Senior citizen maul

[indiaxman1]

Right off, the hydraulic log splitter is the greatest invention for wood users/sellers...but way back, the 6 and 8 lb mauls, wedges & sledges, axes ruled
Sometimes the spirit still moves me to hand split....and I grab  a 3 1/2 lb swedish maul....certainly saves the old back and shoulders...and those Swedes make a heck of a product...so to all those over 60 woodsmen..who still want to swing some steel, and not strain some vital part, check it out

[Magicman]

Picture....link?

[Sprucegum]

I split by hand - more fun than golfing 

[sparky]

My friend's family has a deer hunting camp in Upper Michigan. Each year they meet at camp in October to clean the place for the upcoming deer season. One of the tasks is to split wood for the following year. One year, when the camp boss announced that it was time to tackle the wood splitting chores, his cousin excused himself to go to town to work out at a health club. Can you imagine that! What better exercise that to cut, split, and stack wood?

Sparky

[chucker]

?? yep ?? its a laughing matter.. some times on the way home from cutting wood and the truck is full of cut,split and stacked dry oak..... i get the oddest looks from people that are at the same stop lights as myself!! others are from joggers that shake their heads as in why would someone work that hard just to keep warm ?? lol  just finished a job for a local state trooper whoses buildind a new home in the spring, he started to clear his lot ? but figured it was to much of a work out???? go figure some people!! gotta love that 6 pound workout.

[Gary_C]

Is this some attempt at some Tom Sawyer trick? Cause I have tried that 3 1/2 lb one as well as that 6 lb one and they don't fit my hand too good. So I quit trying.  ;D

[James P.]

well I am not a senior but aches and pains are not exclusive to the older folks.swinging a maul on good straight grained wood is fun. I spit by hand for 9 years heating with wood nothing else. I split alot of gum and went thru alot of maul handles. I occasionally had some descent wood but mostly gum. I love my little 5hp log splitter. I should have gotten one 10 years ago. I always felt I was being productive but now I no I am. I know alot of folks question the effort for wanting to cut firewood. My response to them is. You have to understand the warmth and satisfaction of the whole process. Plus being self reliant is more security than money. In my opinion

[Magicman]

So far, the best splitter that I have ever used had a motor hooked to it...... :D

[Dodgy Loner]

Hopefully by the time I get too old to swing a maul, I'll have a son who's old enough to do it for me ;D. I've probably sold a hundred cords of firewood over the years to earn a little winter time spending money, and every stick of it was split by hand. Not to mention the vast quantities of wood that I've split for myself over the years. It's really one of my favorite activities. Grandad knows he can cut his firewood and set it to the side and wait for me to pay him a visit. He doesn't even have to ask me to split it

[chucker]

 now your a "great " grandson !!in full respect.................

[James P.]

Dodgy, you left out wants to.  :D

[indiaxman1]

Whoa, James...gum is tough stuff...right up there with sycamore and elm....but you hit it right, the satisfaction and grunt pleasure of splitting (gets that stress out) just can't be grasped by some folk.......but when the ice storm hits.and the..lights go out, us stumpjumpers become genius...throw the oak/hickory on....there is that self-reliance and security money can't buy...really enjoyed all the feedback....don't feel like a dinosaur so much now

[Ironwood]

My best splitter, is an ole outdoor Oliver 36" bandsaw. Short cycle time, and fairly clean not to much debris except dust.  ;D Everyone should have an outdoor saw. It's just under the overhang of my little loading dock. Basically unlimited legnth of cut :D

 




    Ironwood

[Lud]

I've had a Sotz Monster Maul since the 70's.   bugger packs a wallop.  Twenty years ago , Pop and my older brother were loading a small hydraulic unit and I was doing the John Henry with the Sotz and I beat  'em......but was whipped! 8) 

I pull it out now and then.  better than sledges and wedges.


When all is said and done, I'm glad we have a gas well here at the farm..... :D :D

[mad murdock]

though I haven't reached the ranks of "old fart" yet, I prefer to split with a 14 lb maul, (mega-maul at http://www.baileysonline.com).  I read a tip in farmshow magazine about how to easily split wood, using old tires.  Stand up your rounds inside old tires, as they lay on the ground.  The tires act as a containment ring, you can split away, and not have to keep standing up the wood, speeds up splitting about 10 times over using a chopping block.  If you have young 'uns to load and unload your tires, all the more faster.  Last 2 years I have used about 5-7 cords of wood per heating season, and it took about 4 good saturdays to put up that much wood, with some help from my 2 boys doin the stacking.  I have used hydraulic log splitters, and prefer the maul over the splitter, unless the wood is particularly knotty, then you need the hydro power to bust those knots up.  Using the tires, I stack up about 8 at a time, load split and unload, can pile up a bunch of wood in a hurry.

[Dodgy Loner]

Great tip, murdock. I'll have to try the tire idea. Standing all the logs on end time after time is more tiring than actually splitting the logs.

