Midwinter I chose this particular piece just to illustrate a little bit but I know it is not needed here; just wanted to give you a little hint for the future. Sometimes when splitting with sledge and wedge (a great way to split!) the wood does not want to come apart. You have the right tools here! What we like to do is place 2 wedges together. Not side by side but 2 in the same place then drive them down. Usually one hit on one wedge and the next hit on the other. This will spread the crack a lot wider and most times they will come apart and you won't have to fight with those wedges at the bottom. I hope this makes sense.
It does! That's a great technique. I wish my favorite little wedge wasn't so pollarded. I need to break in a new one.
Just use an older maul head to widen that splits. Works for me, when needed Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk
Why would you need a new one? That is, I think you are talking about the steel wedges. They do have to be ground up every now and then where you strike them else you run the risk of chips flying off and those can do some damage. But a quick grinding will make that wedge like new. They should outlast you!
I'm just a wedge junkie, I guess. The smallest one is the one I use most often, because it's the one to start a split. Then the larger ones come into play. The smallest one I have (in the picture you replied to) is smashed up on the top, and has gotten shorter over the years, believe it or not. So I need to get used to a new one.
I just sort of cringe at the price of steel today and also know that wedges can last for so long if you take care of them. I still have a couple wedges that were passed down and used to do a lot of splitting by hand until the back injury. This means I did a lot of splitting using wedges. I've never seen one wear out! Length does not seem a good reason to buy another one. Short is not a problem. When you think about it, most logs will split without using the entire length of the wedge. One other thing you can do with a wedge is to sharpen it. I'd do this only with one wedge. What you actually end up doing is to put an edge on the wedge so it is more like an axe. This is used just for starting those tough ones where it is difficult to get the wedge started.
Most of my wedges I got secondhand. This one is 12 inches long. It's fun to think about it's previous owner!
I keep throwing wood at this thing but it doesn't get full! Once I get a carload split & stacked in here, it barely looks any different. Supply is still strong, fortunately.
I saw that guy in Burlington's post that you got the elm from. Sounds like a crotchety old prick! People always question what I can do with my Bronco when I pull up, but when stacked methodically, I can fit almost half a cord in it, wet or dry!
It's a big vault. Lots more in it since when I saw it, and that less than a week ago! Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk
Those carseats do put a crimp in things. I'm looking forward to the teenage years. I hope I can keep whacking until then!
I got down to Lowell last Friday, before the heat, and things are looking pretty empty.... But the vault is starting to look full! I can't get motivated to split in this heat, so I've kept my wood habit at bay with some little dump scores. Some cherry or crabapple or something this morning. The weather guy is promising the heat will break on Thursday/Friday.
