I got wood

[CinnamonFan]

Chris Type R said:

CinnamonFan said:

Chris for those wide rounds you could use a Vipukirves or Leveraxe. Especially good at splitting sides off big rounds like you have.

https://www.leveraxe.com/en/

Not sure, having watched a review - review takes a turn 9:30 in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_s3Ci1Dl0s&ab...

Hadnt watched a review for it. Interesting.

guindilias said:

That Wranglerstar fella used to be a regular on Arboristsite, very down to earth. Might still be on there. The "Leveraxe" has loads of very positive reviews by it's inventor, not normally a great sign - he was banned for using multiple accounts reviewing his own stuff!
I would put it slightly lower down in the wood splitting "Tools of choice" list than a rubber mallet.

Thanks for the input. Read about it the other day and thought it may be help. Useful to hear other more informed opinions.

[mcpiston]

Chris Type R said:

mcpiston said:

I used to use a wood grenade and sledge hammer until I discovered the Fiskars X25 splitting axe.

I've heard good things about these - have ordered myself an X25 to add to my wood processing collection of tools.

I was so impressed I bought the x12 for kindling and x25 for logs. Literally a knife through butter. I don't think you will regret your purchase.

[Chris Type R]

mcpiston said:

Chris Type R said:

mcpiston said:

I used to use a wood grenade and sledge hammer until I discovered the Fiskars X25 splitting axe.

I've heard good things about these - have ordered myself an X25 to add to my wood processing collection of tools.

I was so impressed I bought the x12 for kindling and x25 for logs. Literally a knife through butter. I don't think you will regret your purchase.

Wow, you didn't oversell the X25 ! It really does feel like a hot knife through butter compared to the 8lb maul.

[rxe]

guindilias said:

That Wranglerstar fella used to be a regular on Arboristsite, very down to earth. Might still be on there. The "Leveraxe" has loads of very positive reviews by it's inventor, not normally a great sign - he was banned for using multiple accounts reviewing his own stuff!
I would put it slightly lower down in the wood splitting "Tools of choice" list than a rubber mallet.

I have an original (heavy) leveraxe and in the right wood, it is brilliant. In the wrong wood, it is useless.

The correct target is nice, easy to split, Ash or Birch. The leveraxe is half the weight of a maul, and is just as good at splitting, You quickly get used to letting it twist, and it can destroy large rounds of Ash very quickly. Most importantly, it allows you to have the effect of a tyre .... without the tyre. You break bits off the round, and the target remains. You can keep going for longer becuase you aren't lifting a massive maul.

In the wrong wood (knotty pine...) you might as well be hitting it with a rubber mallet for all the good it does.

[jet_noise]

Chris Type R said:

Wow, you didn't oversell the X25 ! It really does feel like a hot knife through butter compared to the 8lb maul.

Even on the biggest pieces?

[Chris Type R]

jet_noise said:

Chris Type R said:

Wow, you didn't oversell the X25 ! It really does feel like a hot knife through butter compared to the 8lb maul.

Even on the biggest pieces?

Haven't tried it on the largest pieces yet as I might be looking to make a resin table top. I have been splitting 12" to 15" pieces relatively easily. Much easier and more effective than the maul I have.

[guindilias]

The Fiskars are PTFE coated, and probably more importantly are sharp - my old maul is as blunt as a hatchet (ha!) and pretty much has been since I bought it. I used to split on paving and it regularly came into touch with it. Then I bought an X25, then an X27. I do think Finnish people must be genetically inclined towards dwarfism though, the X25 was way to short for me (I am 6') and even splitting on an almost waist height stump I'd prefer the X27 was a couple of inches longer.
But I resigned myself to fate, and just force small people to split wood for me these days.

[Chris Type R]

Chris Type R said:

Any suggestions on how to tackle this lot ? It's freshly cut, and I think some of it is beech.

Using the good advice from here and with a little help from my father-in-law on chainsaw duty, some progress has been made. I've removed probably 13 full wheelbarrow loads. Space is now becoming an issue.

[David A]

Just bought a 36v makita chainsaw. Very capable for its small size. Great when I don’t want to crack out the big husqvarna.

Also came with a little poster of makita tools - they do a wheelbarrow ! A 36v wheelbarrow !!!

[ATG]

Back at the end of August there were some pretty severe gales, sufficient to uproot a couple of 30yr old ashes and shed a major limb from an oak in our grandiose estate (ahem). One of the ash landed on the slide I'd finished building the day before for my kid's birthday party - unbelievable timing - so I was up stupidly early the following morning clearing its canopy and bringing its main stem down so the slide would be safe to use. (Slide is made from a 600mm double skinned drainage pipe, so can withstand 30ft trees landing on it.) Anyway, oak and ash are now bucked, split and stacked and can be seen at the front left and back right of the photo. Might be able to burn the ash next spring. The oak will take a couple of years to season. I also had a go at ripping some of the ash with the el cheapo electric chainsaw with its non-ripping chain, squared it up on the table saw, then draw-knifed and planed it into a new head for our ancient and very effective hay rake.