[Tom]

Mad Murdock,
I have one of those mauls that I bought before the price got to be $50.   I got it back in the 1970's for about $10.  I liked it when my shoulders could take the strain.  'Course I liked the old standby lighter mauls too.  After a session with the big maul, the little ones were almost fun to use.

The problem with the big maul is that the handle is round and the head gets twisted (rather the handle twists in your hands).  I invented a remedy. ;D

I taped a twig to the handle, such that my fingers were comfortable wrapped around it.  It didn't have to be big because its only purpose was for my mind to be trained as to which way the head of the maul was pointing.  When the tape (usually electricians tape) wore or broke, I just picked up the first available stick.  The one that seemed to be the most comfortable was about the size of a pencil.  I could feel it through a pair of gloves.  I usually tried to line it up with the sharp edge of the maul.  I used a piece of plastic tubing too. That works good and you an adjust the directions it runs to fit your fingers.  It doesn't have to be as long as both hands either.  I am right handed, so my right hand is at the bottom of the handle and it is what "learned" where the stick was.

I got the idea from riding my motorcycle in Enduros.  My hand was always slipping off, or getting tired on the throttle.  A piece of tubing taped to the handle made it non-slip.  I could even hold it with little pressure, which kept my forearm from cramping.  I found it was handy on my Touring bike too.

That's saying a lot to say a little, isn't it? :D :D

[Fla._Deadheader]

Getting into the Tree Service Business, after the day job, then splitting wood after dark after the 2 jobs, got me thinking about my younger days at the County Fair, and watching a "Lickety Splitter", brand machine, split wood.

  Immediately, I started gathering stuff, and it was my very first attempt at building machines.

  Y'all can have all them Mauls. I did do quite a bit of swinging a 20# Sledge, in my very younger days.  : : :

[Shotgun]

.  I am right handed, so my right hand is at the bottom of the handle and it is what "learned" where the stick was.

Do you bat cross handed too, Tom?   ;D  I'm right handed also, but my right hand is placed above my left hand whan using a mall.

Wondering how others do it. Below or above your left hand?

Norm

[Jeff]

Right hand above the left so I can steer the thing.

[LeeB]

Right hant toward the maul. I guess that would be right above left.

[beenthere]

Both ways, buy usually left above right.

Swing an axe both ways, but never could bat left handed. ??

Go figure.

[ljmathias]

Depends on whether I'm swinging from over my left shoulder or right- I try to use both so as not to get too lopsided with all those muscles that build up in my shoulders (don't I wish!).  From my right side, right over left, and the opposite on the other side.  Like Tom pointed out, the trick is steering, not lifting and pulling it down.  Anybody can beat on a piece of log till it splits, but hitting the same spot on the second blow, now that takes aim!  Don't get many logs big enough to split that will oblige with just one blow, but then those shoulder muscles still need some work or I need to get a mega-mega-maul.

Lj

[Tom]

Actually, I'm a switch hitter and made a mistake when I associated the right hand with the bottom of handle. I knew it went the other way and just wanted to see of y'all would catch it.  :-\ :-\

Come to think of it. I usually split wood left handed.  How come I never noticed that?

(Don't tell Charlie, He'll never let me forget it.)

[Woodcarver]

I'm like you, Tom.  I swing an axe "left-handed" (left hand on top).  Batted left-handed in my ball playing days and paddle a canoe on the left side.  I do everything else right-handed.  As BT said "go figure".

[Tom]

i used to bat right or left and use and axe right or left, without thinking about it.

I never realized that I generally split wood left handed though.

Here is me and Charlie in Production Mode.


He's a pretty good helper. Hardly ever lets a stick fall.  ;D

[beenthere]

Tom
I read about that spare tire trick somewhere to hold the pieces....... : :

sorry Charlie  

[LeeB]

I tried using my spare tire to hold the pieces but couldn't figure out how to split the wood without splitting my belly.  :D  :D

[Engineer]

I bought a mega-maul from Bailey's, promptly cut the handle off (too short) and TIG welded a new 35" long stainless steel pipe handle back on it.  Then covered the whole thing with no-slip grip paint.  It's a beast.  Also have used a True-Temper 4-lb "Total Control" maul that I picked up at Home Depot, which is great for smaller stuff, you get a lot of head speed and definitely good control over it.  Also have a couple of old-school 6-lb mauls and sledges, an Estwing wedge, and two teenage sons to help occasionally.

In spite of that pile of splitting equipment, last spring I bought a new Timberwolf TW-P1 hydraulic splitter.  Both my father (who's 70) and I split the cost, and we each used it this summer to put up about 10 cords of wood.  I don't have the time or energy to split that much by hand.  

Oh yeah, the tire trick is something I picked up off a Youtube video - it works really well, you can set the tire on a big old knotty round and split away.  The guy at the dump thought I was nuts when I asked him if I could TAKE a tire instead of leaving one.  I got one that was fairly wide so pieces didn't fall over.  I do still split by hand if I get the inclination to do so.

