Yesterday I was telling the 17 year old grandson that I'll need his help in the near future getting some oak rounds up on the splitter. He surprised me when he said he wants to try and split them by hand. Um, no interest before and now he wants to do that. What my husband used for a splitting maul is totally worthless in my hands as it tends to bounce off the wood. Anyway, I'll be picking up an Isocore on Friday when I venture into town. Not only for the kid but me, too, so I can bust up some rounds the loggers left behind. Life will be interesting.
Good idea on the IsoCore. Nothing takes the shine off of splitting than an old blunt nose maul. Maybe your grandson will actually enjoy it!
So, the LC in your screen name.........is that for Luxemburg\Casco by chance? I see Wisconsin and thought I'd take a stab at where in WI based on your name.
I have an X25 already. Something with more heft will get me further. Nope, LC has nothing to do with location. I'm about 2 1/2 hours north/northwest of Green Bay, close enough to the border to hear the guns let go when their deer season starts.
He seemed disappointed about the new maul but hey, he can try the old one before he gets his hands on the Isocore. I'm sure he'll appreciate the ease of it. The X25 sure is different than an older splitting ax I was using. The old maul is going to be reserved for bopping stuck rounds off the splitter.
I think it is really nice that your grandson wants to help you out and he has also showed interest in trying to split the rounds by had
Great job teaching him the ways. My son started helping me when he was 11. Sometimes it is too much like work for him, especially now that he is working a full time manual labor job. He went nuts on splitting wood and hauling rounds when his senior year of football season was over in 2022. He needed an outlet because he was no longer lifting or working out with the team. He was good for 5 or 6 truckloads a week of gathering rounds from a clearing site. He was also splitting about a truckload a day on the weekends. He sold 10 to 12 loads at $250 a load to pay for senior week at the beach.
Good to hear of young people who appreciate the old ways. If I may make a suggestion, get the kid set up with a tire and some log tongs. It will speed production and reduce wear and tear on him to keep the bending over at a minimum. With straight wood, it will sometimes go so easy it makes running a splitter just seem downright wasteful.
I'm not sure on his reasoning for the sudden interest. When he was little he ran the splitter while his grandpa put the wood on the beam but that was long ago. He wasn't into sports except soccer so that's not it. He has a regular job plus school so it'll be a weekend thing (and is planning to work out of state for the summer after graduation). Your son sounds like a real go-getter and more power to him! Have to see what's floating around for a smaller tire, all I have is truck tires. If he shows he's interested after a few weeks I'll consider tongs.
Depends on where you're at... I think you mentioned going past the Spread Eagle Garden Center. The Isocore is here, grandson picked it up today. There wasn't enough gas in my tank to mess with it this evening and he wanted to spend some time with his family before before his mom takes off for a week of working out of town. There's always tomorrow.
Here's the pile he can choose from for his first attempts. The top smaller pieces are limb wood from the tree in my yard, the lower stuff is from a tree taken down a couple years ago, all straight and mostly no knots.
That's right, good memory! Yes, I did stop in there and even though didn't find what I wanted, she helped me out. BTW, almost anywhere in the U.P. is getting close to me!
