OK, not really. But after finishing up the good sized elm I cut down last week and splitting it by hand, I started working on a small cherry that I needed to take down from near my barn. I nearly launched the splits into orbit when I hit the first round with the X25. Need to recalibrate my swing. Or maybe just get working on the sweetgum that was growing about 2 feet from the elm.
Worked until I ran out of sun, so no pics tonight. I don't think I got enough wood to last 3 days- it was maybe 6 or 7 inches in diameter. But I did learn the value of a homemade wooden wedge when splitting the worst of the elm: to get the steel wedge out. The farm store Indian wedges wouldn't even start. The Gransfors got in pretty well, but even though I cut the rounds to a foot long, on the bad ones, I could drive the wedge deeper than flush and still not split them fully apart. Then the wooden wedge (cut from a 3 or 4 inch branch, shaped when green and allowed to dry a year or so) got hammered in to free up the steel wedge. Then I could use the Fiskars without risk to get through the strings. I'll add wedge making to my rainy day list. Dogwood is supposed to be best.
When the sonic boom from a fiskars splitting head faster than the speed of sound bothers the neighbors, it might be time to get a monster maul. But then you'd be causing earthquakes. I dunno... switch to a hydraulic splitter?
I've thought about hydraulics but I enjoy hand splitting. My grandmother push mowed a large amount of lawn and gardened until about 90. I remember her carrying a bale of peat moss when she was about 85 when she came to a gate and asked me for some help. So I ipened the gate for her and she went on her way. My buddy looked at me like I was crazy and asked why I didn't take the bale for her. I told him she only wanted me to open the gate. I'm sure she could do that stuff into old age because she did that stuff into old age. If I get the hydraulics for the elm, next thing I will be using it on gum then pine and oak. I won't be able to resist the temptation.
I know the feeling - I just finished up hand splitting around 2 cords of some of the most twisted, knotty yardbird ash I've ever run into. I've now started into some nice straight grained red maple, and I'm blasting 20"+ diameter rounds in half on the first swing!
Until that happens I am with bert's grandmother. I only want the help that I really need. Here I am a young 67 years and building my own home from scratch. If I need help I will ask for it. Until then please just open the gate. The last 3 weeks I have been hauling large bundles of twigs on my shoulder to the front of my house in town so the village can turn them into wood chips each Monday. There are not many folks here in town who are even 25 years old and willing to do that much work, but it keeps me young to do it myself. I will be attending my dad's WWII medals presentation in Ontario, Canada in early June and will probably ride my bike to get there. If you don't do physical work your body will deteriorate as you suggest but if you stay active you will last a long time. My widowed dad re-married at about 82 years young and is still going strong.
Yea tough to judge how hard to swing. The fun stuff like straight grained red oak, ash ... cottonwood are fun & can swing easy I hated it when the maul bounces back up after a big swing. My back Got to the point that hydraulics was required if I was gonna burn wood. Still fun to split the straight grained stuff with the maul. Prop sould get an x27, lighter to swing. Have fun, hand splitting was enjoyable & stress relief. + Makes you good at "ringing the bell" at the state fair
It is best if one has 3 steel wedges on hand when splitting elm or similar tough splitting wood. Drive one in part way and then place another one right beside the first so you have 2 wedges going down and forcing the wood further apart. Sometimes a third one can come in handy for getting the other 2 out.
Nothing wrong with that at all. If anyone is still able at whatever age, then they should be active. However, it is not only because she was able and did that stuff into old age; there are more factors involved than this one. Still, it is great to hear about her and we hope she continues for many more years. That part about not doing physical work and your body deteriorating has a little truth to it for sure but one must also realize that we do not all have the same physical body and there are a wide range of reasons one can or cannot do a certain thing. For example, I had polio in my youth and because of that there are many things I would like to do but sometimes the body just will not do what you want it to. Good for you for keeping active. I got the hydraulic splitter almost 30 years ago and I am just a tad older than you. Up until that time I too enjoyed splitting by hand. It was something I looked forward to. No more. After a terrible back injury, that put the skids on hand splitting, bowling, golf and many other things. I even had to change the type of bicycle I ride but I can still ride. Let's age gracefully no matter what!
