Genius. Been hunting for a safe way to get my 2-year more involved with our firewood.
Thank you, everyone, for your words of encouragement. I thought I might share a few things I learned up to this point with Micah that might help you:
1. I went out looking for cedar and only came up with Douglas fir which does not split as easy as it has lots of branches in it which results in knots + the grain is not always straight. I measured and cut 10" pieces versus the normal 16". This makes a huge difference on the success of the split, plus kindling is only meant for getting things going.
2. The vise needs mounted on something mobile and stable. I screwed/nailed 2x8's together with a hole in the middle thinking that I would teach him how to swing a hatchet. That still proved too dangerous because their legs need padded. The only upside is they don't swing hard and never hit the same spot twice. My wife wasn't a fan of the original setup either.
3. I read about the vise idea on this site which was easy to mount. His left leg is actually against the handle and really helps his balance.
4. I watch his swing coming down and make sure his hands are parallel with the top of the kindling so he hits square. You may have to raise or lower your kid somehow so that it is parallel, or hold the kindling at an angle so he can hit square.
5. They could miss a lot at first, so gloves with padding will help your hands. Usually they don't swing that hard at first which helps. After getting my hand hit, I realized I needed to hold the wood on his left. He misses to his right.
6. DON'T move their target. If you are jittery about holding it, then your kid could get hurt. If you shake a little, then that could mean a miss. It really helps if the target isn't moving.
7. I discovered with my five year old daughter, that they can over swing. Make sure they aren't choked up too close to the head because their hand could end up getting smashed between the handle and the top of the wood. If they are doing this, then hopefully they aren't swinging too hard. Best bet is to check their grip before you get started. I had tears with my daughter on this. She is more artistic and enjoys filling the boxes with the kindling more than the splitting. She insists that it needs to be organized.
8. Enjoy this time with your kids. Time sure goes by quick as you dads and grandpas know.
