Splitting maple
 

I'm hoping to use as little oil as possible this winter. I just finished splitting a half a cord of hardwood (species unknown) that was pretty dry and split well. Then I turned my attention to two maple trees on my property. One was cut down three years ago and was cut to size at that time. The other one fell three years ago and was only recently cut to size.

I'm finding the maple more or less impossible to split. I have a prosthetic shoulder and should not be attempting this. Female senior citizen here, in case you haven't figured that out by now. Some of the pieces are up to 24" in diameter. Yes, I know about splitting slabs off the side and using a wedge. It's still just too difficult for me.

What is my best option for turning these trees into firewood?

Split them when they are frozen in the middle of winter.

It sounds like some of that might not really be ready to burn—even if a tree sits dead for a couple years, the inside doesn't dry out enough to be really seasoned until it's been split.

So, whatever you do, make sure to mix your wood up—start with knowingly dry stuff and then add in less dry stuff here and there.

In terms of processing what you have: maple is stringy and very hard to split by hand. Your options would be paying someone or renting a splitter. This assumes, of course, the trees have been bucked up into rounds. Both of those reduce the value, of course.

Firewood is usually only cost effective if it can be secured and processed cheaply. Even buying it at $3-400 diminishes its economy depending on propane/oil/electric prices.

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Honestly Sailin, if you don’t have any family, friends or neighbors who can help you with that I would not undertake that chore on your own if I was you. The pain and recuperation of a possible injury just isn’t worth the little savings you would see.

Take care!

Dan

Your easiest move may be just renting a hydraulic splitter for a half day or so.

It will split that wood like a hot knife in warm butter and save you a lot of wear and tear on your body......

A splitter is good however some help would be good. Handling 24" rounds to get onto the splitter might be a job for a strong neighborhood boy or girl who could use a few bucks.

Alan

Certainly easier to have help, but most splitters will work horizontally and vertically, so that the user only has to roll the round to the base. I usually sit on one round while I split what I've got.

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Splitting maple
 

Wood splitting is never easy, there is always more to do than expected. If you re-read posts by ishoot308, TheTimeTraveler, Slickcraft it is all excellent advice. With a prosthetic you certainly do not want to aggravate the situation. The three posters are all right on the mark.

Fb
 

Most towns have a Facebook group for marketplace or yard sale. "Moultonborough Yard Sale" has 4.7K members. You may be able to trade wood for splitting services.

How big a difference would this make for ease of splitting?

I was hoping to do this now to take advantage of a month or two of drying in the sun.

Here's what I've accomplished so far. This is the other wood, not the maple. I'm not feeble, but the maple is just mocking me. The maul bounces off like it's made of rubber.

Attachment 17807

I can be available anywhere between Sept 5th -7th to sort that out if you'd like.

I have a splitter with a 4-way and, by your description, it's all doable.

Sending PM w/ contact info.

Splitting while it's frozen it easier however keeping them as rounds until they're frozen will end up with a bunch of wet/unseasoned split wood

Very nice offer. I'm assuming that's October 5-7, the W-F? If you do it on a Saturday, I may be able to connect and help out depending on timing and location.

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Harbor Freight in Gilford has the answer to your Maple log splitting chores with a $6.99 Central Forge, 3-way. 3.5-lb, splitting wedge made by Diamond Forge. It looks a lot different than a standard splitting wedge and it splits in four directions at once which works well for splitting the curly growth lines in a Maple Tree.

Central Forge 3.5 lb Diamond Splitting Wedge, reg price $9.99 ..... now $6.99

plus an etra 30% off when you print coupon and take it to store, coupon offer expires 9/25/22

Just google "Harbor Freight 3.5 lb diamond splitting wedge" to see how it is different from a standard splitting wedge.

IN STOCK at Harbor Freight. Gilford NH

Oh goodness, that's incredibly generous of both of you!! I would certainly appreciate it. Poor Richard, you know I'm in Franklin, right? I don't want want to take anyone too far out of their way. You're welcome to see the site and the trees if you're passing through the area.

I need to bring the logs out of the woods. Fortunately it's about 100' downhill so I can roll them. Just need to be careful not to send them through the neighbors' living room window.

Franklin is no biggie...right around 30min.

I'm fairly lazy so is there any access to the rounds using a truck or perhaps a smaller tractor?

Is that the hill and woods access in that last picture?

Yes, Oct 5-7.

Weekends are reserved for family time, although it would be great to finally meet in person.

Quite honestly I think we should arrange some sort of jetski group ride next season. It'd be awesome to plan a few stops, gather up some folks and pound out a day of riding...

When one is young and not yet in need of repair, doing this sort of thing makes sense.

