Log Splitter?

[torchrider]

I have come into a bunch of Pecan wood from a friends ranch. They are whole trees that I plan to cut-up with a chain saw. They have been on the ground since August. Knocked down by tornadoes.

My question is, what do y'all recommend for splitting this wood without spending hundreds of $$? I imagine it will be somewhat hard given the time on the ground. Awl and sledge? Do some work better than others?

 

[coffee_junkie]

Don't know if there is a rental place nearby where you live but often times you can rent a splitter for an afternoon for a fairly reasonable price. It is totally worth the rental price if the wood is hard to split by hand.

 

[autoferret]

Homedepot and Lowes rent tools as well as other places. thats what i would try, maybe look at craigslist,

heres a few links for units

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...6859_200316859

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5542_200395542

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...6855_200316855


Good luck!

 

[richoso1]

Maybe you can split the rental with someone else who's doing the same type of work locally.

 

[dirt guy]

IIRC, our local rental place was $45 per day for their biggest splitter. If you had it all cut to size and piled, ready to split, you could have a year's worth split up in no time. Maybe you could even split some extra to sell. Say---enough extra to cover the cost of the rental.

 

[countryboy19]

The important question is what diameter logs?

IMHO 18" and less I would recommend the Fiskars Super Splitting Axe. The reviews I've read online are very impressive. It seems that it will very easily split all but the toughest wood. Wood splits easier when seasoned as opposed to green or fresh cut so the dried wood should be easier than you expect.

I plan to buy one as soon as amazon has them back in stock. $45 shipped seems like a great deal. And as much as you would expect their glass reinforced plastic handle to crack/break easily, they're nearly bullet-proof, and if you do manage to damage it, they have a lifetime warranty. I'm done buying crappy mauls and axes locally, I've always had good experience with Fiskars stuff. I've had a Back Paxe for 15 years now, and thats what I use to "chunk" my wood up for feeding my smoker.

 

[guymistery]

Depending on the size, I also agree that a fiskars super splitting axe would be adequate.

http://www.fiskars.com/webapp/wcs/st...&page=products

 

[torchrider]

Thanks for the great info guys. As always!

 

[sprayking]

This is the dilemma I had a while back, I needed to split wood for my woodstove and my smoking needs without paying thousands on a splitter. and not using a sledge and wedge. Sledge and wedge is alright for good nice dry rounds but smaller semi dry and weird shaped logs were not an option. So I looked around and found one of these electric splitter on ebay, At first I thought it might suck but after using it seen it was a beast and would split anything and for 360$ shipped was a decent deal. its great for small wood and I have split 24" logs if they were nice and dry no problem at all. and I can easily make a couple of buckets full of nice chunk for my smoking needs real quick. to me I will never look back, unless it breaks but so far this thing is a beast.
my .02

http://cgi.ebay.com/Log-Splitter-by-...item1c10ec224f

 

[jirodriguez]

If you got a lot of wood and have it all pre-cut into rounds.... definately rent a splitter. You can split super fast and knock it all out in one day. Well, worth the $50-80 bucks and saves a ton of work, aches, and "Oh Crap!" moments... lol.

 

[sprayking]

Splitters in my area are $75 a day thats steep!!

 

[jirodriguez]

All depends on how much wood you got to split.... and how young and in shape you are... lol.

If you have 2+ cords of wood to split you can either spend a week or two splitting wood for 2 to 3 hrs. a night after work, or pay for a rental on a Saturday and get it all done in one day.

 

[torchrider]

I just checked at the local rental shop. $60 a day for a really big splitter and if I rent it on Saturday I get to keep it until Monday. As long as I make it to Church, I don't believe the Lord will mind me splitting some of his fine wood on Sunday to feed my family some good Q.

 

[cheech]

If you find someone with a splitter offer them some great Q often you can make a trade.