Tricks of the Trade: The Perfect Splitting Block | Autumn 2014 This seems about right. Your thoughts? MS250, MS029, MS066, Hsq141, JD 50V, Mc PM641, Mc MiniMac
I think any old wide diameter round with the tire secured in place is a one size fits all solution. I suppose there are places in the world that don't provide many large diameter trees and so the knotty wood approach makes sense. And the inevitable angled pieces... I throw them aside for the the hydraulics!
I'd guess most people "chose a knotty or nearly unsplittable piece of wood" for a splitting block because they couldn't split it to begin with.
For hand splitting, I never liked using a splitting block but simply placed the log right on the ground. After all, it gives a longer swinging arc which gives more power to the log to split it. In addition, it cuts out that one more worthless action of having to lift a log onto the splitting block; sort of like lifting a log onto a splitter, which, to me is foolish. God grows the trees vertically and that is the way He meant to get it split.
Big old round of sweet gum is what I use. After trying to split it I figured I take my anger out on it until it rots away lol.
I always liked to use a splitting block but never really cared what kind it was. I liked it because it felt more comfortable to get it up in the air a bit so the handle of the maul was more horizontal when it went through the split vs on the ground it is slightly diagonal. Not saying it was right or wrong just my preference. After the back said no more I bought hydraulics. I did all my hand splitting mostly with my monster maul.
If only we had one of those daggum axe-swing kinetics analyzers like the baseball pitching and golf pros have. Any TimberSports axe-letes out there?
but they have to be cut down to a horizontal plane to be blocked before split - why spend the extra effort to turn them upright again?
^^^^^Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner^^^^^...And I'll be picking up the tab for basod dessert (6 beer limit)
I use a splitting block, a foot or so high. On the ground without one never seemed a good idea, as ground strikes will dull and chip the x27, I have too many rocks. I tried the tire thing, once. It didn't work for me.
I like my ash stump splitting block. It was almost 2 feet tall when I first went to it as a block but I shortened it to about 16 inches tall for a better feel. My tire is left loose on purpose. With a 30 inch diameter ash stump it doesn't fall off, but by being loose I can sweep it across the surface to remove all of those annoying chips that build up inside. Then I just set it back in place and I'm ready to go. Being loose also makes it easier to dump out the rain water before I see any mosquitoes in summer.
I use a big ask round and a tire. I'm to talk to just be leaving wood on the ground to far too go lol.
