# Splitting Wood



## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

If I could.

How do you load a big heavy log onto a splitter?


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

I bust it in half with steel wedges and a sledge hammer if its too heavy to lift. my splitter will do vertical but I am not going to hunch over while splitting wood.


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Sometimes I've used a pair of skidding tongs and lifted the piece with chain to tractor loader.
Sometimes I turn then on side and half/quarter with chain saw, then hand lift the pieces.
Sometimes I've used a maul if it's something like red oak that will pop open fairly easy.
Sometimes I push them over in a hole and forget about it. 


I don't end up with too much larger stuff. I make lumber out of anything big that isn't crappy, so my firewood mostly comes from stuff 8-10" or less.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

We put the splitter in the vertical position and split it that way. Just roll the round to the splitter, no lifting.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

There is a home made log splitter for sale at auction Saturday that has an electric winch and log tongs.

I'm old enough to see the stages of life. I split tons of wood each year with a 8 pound maul. Now I rent a splitter and knock out a bunch of wood in a single day.
I think the log tong/winch is the next stage. I expect this to be a short stage, soon followed by buying firewood from some young guy.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

HDRider said:


> If I could.
> 
> How do you load a big heavy log onto a splitter?


I cut my logs into 18" +/-. Red Oak is about as dense as I cut so the heaviest. Those I can usually handle.
If the tree is 30" or more in diameter then the splitter goes upright, I pull up another log for a stool and roll the log under the wedge.
I suppose I could chain an oversize log to my tractor loader and lift it onto the splitter; or roll the log into the loader, raise the loader level with the splitter rail and roll the log over.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

last year a tree service dropped a free load of white oak logs that were at least 3' across and some closer to 4' across. they weighed hundreds of pounds each .

they were not even safely moveable so I split in place with the wedge.
man that was a pile of work I never want to do again. 

I'm happy to cut and burn logs I can just pick up and place on the splitter without the risk of needing back surgery. so this year I hope to not cut anything bigger than a 5 gal bucket .

I'm in a new house and behind on cutting wood but have a lifetime supply free for the taking.


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## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

Use a vertical splitter. There's no way we could lift the size chunk the splitter can split.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

I've used a set of ramps for loading stuff in my pickup, 8ft. 2x10's.
But when I bought a splitter that tips vertically, that stopped.


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

I cut my logs short, like 12" because I have small firebox stoves and also they split easier. In the event I have one so big around and heavy I can't lift it on the splitter, I cut it in half with the chain saw. I find using my splitter vertically to be a pain in the rear.


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

back toward the end of my wood burning days in the house. I would buy a semi load of oak bundles.
I had a farmal A with a buzz saw and a chain saw.
sometimes I would leave the bands on the bundle and take the chain saw and run it down the pile about a foot from the end. the first pass would give me a variety of different lengths. but each pass after that the pieces were pretty uniform. I could cut a week's worth of wood in 15 minutes. not very much splitting to do.
I loved sawing fire wood.. my 3 kids, not so much..
.....jiminwisc.....


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## CKelly78z (Jul 16, 2017)

You can use your chainsaw to cut down through the bark side of the piece, essentially cutting it in half. You will need to kick, or sweep away the massive amount of curlings that come from cutting the wood WITH the grain, but the best way to knock a large log into 2 manageable pieces. I can also use my tractor FEL pulled up close where I can roll it out of the bucket onto the log splitter bed.

In 25 years of splitting wood, I have never tilted my log splitter up into the verticle position because it kills my back.


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## HDRider (Jul 21, 2011)

The answer seems to be a vertical splitter. Thanks all.

How big of one should I get?

The phrase caused me you go to YT


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Fishindude said:


> I cut my logs short, like 12" because I have small firebox stoves and also they split easier. In the event I have one so big around and heavy I can't lift it on the splitter, I cut it in half with the chain saw. I find using my splitter vertically to be a pain in the rear.


For a few years, I bought 15 or 20 full cords of wood in 8 foot lengths. Every piece had to be split at least once. I cut everything in 16 inch lengths, mostly because that is how firewood is sold. I'd cut about a quarter of it shorter for my cook stove.

An elderly neighbor cooked on an old wood fired cook stove. She wanted to buy a face cord of stove wood. Over 12 inches long, but under 14 inches. Split small. BTW, face cord is a single stack 4 feet tall, 8 feet long.

I regretted agreeing to supply the wood. I had to make sure each piece was the correct length, plus didn't have knots that would prevent splitting. So, as I cut her wood, I'd have to toss the unsuitable pieces out of the way. Then, so much splitting. But I persisted. Sort of a good deed for a neighbor.

When I arrived with the wood, she expected me to stack it, too. No good deed goes unpunished.

When I was done stacking, she said it looked good, but she wanted two more and, " next time, split it into smaller pieces."

I did it, you know, being a good neighbor.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

ole gal probably had no clue the work involved . cutting wood for money is hard earned money and a young man's game. It's a great way to save money but a hard way to make it.


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## ticndig (Sep 7, 2014)

you can get a 27 ton at tsc for around a grand . wait for a 20% coupon to save big.
I'm going into my 17th year on mine with no issues , the only thing that's been changed are the oils. I run it out of gas every time I use it and it always starts with ease .


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## [email protected] (Sep 16, 2009)

ticndig said:


> ole gal probably had no clue the work involved . cutting wood for money is hard earned money and a young man's game. It's a great way to save money but a hard way to make it.



Oh, I think she knew alright..


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## flewism (Apr 2, 2007)

Noodling in half, splitter in vertical.


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## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

when I split with my splitter in verticle, this is what I do.

I lay down a old piece of carpet next to the splitter. then I roll several large rounds up where I can reach them close to the splitter. I get down on my knees with feet under me on the carpet. then working slowly and deliberately, I jostle the rounds over under the wedge and split them. when I have split all I can reach its time to get up and roll some more rounds close to the splitter.

this year my 88 year old father has helped me a lot. he has a skidsteer with a attachement wood splitter. you simply drive up to the larger rounds,lower it down over them and split them into more manageable sizes. I then can split them the rest of the way down on my wood splitter. I split up one log this way that was the size of a backhoe tire. dad had pushed it into a brushpile cuz he didn't want to fool with it by himself.


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## farmrbrown (Jun 25, 2012)

HDRider said:


> The answer seems to be a vertical splitter. Thanks all.
> 
> How big of one should I get?
> 
> The phrase caused me you go to YT



I checked with several rental companies and bought one when they sold it and purchased their new equipment.
Paid $1,000 for a 26 ton that was commercial grade with a Honda engine.


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## CKelly78z (Jul 16, 2017)

Most rental places will allow you to rent first thing on a Saturday morning, and be able to keep it until Monday morning while only paying for 1 days worth. By myself, I can split a cord or two of wood in a day, throw it in a pile, and stack it later when it's convenient. (I have a 27 ton, 8HP splitter that I always use horizontally). If you have help, this could go much quicker, and potentially split a years supply of firewood in one weekend with a couple people on a rented splitter....about $50-$60 a day.


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## Grafton County Couple (Sep 20, 2018)

We (misses runs the lever) split heavy and/or large rounds vertically. I enjoy not having a sore back.


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