Splitting by hand?

[Ty Unnos]

Hi All

 

I am starting out making charcoal and possible selling a bit of firewood.

 

I currently split all my wood for home use with a splitting maul. Its hard work but I rather enjoy it.

 

What are my options when moving up to larger volumes. Does anyone spilt their wood by hand or is a log splitter the only option?

 

My set up is going to be pretty basic / low impact so will probably not have a tractor on site to power a splitter. I might have a quad or tracked dumper. Can I run a splitter from one of those?

[Billy68]

try a self powered log splitter

[Chris Sheppard]

If most of your wood is going to be coppice, try cutting it in metre or longer lengths and then split the long length using a wedge and hammer - one split will do lots of logs (if that makes sense) and them maybe look at a sawbench rather than a splitter - well quick at cutting up the billets and small diameter roundwood so probably quite helpful on the charcoal too.

 

Petrol splitter would be great but fairly costly so maybe something to look at a bit later

[slack ma girdle]

If it is only smallish diameter wood, try splitting the other way round. Use a lorry leaf spring with an edge ground onto one side mounted into a frame. Then drive (a home made beatle works well) the wood onto the leaf spring. Once you are about a third of the way through you can then pull the log apart. The timber needs to be reasonably free of knots, but you can split long lenghts with relative ease.

[Billy68]

get a big pile of logs and hire someone in to processs it for you thats what i do for a few people that sell logs and cannot afford a processor

[Chris Sheppard]

If it is only smallish diameter wood, try splitting the other way round. Use a lorry leaf spring with an edge ground onto one side mounted into a frame. Then drive (a home made beatle works well) the wood onto the leaf spring. Once you are about a third of the way through you can then pull the log apart. The timber needs to be reasonably free of knots, but you can split long lenghts with relative ease.

 

I Like that idea, kinda like a no handed froe

[Billy68]

works for me i make money the costomer makes money win win win

[farmer_ben]

I only used a axe for first year doing logs and did about 70 cube like it. Second year i managed to get my hands on a saw bench and splitter. Probably number of farmers to you with a splitter so maybe borrow one or hire for odd weekend here and there?

[Tree Man Tom]

My first year doing logs i processed about 20t of oak and ash by hand, thought it was great when i sold it all and had the money in my pocket. But my wrists, elbows and shoulders all took a pasting from doing it. They still give me trouble now, so now i avoid splitting by hand at all costs, do the odd bit here and there but try not to if i can help it.

 

Was going to buy a splitter to process the wood i have atm, but tbh firewood is such a balls ache im just going to sell it as cord now. So anybody in somerset looking for approx 10t of oak thats been down 3years get in touch.

[Billy68]

i started with an axe and now have farmi processor and do about 250 ton a year it has a log lift fitted so makes life alot easier it will cut upto 15 inch also a conveyour to help loading self powerd so dont need a tractor and all the the expence that goes with them i can process about 10 ish ton a day i had a jappa before this one