Best wood to split

[jargo432]

The three types of wood on my land to choose from are Oak, Mesquite, and Elm.  I do all my splitting with an 8 pound maul so the type of wood I cut is based on how easy it will split.  For me Mesquite is a dream to split.  Next would be Oak which isn't too bad as long as it doesn't have too many knots or twist.  Last would be Elm, which I avoid like the plague.  The last time I tried to split Elm the maul just bounced like I was hitting a basketball. :D 

Since these are the only trees I have experience with I'd like to know which types of trees are easy and which are hard to split where you're from.

Thanks

[Glenn]

beech or poplar

[BBTom]

I always thought that a good straight ash log was the easiest splitting wood.  Makes decent firewood too.

[timberlinetree]

Ash&soft maple. I about a ranger load a day in the winter for us and a few others unless the splitter is on the job. I pull some dead stuff with the skidder when i find it and pile it. End of the day I split a load.

[thecfarm]

Glenn,beech,   Must be a diffeant beech than one I have. Beech kinda splits like yellow birch.
I would have to say young red oak. We never cut much of it,only if it was in the way. We mostly cut white maple. Than I got my own place and we started to thin out some beech.

jargo432,the way we use to split elm,was to leave it behind the shed for a year,To get the life out of it,my Father would say. This was big elm too,we never got much of it.
We use to split with iron wedges too. Sometimes we would have to split wood in 4 foot lengths to load it onto a trailer.

[r.man]

For any heating value ash. Can be burned the same day it is cut and it will burn. Better dry but if you have to burn green wood ash is the choice here. I have burned lots of green wood and if the coals get too low it can be a problem getting a strong fire going again. Find a piece of ash in the pile, split it fine and even though it is as green as the rest you will have a strong fire soon. Splits like a dream green or dry compared to any of the other species that give decent heat.

[Rockn H]

I would say red oak was the easiest wood to split that we burn.  Jargo, on that Elm try slabbing it off around the edges. ( hit it on the growth rings instead of the rays)

[jargo432]

thanks, I'll try that.

[Rob5073]

I agree with the mesquite. Nice, clear pieces of mesquite are very easy to split and oak isn't bad either. Pecan is difficult and stringy especially if it's wet.

[Magicman]

Ash is my easiest species to split, but I avoid it because it makes so many ashes.  Red Oak is by far my preference, both for splitting and heat output.  I believe that Red Oak ashes burn up because there are very few to carry out.

[jargo432]

Rob, good to see someone else here from North Texas.

[woodmills1]

straight grained clear wood is the easiest to split, but it should be a sawlog then.


as for species, (no mesquite here)  red oak hands down, cause even with knots it pops


maple and poplar even pine split better than oak with straight no knots

try any of those with knots or forks ouch, pine forks and knots yowee

hickory straight is ok but stringy, and elm just rip it instead

good clear straight red oak will see ya acummin with a maul and pop itself apart to save you the trouble

[Rob5073]

Rob, good to see someone else here from North Texas.

Holy crap it rained in N .TX today!  I'm building an ark. 

[doctorb]

Elm is the reason log splitters were invented.  :D  If I had to split a lot of elm for heating each winter, I would most certainly use a splitter and allow my maul and wedges to gather some dust.  The others mentioned are good fun and exercise with a maul, and you can get a lot of wood split in a reasonable amount of time.  But I don't swing at elm any longer.   

[jargo432]

Holy crap it rained in N .TX today!  I'm building an ark.
[/quote]

I know, we got at least an inch of rain here in Jack county.  I was just out checking if all this wind is drying me out enough to get my pickup back to the barn so I can cut some wood.

[kevin19343]

Did you ever see the scene in the movie Frankenstein when the villagers are chasing him with torches and he reacts with fright & terror? Thats how I feel about hand splitting firewood.

Remember, maul is a 4 letter word. ;D

[clww]

Red Oak is the easiest I split.
Gum is the worst. It just rips.

[Al_Smith]

As general information EAB killed ash is not as easy to split as one would think .Obviously Ohio ash does not produce as much ashes as Mississippi ash trees either .I'm not certain weather grits has anything to do with that or not .

Elm as previously mentioned was what  neccessitated  the invention of the hydraulic splitter .Short of that noodling with a chainsaw is the best method .

[Dieselsteve]

I like to split red oak with my fiskars, its like a hot knife through soft butter

[glassman_48]

ash and cherry are easiest for my processor, we have some type of swamp type oak that gets a little stringy like elm, I will ask my logging company next time I get some to see what it is. Dieselsteve, what part of Michigan are you?  I am in Kalkaska

[Dieselsteve]

Im from in between Clio and Millington just east of 75 about 40 min south of Bay City. More city slickers down here than my liking haha

[Dieselsteve]

I got 20 acres just north of seeney off 77 in the yoop though I havent been up there in quite a few years.

[Shotgun]

Diesel, Where are you on M77, North of Seney?  How far north, and are you near M-77?

I'm from Traverse City, and go to a camp near Kingston Lake a  couple of times a year. From Davison a long time ago.

