Wood splitting debate. Maul vs splitter

[bryanr2]

Given that view of hydralic splitters, I'd suspect that you didn't have very many "salesman of the month" plaques hanging on the wall.

Considering what most of us have invested in saws, the cost of a small splitter can hardly be considered a big deal. And they are simple machines that are trouble free for anyone who knows how to check the oil level. Granted, you generally can't take them into the woods. And that's where a maul and noodling come in to get those blocks down to a size where you can get them into the truck. But they do make life easy when you've got a lot of splitting to do. Same as your Ariens snow thrower. You could have just done all that work with a snow shovel, but the Ariens makes life a little better, doesn't it?

OK let's all be honest here: There's a certain psychology involved in this debate that runs along the "I don't need a splitter, cause I can still get it done by hand." route. There's a certain "wuss" factor to getting a splitter, cause part of that decision involves not wanting to do it all by hand anymore. And splitting by hand is the last "pure" un-mechanized part of the whole firewood process. Just sweat and muscle like in the olden days. Yeah I get that, and I really enjoy when I'm hand splitting. But I also like having a splitter for the larger sizes, quanities and species of wood I run into. Job's easier, life's better.

Very well said. I hand split when Im caught up or ahead on wood, if I need production... Im starting the Iron and Oak.

 

[mn woodcutter]

I enjoy splitting by hand but the last year or so have been so busy with no end in sight so I had to switch to hydraulic. Time is precious.

 

[MustangMike]

I split wood by hand for many years, and used numerous devices, my favorite manual one being the Fiskars.

But I got a hydro this year, and have cut & split more wood than in any previous year, sort of makes up for my aging!!!

As I recall, there was a GTG in the Spring where someone broke out several very nice looking and expensive splitting axes/mauls, but the only wood that was split manually at that GTG was done my me and my Fiskars. I kept waiting to see how the other devices compared, but it never happened.

 

[allstihl]

ill be 60 right quick . I do 20+ face cord a year split by hand . I can out work all the 20-30 year olds on my construction crew .hand splitting keeps me young and limber .

 

[greendohn]

I like hydraulics, 99% of time, parked at me woodshed door with the wood rolled rite off the tailgate, and splits stacked as they come off the splitter.
I like fishin' too. <<which is why me woodshed ain't full

 

[MustangMike]

ill be 60 right quick . I do 20+ face cord a year split by hand . I can out work all the 20-30 year olds on my construction crew .hand splitting keeps me young and limber .

I did more than that last year, but had some tennis elbow because of it, so this year, went with the Hydro and the elbows are just fine!

 

[muddstopper]

I did more than that last year, but had some tennis elbow because of it, so this year, went with the Hydro and the elbows are just fine!

Tennis elbow and torn rotator cuff, couldnt swing a maul or ax right now if life depended on it.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Im 34 years young. In the prime of my life. I guzzle the FISKARS cool aid. I mix a fresh batch every fall and slurp it down when splitting my wood. But I have a large, and growing, stack of wood waiting for a hydro splitter. Either my Uncles, my future BIL or one of my employees are going to come to my place and handle the large notty pieces I don't want to deal with with my Fiskars. I can handle 88% of all my wood with the F model, but the others.......yeah sure I can noodle, but guess what a hydro beats that all day. One day soon Im probably going to use a commission check and just treat myself to the hydro like my Uncles.

 

[1967 Tempest]

Im close to 40 YO and I have done mostly all of the manual labor in my family. Time is catching up with my back. I could not swing a maul for 6 hours. Maybe 4. Plus, I would be doing this when the wood was fresh and wet and HEAVY!. I bought a splitter for $200 on CL and ended up having to replace damn near everything on it. So I am into it for around 500-600$. Sure some of the stuff needs a repair here and there, as it is Frankensteined together, but it is worth every penny.

Now a 10 hour day is no sweat. With the splitter, most of the work is getting a heavy round onto it. I have the X27 and all kinds of mauls. Nothing splits as fast as the splitter though.

When I move south, I am really going to look into the inertia splitters. SUPER FAST!!

Imagine splitting this by hand?!

 

[Ironworker]

I have a fiskars and next to my Granfors splitting axe there is no comparison, the Gransfors blows through stuff that the fiskars would get stuck in.

 

[muddstopper]

And that is why I build my hydraulic splitter. I get way more than my share of wood like that from those logging jobs. Its free wood, but even with a monster splitter, its still a ton of work

 

[Babaganoosh]

Im close to 40 YO and I have done mostly all of the manual labor in my family. Time is catching up with my back. I could not swing a maul for 6 hours. Maybe 4. Plus, I would be doing this when the wood was fresh and wet and HEAVY!. I bought a splitter for $200 on CL and ended up having to replace damn near everything on it. So I am into it for around 500-600$. Sure some of the stuff needs a repair here and there, as it is Frankensteined together, but it is worth every penny.

Now a 10 hour day is no sweat. With the splitter, most of the work is getting a heavy round onto it. I have the X27 and all kinds of mauls. Nothing splits as fast as the splitter though.

When I move south, I am really going to look into the inertia splitters. SUPER FAST!!

Imagine splitting this by hand?!

Boy am I glad my dht has vertical mode.

 

[muddstopper]

Dont need no vertical mode,

 

[CoreyB]

this is yesterday's fun. I am still tiered today. The wife even help stack and would swing the maul while I caught my breath and got a drink. I broke my handle on my maul so I had to finish with the axe. That does not split the rounds anything like the maul.

 

[MechanicMatt]

Corey, what length wood do you cut to? What stove do you have?

 

[CoreyB]

Corey, what length wood do you cut to? What stove do you have?

10-16 in we have two different stoves one is home made. It has a very large box and could handle wood up 25 in but the door is only 10x10 so can be a challenge to load larger pieces. The other has a very small burn chamber and can only handle wood 10 -12 in. I do not remember the brand.

 

[muddstopper]

Cory, the door of your stove is about like mine. My stove will take 32in splits, but I cut 20in just because its so hard to load the wood thru the door. I like to throw in those left over chunks from the rounds that I always seem to have when I'm bucking. I can usually throw them all the way to the back and put the long wood in front for a all nite burn

 

[jathanms170]

After i bought my splitter i cut the handle off my maul and burnt it.