That looks like a beast Midwinter, I bet the Monster Maul was the only game in town when it came to hand splitting with a maul back in the day?
I have no doubt that though it may not turn out to be your "go to" maul, it won't be because its too much for you.
I read up on the technique for it. You don't swing it, you lift it close to your body to the top of your arc, and drop it, letting gravity do most of the work.
Think I had the 15lb one and sold it to a friend for $5.00. I never used it anymore. Can't believe what they are asking for them on Ebay.
Well I got it, it's a 15 pounder. I tried it out on a mulberry round. It is pretty heavy to lift but not impractically so. Just letting the head fall on the round was not enough force, I had to put some extra swing on to it. Now my trapezoid muscle is a little sore. Conclusion:. It's no magic bullet, and something to work your way up to, because of the weight.
I always thought I wanted one of those to have around just for really big rounds or a log that was being difficult, but not as my main squeeze. It's just another tool in your arsenal and good to have around in case. Hey nice teaser peek of those new wood racks Midwinter !!! Any chance we can get a better look at them?
I got them off Craigslist on Tuesday. I'm going to set them up on three sides of some plastic pallets, to make a kind of bin for my black locust. This pile has been sitting in the front yard since last summer. I tried the monster maul on some of the oak rounds I've been splitting. It opens up a good check, which I can then hit with the Helko. I have better control with the Helko and can hit the same spot for as long as it takes. I'm going to get the monster maul sharpened up, too. So yes, I think it will have a place in my toolbox. I have to get conditioned to it in small doses.
I love that idea... Not only is it a very efficient use of space having a large center storage area with a supporting wall of firewood, but it will also hide the uglier plastic pallets!
Love the pic of the mulberry split. I lift massive rounds into my truck and then hydraulic split. Hand splitting is appealing for the extra workout. I tried splitting a monster 30” ash round today and the axe and separate wedge both just dug into the wet round. I started closer to the edge. What am I doing wrong? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Very wet wood, fresh cut, can just eat your tools like you said. It's easier after the surface of the round has dried for a few weeks and started to check. If you have to split fresh cut rounds, you can try spacing your maul strikes across the round like a dotted line. This will soften it up along one plane. It's gonna take a bunch of hits before the round cracks. Or, cut in winter. Frozen wet wood splits great! Or, start to noodle with your saw and cut just one inch deep. Then you can set your wedge in the groove without it bouncing out. You should have at least two wedges, so you can rescue one that gets stuck. It is a good workout! I've been going at it hard for a couple weeks now, and I can split more than I could at the beginning. Hope this helps.
Thanks, I cut the whole round in half with my saw instead. I like the noodle idea. Go an inch deep then drive a wedge in....wait...did I really just say that? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
huskihl makes a good point about ash... "I think it depends on whether it was live or beetle killed when it was cut down. The bottom 20' of a beetle-killed ash is always soft here. Almost punky. But I have one that the power company took down 7 years ago that was alive and it's still very hard." Very difficult to hand split punky ash.
I hoarded some rusty wall hangers today, free on Craigslist. I had to drive to Southie though, not too far from my grandson's.
Nice reminder of tougher times albeit a more simpler life Midwinter . I'm glad I don't need to rely on manual cutting anymore, but I have done my share back in the day.
It's complete! The mortar-less Pizza/earth oven finally came together today after over a month of scrounging and fashioning a solid level base. This is some of the action that started this morning, but like I said I started the base a month ago. My test burn to dry it out worked well with most smoke going up the chimney as designed. I must say it burned pretty clean! Now we are testing it tomorrow with a small pizza party gathering of about 15 guests. I have it tarped now for the rain expected tonight, but unfortunately it is hailing in a heatwave tomorrow.
