I caved and bought a splitter

I love hand splitting wood. I told myself I would hand split until my body was unable
But between my home supply approx 10cord a year?
Working at a landscape company probably split 10 or 15 cords a year there.
And my own company that goes full time this year and firewood processing is one of my services
My body has had enough hand splitting feels like I'm constantly sore from it.
Got a 22ton from Northern tool for 999$ today
This machine is normally priced at 1399$
Split at least a cord of 22" Osage orange,cherry and ash for a customer today. And it was way easier and way faster than busting 22" length Osage by hand like I did for him last week.
Gotacouple questions for yall.
1 is the powerhorse brand from Northern tool any good? It came with a 3 year warranty.
2 how much do you think you can process in an hour css? My guess is around a Rick css per hour.
Today's work was pre cut from when I took his trees down for him

 

Should make it a bit easier.

 

Probably close to an hour per cord or so with a splitter. But, I have help when my sons are around. It beats swinging an axe.

 

Has anyone told you that you did the right thing? Because you did the right thing! Does that splitter go vertical? If so, try out both positions and find what works best for you! As far as the amount you can split in an hours' time, everyone is different as well as the wood being processed. I'm just happy to see another hoarder get a splitter. It makes life a lot easier.

 

My body is telling me. I think the splitter is maybe 50%more efficient vs hand splitting in time. But its 200% more efficient in effort

 

Good call! Let us know how you like it after a season. I haven't even seen a HF splitter yet.

 

Welcome to the splitter ownership club. When I joined up I heard a loud pop and was concerned at first. It turned out the noise was just my head coming out of my rear end when I figured out it was ridiculous not to have one

 

1. Let us know...likely it is made by YTL just like 90% of the splitters out there now.
2. According to the reviews, the one guy said it was pretty fast, felt like he could do a cord/day with it!

 

brenndatomu does ytl make country line?
The cylinder and valve body look the same.
It seems a bit cheaply made but it cycles fast and operated flawless

 

Yup, among many others...

 

Good deal. I went hydro nearly three years ago and havent looked back. If i was only hoarding for my own use i would still hand split. Dont mind swinging the maul/axe now and then.

I dont really try to time myself with what i can produce in a certain time. Ill split a bunch then stack. Sometimes both. Just be safe using it. I lost a fingertip from one.
Hydro Accident

 

Ouch, at my other job we had an autistic guy trying to learn the landscape industry. He got his caught between a split and the base. Near pinched all the skin off his finger. No fun

 

In straight grained wood hand splitting is much faster. However with knots and mooseknuckles the splitter will shine

 

Yes in 16" ash I can beat a splitter with my x27 Everytime can't keep up that pace all day on the axe though.
The wood in the pictures was taking 3 to 10 full force swings with the isocore maul to get the first split

 

They are game changers. I'm too fussy about the size/shape of my splits to do them by hand. Still swing a maul a little to keep from having to noodle very much. With the right kind of wood and no pressure to hurry I find hand splitting to be enjoyable.

 

I bought a splitter about a year ago. I love hand splitting but I'm not getting any younger. I had about a 2 cord pile of elm from my neighbor's house staring at me last Winter. I had sold a garden tractor a couple months earlier so I took that money and bought a splitter. No regrets.

 

Also turn your leather gloves inside out. It gives you better grip on the wood and makes the gloves last longer. Plus it's more comfortable for your hands. Use needle nose pliers to pull the fingers thru.