When Y'ALL had the cold ya should have been splitting the hard to split wood. At 30 below it would have popped right apart. That's what we all do up here with the hard to split stuff. Nothing like some real cold to make wood nice and brittle.
My equipment isn't set up to run in those conditions. But... the last monster elm I had experience with, I did this very thing. Waited for a long cold deep freeze and the sheit still split like pulling a pork loin. (I don't think there was much moisture left in it) DONE! I'm done with it. And yes, I'm sure my deep freeze and yours are 2 different things, lol.
Lol, I tried. My BIL was having non of it. I noodled 2 rounds then got too lazy to bend over for more. One of these days, someone here is going to get a shipment...
I had some Elm from a big yard tree that was just terrible, I still have three rounds from 5 years ago I use for chopping blocks. All of the other elm I have had was stringy butt nothing like splitting rocks like that crap was
Boy, you got the nice stuff there...you should come to Ohio and help me "split" some fence row Elm...not good for much besides kinlin afterwards... Usually about 50/50 if its even good enough to go on the ugly pile or not!
I've been saying I was going to test this theory one of these winters when it gets really cold. We live in NC and it does get into the teens most winters but usually for only a few days at at time at most. We've only been our wood burning home for 4 years and haven't really had the cold. Well, we had a record number of days of below freezing weather during this latest Arctic blast thing and we had multiple nights of single digits and even -4 one night. I thought this would be a perfect time to go out and split some frozen wood, but every time I stepped outside, it was so cold I couldn't imagine being out long enough to split wood! I know I can layer up and it wasn't so much me being cold, but any exposed skin gets numb and the wind just bit into me. Needless to day, it still is something I haven't tried
Don't feel bad, if it isn't above 25 degrees, I don't do any wood processing. bring it in the house to heat with, that's it
I just split some elm last weekend, when it was in the single digits. It just popped apart, much easier than typical. I cut, split and burn a lot of elm.
Timberlake0377 my daughter, husband and boys just moved to Matthews near Charlotte, NC so my eyes always catch any mention of NC. I check their weather every day and couldn't help but notice your post. I also saw this pic today and thought YIKES!
This trailer I first seen about 1961 or so. Moms twin sister's hubsband built it and used it to haul stuff from their home in SE Michigan to their farm near Sears Mi with a new 1961 Buick LaSaber. When they sold the farm my dad was given the trailer and he didn't do much with it as he had farm wagons with sides for hauling fire wood. It was given to me when I moved in here and I have used it a whole lot. Put some old wore out 16" pick up tires on it because I had them and the old road tires were rotting off. This is Ash from my woods and the neighbours place. I'll take any dead and down Elm you want to get rid of. I been spliting some I had just a few days back when were were having rhew below zero weather and the well below zero wind chills with a 6 pound maul. Stuff split so easy it wasn't funny, And if need be I could start the splitter and it makes short work of splitting really ugly stuff. Al
That photo has circulated the internet for years, the original I think claiming it came from Maine, but sadly it is a hoax. If a person looks at the wood piles it can be seen that it is photo shopped. (Now doesn't that just make LodgedTree a kill-joy, but I knew someone else would bring this fact up).
In continuing my killjoyness... I have found that truth lies somewhere in the middle. Whether it is as dramatic and nasty as two people getting divorced, or a difference of opinion on the internet; there is typically a little bias...a little "spin" on things that inevitable alters the absolute truth to some degree. I am sure someone, where has harness a moose to accomplish work though; just not depicted as that photo does.
