Wedge for splitting large ash rounds?

[LondonNeil]

Dark in the middle sounds like heart wood getting very hard I guess. Usually wood splits easier green but not always. Sometimes you just get something hard to split.

I find this sort of wedge best, but I hate all wedges.... If your saw is big enough then don't waste too long fighting with wedges.

https://www.toolstation.com/roughne...PsadD6dWfAT07omIFgpQqZadErJkOArhoC3J4QAvD_BwE

 

[rarefish383]

On a side note, a few years back scrap hit a high, and I put all of my wedges in steel paint cans and took them to the scrap yard. There is no way on this Earth I'm swinging a sledge on a wedge, when I have a chainsaw that does it faster.

You beat me by 4 minutes Neil!

 

[nwmo_aggie]

I have several ash rounds that I just cut. Most are between 24 and 20 inches in dia and a bit heavy to move. I could use the tractor but idk how ill stack them. I saw cut the top of one a few inches and tried hammering my wood grenade style wedge in it and no luck. I can use my dads half beam splitter but I dont want to break it. I'm thinking about buying an estwing wedge to get these split in half. I did some searching but didnt find the info I was looking for. Any opinions on the estwing wedge? It seems when the ash is darker in the middle it doesnt split so easy.

Just get one of the basic wedges. Cut a little starter notch in a top edge to let you get it started and have at it. Usually have to go easy for the first whacks until the wedge starts to split it then you can lay on the mustard.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/groundwork-splitting-wedge-5-lb?solr=1&cm_vc=-10005

 

[rancher2]

Just get one of the basic wedges. Cut a little starter notch in a top edge to let you get it started and have at it. Usually have to go easy for the first whacks until the wedge starts to split it then you can lay on the mustard.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/groundwork-splitting-wedge-5-lb?solr=1&cm_vc=-10005

Throw that grenade wedge in the iron pile and buy a couple of these. I am lucky my homemade splitter has a log lift and we would just run that size ash right threw the splitter.

 

[rarefish383]

If you really want wedges, I can probably find a few still laying around. You can ship up to 70 pounds of them in a medium flat rate box for under 15 bucks. I don't even like to touch them. I've never had the saw bounce out and hit me in the shin, can't say that about wedges. Those wedges cost $15 bucks each. I just bought a nice running Homelite Super XL for 15 bucks, and a nice running Poulan 82 CC Super 68 with a 31" bar for $40, and you don't have to hold them by the skinny end and swing them over your head, over, and over, and over. .

 

[sirbuildalot]

Out of curiosity Mustang, You are noodling them with the bar going the same direction as the grain is, right? Noodling shouldn’t be an unpleasant experience. I could see it being painfully slow if you tried to noodle from the end of the log while it was standing up. Even a mid sized saw should throw some nice curlies. My wood is processed to 20” lengths and I can noodle a 40” diameter round in 60-90 seconds

 

[rarefish383]

Out of curiosity Mustang, You are noodling them with the bar going the same direction as the grain is, right? Noodling shouldn’t be an unpleasant experience. I could see it being painfully slow if you tried to noodle from the end of the log while it was standing up. Even a mid sized saw should throw some nice curlies. My wood is processed to 20” lengths and I can noodle a 40” diameter round in 60-90 seconds

I agree, in the pics I posted, I made 6 noodle cuts almost through, stood the block back up and went at it with a 4 pound ax. As I said, I was just playing, and timed it. Took 17 minutes from start to piled. I was using the 660 with 25" bar. I think most guys are trying to say that making noodles is much more fun than swinging a maul or sledge.

 

[MrWhoopee]

Back before I bought my splitter, I used a grenade & regular wedge. You have found what a grenade is suitable for. For starting large rounds, a noodled cut about 1/4 the diameter of the round and a conventional wedge are the ticket. I gave up on grenades after the tip fatigued and broke on my second one, the same as the first. I still have to noodle the groove on green pine rounds over 20-24 in. before my splitter will pop them.

 

[Mustang71]

I was cutting against the grain down into the log a few inches and with other stuff it will pop with 1 or 2 hits. I've never tried cutting the side with the grain. My 051 has plenty of power to handle that.

 

[rarefish383]

Yep, I'd say your 051 is plenty saw. This is the $15 Homelite Super XL. I'm donating this saw to "Zoggers" fund raiser. I took it out this morning and noodled the last two 20 plus inch Hickory blocks. Much harder than Ash. No problem. Just keep an eye on build up under the clutch cover. It usually comes out no problem.

