Hand Splitting Some Hickory

Had these rounds hanging around at oldest step daughters since last Fall. I had bucked and moved them on site at the time. I havent been there since. Kinda dreading such as the ends were checked and hickory can be tough even when fresh cut. 75-90% werent too bad, the rest forget it. Ill noodle to size.
Before. I had split & stacked 25% already. Most of that stack is black birch from last Summer. After. Had company watching. Had to impress the ladies! Thats Flora...she's 2 1/2

 

Looks like she’s in charge Brad!

 

She rules the roost when were not there! She knows my favorite chain saw brand!

 

I keep saying « nice work Brad »….well, it’s true

 

Looks like a great day. She is really growing up.

 

Hand splitting? Never!

 

I split about 1/3 cord of some shagbark last year and it was incredibly difficult. I've only been splitting for about 3 years, so not an expert by any means, and I'm not a big/strong guy, I had to hit every round as hard as I possibly could probably 10 - 15 times with an 8 lb maul before I could get it to even start to crack. Looking forward to burning it but man was it a task.

 

Have you tried the "wet end" trick pcable89? Store the rounds vertically and split the wet end. Try it. Makes a world of difference regardless of species...except elm, sycamore and gum. Those are just miserable to hand split. Some of the hickory i split had wet ends and they split easily.

 

I've never heard that trick. I will try it

 

I had some 20" long Shagbark. With the 16 lb maul it wasn't terrible. Being partially frozen helped too.

Hickory starts around :25

 

You deal with an interesting assortment of wood! Hickory, never even seen a hickory tree, that's awesome!
Looks like Flora wants to help! When my boys were that age I bought them small wheelbarrows so they could haul a few rounds. They also got a lot of wheelbarrow rides in mine. Keep them interested and you can have good times for years to come.

 

That hurt me just watching that video!

 

Makes a big difference. Kinda learned it by accident one day. Had some rounds that had started to check on the exposed end. Warmer Spring day. I flipped one and it split a lot easier from the wet end.

 

Looks like a great day! She’s growing like a weed!

 

Looking good Brad! I'm going to keep an eye out for some hickory so I can make some custom hatchet handles.

 

You've mentioned a couple species in your area that i had never heard of. One started with an "M" IIRC. Always interesting to see what others harvest.

 

There are longer pieces including some limb wood to process yet. This is not far from the GTG on May 20th. Be glad to bring them along.