[Shotgun]

Here is me and Charlie in Production Mode.

Tom, this doesn't look to be a real safe practice, but since it Charlie holding the wood, I'll overlook it.     :D

Are the peas nearby?

Norm

[pigman]

You are right Norm. That does not look safe at all. Charlie could move the block of wood and Tom could hit his leg with the maul.

[Coon]

Another great little trick to use on a splitting maul is to get yourself a 4" long piece of old rubber radiator hose and slide it on over the handle all the way to the maul head. If the hose does not fit nice and snug you will need to make a slice down the length of the hose.  Next, you take sports tape and wrap it on nice and tight so the hose don't move.  This will help save the handle from getting knicked up or from even cracking if by chance you misjudged your aim.  Not that any of you guys would ever misjudge eh?  ;D

Brad.

[Ron Scott]

I also favor the one with the motor on the end of it. ;)

[Magicman]

I also favor the one with the motor on the end of it. ;)

Hydraulic hoses work best to keep the handle from being damaged.  That keeps the maul in the back of the truck, while the splitter is working.....

[indiaxman1]

Yeah coon, splintered axe handles happen............your hose solution sounds right...the
maul I use most has a metal collar 3-4" below the head....very forgiving on overswings...not that I ever misjudge..........cool breeze blowing in tomorrow w/snow ice....lay that oak/hickory by

[eamassey]

I've been using a Sotz "Monster Maul" for at least 35 years.  I burn wood, every winter, all winter.  I have three wood stoves--two in the house, one in the shop.  I just can't think of any reason I would want a hydraulic wood splitter.  I have several strategies-- one is, take care of any blow-down first--I have not yet cut a live tree this winter.  Second, cut a lot of stuff to burn as round wood---6-10" diameter.  Third, don't split wood in the woods, make a pile near the house of to-be-split, and split 15-20 minutes at a time-so as to not get worn out.   Forth, don't cut wood for splitting that you can't split.  Hickory--- I never use except as round wood.  Gum--I wouldn't haul to the house for fuel wood.  I burn about 50% red oak, 25% white oak, 10% hickory, and 15% other mixed oaks.

I never lift (big) heavy wood, I put the front end loader next to the wood and roll it in.  I don't find keeping enough firewood much of a problem.  I usually split enough wood in 15-20 minutes for 4 to 5 days of burning.

[sparky]

Tom,

I will hold the wood while you swing the splitting mall, and when I nod my head, you hit it!

Sparky

[Tom]

The wood?

[Phorester]

Don't get any tool bigger than your wife can handle.

[rebocardo]

> Gum--I wouldn't haul to the house for fuel wood.

I have been using sweet gum for firewood for a while. I have learned to only split it with a chainsaw though. I had some rough going with the sledge hammer and wedge when I first started  ;)

What I like is it gets pretty light once all the water is gone and lights easy.

[Frank H.]

Heck, I like splitting by hand.  Yes, I do have a hydraulic splitter, and I save all the knots and maple and such for it, but the straight stuff gets all done by hand.  It really makes you feel like a hero when you throw piece after piece of red oak onto the chopping block.  Whack!  Whack!  One shot one kill.  I've been using an 8 lb maul that has a nice taper from the rather thin edge to about two thirds of the way to the poll.  I have looked at some of those high end ones however, ( I think the name is Granfors if I remember right) and would b pretty happy if I found it under the tree (hint hint honey.)

[Magicman]

Mmmmm, I see that you are 36.  If I could lose 30 years and be 36 again, I would enjoy splitting firewood.....Again.....Let's see, how 'bout losing 30 lbs. too.  :D 

I don't have a hydraulic splitter.  Sometimes use my neighbors'.  Mostly just cut wood that is "just the right size"....and don't need splitting.   

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

Mmmmm, I see that you are 36.  If I could lose 30 years and be 36 again, I would enjoy splitting firewood.....Again.....Let's see, how 'bout losing 30 lbs. too.  :D 

I don't have a hydraulic splitter.  Sometimes use my neighbors'.  Mostly just cut wood that is "just the right size"....and don't need splitting.   

Magicman,

You'd probably drop the 30 pounds if you went back to splitting firewood by hand... I know I would  ;D

Herb

[Magicman]

You'd probably drop the 30 pounds if you went back to splitting firewood by hand... I know I would  ;D  Herb

Yup.  I guess that we're all above what we think we should be.  When I was 36, I did weigh about 135 lbs. which is 30 less than now...... :D

I solved the splitting problem by just cutting smaller wood.... ;D

[indiaxman1]

Yes, that Gransfors is the best...had mine 7 yrs now...still could shave with...got new wood rack set up over weekend....then had to fill it...sore as a dog, but Magicman we just got to pace ourselves...my old uncle used to say "better to wear out than to rust out"

[Magicman]

"better to wear out than to rust out"

Yeah, from the inside  :D

My "git up and go" gets a good workout on the sawmill..... 8)