 

[VirginiaIron]

The splitter isn't the problem its lifting the logs up to it. I can borrow one anytime I want but even in the vertical position I dont want to break a half beam splitter.

Would those rounds really damage a half beam splitter?

 

[Mustang71]

Would those rounds really damage a half beam splitter?

I dont think so but it's not mine and its brand new. Lol

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I hand split about five cords a year. Nope I do not really like to. For one reason or another the wood is in my way and needs to be loaded to be hauled away. Typically I split to quarters for an ability to move the stuff. However after a day of splitting I know that I have earned my dinner. If I noodle the stuff it becomes of no value unless the noodled pieces are a very small amount. Customers do not like noodled wood. 20 to 24''for sure is not heavy and only needs to be split a little if at all. I don't split wood until it is larger than 24''. For most part I keep at least 30 wedges sharp ready to go. The average wedge need to have the end welded to to make a very gradual taper to get them into the round. You would think that at 67 I would have figured out that tractors and winches are used for a reason not so I can go home at night bragging that I earned my dinner. I have had tractors since the 80's but for some reason or not I have not always used them. At the moment I am upgrading my equipment to ease all my effort soas to keep up with demand. With the right equipment no one needs to noodle or split by hand. Thanks

 

[Mustang71]

If it were dry I'd pick it up but green it's to heavy for me to stack and to heavy to lift onto the splitter.

 

[Mad Professor]

Get a few regular steel wedges (a few sizes), two 7-8 lb mauls, and a sledgehammer.

You can use a good heavy maul as wedge. Give the round a wack to get the maul started, then pound it in. If it don't split, then add a wedge to the crack, or hit it with the 2nd maul. For real big stuff I use a 20 lb sledge to drive things.

Most ash < 20' dia, unless it's wavy/knotty, can be split just using one maul

 

[sirbuildalot]

I was cutting against the grain down into the log a few inches and with other stuff it will pop with 1 or 2 hits. I've never tried cutting the side with the grain. My 051 has plenty of power to handle that.

Try cutting it with the grain (log on its side). Big difference than cutting from the end of the round. Should get long slivers of wood.

 

[turnkey4099]

Just your average wood stove length. When the ash gets dark in the middle it gets really hard and doesnt split like other ash. If its light all the way through then the x27 works fine.

I dont mind the grenade in dry ash that has cracks in it and I have saw cut a lot of rounds on top and they pop apart with the wedge and I know a lot of people do that. I can try noodeling them a bit and get a straight edge wedge. I just want them in half so I can stack them. They are still green so idk if that makes a difference.

Wood tends to vary. Soem split better green than dry, others vice versa. The theory of starting the wedge halfway out to the center is that you can pick a natural crack, seam or whatever and then as sthe split croses the center it will follow the patch of least resistance. Starting in the center forces the split to go straight across whether it wants to or not.

I have had to resort to putting a saw kerf in Black Walnut to get a wedge started, otherwise the wedge would just bounce out when struck.

 

[turnkey4099]

My last helpful comment to you sir. This wood scrounging game is 100% a game of TIME. Find out how you can make things faster and you will be a wealthy man.

Wealth[emoji3596]
Plenty of wood AND plenty of time to do other things like spend time with your family.


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

Or for some as in my case 'wooding', cutting, hauling, splitting, stacking, etc is a means to fill long empty hours. Wife gone, no kids, just me and my wood pile. I do a lot of manual splitting just to drag out the work to have something to do. Pretty much been a loner all my life so I don't mind being alone.

 

[turnkey4099]

Throw that grenade wedge in the iron pile and buy a couple of these. I am lucky my homemade splitter has a log lift and we would just run that size ash right threw the splitter.

Yep, those are the kind I use. My wood grenade went to the scrap pile a few days after I bought it. Never tried the twister but can't see why it would be any better than a straight one. Been splitting wood for over 60 years now.

 

[turnkey4099]

I was cutting against the grain down into the log a few inches and with other stuff it will pop with 1 or 2 hits. I've never tried cutting the side with the grain. My 051 has plenty of power to handle that.

It takes a good sharp chain to noodle. The saw should pull itself down through the wood without needed added pressure. I change chains often when I have a bunch to noodle.