Glassman, I'm pretty close to you.

[Dieselsteve]

to tell you the Gods honest truth I havent been up there since I was about 10 years old. I was raised by my grandparents and my grandpa aquired the land with his best friend 50/50 back in the 50's they used it for deer hunting. I came to aquire it after pop died in 2000 and this summer marks the first time ill be up there since. My Aunt and Uncle (who paid the taxes because I was I minor) have been up there a couple times but between me, my sister and 2 cousins who might as well be siblings all share the deed. I know its north of seney right off 77 not sure how far north. this summer will be the first I have been able to afford the trip. I know there is a cedar swamp on one corner of the property and alot of old growth oak up there that we have been trying to protect.

[glassman_48]

shotgun,
nice to find someone close, i own kalkaska glass, thats my work number on my profile.  My logging site is about 10 miles east of kalkaska on m-72.  If your ever over this way, stop in.  I would love to show someone the wood that looks like oak and splits like elm to see what they think it is.  I wish I could figure out out to put a picture on here I would really like to get input on what kind of wood.  If you ever stop over bring a camera or your phone and maybe you could help.   

[hacknchop]

Up here in northern Ontario white birch is very easy splitting even with a few knots, it also burns green or right off the stump,not much left in the way of elm here, only sawn maybe 4 or5 elm cut standing dry elm 25 yrs ago after dutch elm beetle wiped them out in the 70s. Hardest wood to split here is problably yellow birch with twisted grain.Best wood for heat hard mpl hands down.

[WmFritz]

I havent been up there since I was about 10 years old.

You do realize your in the middle of some the finest country you will ever find.
All you need is a tent and some gas money to get up there; oh... and bridge fare.  :D
I look for ANY excuse to get up that way.

It's been some years now, but for a lot of winters I snowmobiled that area with some special people. I got to know four men who served in Vietnam together and were all from the Saginaw area. They stayed close the rest of their lives. These guys  began trail riding sleds in the early 80's when snowmobiles had no suspensions. They rode primarily the middle of the UP because they were friends with a couple more Vietnam Vets (brothers) that were Yoopers from that area.

Roy was a family friend and I met the rest of the group through him. Around '93, Roy invited me along with my FIL and BIL for a week trip because he knew we kept our machines dependable and we rode similar to his buddy's. We stayed in Seney that week and it was the best time riding I'd ever had. Roy's friends rode fast and hard. We left early each morning and they had to get 100 miles in before we could stop for breakfast. If we didn't get 300 miles in a day they weren't happy.  :D

Those four guys never needed or carried a map. If we hit a rough trail, they'd  stop, pow wow a minute and head for a county road or a two track to get to a better trail. We didn't ride the same trail twice in five days. They knew every road and trail from Shingleton to Pine Stump Junction like the back of their hand. They knew who they could wake up at 3:00 in the morning to turn on a gas pump.

I rode every chance I could get with those guys and enjoyed every minute. I deer hunted the Fox River Country near Seney with my family until I was 21.  I was about 34 when I began my trips with Roy's group and fell back in love with that area. My friends are gone now, but I still cherish the memories they gave me.

Sorry to get side tracked from wood splitting.
If I owned land there,  that's where you'd find me!  ;) ;)

[Brleclaire]

When I was a kid the local saw shop had a guy come and demo a wood splitter "that would split any block"  they posted a sign that said bring your ugliest block for splitting.  Every old timer from three counties brought him their ugliest elm. He only split a few that weren't to twisted but couldn't split too many. Everybody had a good laugh and sent the guy packing with his new fangled splitting device. They gave him some real ugly ones and told him to go redesign his machine. They said when his machine could split them bring it back and then they would look it over.

[Dieselsteve]

I hear ya ill be up there alot more often now! than was a great story by the way. I hauled a oversize load from down here to ironwood a couple years back and the permits thank the Lord took us mostly state roads once we crossed the bridge due to massive construction on 2 but we rolled through kenton and sidnaw where I used to go quad riding in my early teens we used to put 200 plus miles in a day.

[CTYank]

Black locust is also very doable for hand-splitting.

But, the word "maul" covers a huge spectrum, from blunt overweight instruments of torture to serious wood-splitting tools. Mauls from the corner hadware or the big-box are generally a lousy joke. OTOH, try the mauls from Husqvarna (Hultafors), Wetterlings, or Mueller. They will get it done & make logs cringe. The heaviest of the ones mentioned is 6.5 lbs., suitable for initial splits of larger or more difficult rounds.

Council tools, in NC, is an up-and-coming mfg of quality tools. Anyone got an eval. of their maul?

I should add that for the really nasty, crotchety or knotty stuff, I've found that a "hybrid" attack works best. Noodle to sever the cross-grain, then maybe set a few wedges or whack it with a maul.

[garret]

Depends on whether wet or dry.  In my experience fresh cut splits easiest.  My favorite is white ash with few knots; plenty of it standing dead due to emerald bark beetle.  Worst splitting is sycamore and stringy grained woods like dry elm, IMO.

[thecfarm]

garret,welcome to the forum.