Colder here. What's your temp? What ya burnin?

Yes that is a Jotul woodstove, I believe it is a model 500. This year I replaced the two top plates and insulation blanket. One of plates had warped pretty bad. I also had an issue with the tubes that run along the inside top of the stove. You know when you try to shove that last stick of wood in on a cold night but it doesn't quite fit and it pushes against the tubes and manifold. One of my tubes separated from the manifold, I removed the tubes and manifold and drilled a hole in the tube and put a cotter pin through it, no longer falls down onto the fire when pushing that last log in.

 

Whats the white stuff Slave?

Top of my baffle warped and had a buddy at work bend me up with a thicker plate of stainless.

 

Oh I forgot to add it was -4° this morning, but the sun is out. Lol

 

That's what happens when you put water in the pot on the stove when it's really hot. Or when your (WIFE) over fills the pot on the stove for the 100th time. Lol

 

Gotcha!

 

Today all day blue sky and cold fresh winter air...

Inside: 22,9° C / 71.42° F

Outside: -1°C / 30.2° F
Right now 97% humidity.

Burning: Fir and Birch.

Some hours ago:

 

It turned back to winter here. Or at least freeze up temps. Currently +3°F.
Poplar and 1 split of white spruce in the stove. Feels nice both outside and in.

 

One thing about splitting by hand.
Practice makes perfect.
I use the flip split method alot. =
If a round is too tough to split in 1 lick. I stick the axe in hard, right where I want it. Pick the round up over my left shoulder (I'm right handed) . Let the handle rotate in my hands so the round is down, Poll of the ax is up. Raise it up to almost the full extension of my left arm and swing the whole thing down so the poll strikes the chopping block. The weight of the round of wood. Combined with the speed of the swing at impact is tremendous and usually blows the round apart.
By getting proficient with that method. It makes a more streamlined flow of the splitting. .
For years I sold hand split wood in the winters in Southeast Alaska.
Splitting 5-10 cord per week . By hand , is quite a teacher.
I don't have anything at home to do a vid of the process. But it's fairly self explanatory. It is basically using an ax that is as heavy as the round being split.
You do want a good tough chopping block to strike the poll on tho.

 

I saw Atz Kiltcher doing that on a round last week on Alaska the Last Frontier. That must be an alaska or PNW thing. I have never seen that done in the south. Sometimes picking up the round on ax but the reverse. Slamming the ax down stuck in the round the normal way but not upside down. But maybe it's a weight difference in the woods. But I don't know many people that will be picking up 20" oak rounds or even a 12" one like that very often??

 

Not me, anyway. I tried it. I'm not strong enough....YET!

 

I remember reading about a fiskars maul a year or two ago. I saw it on amazon the other day. I want it. Then I thought I split 80% of every thing with the x27 the rest either I save for the hydro splitter or noodle with the saw till the x27 can take care of it.

 

I learnt it as a boy in central Maine. I never saw anyone doing it up here until they learnt it from me. No doubt there are thousands of people up here that were doing it long before I showed up.
Most conifers split well thru the heart if you pop the sap wood on each side straight thru the heart. .
With toughish wood sometimes I'll noodle them in half then flip split from there if necessary.
It is a trick that works extremely well . I have a friend that is at best a glass half full kinda guy. He tried it once and whined that he was afraid the round would fall on his head. Conversely I taught a good friend's daughter that weighed a whole 105 lbs how to do it with a 4 pound rafting ax and she took to it like a fish to water. Splitting half rounds of Sitka spruce , western hemlock and yellow cedar(Alaska cedar, Sitka Cypress) that were 16-18" long and up to 20" diameter. Cut from logs I had just bucked up at low tide.
Most people take to it very well. No doubt the weight of a round can be a limiting factor. So obviously it would be best to start with pieces of wood well within a person's strength capabilities.
I guess if ya don't have to race the tide to get your wood off the beach before it floats away . Techniques that speed things up aren't as important.

 

When I was young and strong , rounds up to 100 lbs was no problem. Now about half that is still OK.

 

Dud your more a man than me. I'm still only 35. Even at 25 I din't think I would regularly be picking up 100 pound rounds over my head attached to the end of an ax!!!

And just for reference it's not like I'm 5'4" tall ot anything. I'm 6'2" and 210 pounds.

 

I grew up with one of these in my hand
And had a career of this.
And this

Ya gotta be able ta do stuff a bit un normal. And If I was still skinny , in the 180 lb weight range. Instead of 265 . I would still be falling timber and climbing for a living. Kindof a chub chub. Now , so I sit on my butt for a living.

 

A few degrees below freezing, but the wind is kicking up and bringing winter along with it again by tomorrow. Hanging out with the dogs and the better half and some small poplar blazing away in the stove.

 

Mid to high 30's tonight and mid 50's tomorrow, high 50's basically the rest of the week... I dont like it.. I took off for Muzzle Loader season, its supposed to be cold, real cold. Oh well.

Maple tonight. Maple probably the rest of the week at night only.

 

With mild overnight temps, probably be into the upper teens only.

May even hit the 30's tomorrow! Hoo boy! Not much shoveling the last two days...thats good!