As one gets a little "long in the tooth" and has had a few repairs, a calculation must be made.

With only a finite quantity of "body capital" remaining, one must consider how much of it should be expended on chores.

Put down the ax or maul and save your body for things that bring you pleasure!

Yes! A group jetski ride would be great. I'm sure we can scare up a few more people from here to join us.

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Yes, that's the hill and woods. There's no access to the fallen tree. If I start today I can probably roll all of the pieces down the hill by the date you mentioned, doing two or three pieces a day.

Perhaps it's time for an explanation. I don't have a lot of choice about the massive amount of hard physical labor I do on my property, given that Franklin has had an opioid crisis for something like a decade now. There are no healthy, affordable young workers in this town. I've hired people who turned out to be addicts. One of them, a heroin addict, robbed me four times before I figured out what he was doing. Addicts are totally unreliable. They're either several hours late or don't show up at all.

You often hear about the impact of drug addiction on families. You never hear about the impact on the community, especially on senior citizens who lose their access to the normal network of affordable home maintenance workers. My property has lost value because of this. It took me four years to find someone to replace rotten siding. I've been trying to find an exterior painter for that long too. I gave up on addicted yard workers and do all of the mowing, brush cutting, raking, snow shoveling, and ditch digging myself on my two acres. I'm 70, in case you were wondering.

It has not always been like this. Before the opioid epidemic, a simple Craigslist ad would yield 10 skilled, affordable, clean-cut applicants I could choose from. Today, a Craigslist ad still brings in 10 responses, but every single one of them has an easily traceable criminal record. The crimes are not small---things like beating someone with a baseball bat over a drug deal gone bad and preying on innocent people.

So now you know why I'm constantly posting questions here about home maintenance, my car, ways to save on utilities, how to make a good fire in a woodstove, etc. Were it not for the excellent information and advice I've received here, my house probably would have collapsed by now, my car would be dead in the driveway, and I would be at the mercy of Eversource and Consolidated Communications.

Franklin is in the Lakes Region, you know. This picture I've painted is the other face of the Lakes Region that doesn't usually get discussed in this forum. When I bought a house in this town, I had no idea what kind of place I was moving to. I only knew that I saved quite a bit of money by buying north of Concord.

To your point, 8gv, I love the Lakes Region and Winnipesaukee and I try to spend as much time as possible biking, hiking, kayaking, and exploring the back roads here. Also previously downhill skiing and I may try that again this winter. I've lived in the Lakes Region for 28 years and feel blessed to be surrounded by so much beauty and so many opportunities for recreation. The reality at the moment is that I have to split wood to have heat this winter. Prosthetic shoulders are fabulous (hips too), but they tend to loosen up with excessive use involving blunt force. If a prosthesis breaks, it can break the surrounding bone also because it's made of ceramic and titanium. Then there's nothing left to attach a new prosthesis to. Still, I've made my way through a half a cord of some mystery hardwood and a bunch of pine kindling cut from large slabs with a 6 lb maul and an axe. It's the rebellious maple that has me stumped.

Nuf said. I'm sorry to have exceeded my reasonable airtime. I need to go roll some logs downhill.

The opioid epidemic really begins to hit home when you post something like this.

Me? I think I would have sold and moved elsewhere but I know that's easier said than done.

I (and likely most of the Forum Members reading this) commend you for hanging in there in there with your situation!

We've had a labor shortage for sometime now.
And between market forces and legislative focus... I don't see it getting better.

We're building as fast as we can get the materials and labor together, so much less time for small projects.

It doesn't matter how fast the local public school building construction course can supply us with trained trades people... we just keep absorbing them at ever higher rates of pay.
Of course they need that to pay for the cost of housing in the area.

If you're having me over I'd say save your energy. If machine access is not available I'll bring my two wheel dolly. Remember, I'm fairly lazy. ;)

Please let me know (at your earliest convenience of course) which day works for you as I'd like to have you on the schedule before filling in the remaining days.

You have valid concerns regarding addicts and loss of trust. It's one of the reasons I haven't hired anyone. That said, I encourage you to look up my business on here, Google or FB and make your decision based off that information.

Get a special event permit from MP so you can close ranks and not clutter up the lake spread out over a mile or two following the 150 ft rule.

We do rides with 4-8 skis regularly without an issue—typically on the water long before everyone else and finish by lunch. I can't imagine we'd get more than that from this site, but...

Who'd be up for a group jetski ride?!

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I'd give something like this a try from Harbor freight.

https://www.harborfreight.com/manual...ter-93360.html

Himm do you have any experience splitting rounds with a maul or a sledge & wedges as the OP does?

Anyway, a 6 lb maul with a 36" handle with a leaned swing does come down with a bit of force.


