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Ive tried bungees, inner tubes and straps round my logs when splitting but I end up breaking whatever I use with my maul.
What do you use?
I use an old car tyre.
Shin pads for persoal protection.
Alphabet, thats genius.
old car tyre works pretty well. I havent tried a bike tyre but it 'might' work if thats all you have handy
if you check out the fiskars xl27 reviews on you tube you can see the car tyre in action
Is this just so you can do more than one at a time?
^Aye. Went to the tip and got an 18' low profile tyre.
Mind blown. Can't believe I've perciviered chopping one at a time.
Yes and also to hold them all end up in case multiple strikes are required. Also if you are splitting a round it has the same effect of holding it all together as you split
Also stops logs flying out and smashing your gf's favourite pot/dog/rhubarb but I haven't done that myself
I'd also suggest a hookaroon:
For moving rounds and split bits of logs around. You're still moving heavy stuff around, but you're doing it from a standing position rather then constantly bending down to pick up things from the floor. It's one of those can't-believe-I-didn't-get-one-sooner tools.
second the hookaroon/pickaroon/sapie. I've read a good few reviews that the fiskars one isn't great. I have a bison which came on an awful thick handle that (thankfully) broke after only a couple of cube but as soon a i fitted a nice slim piece of hickory it transformed it to a lovely tool. I also use a mini one that is just a mortar pick, its cheap and works well. these tools are real back savers.
Well, who knew there was such an art to chopping logs? I thought you just ****ted the wood with a blunt old chopper you found in the shed and then dodged the small bits that flew towards you!
Excellent I shall have Jeeves inform the gardener first thing in the morning
Well, who knew there was such an art to chopping logs?
Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.
@neilnevill - I have that particular Fiskars hookaroon (the image just happened to be the first one that came up burst Google).
I shifted about half a tonne of casuarina rounds with it this afternoon, and although I've never used another to compare it with I can't fault it. I think a lot of people just dislike it because it's not hickory. It's aesthetically very utilitarian. It's also very light-weight - a lot of people seem to like the heft of a wooden handle and forged head. Apparently the extra weight makes the hook dig into the wood better, but it means you're swinging that extra weight around.
yes I'm not commenting from experience, just repeating what i read.
Tyre trick is a game changer. Get some big hefty screws and screw it to the chopping block wit( some big washers. With practice you can pick the whole lot out in one and chuck in truck/ barrow.
Bullet’s normal wood-chopping kit:
😁
I look more like Princess Diana in a minefield!
On the hookaroon thingy - what size logs can you actually move around with it? I tend to have some big rounds to deal with, but then I guess the hookaroon comes into it's own picking up and moving the smaller logs and once the big rounds are split into 1/2 or 1/4 etc?
picked those up and dropped into the wheel barrow with it. That's green Oak, felled Wednesday, the longer ones are abut 12-13" long ( didn't measure them but they look like they will fit the stove just) the biggest diameter one is about 16" across probably. the hookaroon works well on oak as it sticks in the deep bark well.
Here's one I prepared earlier...
15" (38cm) long, diameter about 12-15". Easily picked up and carried.
To be honest the hook will bite and stick in most logs, you're more likely to be limited by how heavy a weight you can lift. That big dark log at the top left of the photo, with the white patches on, is also about 15" long but maybe 20"+ diameter. I can just about lift it with the hookaroon but it's just too heavy to comfortably carry. That's just my puny arms though, not the hookaroon 😯
You are correct in saying that splitting big rounds is usually the best approach. For bigger stuff you can also use the hookaroon to roll/drag them for short distances.
Cheers and ordered đŸ˜‰
Dammit. Looking at some of the videos on youtube I now know that I need two more things in my life...
- A car tyre
- A Fiskars Isocore maul/li>
I wonder if they sell them in Bauhaus
a timely new video from ben scott (great reviewer btw) although i disagree with his comments about small stuff. That is where i find a short pickaroon is great at saving the back by reducing the bending/reaching considerably. the bison pickaron i have looks identical to the oxenkopf one in the video.
willard, the isocore maul is a big boy at 8lbs. It will split stuff that the x27 won't but it will be tiring to use. I only pick up my 8lb stihl cleaving hammer for the most resistant stuff.