I decided to tackle some of the locust that I had bucked earlier. These are from dead trees as locust are usually one of the first to appear after logging and this place was logged some time in the distance past. Most of the locust trees on the property are dead; they eventually get crowded out by the larger oaks and hickories. These locust rounds proved to be a match for my little 5 ton SpeeCo but in the end, the SpeeCo won; with my help of course. Locust appears to be fairly straight grain but when you split it you can see that there is some cross grain to the wood. I only managed to get a little bit of the locust split since it proved to be so difficult; the smaller rounds are no problem. Also, these are the butt cuts which are always harder to split in any tree. I need to head back out and work some more at getting this locust split; the rounds you see in the photo were just a few that I photographed with a scale to illustrate the size. One reason it was slower going is that if the ram stops up again a piece that doesn't split, it seems to trip a release valve that I have to cut the motor off; and thus the pump, to reset it. Having to turn the motor off and back on multiple times slows things down a lot. I might talk with SpeeCo and ask them about it. Of course these splitters are not like ones with a two way ram and an oil reservoir. These are one way valves with a spring that returns the ram.
You may be surprised how well they will split if you take your powersaw and cut even just a bars depth into the butt end of the log. A sharp chain saw can solve A lot of splitting troubles. ;-) Nice looking wood
I might try that. I did take the heavy splitting maul I have to a couple of them but that wasn't very easy.
Did that; these butts rounds just laugh at the splitter. Took a bit of work but I got all that I attempted split eventually. I was surprised at how hard they were to split. I even check the fluid in the splitter. Heading out now to do some more splitting of the locust.
Another trick I have used with ugly rounds is to use about 1in of the wedge to get it to open up. Just lay a piece of 2x4 on the rail and then set the log on top of it if that makes sense.
Yes, that is what I meant by raising the front; I usually just put a piece of wood under the front of the log and let the back end at the ram sit flush.
Maybe not the largest pile of wood but still not bad from some dead locust. There are more of these on the property and I want to get them before they turn to soil. There are several that are nothing but standing shells. Found a few that were too long for the splitter; not sure how that happened but they will need to be cut again.
Yes, I am burning dry pine at the moment. Today was pleasantly warm outside. The leaves are piling up like mad.
Thanks. By the time I stopped my arms were beginning to hurt just from lifting and prying pieces apart; that locust was pretty dense wood. The sun was slipping behind the tree lines and it was time to call it quits. There is a bit of oak that you can see in the background; that will get done tomorrow. There is also more pine that I have yet to split. There is still most of the wood at the neighbour's; they took the big base of the tree already. I might talk to the neighbour and see if they want some help in cleaning it up in exchange for the wood; not far for me to haul on the 8N.
8N That's a pretty big dozer . If u have an 8N , splitting won't be a problem just stand a couple rounds under the cutting edge and lower the blade.
I don't have a lot of use for a maul. Most all they do is wear ya out. A power saw on the other hand is just cutting. Not that much work.
