Splitting Eucalyptus trunk

[joe Shmoe]

Hello,

 

I have access to a Eucalyptus trunk that has just been felled. Its approx 2ft radius. I wanted to chop it up into suitable peices for use as firewood, as I intend to fit a log-burning stove in the near future. How do I go about splitting the huge trunk into smaller pieces ?

 

Should I buy a wood-axe and split the trunk by hand, in which case, can someone recommend a suitable one, or perhaps I should hire a log-splitter (will I be able to get one large enough for a 2ft Trunk?)

 

Any advice on how this should be done would be great.

 

Cheers

Joe.

[Alycidon]

I have a Euc about half that size that I have letting dry out having ringed it, I assume it should split OK using a decent splitting axe maybe aided by wedges but have not actually got that far with it.

 

A

[Steve Bullman]

a splitting maul will do you fine, no need to hire a splitter for such a small quantity.

 

Make sure you split it whilst its green, it will be easier

 

Something like this Helko Splitting Maul Ash Shaft 90cm 3.0kg | F R Jones and Son

[windfall]

Cut it in 8inch slices and you will be ok with a maul, i found any thicker and it becomes a proper chore.

[geoff]

You will be able to split this with a splitting axe,best done green,the grain can spiral a bit,which can be a bit awkward at times.

[DN22 Gardening]

split it as soon as possible.

 

Euch can be nearly impossible to split as it gets dryer !!!

[Tom2020]

I had a fair bit of euca in a few weeks back Tried to split it the day after it was down right pain in the ass Left it for 2 weeks and it was easy as pie to split Had around the same size ringged it to 6-8inch wide then the split it in to nice chunks

[Taupotreeman]

As above. Don't wait until it's dry to split it as some Gum turns almost to concrete and is nigh on impossible to split by axe. Plus it takes ages for it to dry out in the rings. I took a couple of doozies down last year but stupidly left them in rings for about 6 months before splitting them. they're nowhere near seasoned but some of the stuff I did split almost straight away is now chugging away merrily on the fire.

[MattyF]

As others have said don't let it dry before splitting! Use a splitting maul and work the rings from the outside in is usually the easy way .

[Andy Collins]

Took down a similar size Euc yesterday, and quartered it for the client with a maul with little effort. Split it green