Hello everyone. My name is mark. I’m new here. I built a fire pit in my backyard last year and now I think I developed a new obsession with firewood. I bought a cord last year that was supposedly seasoned but it wasn’t so I was pretty mad. now I plan on finding rounds and splitting myself as a hobby and enjoyment. I just picked up a gransfors bruks splitting axe. 27” handle, I’m 5’8” now I’m thinking I should’ve got the 31”. Oh well. this was me earlier trying out my new axe. I need practice. I hope to get it this weekend. My brother is dropping off wood from a tree he cut on his property. Very excited to get swinging. My swing is terrible in the video. I missed two times and swung into the grass. Let me know if you have any tips for a newbie.
Welcome to the forum Mark. Lots of great people here.. Cant help you with any tips but there are some guys and girls that enjoy hand splitting that can .. Like your new axe.
welcome aboard When i split by hand, i put the round being chopped on top of a bigger round and that becomes the chopping block....until that becomes a split
Like mentioned above, get a solid base to set rounds on. If you miss the strike the axe head can come right at your feet with force if the round did not slow it down. Kind of like the hammer ringing the bell at a fair. Optimum power where it contacts the bumper. Also, if the round is big, split toward the edges to make it a more manageable size.
As the axe completes the fall, I keep the handle pretty much parallel to the ground. That way, if I miss, I don't split my foot open. Also a good pair of steel toed boots can be helpful.
Welcome aboard Mark. As other have mentioned, optimally, I like a larger block under the piece being split. If the blocks are tough to split, I swing as if I am trying to split the lower block. This avoids the habit of letting off just when you are about to strike the top block. Power through but safety first.
To avoid misses you need some muscle memory so you can get your feet in the right place before you swing To figure it out place the head of your axe exactly where you want to hit the round. Then get into the stance that you will have when you finish your swing. Now you know exactly where to place your feet for a direct hit. Then without moving your feet, stand relaxed and put the axe back on the wood where you are going to hit it. You need to get the muscle memory of the position that you are now in to get that exact position for your feet before every swing. Practice makes perfect.
I'm 5'3" and my axe has a 31" handle. Longer handle, longer trajectory, more force. I need all the advantage I can get. If you decide to switch, you could probably get most of your money back at resale.
I've found that a block of a height that keeps your back relatively straight at the time of impact helps.
If you have never split with an ax much, I suggest watching several of Billy Ray's videos on youtube. You will learn a lot about splitting wood, and also about axes in general.
I'm new here as well. I'm not new to hand splitting wood though. PB's muscle memory trick is really helpful. Also don't try to swing too hard. Let the axe head do most of the work. To me it's a lot like golf. Except I'm way better at splitting wood than at golf. BTW I always have a maul and a good wedge handy. It never fails I have several rounds that are going to be stubborn about being split by an axe.
Actually just took a look at your vid of you splitting. You may find it useful if I break down how I swing an axe. I've been doing it for over 50 years. When I'm splitting my swing is much longer. I bring the axe head all the way over and behind my shoulder. A longer swing generates more power without swinging "hard" because the axe head has a longer fall to the block. My swing ends up coming from right over the top of my head. That helps me to center the ax head on the spot I'm after. My swing is almost a circular motion. Smooth and relaxed. It starts with the axe head resting on the spot I want to end up striking.....one hand on the end of the axe handle the other at least 12" toward the head. I bring it to the side, around over my shoulder, and behind my head. As I bring it over my head....starting the downward stroke...... my front hand begins to slide toward my back hand. My hands slap together as the axe hits the block. This helps generate more power for me. Phew! That was long winded.
Thank you for the tips everyone. For this score, I ended up going to harbor freight and buying their 5 ton electric splitter. I’m going to hold off on swinging the axe til I can find a really big round for a splitting block. I built a rack last week with my father in law(he has all the tools)following a video tutorial I found on YouTube. Rack is 10 feet wide and four feet high.
I like it a lot. For $250 plus tax I think it was a good buy. I need to get a table to set it on because my back started hurting from crouching and kneeling for so long. And it’s slow. But it split every piece I threw at it. I was told the wood is cherry. would anyone be able to tell me how much wood I have on that rack? 10x4. Could it be half a cord?
