Most people with a wood-burning stove will already have their logs seasoned and cut to the appropriate size. However, there are still people who prefer to split firewood themselves.
If you are considering splitting your own wood for your wood-burning stove, here are a few pointers to help you:
Safety First: Ensure that no one is nearby and that nothing you don’t want to be damaged is nearby! It is also a good idea to use safety goggles and steel-toed boots or shoes.
The right tools:
Axe or Hatchet – Good for small logs and kindling.
Splitting Maul – Heavier than an axe, designed for splitting large logs.
Wedge and Sledgehammer – Useful for knotty or tough logs.
Hydraulic Log Splitter – A powered option for splitting large quantities of wood.
Wood – Ideally, wood should be seasoned before splitting, as it can help, although people still successfully split green wood. Look for anything that could cause an issue in splitting, such as nails in the wood or knots in the wood structure; this will make it very hard to split, even if the knot is sat inside a nice, splittable line in the wood.
Split along the wood – Place the wood you intend to cut on a chopping block if you can, or somewhere where it can safely stand up on its own. Look for a split or a line in the wood; using this as an “aim” point will produce the best results, as the line or split is where the wood is most able to quickly and cleanly separate.
Always aim for the centre of the wood to reduce the chances of it breaking its stance, falling over, or firing off at an angle when being hit. Also, marking the line or split you have seen with chalk or something similar can help you when using the axe.
Your positioning – To ensure the maul or axe will hit the wood in the desired location, place yourself in a way that when you swing with straight arms, the head of the maul or axe will hit the wood in the centre. A word of caution here is to err on the side closer to you.
If you do miss, and this can happen often, the maul or axe will hit the ground nearest to you. If you miss and your aim is too far the other side, you will risk the arm of the maul or axe violently hitting the wood. This hurts, can be dangerous and can break the tool you are using.
When you are going for the split, don’t rely on brute force, but stand with your legs apart a little, pull the axe over your head and then swing it straight forward, building up speed and allowing the weight of the axe to do the work. Trying too hard could mean you could overstretch yourself, risk missing the wood totally, and possibly do yourself an injury.
Remember to take your time and be safe. Before you know it, you will have successfully split a load of wood, all ready to season or burn on your stove!
