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When is best time to split wood?

Started by markkelly, August 09, 2011, 11:03:16 PM

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markkelly

Should cut it and split it right after the tree has fallen or what some time?
LT 10 Woodmizer, Stihl, Husquvana,wood carving tools, Ford 3000 Tractor, Trailer.

tyb525

I cut and split as soon as I can, that way the wood can start drying faster. However, you could cut it into rounds after you fell the tree, stack those rounds, and split them whenever is convenient for you.
LT10G10, Stihl 038 Magnum, many woodworking tools. Currently a farm service applicator, trying to find time to saw!

Ianab

Some species split much easier when green, others seem to split easier when dry.

If it's easy to split when green, then do it then, and the smaller pieces will dry faster.

Ian
Weekend warrior, Peterson JP test pilot, Dolmar 7900 and Stihl MS310 saws and  the usual collection of power tools :)

Al_Smith

Certain woods such as hickory or any of the maples will rot from the inside out if not split in a timely fashion .Oak can take a lot of weather in the the round,log or split .

doctorb

I have read that black locust should be split when green, as it's supposedly easier.  No confirmation on that.  I don't think there's ever a good time to split elm. ;D
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

thecfarm

Put Elm out behind the woodshed in stove wood length for a year,unsplit. We only had splitting mauls and iron wedges to split wood with when I was growing up.. A year later we could split it. Was still kinda stringee,but we could split it. Also if splitting wood after it drys some,look for cracks on the end of the stove wood length piece,if splitting by hand. I went and bought a wood splitter and don't have to "read"the end any more.
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clww

Split it as soon as you have the rounds bucked to length. Also, the colder it is outdoors, the better.
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
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zopi

Got Wood?
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And lots of junk.

Bro. Noble

milking and logging and sawing and milking

Holmes

Think like a farmer.

SwampDonkey

Quote from: Bro.  Noble on August 10, 2011, 11:12:26 AM
Wood splits easiest when it's frozen.

Green and frozen was always easiest when we split hard maple, beech and yellow birch. If not too twisting and crotched a piece it will often split with one or maybe three thuds. When these species were dryer and left in the round stovewood length they were misery to split. A lot of wood of those three species has been split around here. ;D My father always seemed to split it dry and pound and pound and pound, couldn't tell an old Scot noth'n. :D Today as I was working on a lot next door to a fellow cutting his firewood, he was cutting down the trees, bucking and splitting as he went and tossing into the truck bed.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

chevytaHOE5674

I usually split when it isn't hot out and when I'm not busy with other stuff on the farm. So that usually means late fall, winter, or early spring.

Fall and winter are the best because there are no bugs, don't hardly work up a sweat, wood splits easier, and its just a nice time of year to be outside. haha

Al_Smith

 Most of my life I swung a 5 pound axe at firewood .It was only about 2-3 years ago I finally got around to building a splitter .As far as I'm concerned that's the only way to deal with elm .That or get a stove with a huge door and dump it in whole or rip it to size with a saw .They used to make wagon tongues out of that stuff because it is so tough .It will bend where oak will break and split apart .It doesn't split with an axe or maul any better at 10 below that it does at 80 degress ,it's just tough all the time .

Bro. Noble

Quote from: Al_Smith on August 10, 2011, 08:11:22 PM
It doesn't split with an axe or maul any better at 10 below that it does at 80 degress ,it's just tough all the time .

Well, sems like contrariness is in the air tonight so I'll just join in ;)

Now elm might be different north of the border,  but it sure as heck splits easier here when it's frozen-----axe or woodsplitter, don't make no nevermind.  Do you have sycamore there?  Now that's hard splittin. :)
milking and logging and sawing and milking

John Mc

Bro. Noble -

Are you talking about American Elm, or some other type. I've never tried sycamore - don't know that I have any in my neck of the woods, but there isn't much around here that splits tougher than American Elm - with maul or splitter.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Bro. Noble

