tore my rotator reaching behind the seat of the truck. The wear and tear you put on your body now can show up when you are doing a otherwise trivial task. If one wants to split wood with a maul, thats a choice only they can make, for whatever reasons they want to use to justify that choice. I believe you can get just as much exercise using a hyd splitter as you can swinging a maul. That round of wood doesnt just run and jump on the splitter and wait for you to pull a lever.

 

[johnnylabguy]

I believe you can get just as much exercise using a hyd splitter as you can swinging a maul. That round of wood doesnt just run and jump on the splitter and wait for you to pull a lever.

I agree that you that a hydro splitter is good exercise too muddstopper! That's why actually why I prefer hand splitting now. Unlike you my lower back had always been my "Achilles heel". Between a car accident and lifting wrong did it somewhere in my early twenties. I'm much more sore after lifting big round onto a splitter than hand splitting. Even just bucking logs with a big saw gets me the next day. I think it has to do with the maul stretching my back out rather than compacting it with lifting. I certainly understand if you have shoulder problems why a hydro splitter is better!

 

[johnnylabguy]

Buy the way if none of you guys have tried theX27 fiskars, Isocore fiskars or nicer mauls they are light years ahead of the old style mauls. When my old true value would bounce off 4 times on a log the new designs do it in one or two ! Huge difference in time and effort! Any doubters should spend $35 at Walmart for the really light x27 or your local guy to try it. You will be amazed what u can do!

 

[turnkey4099]

+1

Buy the way if none of you guys have tried theX27 fiskars, Isocore fiskars or nicer mauls they are light years ahead of the old style mauls. When my old true value would bounce off 4 times on a log the new designs do it in one or two ! Huge difference in time and effort! Any doubters should spend $35 at Walmart for the really light x27 or your local guy to try it. You will be amazed what u can do!

I wanted one for years but could not see the reasoning for the short handle...then came the X27 with a normal length handle. First time I used it I thouight "this thing cannot be doing what I am seeing"...still think the same some 15 or more years later.

There are two tools in my kit would be the last things I would let go, the X27 and LogRite hookeroon.

 

[muddstopper]

I agree that you that a hydro splitter is good exercise too muddstopper! That's why actually why I prefer hand splitting now. Unlike you my lower back had always been my "Achilles heel". Between a car accident and lifting wrong did it somewhere in my early twenties. I'm much more sore after lifting big round onto a splitter than hand splitting. Even just bucking logs with a big saw gets me the next day. I think it has to do with the maul stretching my back out rather than compacting it with lifting. I certainly understand if you have shoulder problems why a hydro splitter is better!

I honestly believe the choices we made when we are younger really impacts the choices we make today. Growing up, Dad taught me how to lift a stick of pulpwood and put it on my shoulder so I could carry it to the truck. Work hard, build muscle, work harder. Maybe not the best advice, but back then you did what you had to to get the job done. Most on the job injuries can be traced back to improper lifting. Back when I started working a public job, nobody even considered training, they just threw you into the fray and expected you to get the job done. Now days, employers spend big bucks training their employees proper lifting, doing warmup exercising before starting work, using the proper tools, and some even have wellness programs where you can earn points or prizes for reaching certain health goals. Unheard of 40 years ago, but I saw it evolve during my work history. No way of telling how many workers are still lifting things to heavy, or reaching and over extending on their jobs, and the problems usually dont show up until one day they bend over to pick up a pencil and cant straighten back up. I now realize that when I was younger, it might have been better for me to work smarter instead of working harder.

 

[Ryan'smilling]

Hydro splitters definitely give a fella a workout, that's for sure. It's different, though. It's weight training instead of cardio.

The way I split most of my wood, I buck it into rounds and then split it right where it is. I rarely pick up rounds of wood. I split most of my wood with a Gransfors Bruks splitting maul. The head is about 5#. I did have a love affair with the X27, but I keep coming back to the GB. I don't think I could handle a 10# maul for very long without tiring or hurting myself.

Because the GB is light and relatively short (32" IIRC), i can place the bit exactly where I want it to go. The combination of a sharp bit, precise placement, and good blade geometry mean that I can out perform most operators with a heavier maul. I also do less work.

Here's a couple pictures of wood split with the GB.
Before:

After:


It took me 18 minutes to do that. I never touched anything but the maul once I set down the saw. I did kick a few pieces, or move them with my boot.

One more:That was one 32" diameter red oak round. No way I could lift it onto a splitter.


Again, I'm not arguing against splitters. I borrow my neighbor's from time to time for nasty stuff. But, a nice maul is a dang nice tool. In the right hands, it's hard to compete with.

 

[Real Fast Travis]

I must have the wrong tools, or use the tools I have incorrectly. No way I could keep up hand splitting. I wish I could.
Question though, about hand splitting. When is the best time to split wood? Right away while it is green? A few months later? Or way later after it has dried?
I have heard several different philosophies.

I have the Fiskers X27, but I need a proper maul.... any suggestions?