[CambsBill]

ATG said:

Back at the end of August there were some pretty severe gales, sufficient to uproot a couple of 30yr old ashes and shed a major limb from an oak in our grandiose estate (ahem). One of the ash landed on the slide I'd finished building the day before for my kid's birthday party - unbelievable timing - so I was up stupidly early the following morning clearing its canopy and bringing its main stem down so the slide would be safe to use. (Slide is made from a 600mm double skinned drainage pipe, so can withstand 30ft trees landing on it.) Anyway, oak and ash are now bucked, split and stacked and can be seen at the front left and back right of the photo. Might be able to burn the ash next spring. The oak will take a couple of years to season. I also had a go at ripping some of the ash with the el cheapo electric chainsaw with its non-ripping chain, squared it up on the table saw, then draw-knifed and planed it into a new head for our ancient and very effective hay rake.

Nice job, looks a bit of a Triggers broom though

[Tim O]

Question for the more experienced chainsaw owners/users.

Currently using a battery Stihl chainsaw, very happy with it but it’s not quite powerful enough for some of the ash trees I need to ring.

Don’t wish to spend a fortune, so, Husqvarna 130/135 or Stihl 181, or something else altogether?

Horrified to see the Husqvarna is made in China. Stihl probably is too?

Thoughts please.

Edited by Tim O on Friday 30th October 07:46

[ATG]

CambsBill said:

Nice job, looks a bit of a Triggers broom though

Hah, indeed. Its new name is Trigger

[Harry Flashman]

In terms of seasoning, all the wood from my mother's place, the reason for starting this thread, definitely needs seasoning. I thought that having been out for years, it would be OK - but I bought a small amount of kiln dried wood to compare, and the difference is stark.

My small stove, which will not burn my wood properly, burns the kiln dried stuff fine. The large stove burns the kiln dried stuff hotter and cleaner with proper flames.

So more sawing and chopping and stacking required of the free oak, but no burning for a couple of years. Turns out that wood lying around uncovered in the woods is full of moisture - who knew (;)) This despite my cheap moisture metre saying it is under 20%. It clearly isn't dry enough for burning cleanly yet...

[paua]

Tim O said:

Question for the more experienced chainsaw owners/users.

Currently using a battery Stihl chainsaw, very happy with it but it’s not quite powerful enough for some of the ash trees I need to ring.

Don’t wish to spend a fortune, so, Husqvarna 135 or Stihl 181, or something else altogether?

Horrified to see the Husqvarna is made in China.

Thoughts please.

I bought a Stihl 211 to accompany the 461 I use on bigger trees. Am happy. It's light enough to use at/ above shoulder height, enough power for the smaller work.

[robinh73]

Tim O said:

Question for the more experienced chainsaw owners/users.

Currently using a battery Stihl chainsaw, very happy with it but it’s not quite powerful enough for some of the ash trees I need to ring.

Don’t wish to spend a fortune, so, Husqvarna 130/135 or Stihl 181, or something else altogether?

Horrified to see the Husqvarna is made in China. Stihl probably is too?

Thoughts please.

Edited by Tim O on Friday 30th October 07:46

I bought a Stihl MS181 as a small saw to accompany the big saws and it has been great. Could sometimes do with a bit more power and did take a bit of running in, but it certainly earns its keep.

[ATG]

Gareth, the man mountain from whom we buy most of our wood, reckoned that you could assume that wood would be adequately seasoned a couple of years after being split. Obviously it depends on the species, time of year the tree was felled, air circulation, blah di blah, but the key point was that the water has to diffuse out of the logs, so thickness matters (finbar), and evaporation is hugely improved by splitting the wood too expose its grain.

[Harry Flashman]

ATG said:

Gareth, the man mountain from whom we buy most of our wood, reckoned that you could assume that wood would be adequately seasoned a couple of years after being split. Obviously it depends on the species, time of year the tree was felled, air circulation, blah di blah, but the key point was that the water has to diffuse out of the logs, so thickness matters (finbar), and evaporation is hugely improved by splitting the wood too expose its grain.

I suspect he is right. I have big, unsplit oak rounds that have been sitting in a giant pile outdoors for years, getting soaked by rain, and with little grain exposed. And it burns poorly. Some of it is, frankly, rotten and has been riddled with insects. A clear sign of damp wood (I at least have the sense to discard these pieces!)

Seasoning it is, then! My amateur self had assumed that just being outside for ages would be enough. Clearly not!

The birch burns fine. The oak does not.

[guindilias]

Harry, I have a few oak logs that have been sitting outside for 5+ years, and I'd still split them and leave them to season for 2 years. Oak likes to hang on to it's water!
Ash, on the other hand - straight on the fire as soon as the tree is down, the only bits I split are rounds too big to fit in the fireplace. Not sure how that would work in a stove, but it burns like a champ on an open fire when it's still mooing, or whatever noise trees make...

[Harry Flashman]

Thanks mate! Helpful advice.