Ripping bucked logs

[Blowdown1]

I bucked a relatively large oak (3' dbh) into about 16" pieces and need to get it into my truck so I can get it home and split it for firewood. Problem is the weight, so I'm thinking of ripping them in half.

Should I bother with a ripping chain (359 w/ 20" bar) or just use standard full chisel? I'd like to do it this weekend and don't know that I can find a ripping chain locally. Also, what about simply filing an older chain I have w/ a shallower angle (closer to say 10 degrees or so)? Is it worth the time or should I just suck it up and go stock? I probably have 15-20 pieces to cut in half.

thanks, Jake

 

[TonyM]

I've ripped many stubborn chunks with standard chisel chain, albeit with a 372XP. Just lay the chunks down on their side, so you cut parallel to the grain. If you cut exactly parallel to the grain, you will make long stringy chips that will tend to plug your saw, so just slightly vary the angle of the bar so that you cut across several grains, and the chips will break up smaller. You can often times stop short of going through, and then give the kerf a whack with the splitting axe and it'll pop the rest of the way. That way you keep your chain out of the dirt. If you can lift the chunks, sometimes it's nice to set one chunk on end, and set the chunk you are splitting on top of the first chunk, then you can cut through.

 

[spacemule]

I've ripped many stubborn chunks with standard chisel chain, albeit with a 372XP. Just lay the chunks down on their side, so you cut parallel to the grain. If you cut exactly parallel to the grain, you will make long stringy chips that will tend to plug your saw, so just slightly vary the angle of the bar so that you cut across several grains, and the chips will break up smaller. You can often times stop short of going through, and then give the kerf a whack with the splitting axe and it'll pop the rest of the way. That way you keep your chain out of the dirt. If you can lift the chunks, sometimes it's nice to set one chunk on end, and set the chunk you are splitting on top of the first chunk, then you can cut through.

You can also avoid clogging by keeping the dogging spikes a couple inches from the wood. It takes a large saw to be efficeint with this kind of cutting. My 034 will do it, albeit slower than my 394. I wouldn't want to go smaller than the 034. The 394 will drop through with it's own weight, but a little down pressure is needed with the smaller saw to get a good time in the cut.

 

[oldwild]

i had a few logs cut to that lenght that were too heavy to pick-up, so I rolled them next to another tree, stacked them neatly then came back a month or so later after they dried out a bit!

 

[rahtreelimbs]

Thinking from another angle, is it possible to take the splitter (provided that this splitter can handle wood of this size) to the jobsite. Most splitters that I have seen are towable. If that is possible it seems it would be a lot easier. Also you would be handling the wood less.

 

[glens]

Just bring an 8-lb maul with you.  If it's red oak, walk a line of hits from one side to the other right through the middle and that should do it.  White oak may take walking the line across and back.  Split from the bottom of the tree to the top, through the middle of the biggest limb juncture you can see.

Firewood keeps you warm at least three times.

 

[Blowdown1]

Thinking from another angle, is it possible to take the splitter (provided that this splitter can handle wood of this size) to the jobsite. Most splitters that I have seen are towable. If that is possible it seems it would be a lot easier. Also you would be handling the wood less.

The splitter would be me and my 8lb maul. Believe me, if I had a hydraulic splitter I'd be over there plugging away w/ a beer and sandwich.

I guess I'll give the maul a shot and see how much work it is. One thing that may make it a *#$* is that it has a sort of double trunk (the rounds are oval), so splitting may not go too smoothly.

thanks for all the tips.

Good thing I have a 4-day weekend. I also have to put a pre-hung door on the garage and trim out the roll-up garage doors and clean out the garage to make room for a new table saw.

 

[Dale]

So true

"Firewood keeps you warm at least three times."

Glens, that is hilarious, and so TRUE.

 

[Dale]

Oh P.S.

Oh Blowdown,
Sounds like you should just make a nice outdoor chair from that stump and move on to another log

 

[WoodTick007]

this is good stuff

 

[eyolf]

I figure the maul is the best way to go. The chunks that have crotch grain can be "started" with the chain saw if you like, or a wedge could be used.

