Splitting Wood Using Mallet, Wedges and Froe.

Now splitting wood with a chainsaw is the way some folks routinely get D-Shaped logs from a solid log.

Yet to achieve the natural flow of the grain and / or you haven't got access, the old-school ways can be used just like our ancestors of old when they crafted wood back in the day...

First step is getting a mallet made-up:



Once the mallet is ready you can use it with the froe for shingle-making and for aiding the splitting of wood. However for large, thick logs a froe, even a large one will struggle to achieve it.

This is where the steel and or wooden / plastic wedges come into play. A steel mallet is also effective. From there you can get stuck in and get splitting the logs into 'D' sections or 'half logs'



This was filmed in the remote Rocky Mountain wilderness, no on-grid power, wild bears and hard-core weather etc.

A maul is a good way to split and drive wedges, too. I used one such, a couple wedges and a bow saw to reduce a dead tree out back the property.

It took days, when i was done I had the best feeling in my heart. I removed dead growth that could have fallen and blocked the creek, got some good exercise and layed in a supply of winters firewood.

Not one drop of gas in a chain saw or truck engine was wasted.

Maul

a reply to: WatchRider

This place is as good as any to ask a stupid question. What is the best shape to use when burning wood a 'D' or a 'V' (wedge shape)?

I always see the wedges used but do the D's burn longer or better? Like for overnight fires.

Trying hard not to poo-poo this.

It sounds great and yes it can be done. One can whittle tooth picks from a Redwood with a spoon too. It just depends how bad you really need the toothpicks. No sin in any of it.

However, there is a reason the chain saw, hydraulic splitter, etc were invented. To create enough firewood, rails, lumber, etc to do anything past the boutique stage requires some serious time and effort.

A large family, the neighbor's large family, animal power, and a mill are what was used back in the day. One person with a maul and a saw gonna play pioneer? Well, more power to them. I wish them the best

originally posted by: AnteBellum
a reply to: WatchRider

This place is as good as any to ask a stupid question. What is the best shape to use when burning wood a 'D' or a 'V' (wedge shape)?

I always see the wedges used but do the D's burn longer or better? Like for overnight fires.

The secret is to get a good bed of red coals built up. Then you can burn anything; shape really doesn't matter at that point. And there's no such thing as a stupid question.

a reply to: jeramie

How do you get it to that point thought?
I can start fires from scratch and know the basics as far as getting it going, like using bedding surrounded by small sticks, then graduating up to logs but I've never needed to survive a night keeping it lit.
I also heard using rocks, the bigger the better, are great for holding heat longer. I guess my concern would be running out of wood before dawn. Are the red coals just breakup from the larger pieces?

Jeesh, that took a long time to split... The guy must be an amateur. Done plenty of that myself for firewood and it isn't that hard with just a axe and a couple of wedges. Can easily do 4-5 cubic meters a day. Back in the day when men were still steel, the best splitters made over ten cubic a day.

Never seen that bladelike tool he uses in the video, looks like it ain't good for anything.

Read someone promoting the hydraulic splitter above, sorry to say, using just an axe is far quicker with the right technique. Of course, you don't get the sweat factor with the hydraulic press... (In which case, the wood doesn't heat you twice and you lose half of the combustion heat... )

Has anyone tried helicoidal splitting wedges? You won't ever use one of those flat traditional ones after you try one of these...

originally posted by: AnteBellum
a reply to: jeramie

How do you get it to that point thought?
I can start fires from scratch and know the basics as far as getting it going, like using bedding surrounded by small sticks, then graduating up to logs but I've never needed to survive a night keeping it lit.
I also heard using rocks, the bigger the better, are great for holding heat longer. I guess my concern would be running out of wood before dawn. Are the red coals just breakup from the larger pieces?

Time. The more wood burned, the more coals you'll get. Start with a small fire, build up to a bigger one and the bed of coals will make itself as the wood is consumed.

vipukirves.fi...

Buddy of mine moved out to work a farm and has been splitting fire wood with a normal axe when he stumbled across the lever axe, an acquaintance from Finland swears by it... kind of expensive but he says if you split a lot of logs its the best way to go about it.

a reply to: TatTvamAsi

A manual maul is quicker for a little while if the rounds are reasonable.

Get really big hardwood rounds, especially if it is warm out, and in the long run there is a definite reason they sell splitters.

I heat my house with Red Oak. If you wanna split 10 cubic meters a day of limby oak, be my guest

a reply to: ABNARTY

Well, here we don't get hardwoods. Birch is the hardest material around here, the rest is pine and spruce.
With those I promise you 4-5 cubic any day, closer to or over ten cubic requires exceptional skill and endurance, never said I could make as much, that was back in the day when men were steel.

Personally, I wouldn't burn any hardwoods, that stuff is better used as carpentry material.

BTW, splitting fresh wood is much much easier if it is frozen over.

a reply to: TatTvamAsi

Agreed 100% on the soft woods. Makes life much easier. Splitting on a cold morning is the way to go.

I also agree on the hardwoods for lumber. Fortunately I live in a place with plenty for both lumber and firewood.

a reply to: AnteBellum

From experience the 'D' shape, there's more mass typically and surface area to 'catch' the flame imho.

a reply to: TatTvamAsi

A somewhat ignorant response from you, Man of Finns.

The flat blade object is a Froe. Something that is designed for making roof shingles but can, at a pinch be used for squaring off logs into beams. It can also split wood in half providing it's not too thick.

Yes I am an amateur at wood-working and proud of it, as it is not my profession but an enthusiasm.

I am good at crafting arrows though and can call myself a non-amateur at that btw

Here's a video of the arrows and fletching them:

a reply to: WatchRider

That's what I was thinking too and there is less work splitting when time is scarce.

Thanks for the info, hopefully I won't be using it this winter!