"tenplay" wrote in message
...
This is the very first time I am cutting rounds (cylindrical sections of
tree trunk) into firewood. A few weeks ago a tree trimming service cut
down three dying trees and left piles of rounds for me to use as firewood.
To make the task easier, I bought a Chopper1 ax, which is supposed to
split wood without having to use a wedge. I would appreciate any tips on
how best to do the chopping. How do you stabilize the rounds so that they
stay put while you are chopping?

By "rounds" I'm assuming you mean the short section of log, maybe 16" long.
How large a diameter are they? If they are 10" to 18", not so bad. Larger
than that, rent a splitter.

Step one is to get the height right. Take the largest one you have and use
that as the base. Put smaller ones on top. Now, the total height will be
about 32" or so. This gives the maximum force when the maul comes down and
hits the wood.

Change your shoes and put on a steel tipped work boot in case one piece fall
on your toes. Long pants is not a bad idea either. Gloves are a must too,
and safety glasses helps.

As for stabilization, I've never done anything but to get one piece to stay
on top of the other. Once split they will fall anyway. Take a few practice
swings to be sure you are hitting the right place. Once you do, just swing
that sucker as hard as you can right in the center of the log.

Dry logs split best. If you have a hard time (you will at first) let them
sit a few day after splitting in half before you do the quarters. The
longer the better.

Accuracy is not as important as repeatability. If you are off center by two
inches, that is OK, but you want the next blow to hit as close as possible
to the first, and on and on until the wood splits. Some woods split cleaner
than others. Shorter splits easier than long pieces

Practice, practice, and pay attention. That swinging maul will take an arm
off so keep family and pets away.