I’m one of the votes for hand splitting. I don’t own a splitter mainly because I’m too cheap to buy one. Like most I’ve altered how I work as I age. I’m more selective in the wood I get - no more wrestling large rounds up hills or picking them up to load. I’m also fortunate to deal with wood that’s easy to split like ash and red oak. Also lucky that my 17 year old son doesn’t mind helping. And I cut less than I used to - now only 3-4 cords per year down from 6+. I used to hand split for hours but now I do a little here and there and it adds up. I can see getting a splitter at some point but for now hand splitting still works for me.
I voted hand splitting because that's what I prefer. I use the hydro more often because the work has be get done and I never have enough hours. The hydro is loud and obnoxious but it gets the wood split in a hurry. Some of the stuff I cut can't be split by hand unless you use wedges (Live Oak) and that's not fun for me either. Brad
Fourwinds back to your original question when I was 12 I split 40 cord by hand with a stotz monster maul ( I was 6'1" 195 when I was 12) I took the money and bought a Likity splitter on advice from my uncle I never went back to hand splitting I ended up having 2 of them and splitting @1100 cord to sell for several years that was in pre wood processor days I still have that maul but it does a great job holding the shop door open on windy days I get the whole exercise thing but at 61 this year body is pretty well wore out from lifting and working on heavy equipment for too many years I just went to the Boonville logging show in new york and was looking at processors really liked the cord king with the cab but I also have always had a champagne taste and beer pocketbook so my wolfe ridge will do just fine Enjoy your hand splitting !! as long as you can . No matter how any of us split we all just like it ?? maybe we are all a little DISTURBED ?? JB
I haven't read the whole thread, but I did read the first and last pages. First off, in my heart I do prefer hand splitting, but..... When I was 30 I could out work anybody I could find, and I also couldn't understand why people didn't want to work super hard. Now at just 45 everything hurts, and I totally understand folks using machines to do things. I used to love hand splitting, ( heck, I used to cut brush with a 3120xp w/ 36" bar just because I could), I still enjoy splitting with an axe, but if I was in the firewood business there's no way I'd consider hand splitting long term when we have simple machinery that can do a fine job of it. It's just something you learn the hard way I guess..... Also, the wood you are working with makes a huge difference, back in the PNW we cut mostly alder (the easiest wood in the world to split), and soft maple probably the second easiest. Those woods split so easy that we often would split them without even standing then on end, thus cutting down further on bending over. Down here in the Ozarks, oak is the easy stuff and it goes down hill from there. The size of logs is also a big factor, sub 12" stuff is often so easy to split that it feels silly to pick it up and put it on the splitter. So, I my opinion hand splitting can be faster if the conditions are right, but for most people most of the time conditions are not ideal. Do what you like and report back in 15 or 20 years.
I believe I wouldn't be burning wood for primary heat if it wasn't for Hydraulics. I just split some Mulberry and would like to meet the guy that would task himself with handsplitting it.
Yeah, that scares me when I think how much I've "progressed" at the tender age of 45 I'm going to have to find a "lower gear" to operate in I think, cause"full speed ahead" keeps getting me in trouble.
It takes me some time to get into "full speed ahead" but still can at my age. Ill get rid of one pain and a new one pops up. Been my arms the last couple weeks. Left one goes numb and tingly. Very annoying. Maybe the Mrs. can give you a nice massage???
That’s a big 12 year old! Did you still get whipped by your parents at that age? If you were that big at 12 it sounds like it would be a job to do so lol
I’ll make a video for you if I can get my hands on some lol. Worst thing I’ve done here I believe is sycamore. I read that they used to use them as butcher blocks and I can see why after hand splitting them. Even the little rounds are horrible to hand split
Aw shucks! mulberry, and even sycamore ain't nothin....... you split a few cords of our winged elm with an axe and we'll be properly impressed. lol
