Log Splitters (again)

[mick miller]

So after reading the thread on log splitters I took the plunge. Last time I bust up a bunch of logs with the maul I was sweating buckets, wheezing and generally feeling a little uncomfortable at the end of it. My swesticles had their own, very personal, shower going on too, not nice.

 

I opted for an easi-split pro off the bay. Comes with a stand for £265 delivered. We have two log burners and a fireplace in every room, so I think we'll be getting through a fair few logs over the coming years.

 

Now, I rang my mate, who's in his late fifties and he laughed, told me they were a waste of time and the smart man gets warm twice. Plus, they take too long to split logs. I say cobblers, I don't want to be wheezing my way through the tipper load being delivered this weekend (allegedly already split but I've heard that before!).

 

What say those of you with a log splitter already? Money well spent or, as I'm only just the other side of 40 and only a little bit lardy, a waste of cash and should I man up, go back to swinging the maul, and risk losing an ankle at some point in the near future?

 

Thoughts on a virtual postcard please. By the way, I also need some tips on a chainsaw, I don't need anything über macho, looking at the stihl ms171, which should do for the small stuff I have to deal with, I'm not about to go logging in the rockies. A good choice?

[tiny tim]

man up ,you will soon get used to splitting logs

you will be fine with the sthil ms171...good choice

[mick miller]

I new the next post would be the of the 'man up' variety. I left that door wide open I guess. I all seriousness I don't think I have the time or energy to go through the load arriving this weekend with a maul, I think it might actually be the end of me.

 

Good news on the chainsaw though, I guess I should invest in a pair of chainsaw strides too.

[Zulu]

Best bit of kit I bought recently , splits logs easily and quickly , got a 6 ton one like you and find it easier and safer than swinging the maul , looked at the Stihl MS170/1but decided against petrol due to noise and bought a Husqvarna 321EL ( electric last week ).

[mick miller]

I should add, that in my youth I was all rufty tufty and regularly thought nothing of swinging a sledgehammer all day long. These days the heaviest thing I lift during the week is a wacom pen unless I'm on the other job and then I may have to manhandle a half pig or lamb, hardly Jeff Capes territory.

[mick miller]

Best bit of kit I bought recently , splits logs easily and quickly , got a 6 ton one like you and find it easier and safer than swinging the maul , looked at the Stihl MS170/1but decided against petrol due to noise and bought a Husqvarna 321EL ( electric last week ).

 

There we go, that's more like it.

[Zulu]

Have you received the splitter yet ? , if not used yet make sure the oil level is ok and bleed valve opened before using ( think they all have them )

[mick miller]

I think it comes with destructions, what I liked about this model was you can actually ring the guy selling them and he'll give advice, plus support, parts and it's CE approved. But your notes are noted, thank you.

[al4x]

personally the maul every time I can split a pickup load in no time but that is with freshly cut logs cut by me so I do take care and where there is going to be a vee or branch that will make life hard they are not very long logs

Split with maul any that give agro just get cut into manageable bits with the chain saw. Helps that we are thinning ash and beech woods where its pretty dark so everything is long and straight and only 12" thick at most.

 

That saw will be fine for light use just always use the right 2 stroke mix and maintain it and they just seem to last.

[mick miller]

I got a bunch of seasoned stuff (2 years) off my charcoal burning mate and it damn near finished me splitting that with the maul, maybe I'm a wuss. It's mostly hornbeam, oak, ash and beech I'm getting.

[richie223]

Splitter every time,easy and no hassle with a 6tone ram.i decided to get one after watching my old man splitting logs last year.he does enjoy splitting wood using a maul but at 70 year old enough was enough.we now share the wood splitter and he wouldnt be without it.as for a chain saw,I have 3 one farm boss 270 and two ms 170s.the 170 is an excellent little saw with 12 or 14 inch bar for around 130 new

[al4x]

I got a bunch of seasoned stuff (2 years) off my charcoal burning mate and it damn near finished me splitting that with the maul, maybe I'm a wuss. It's mostly hornbeam, oak, ash and beech I'm getting.

