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Post by honkie on Jan 15, 2009 22:08:57 GMT -5
Mine is the 20 ton gas powered variety, drink beer,load wood,drink beer,pull lever, drink beer.
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Post by chainsawwhisperer on Jan 16, 2009 6:47:17 GMT -5
Hey Zip, This might sound absolutely crazy but I love splitting wood by hand. My father has a splitter that I can borrow anytime, but for the most part I'll split the straight grained stuff
by hand.
Growing up, me, my father and uncles and two cousins who were old enough to help used to cut a lot of wood and split it
up between ourselves, and provide wood for my grandfather.
My grandfather did help occasionally by running the splitter with me or one of the cousins loading it. Old granddad wasn't always 100% on the ball, sometimes got a little dangerous (he almost took off my fingers one day). From then on every time he helped we were 115% on guard.
As I got older, I went from limbing with a hatchet to a camp axe then to a double bit axe, then splitting with a maul.
My one uncle had a very odd style, kind of a 'wind-up'.
Where he would start with the maul on the log, and start his swing as he pulled the maul off the log on the right side, and
continue the swing for a full 360 degrees, until it hit the log.
He got the job done, just as well as anyone else.
The tips that have stuck with me from back then are:
'Keep your tools sharp'- It makes a huge difference with the axes and mauls.
'Pick your wood carefully'- looking at the sides for knots, pick the straight stuff.
'Read the wood' - look at the face of the wood, is there a color change or cracks you can use to your advantage?
Is one side dryer than the other? The dry side will split easier.
The other thing is not as tangible: I was told to " think your way to the bottom of the log" Meaning, envision the maul stopping at the bottom of the log, don't focus on the size of the log, focus on getting the maul through it. It's just positive thinking.
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Post by quiverpup on Jan 18, 2009 9:34:11 GMT -5
I use a 20 ton"Brave" i got for 300.00.It had a crappy 5 hp Briggs that was in bad shape.I put a 7hp Tecumseh on it. I use it solo or have my 12 year old son be my "trigger" man.I tell him he must concentrate and if he sees blood,hears me yell or sees wierd look on my face the handle goes BACK.So far i still have all my fingers ;D I have seen those wing splitters at wally world and have been thinking of getting one.I always take maul with me when cutting to spit big stuff.easier to load without dumping a nut.You manual guys are tougher than me.I dont care to split by hand! 25-30 years ago i used to be allowed to split tons of wood by hand,compliments of dad,and always wished he would get splitter.When I left home(by request),he switched to fuel oil,bought a snowblower and a riding mower! Go figure!
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Post by RandyMac on Jan 18, 2009 11:46:23 GMT -5
A Pulaski, borrowed from Uncle Sam.
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Post by billg on Jan 19, 2009 3:45:52 GMT -5
I have a few vids up
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Post by billg on Jan 20, 2009 2:23:39 GMT -5
A Pulaski, borrowed from Uncle Sam. The only Pulaski I know of is Casmir. Bill |
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Post by RandyMac on Jan 20, 2009 23:38:39 GMT -5
Pulaski, an axe with adze like end, firetool, head weight almost 4 pounds.   |
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Post by billg on Jan 21, 2009 1:59:13 GMT -5
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Post by chainsawwhisperer on Jan 21, 2009 19:28:43 GMT -5
"I'm not sure what you mean exactly by 'picking your wood'. I dont get to 'pick'! I have to split the whole pile! LOL.
Not applicable when your doing it all yourself
"One side dryer? What on earth kinda wood do you guys grow there in NY? LOL. Here in MO our wood is either dry or green!"
It seem that when rounds/wheels are sitting with the face on the ground they absorb water and act like a sponge when wacked with a maul.
I hear ya about the 'monster maul' My dad bought one 20 years ago, what a joke the thing was. I would make an old man out of
you real quick...heavy and did not split as well as a conventional maul.
CSW
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Post by RandyMac on Jan 22, 2009 0:38:10 GMT -5
OK, I get it now. So is the thing an actual firemans tool? So what about the Casmir part, Bill? Forestry uses most of the Pulaskis, great multi purpose tool. I had one that I used falling old growth, heavier than forestry tool, had narrower adze, good for busting blocks outta big undercuts. RM, who are you telling they're number one? And man, is that pic right out of the 70's or what! yep, 1976, my barbarian phase, which lasted another 7 years. I think I was presenting the bird to a pissfirwillie |
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Post by billg on Jan 22, 2009 3:01:03 GMT -5
Casmir Pulaski was a Polish soldier in the Revolutionary War. His birthday is a state Holiday in Illinois.
Bill
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