How to split wood

Splitting wood is a great form of excercise. There's a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when you have finished, and they say that burning wood warms you many times - splitting, hauling, stacking, and burning.

We had a 50-60 ft Norway spruce which was too close to our house fell. The tree service did not want to take the logs since it is not good for resale, but it didn't matter to us since we will use it for those little fires in the fire pit. Hello marshmallows and beer! The base of the tree was approximately 24" in diameter, and was cut in 16" sections.

I figured it would be a good time for a workout so I grabbed my 6 pound maul and set to work, thinking pine would not be too difficult to split. It is not (too difficult) as long as you use the right technique....after spending 10 minutes on the first round I decided to try some different methods, mine was clearly not working. I had plenty of time to figure out what worked better and what didn't work so well. So here's what I learned.

Before you start

• Use a maul (wedge shaped) for splitting not an axe
• Buy a maul with a fiberglass handle or transfer your wedge to one. If you don't, you will be soon
• Wear gloves, boots, and eye protection
• Get warmed up with some practice swings before trying to deliver the single strike that splits that 24" round.

So here are some things to consider on your swing:

• You have to generate maximum power, so velocity is key
• Don't use the technique of swinging the axe in a full circle, it's too hard to control where the maul lands
• Don't use the technique where you start with your hands on either end of the handle, and then slide your top hand to the end of the maul as rotate as illustrated here. Not good for splitting
• The best technique I found was to hold the handle at the end with both hands and raise the head of the maul up has high as I could. Stand on your tip toes and then bring the maul down forcefully. This give the maximum amount of distance for the head of the maul to travel and pick up speed.
• Come up on your toes.
• flick your wrists down at the end of the swing to help generate more power.
• Optionally, you can allow your wrist to bend so that the head of the maul touches the middle of your back before starting your swing, but I didn't find this to be any more effective than the technique I just described.

Placement of the strike

• Aim the maul at either (far or near) edge of the round.
• Don't try to split a large round by aiming for the center. Split at the edges
• If you have a very large round, try to drop the maul successively from one edge to the other using short blows. This will help create an initial crack and will aid in splitting. Still deliver the splitting blows at the near or far edge of the round.

Know your limits

• Some wood can be split right after it has been cut, ie Maple and Pine
• Other wood needs to dry, or your maul will bounce right off, ie Elm

Good luck!