When I was a kid my dad an I put up firewood with an old McC 3-25 (actually 2 of them) then later with Homie gear-drives. Trees were cut into 6-8 foot lengths, the bolts were then split down until light enough to lift to the buzz-saw. Allwith a maul and wedges. At the age of 46 I'm still splitting 15-18 cords a year to heat house, shop, and Mom's house. I believe a maul is faster than a wood splitter, and actually easier on your back since there is no lifting 100# chunks and catching the 50# splits.

 

[Blowdown1]

Except for...

Sounds like you should just make a nice outdoor chair from that stump and move on to another log

...the fact that it is on federal park property and the only reason I can even clear it at all is the Park Service never cleared the part that was extending onto the kennel's property (down the road from me).

If "Rambo" the park policeman saw me lounging in the chair he'd probably arrest me. This guy has a hard-on for us "lawbreakers" that live in the park. I'd almost be curious to see what he charged me with. Illegal crafting of outdoor furniture from indigenous wood species residing on federal park property perhaps?

 

[glens]

Split from the bottom of the tree to the top, through the middle of the biggest limb juncture you can see.

I want to clarify that I mean if there was a limb growing off the side, flush cut the limb and turn it towards you when you split the upsidedown chunk through the middle, so when it splits in two, you'll see two wye-shaped patterns.  I've found that to almost invariably be the best and easiest way to get the round split the first time.  Picking it apart is then relatively easy.  In keeping with that idea, I usually split an oval piece through the middle the long way.  There's something about splitting the symmetry first that makes the rest go well.

I like the 8-lb maul because the way I swing it balances the effort to both raise and lower it.  A 6-lb head is easier to get overhead, but you must pull down on it a lot harder.  I'm basically lazy, so I don't swing it in an arc up over and around my shoulder, but instead throw it straight up overhead as high as I can get it, then pull it back down like I'm ringing a church bell.

Oftentimes it <i>is</i> faster than a hydraulic splitter.

Glen

 

[TonyM]

If it's red oak, it may split easy enough by hand, but if it's white oak, I challege anyone with a maul or axe to race me and the PS-7900 at getting chunks that size cut in half. After they are cut in half, then maybe you can split the rest by hand.

 

[ray benson]

I usually use an 8 lb.maul, 8 lb. sledgehammer and a few steel wedges to split the easy ones.The pieces that had limbs can be rip cut with your saw. But the saw does plug up with long stringy chips by the chain.You can also build steps with the pieces you cut.Lay them flat just behind the open tailgate on the truck. Then roll the rounds up the steps into the bed. You can roll pieces up the other cuts and into the bed that you can not dead-lift onto the tailgate.
Ray

 

[tony marks]

depends on how good u saw is.. a perfect cut setup is what id work at.. was it my job..then take you time ,keep it cleaned out..did i say, bring u lunch an take u time.

 

[Blowdown1]

Ray, you're just too ????#d clever. I was trying to think of a way of rolling them up there, w/out finding a plank laying around.

It is red oak, so it does split nicely.

 

[eyolf]

Regarding splitting with a maul...does it freeze there? frozen wood splits effortlessly. Tony M relates that white oak splits harder than red, which I can agree with. It's about 20 below here right now; I was thinking of bottling some of that up and sending to you other folks. Helps split those tough ones!

Any takers?

 

[P_woozel]

I savaged a chain once to try and make a ripping chain, I took a 3/8 chisel chain and ground the top plate of a cutter to just a touch wider than the sideplate with a Makita, so, one modified tooth then a left and right then a modd tooth then left and right. I made the angle on the intact cutters a little more blunt 20 degrees or so. I think it worked a little better than a normal chain, never used a true ripping chain. Only took a little over an hour. :umpkin:

 

[Blowdown1]

I was thinking of bottling some of that up and sending to you other folks. Helps split those tough ones!

eyolf, Looks like you already are at work. 70 degrees last night, low of mid 20s now through the weekend. That oak had better split easily or I'm gonna have a talk with you!

Sometimes I stick the wedge in the kerf and take a full swing of the maul only to have it hit funny and send the wedge flying back up into my head.

That explains everything!