So I keep a small stash of wood here at home for use in the fireplace or the outdoor “pit” when the nanny state says it’s ok, a few nights every year. When I say little I mean little, I bought 1/2 cord in the early spring of 2016 and I’m just now getting towards the bottom.

So a couple weeks ago I’m driving home from church and saw a cut up tree on the side of road waiting for the city to pick it up so I grabbed Andrew of the rounds.

I just tried to split one of them. It didn’t go well. Now, I’ve split a little wood before, but not a ton. Mostly fairly dry almond or ash. I think what I have is also an ash but my axe, recently sharpened, was literally bouncing off the wood with only the smallest of cuts after the mightiest of swings.

So I went full Tasmanian devil on it and for the cutest little notch opened up and shoved the ole wedge in there and whacked her right good with the full size sledge.

Nada. Wedge just fell out.

Note: I’m doing this on concrete slab too.

So, am I a girly man or is fairly green ash just too much for the traditional methods when pretty wet?

It is highly recommended to use the right tool for the job. Personally, I prefer a hydraulic splitter, but if you insist on doing it the hard way, do yourself a favor and get a maul (basically a cross between an ax and a sledgehammer). The blade side looks a lot like an axe, but it widens up a lot more than an axe, has a lot more mass than an axe, and the side opposite the blade looks a lot like a sledgehammer. Swing it like an axe, bury it’s deeply as you can, then pick up your sledgehammer and smack that sucker right on through.

Log splitter.
Ain't got no time to put dents in wet wood.

I suspect it's the variety of wood more than anything else.

As an example, I started burning wood when I was stationed in South Carolina. I lived in a small house out in the puckerbrush and a wood stove was the only source of heat.

A neighbor had a small plot of woods cleared and the cutters just piled the majority of the cut trees up. I asked about it, mentioning using it for heat. He looked at me a little funny but said "Sure, take all you want"

So I cut a big log up into 16" sections, loaded them up on the truck and lugged them home.

I let them dry for a while, don't recall how long, but several weeks at least. Weather started getting chilly so I decided to split some, using wedges and a maul.

Set the wedge, gave it a couple of solid taps so it would stand on it's own, backed off and did my best Paul Bunyan imitation, gave that wedge a mighty whack with a 12 pound sledge.

It was like hitting a spring. That wedge BOUNCED out of the wood and went several feet in the air. I tried everything I could think of to split that stuff and the best I could do was get the wedge jammed in place and unmovable. Wound up cutting it out with the saw.

I ran into the guy later and asked what I was doing wrong. "Nothing," he said when he quit laughing long enough to draw a breath, "that's sweet gum and the man ain't been born that can split it."

The grain is so interwoven that the only way to make little chunks out of big chunks is with a saw.

These work great if you have a sledge hammer. And they don't take up much space.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond...=wood+splitter+wedge

It can also depend on the diameter of the wood. If it's a big piece it's usually easier to start splitting sections from the edges rather than trying to split it in two in the middle.

quote:

Originally posted by armedprof:
These work great if you have a sledge hammer. And they don't take up much space.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond...=wood+splitter+wedge

Yeah, those work pretty well. But to the original post some kinds of woods do not split for shit as a previous response indicated.

I have a 26 ton wood splitter and have had it bog down a few times.

Solution for the OP, go back to your neighbor and get a different kind of log!

The one you have might be good for wood turning but can't figure out another use.

You need a maul to split wood, not an axe. An axe will work, but a maul is far easier. If it won’t split with a good maul, it’s not ready to be split, or it’s some unholy dense wood.

Also, don’t split on a concrete slab, unless you’ve got plywood down. You’re going to destroy your axe/maul.

I can send my 11 yr old over to split it for you. He uses a 6 lb sledge and the wedge others suggested. He split a chord and a half of wood this winter.

Hahahha I had a snide remark planned until I saw the 11 yo splitting logs. That says it all

On a serious note I never mastered splitting logs. I was always the guy who cut it into sections with the bow saw, someone else split it.

you can pretty much forget splitting it if it's oak, after it sits awhile the trees here in Oregon that are oak and stronger then steel Ibeams.

It is probably the grain of your wood. Although I have not met a round of wood I could not split with a sledge or maul and a splitting wedge. But I do not give up easily. And have had some real battles. Being green does not help.

I split between 4 and 10 cords of wood a year depending on what people are giving away. I have yet to find a log I couldn’t split with an 8lb maul or a good wedge and a 12lb sledge.
I have 2 cords to split tomorrow as my neighbor just cut down a bunch of trees and have me everything that’s not pine.

A maul and make sure you haven’t cut the logs too long.

Winter. Save that one for splitting in the Winter. When it is frozen. Splits easier when frozen.

quote:

Originally posted by GA Gator:
I can send my 11 yr old over to split it for you. He uses a 6 lb sledge and the wedge others suggested. He split a chord and a half of wood this winter.

Teach that boy how to play baseball and have him adjust his stance to adapt as a swing.

If the grain is twisted up from a part of the bole that had large brances/twists etc., you can't split it by hand, unless you enjoy that sort of thing. I've split a lot of wood with splitting mauls, but those twisty jobs, you gotta pitch em or avoid them in the first place. If it's not straight grain, don't waste your time and energy. There's something very satisfying about splitting wood, it's one of those things only men can enjoy, notwithstanding peeing outdoors.

variables can come into play.

i typically use a maul.

don't cut them too long. it's a lot harder the wetter the wood. let it dry out some.

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I've been burning firewood as my sole heating source for over 50 years now.

The hardest Oregon species I've tried to split by hand is "mountain yew". Cutting with a chain saw there are sparks thrown.

I'd like to see photo/description/ID of the wood you're wrassling.

"Axe" is not a splitting tool, by the way.
And thru long sweating moments of labor, I've learned setting the intended on a proper 'splitting stump' makes every chopping chore easier.

Good luck.