I had a standing dead tree, thought it was elm but it split fairly easily and felt a little light for elm. Anyway, it was enough to nearly fill one of the three racks (plus some chunks and uglies) I used this extraordinarily warm winter. Since I now have stacks from 2015 in the pole barn, I figure I am more than far enough ahead to split the wood a lot bigger than I have been. I didn't burn a lot this year and found larger pieces good for keeping the stove warm for an easy relight after 24 hours. I'll split a few smaller at time of use in 2025-6 or whenever when I need some small ones. But for the most part, instead of the maul, I'm going to let the fire do the work. It is a lot less effort both for splitting and for stacking. I used to bring the rounds up to the barn to split so I could do it after hours in good light or on rainy days. These big splits go fast enough that I split it where I dropped it. Significant savings in handling time on top of not nearly so many splits to make. Plus no splitting debris to clean out of the barn. For scale, that's a 10x5 ft rack.
Some nice looking splits. Nice that the wood is clean and fresh. It'd be nice to have all the wood stay that clean until ready to be burned.
Bert, it could have been elm. Standing dead if it has no bark left then elm is much lighter than green elm for sure and it can also split fairly easy except for the crotches.
That’s my typical plan as well, I can always make the splits smaller when I get them ready ready for the stove! The small splits just burn way to fast!
