Small splitter hard wood

Are there any tricks of the trade I should know? It's all pretty new to me.
I'm trying to split some hard fairly dry oak. The splitter is a little 5 ton Homelite from Home Depot.
Maximum 10" around and 20" long. It goes through most pretty well even when they are up to 15" in diameter. But it doesn't like it if there is a branch in it, i had to use the sledge hammer to get it off the wedge. When the logs are shorter like 14-16" it takes a 4x4 behind to go all the way through.

 

It'll just take some time to figure out what works best with your type of wood. Read it like you would for hand splitting. For me (splitting green, sometimes knotty ugly poplar) if I have a knot or a branch, I point them straight up, knot closest to wedge end, and give 'er. It usually splits the piece and splits the knot/branch as well.

Or you can keep the knot/branch to one side and split down the middle. Then you end up with one ugly piece and one clean piece. Just have to try it until you see what works best for you.

 

Unlike Saskwood, I usually place the knot/branch to the side and split out the, what I will call the good side first. Then either split the branch side or set aside for later. If set aside I split them when my stack is almost completed to put on top. If really nasty it goes into the fire pit stack.
Also if it doesn't go from one direction I start in from the other direction trying to meet up with the first split attempt.
The 4x4 is a good idea. I usually just garb a split to put behind when I am dealing with stringy stuff.
My splitter is 25 ton so there isn't much it won't chew through. Just some thoughts. Try different things and see what works best for you. I am working on year 3 now so I am not as particular about getting every little piece of wood for the stove like I use to be.
Edited to add: I wasn't familiar with that splitter and googled it. Watched a video. It was pretty impressive. I was wondering if you could bolt a piece of square tubing or some flat stock to the end piece? Then when a piece gets stuck on the wedge you could shove a piece of 2x4 or 4x4 against it and the extension and let the hydraulics dislodge it.

 

I try every which way on my six ton splitter. Eventually it either goes with a bang or gets thrown on the pile for fire pit. I actually like burning these they give off random flames

 

Thanks guys that all sounds good to me. Our back ground is fire place so splitting smaller for the wood stove is a new experience. I can't swing an ax anymore got a bad back and have to be somewhat careful that's why we bought this splitter.
It does pretty well with most of the logs. I will try some cedar on it tomorrow. Some of the rougher oak logs are just too hard so my hubby will have to deal with them. I'll send some pics when i get a bit more done.

 

I've put some huge rounds on my 7 ton . 9/10 it's a major crotch piece that just won't split.
I'll put it to the side and try it again later another day, noodle it, or toss it. Life's too short to be stubborn with a stick of tree. AKA pick your battles.

 

I had the hf electric/hydro splitter. Worked great but boy pick your battles. I noodled a bunch and tossed the rest in a pile for a old guy who would burn anything. Got a few nice dinners and home baked goods out of it. Now he gets full loads of my uglies deliveried. Im not sure who's happier me or him.

 

Sometimes it takes multiple hits of the ram to split a tough piece. However. If you buck your wood from log lengths, the best way to get thru a tough knot is a sharp chain saw. You can do it before you saw the log to stove lengths. It doesn't take much. Usually just saw half way thru the knot . Then the power of the splitter can most times bust the rest of it. With these modern battery operated chainsaws available now. Its quite easy. Amazon has a bunch of them .

 

Another option is a corded chainsaw. As you will already have a cord for your splitter . and many electric saws are light weight.

 

I'm using something similar and its able to split any thing... You just have to work it sometimes like a maul, taking thin slices off the side until you find a straight section of grain. I keep a small stool nearby so the really big ones can sit way off center and not tip over. There's always cutting it notch if you find a really twisted one

 

You have to get good at reading the wood; that will come with splitting. Inside knots, which form from dead limbs as the tree grows, can make a piece hard to split. For these, you want to split around the knot instead of trying to get the piece to pull through the knot. If you have a crotch, split both sides of the crotch; sometimes once you do this you will be able to pop the crotch apart. Some large rounds will require that you take off slices from the edges; you may have to balance the round on the splitter so be careful since your hand will be on the log. I have also found that with some I have to raise the front of the log with a wedge or piece of small wood; this results in the force being applied to a smaller area (force is pressure over area; so the smaller the area, the greater the force); this will often get a crack started. Then you flip the log to continue. If something else comes to mind, I will add it to this thread.

 

I was out splitting when I came across a good one for "reading the wood" and thought about your post. Look at the locust round in the first photo, you can clearly see a crack across the face. You want to align that to the splitting wedge as the round is already wanting to split along that line. In the second photo you can see how the round easily split where it naturally wanted to go. Back to work, no rest for the weary.

 

Lucy I am glad that you posted this thread as I was planning on splitting today so I was looking for things that might help illustrate. Here is one with a limb. You would want to tackle this with the limb at the ram end. I inspected and found a split, so that is where I attempted to start and it popped right open. Again, splitting in the direction of the limb. Then to finish up, you would split down one side of the limb as in the last photo.

 

Thanks Kimberly. Do you have your splitter on a stand? I was thinking of doing that my back is killing me.
I got everything done except one that's not too bad. By everything i mean what i put on the porch in the rain. Today was a lovely day.
Here is what's done so far for the shed.

 

I have split a lot with my 5 ton, make sure your pressure relief thingy is open and put the front feet of the splitter up a little like on a 2x4 and just pick your spot ...

 

When all I had was my 5 ton electric splitter I would split a stubborn piece from both ends until I go it.

 

Ditto...

 

I do the same as you Kimberly. Works well

 

Looks good Lucy. I have my Boss 7 ton electric on a stand and I finally smartened up and picked up (2) Fiskars log tongs, really makes it a lot easier on your back when bringing rounds up to the splitter. Before I brought the stand I used to put the splitter on a folding table, it's works but the splitter has some weight to it and it was bad on my back. A stand with wheels is the way to go.