Wood splitting debate. Maul vs splitter

[CoreyB]

A buddy was helping me split some wood the other day. After about 4 hours of splitting with only mauls I made the comment that a wood splitter may not be a bad idea.
He said that it would be a wast of time that and money. To get a hydraulic splitter that would keep up would cost thousands and would not be much faster.
I am not getting any younger but I also don't mind swinging a maul.
In 8-10 hours we can go from standing tree to 3 - 4 court of wood stacked and covered.
What are your thoughts is the only thing a wood splitter saves you is some sweat?

 

[stumpy75]

How about saving your back too! And you can get a 20 ton TSC one (County Line I think they are called now), for around $1000. That's what I did, and I've never regretted it, as I'm not getting any younger either.

I still chop some straight-grained stuff for fun and exercise, but then I get out the Speeco 20 ton one to get the rest done.

 

[Ironworker]

I use both, I'll go out in the morning and hand split for about an hour for some exercise, but for production I'll get one of my kids and use the splitter especially on the hard to split stuff. What is wear and tear on your body worth?

 

[ReggieT]

What stumpy 75 said, "In the long run it's going to pay huge dividends...and yer buddy is gonna be happy...even if he never admits it!

 

[bigbadbob]

Have you tried a fiskars X27,,, lighter than a maul works pretty good.
I use an X27 a maul and now my homemade splitter,,,,,
Splitter is the way to go IMO,
BBB

 

[ReggieT]

Have you tried a fiskars X27,,, lighter than a maul works pretty good.
I use an X27 a maul and now my homemade splitter,,,,,
Splitter is the way to go IMO,
BBB
View attachment 449088

I'm all in on Fiskars X27...SWEET!!
Got 2 of...1 in the box new!

 

[CoreyB]

Well my maul is kinda special it is a one of a kind General Electric. Lol it was made by someone in there factory. Lol I do not know what kind of steel was used. It is lighter then any other maul I have handled and never even needed the edge touched up in the past 33 years. Solid hickory handle. This thing splits wood like crazy light enough to swing fast and all day and heavy enough for the twisty knotted 30" hickory to explode. Of course if you swing something for over 30 years you better be good with it. Hmm 33 years average 8 cords a year. Holy crap this thing has split well over 250 cords of wood.

 

[bigbadbob]

That sound like a great maul made of very good steel!!!
BBB

 

[CoreyB]

If you look close you can see it is about time for a new handle lol been teaching the kiddos how to over strike. Lol you can see the 1982 stamped in it

 

[NSMaple1]

The number one thing a splitter saves is your body - not sweat or time.

When the time is right to move to a splitter & start saving the body is the users call.

But at this point, there is no way in heck I am splitting wood with anything but a splitter for the rest of my days.

 

[svk]

Rent a good splitter for a day and see how it works for you.

You can get a DHT splitter for well under $1000 during black Friday sales.

With 2 guys working hard and dropping trees next to a road we can average close to a cord an hour from on the stump to split and stacked in the truck.

 

[bigbadbob]

Rent a good splitter for a day and see how it works for you.

You can get a DHT splitter for well under $1000 during black Friday sales.

That is what I did, then started scrounging all my parts to build my own.
BBB

 

[benp]

View attachment 449091
If you look close you can see it is about time for a new handle lol been teaching the kiddos how to over strike. Lol you can see the 1982 stamped in it

That maul looks like a work of art!! Seriously, that looks like a one off that someone made.

Depending on the length of your split wood, if it's 24" and under I would have both a splitter and maul.

I would check out the videos on the kinetic splitters. Those are nice.

 

[USMC615]

The number one thing a splitter saves is your body - not sweat or time.

When the time is right to move to a splitter & start saving the body is the users call.

But at this point, there is no way in heck I am splitting wood with anything but a splitter for the rest of my days.

Spot on...your body will wake you up when it's time to stop relying on manual only, and start tugging you towards the splitter sites.

 

[USMC615]

That maul looks like a work of art!! Seriously, that looks like a one off that someone made.

Depending on the length of your split wood, if it's 24" and under I would have both a splitter and maul.

I would check out the videos on the kinetic splitters. Those are nice.

Yessir to the flywheels...

 

[laynes69]

I've split many cords by hand before getting a hydraulic splitter. If everything was straight grained, things wouldn't be an issue, but that's not always the case. There's species that make splitting almost impossible to do by hand. We bought a 27 ton DHT splitter and many times it doesn't take a full cycle to split. So it's pretty fast, and the vertical option saves my back on those rounds you don't have to lift. We bought a 4 way conversion kit, with a single crack, there's 4 splits. My back appreciates the hydraulic splitter. While I think I can work quickly with a maul, there's those rounds that give a fight and tire me out.

 

[spike60]

I've split many cords by hand before getting a hydraulic splitter. If everything was straight grained, things wouldn't be an issue, but that's not always the case. There's species that make splitting almost impossible to do by hand.

Yup, stuff like beech really calls for a splitter. Two guys going at with mauls and straight grained wood can get a lot done in a short time, and make a splitter look like a waste of money. Get into some real difficult stuff and you could debate whether you're busting up the wood or the wood is busting you up.

Like a few of you guys have said, I enjoy doing some of the easier stuff by hand. But the splitter gets all the stubborn blocks these days cause I learned there's no point in trying to be more stubborn than the wood is.

 

[USMC615]

Yup, stuff like beech really calls for a splitter. Two guys going at with mauls and straight grained wood can get a lot done in a short time, and make a splitter look like a waste of money. Get into some real difficult stuff and you could debate whether you're busting up the wood or the wood is busting you up.

Like a few of you guys have said, I enjoy doing some of the easier stuff by hand. But the splitter gets all the stubborn blocks these days cause I learned there's no point in trying to be more stubborn than the wood is.

Well said...

 

[Ironworker]

This is the nicest thing I have ever split with, I also have the Granfors splitting maul but have t really used it yet.

 

[CoreyB]

View attachment 449123 This is the nicest thing I have ever split with, I also have the Granfors splitting maul but have t really used it yet.

That is cool. I really like the rope and is that electrical tape?