American elm is about a thing of the past here :( although I can remember trying to split it.  Most of ours is red elm and it is about as bad as American elm except that it's often shaky so part of the splitting is already done.  We also have Chinese elm and winged elm.  Chinese elm is mostly a yard tree and I don't remember ever trying to split any.  I've never seen winged elm big enough to need splitting.  I believe Sycamore is worse than elm.  Anymore,  if it's to big for me to lift, I let it rot in the woods.  If I can lift it, it will fit in my furnace ;D
milking and logging and sawing and milking

SwampDonkey

Bro_Noble, not many folks even try to split American Elm in these parts. My uncle had a huge one they took down in the yard and his uncle had one as well. Both but logs were sawed on each tree by other interests, but all the rest was hauled back on the hill to rot.  ;)

A cousin of mine came and borrowed dads tractor mounted splitter. This is a heavy duty splitter, but it came back ......umm  :-X :-X ..... with modifications after trying to split a monster of an elm, growing in the field, that they had cut down.  Nope, folks would just rather not deal with it. ;D
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

Al_Smith

You won't find much American elm ever get much over 12-15 inchs and then rarely at all .

SwampDonkey

I would agree Al, but also depends on if it's managed for disease to. The city of Frederiction still has 70% of it's elms since the disease was discovered and the trees managed for. They are now planting disease resistant white elms (Valley Forge) in the city. But most of the old mature ones in the country side are dead or very lucky. In forest condition they can survive because of diversity. The neighbors had one we measured at 6 feet above ground because of a huge burl below, and it was 11 feet in circumference or 42 inches in diameter. But the woodlot was logged and the combination of damage and likely disease afterward, the tree died (1988). I had visited the site 5 years ago and that huge tree was just about all soil then. They break down fast in our climate.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

doctorb

How about slippery elm?  Largest round is about 20". As I am not ready to haul out the splitter just yet, it's gonna "cure" for a while before it turns to firewood.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Busy Beaver Lumber

Get a powerful enough splitter and it does not matter what you split or when you split it. I have this Huskee 35 ton splitter and have never had a log it will not split. These are actually made by Speeco and sold at Tractor Supply. Some times when it encounters a particularly knarly piece, it will litterally slice through knots. I could not be happier with how well it performs. Tons of power with the 15hp motor and very quick cycle times.

I will offer up a word of caution about splitting frozen wood with a log splitter. It does not happen often, but it has happened to me enough times that it is worth mentioning. When splitting frozen logs, I have had several split with such force that it literally shot one or both pieces off of the splitter. On one occasion, I had a decent size piece of oak fly over 50 feet when it left the spliiter. Another time I had a piece shoot off and aim right at my face. Fortunately I had my husquavarna logging helmet on becasue it hit the face shield with such force that it ripped the helmet right off my head. With out the helmet, I am sure I would be missing a few teeth and have received a broken nose as well.



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two tired

the best time is when maw-in-law showes up with overnight case,  just kidding.
when wondering about weather conditions call the dog in and see if he is wet

WH_Conley

Hey, that's my splitter. I am happy for the money. Haven't found anything it wouldn't split yet.
Bill

SwampDonkey

Just stepped outside for a breath of air to smell the smoke of an evening wood fire at the neighbor's house. I didn't think it was cold, 65 out with humidity and it feels like the tropics to me with a SE wind blowing.  I'd die from heat exhaustion if I had to build a fire here. Good grief. ::) Seen a bat out there to, so I'm staying inside. ;D I scared two bats last week from the barn, came out from the siding around a window. I would never guess bats would stay around the buildings here because I'm not near open water, a long way from it.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

John Mc

Quote from: Busy Beaver Lumber on August 11, 2011, 06:00:58 PM
I will offer up a word of caution about splitting frozen wood with a log splitter. It does not happen often, but it has happened to me enough times that it is worth mentioning. When splitting frozen logs, I have had several split with such force that it literally shot one or both pieces off of the splitter. On one occasion, I had a decent size piece of oak fly over 50 feet when it left the spliiter.

Actually, that sounds as though you have some air in your hydraulic lines...

John Mc
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

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