Awesome pictures man!!!! And I agree with you, drinking a few beers and splitting one sounds a lot better to me! But it is a good feeling cracking the wood apart by hand!
Yea I used to love to split vertically by hand Always ran into a few that became splitting blocks, or noodles. (bounced the maul right off them) Now I love to split vertical with hydraulics, because I can. + I can control the shapes & sizes better & the ones that would've become splitting blocks, now become uglies.
I'm curious as to how crooked cutting results from oiler probs. I'm betting the chain was/is dulled on one side while it was kept cutting. Then possibly one bar rail was worn more than the other. Flipping the bar would tell the tale. Bars can be trued easily with a bench-grinder, or with a mill bastard & more effort. Re (shellbark) hickory, brought some home last week from a blowdown I've been working on. Splits very nicely with 6 lb Council maul, except hidden knots can take an extra whack or two. Once the trail dries out, well ...
Sounds like the Hickory worked you and the saw over a little dylskee that will make some good heat though. I had noticed my newer Stihls slowed oiling with use and I learned the sharper I kept the chain (making chips and less chip dust to plug the port an rail)) the better they would keep oiling between full cleanings and bar flips.
Hickory being near as hard as it comes especially in big rounds builds a lot of heat in the bar - bars can start to warp in the cut. Even with oil-omatic chain(oiler holes in the drive links) you may be starving one half of the rail in hard cuts, bar gets the slightest bit of twist and it starts cutting slants
It is tough wood. Can't say that I have had that hard a time with it though. The price you paid will come back to you when it is good and seasoned. Everybody in the house will be striped down yo their underwear