 

That's the issue the dryer it is the harder to split, for me a powered splitter is too slow and hard to use in the middle of a wood

[mick miller]

Ah, I see now al4x, yes, in the middle of a wood it would be utterly useless. If freshly cut I can manage to split it, but the stuff I'm getting is almost all seasoned and is dropped to my door. An electric splitter in a wood is about as much use as an electric chainsaw!

 

Good to know my MS170 choice seems to be met with approval. I guess I need some of those special strides though, just in case?

[ack-ack]

I love splitting logs. If anybody were to purchase me one of those things for christmas I'd tell them to stick it up their Hornbeam. I will go at it until theres not a log left and then start on the furniture given half a chance. The red log mist is a state of mind.

[mark@mbb]

I split about 12 ton a year and if i need to go into the wood i put it on a trailer and take a genny it works great

[al4x]

So slow in comparison though, I can log and split a pickup load in well under an hour. Splitting with a decent maul is ridiculously fast.

[ziplex]

Stihl MS181 and Fiskars X25 splitting axe..................easy, especially with a sharp chain and sharp edge (yes, the Fiskars axe really are as good as they say they are)

[mick miller]

My maul, a cheapo Roughneck jobby from Screwfix, is blunt, in fact the cutting edge is rounded. I had assumed it should be blunt, could this be where I've been going wrong? Should it be sharp?

 

Mind you, as noofty as a log splitter may be, I can't help thinking it'll be a whole lot easier.

Edited September 26, 2012 by mick miller

[ben0850]

I have an MS181 with a 14 inch bar, keep the chain in sharp tip top nick and its a great saw.

I split everything with a maul but that's because I have a lot of day job grief to get rid off!! To be fair I've been deliberating on a splitter to run off the PTO or tractor hydraulics for a while.

Interested in all the opinions on the splitter scenario.

 

[mick miller]

Those images are just like woodburning porn. Since getting the new place and the woodburners in I now cannot help but drool over the potential that every bit of fallen timber or dead standing wood offers. Previously it was just, oh yeah, a dead tree, big deal. Now I long to get it cut and into my woodpile.

 

Perhaps I need help.

[Diceman]

Our woorburner takes 2' logs and mauling those can take more than one whack. We also had a couple of trees last year that were really stringy and horrible to split manually. The tractor splitter makes short work of all of them, I reckon I can do at least 3x more in a day than with the maul and wedges. Wouldn't be without it.

[itchy trigger]

I recommend you get the protective gear, a least the class A pants, helmet with the mesh visor and steel toed boots, pal of mine did the courses and was telling me the guy instructing said '' if there is an accident, stuff a coat or jumper in the wound to try and quell the bleeding''

I use the chainsaw for wood just for my parkray, I wear the gear whenever I use the chainsaw even if its just for 10 minutes

[Zulu]

I recommend you get the protective gear, a least the class A pants, helmet with the mesh visor and steel toed boots, pal of mine did the courses and was telling me the guy instructing said '' if there is an accident, stuff a coat or jumper in the wound to try and quell the bleeding''

I use the chainsaw for wood just for my parkray, I wear the gear whenever I use the chainsaw even if its just for 10 minutes

 

Same here , Gloves/helmet visor/sleeves/pants , I once attended an accident with a Stihlsaw , he managed to crawl to house phone ( 5 metres ) afore he bled to death ( no protection ) .

[Catweazle]

I did a lot of research before buying a chainsaw, the Husqvarna 346xp was the most recommended from the Arbtalk tree-surgeons forum. It's a fantastic saw, light, reliable, powerful. For heavier stuff I have a Stihl 290 but if I could just have one it would be the Husky.

[al4x]

Huskies are on a par with stihl and usually have a bit more power but there is nothing like the small stihls as being easy to maintain and keep running. I've a husky 440 at the moment brilliant for logging and our sort of coppicing its still not quite as easy to keep on peak performance as my last stihl.

 

The thing to bear in mind with safety if watch your technique and always operate safely, you shouldn't need masses of protective gear as do it right you will never need them. Thats not to say don't wear it but operate a saw as though you aren't wearing any, small saws have a lot going for them they don't knock you about as much and tire you which is when accidents happen.