Alan

Yes actually I do, quite a bit of experience. I also paid attention to the fact she said it isn't working for her. In fact I have enough experience to also understand that lifting a 6 lb maul over your head and swinging onto a log is probably not the best idea for someone with a prosthetic shoulder. Her condition? probably results in her not being able to generate as much power as someone without a prosthetic shoulder.

This tool has a smaller chisel edge which will focus the force of the strike into a smaller area effectively providing more bang for each strike. The strike does not require the range of motion that handling a maul requires. It doesn't require you to lift it over your head and swing it. I haven't used one of these devices, since I can still swing a maul, but if I end up in her situation I would consider it. There are other styles of inexpensive splitters that look to require less shoulder impinging force than a maul too. I suggested one for her to try, that if it works, won't cost her an arm and a leg, since she is trying to save money. This device also doesn't require her to lift the wood onto it.

Thanks for the idea! That looked interesting, but this video shows that the slide splitter takes about 7 strikes compared to a single strike with a 4.5 lb maul---even though the wood is poplar, which should be very easy to split. We would need to try it to compare the difference in effort between the slide splitter and a maul.

I wondered if I should get a 4.5 lb maul, but in my experience, 4.5 lbs isn't heavy enough for wood this hard.

The trick with a prosthetic shoulder is to let the weight of the maul do the work and lighten you grip at the moment of the strike so the blow isn't absorbed by the shoulder. Anyway, all artificial joints have a limit to the number of times they can be used before they wear out.

The other thing I noticed is that since I don't have the strength to split these pieces in the center, when I try to split a slice off the side, the piece breaks off irregularly halfway down.

While birch, oak, and pine logs will usually all grow in a straight grain that goes good with splitting it end to end, a maple log has a curly grain that resists end to end splitting.

What to do?

Lay the maple log lengthwise on a chopping block and split it horizontally instead of vertically. It will NOT split like this, horizontally, with just one heavy-hitter, winner super-strike but will take about 4-5 strikes for each 14" length of maple.

And don't forget, splitting your own fire wood with your arm strength and coordination without a gasoline power log splitter will build a strong body, 12 ways, just like Wonder Bread! ..... ;)

Thanks for that advice. I'll try it. I also got a small sledge hammer at Harbor Freight today to use with a wedge, and I will sharpen my wedge. While I was there I looked at this hydraulic wood splitter: https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ton...ter-67090.html

I wish I could afford this electric one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uZVXGZ2ps0

HA! Are you sure about that? I didn't have to get my hip and shoulder replaced from lying around watching soap operas. Not all physical activities build you up. Some tear you down.

The maple tree (or oak?) has now been turned into beautiful firewood by Poor Richard of Tiny Tractor Projects. I witnessed amazing feats of strength as he lifted huge rounds onto the splitter. Ah, how satisfying the sound of splitting wood! And the sight of the growing wood pile! I highly recommend Poor Richard. Reliable, competent, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. Many thanks for a job extremely well done. Good to finally meet a fellow forum member.

SailinAway, glad that you found help with the wood splitting! I have a place on Webster Lake in Franklin, and yes Franklin has its problems, however Franklin also has a lot lot o positive things going on - the river water park to name one and Webster Lake another. Please take some time to notice the good things going on in a town.

Hello, Webster
 

Welcome to the Forum, Webster

12 years late. He joined in 2010.

It was a pleasure meeting you! Thank you for having me over to help out and I was relieved that the weather held out for as long as it did.

I typically view rain as a sign of growth and good luck......unless of course it's 47° outside, then it's merely cold and miserable. :D

We'll work out a plan in the coming weeks for the remaining rounds. 🪓

Huh. You forget to say I'm a badass.

I've had dozens of people working on my property over the years. The majority start getting grumpy when they realize what hard labor in the rain, cold, snow, and heat entails. Poor Richard kept his good humor all day and didn't complain even once. I was taken aback by the amount of physical labor involved in using a wood splitter.

Now you know why the Romans used radiant floor heating.

Umm . . . No, I don't know why they did that. Why?

no posts= not a member

More efficient use of firewood. One fire would create a type of central heating by wafting under the entire floor.
They had lots of slaves... but it still must have been costly.

Our NE ancestors used to build really small rooms with low ceilings.
The fireplace technology of the time was very limited and wood, though plentiful, was a lot of work. Center chimney definitely the way to go... but I bet they would have killed for radiant floor heating.

Definitely not.

If I told them now, they'd forget by Spring. ;)

Hey, Poor Richard! Take a look at this!
 

I found a cheaper way to split those huge logs. Saves gasoline. Scroll to 5:31.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KZuUYEzxfc

:laugh:

Well, I'm off to make a splitting dowel...