Bingo! I've said that for years. It is also one reason I don't like the 4-way wedge. That 4-way is okay if you are selling wood but for making stacks, I really like square or rectangles rather than triangles and half moon.
Well, if you only crib the ends, and stack the rest between the cribbed ends, you'll end up probably with more wood per stack, and definitely a lot more time to use elsewhere,because cribbing takes a lot more time.
Exactly. Like you, I prefer the straight wedge splitter. I can then make as many rectangular or square pieces to make what I call "corner pieces" for making cribbed ends. I do like half moons though, especially if the rounds are, well, round. The dead standing elm are great for this, and a lot of ash rounds are good for this too. Every round has to be "read" to see if you can make a nice stackable piece. Then there's maple and oak that split really nicely and straight where you have a lot less reading of the round to do.
Awesome thread, I love that I’m not the only one that thinks about all these details... welcome Not_chip !!! Great place to geek out on all things firewood! Personally I seem to get a lot of big rounds and I am also so not a fan of the 4 way splitter (for reasons similar to those mentioned above) .. so between my hydraulics and my hand splitting I tend to get a lot of square or rectangular splits. I have some cribbed stacks that this is great for but lately I have been trying to stack more traditionally to save space,. Been trying to keep it very loose so I find its best to have some mix of square and triangular splits. To that end I have been forcing my self to take a few more triangles than I naturally would. I also suspect the triangles dry a lot faster. Just my thoughts as I read through all this.
Welcome to the club. Lots of great folks here sharing knowledge and humor. I think you will like it here
