Proper Splitting Swing

[Marc]

Injuries, minor and major, are common when splitting wood (fingers, shins, etc.), just like in construction. The objective is to minimize the likelihood of injuries, especially a major injury. When I'm swinging an 8lb splitting maul with the sharp edge facing up and towards me, my common sense screams at me to stop.

I find that sledge hammers usually have a larger strike surface and a better balance than most splitting mauls, making it easier to hit the mark properly and therefore safer as well.

Well you're not swinging the sharp end towards your face, are you? Maybe it helps my mauls are quite dull. I find they're less likely to get stuck and more likely to find the fracture that way. Never really had a problem hitting a wedge with a maul. I think if you're accurate enough to hit a split with the narrow end where you want to, you should be able to find a wedge with the blunt side no problem.

But I see what you're saying, it just seems a tad far fetched to me that the difference in safety between hitting a wedge with a maul and a sledgehammer makes it worth the effort to drag both out. Especially when compared to other aspects of firewood harvesting, like falling a tree, or using a chainsaw in general.

 

[Islander]

I'm no maul expert, but one difference between a typical maul and a sledge hammer is the machined end.

Most sledges are machined, most mauls are not (my impression...please correct if I'm wrong).

Seems to me that a machined end would provide more predictable impact, and less likelihood of slipping on impact. Although a wedge quickly looks pretty beat up after some use, so maybe this doesn't matter that much.

Also I wonder about how a sledge hammer is forged. Might they be forged more on the face making a tougher impact surface?

In any case, I'd say if the face is not machined, then it is probably not designed for using as a hammer.

 

[Marc]

Last maul I had was machined on the blunt side. Very obviously machined.

But that doesn't mean necessarily it wasn't meant for use as a hammer, even if it isn't machined. The el cheapo mauls at Home Despot I don't think are machined, but that is probably only because they didn't want to spend the money to machine it in the factory in China where it was cranked out. Not because it was intended for one use or another.

The older sledgehammers I have I don't think are machined either. It's hard to tell because of the age and wear, but I don't think they were.

 

[Philbert]

Whether sledge, maul, or anything in-between, the striking face of a striking tool designed to strike another metal tool, is supposed to be softer so that it does not spark, shatter, or chip off.

That is why you see the warning sticker on hammers "Not to be used to strike hardened nails". Ball peen hammers, engineer's hammers, etc., have softer faces than nail driving hammers, because they are used to hit metal and to drive cold chisels.

It is hard to know how a sledge or maul has been made by looking at it. It should be forged, not cast. It is possible to temper the head many different ways and to temper the ends differently. But it is anyones' guess what you get when you pick up a cheapie somewhere.

Gets technical, but also interesting how many variations there are on one of the most basic tools - maybe the second tool (after the club?): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer

Philbert

 

[TallElf]

I do have to say, Instead of using a bungee, or a tire, I used a ratchet strap to hold the round together while I split it in the woods today. Was able to lift it up to the truck and then remove the ratchet strap... Stacked nice and neat, as well as only had to move one piece, not 25.

I guess the work smart, not harder approach as opposed to smashing the :censored: out of rounds and then picking them up to smash the :censored: out of them again is a great stress relief, however there is something to be said for not having to bust your :censored: all :censored: day picking up the leftovers from smashing the :censored: out of those poor unsuspecting rounds. Even my dad was impressed, as simple as it is.

 

[stihl sawing]

How many of you have ever missed the head of a steel wedge with a sledgehammer and knocked it back in you're shin....................Please tell me i ain't the only one.

 

[coog]

How many of you have ever missed the head of a steel wedge with a sledgehammer and knocked it back in you're shin....................Please tell me i ain't the only one.

You are the only one that I know of.Sheesh

 

[stihl sawing]

You are the only one that I know of.Sheesh

LOL, It was many years ago and i hit it off centered a little and the wedge went sideways and rolled over and tagged the shin bone. Got that ole sick feeling in the gut. Now there was a reason why i might have missed it but won't get into that.lol

 

[injun joe]

How many of you have ever missed the head of a steel wedge with a sledgehammer and knocked it back in you're shin....................Please tell me i ain't the only one.

lol no you aint the only 1:spam:. yeah i did that + i also did it with an 8# maul. i was splitting a round and it split way to easy and it kept on doing right into my shin. needless to say the maul flew across he wood pile and i called it a day.i also did it with my double bit axe.luckily i wasnt swinging hard or i'd have a prosthetic leg.

 

[stihl sawing]

lol no you aint the only 1:spam:. yeah i did that + i also did it with an 8# maul. i was splitting a round and it split way to easy and it kept on doing right into my shin. needless to say the maul flew across he wood pile and i called it a day.i also did it with my double bit axe.luckily i wasnt swinging hard or i'd have a prosthetic leg.

Ouch on the hit with the maul, Also glad ya wasn't swingin hard with the axe.

 

[psych038]

whenever splitting big rounds my buddy and i go around the edge and use the "windmill" method. dont draw it backover your head but just swing it back close to the ground round and round and round. great speed and you just kinda keepa good momentum. but yeah it wears you out and kinda hard on the elbows. i might try the above the head method. never had much like that way but i was prob doing it wrong.

 

[thefeckerwest]

I prefer to split my wood in the winter if possible,or atleast 2 seasons seasoning,and always with a mall,always on a chopping stump.Sure I have to pick wood up several times,but I get more efficient power swing as apposed to on the ground.Not to mention,why in the world would you want to rock out a perfectly good piece of sharpened steel.
I cant see twisting my wrist(specially while Im moving at he-man supersonic speeds).That might work on "girly wood",but I do like to drop my waist/bend knees at crucial "crux of the bisquit" moment.
Regardless of how you do it,youll find most of the worlds problems are solved on the wood pile.Supposedly Abe Lincoln said this"Chopping wood is one of the few things a man can do and see instant progress."
Im not as manly as I used to be,so anything with a crotch or knots usually goes into the "Winter solstice bonfire" pile,and I dont want to run short for that one(and my blue collar elbows dont like the pain).

ak4195

It was Albert Einstein that said: "people love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results."

 

[Butterbean 150]

I guess my methos is kind of a hybrid. I toss it up with my left hand while the right hand is on the poll and start the head down and slide my left hand down the handle to meet my right hand and just before impact I pull up on my right and push down with my left to increase leverage. That's on the regular rounds and my feet are equal distance apart and square to the swing. This gives me the best accuracy. My power swing is a lol different. My left foot is forward of my right foot and I get a bigger windup on the back swing. I take it really high and use my abdominal muscles to coil everything in a downward pull and really " snap" my wrists before impact. It creates tremendous power through the round.

 

[rarefish383]

Welcome to AS Butterbean. I think it's like hitting a baseball. Bat speed, Axe speed. I start with my hands apart and bring them together fast as I snap my wrists. When I was about 20 I quit using 6-8 pound mauls and went to a 4 pound axe on a 30-32" handle. Now I collect axes and use the splitter.