On 7/9/2011 1:54 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
wrote in message
...
On Fri, 08 Jul 2011 22:22:39 -0400, despen wrote:

You get the ax embedded in the log and then repeatedly smash the log
onto whatever surface you are cutting on.

These are HEAVY logs! Solid oak. Very dense. And wet. I can barely lift a
20-inch long section, about a foot or more in diameter, in my hands, let
alone on the end of a stuck-fast ax!

I had a more robust friend try to split the logs and his experience was
the same. If this were lighter maple, or hickory, or pine, I could see
lifting the log by the ax - but not heavy oak.

An ax is not the way to split the wood. What you need is about a 6 pound
splitting maul. Sort of like a sledge hammer, but one side is like a big
wedge. Use a light maul and bring it down fast instead of the heaver 8 or
10 pound ones.


Every rental center I know of rents log splitters. If you don't have a
vehicle with a hitch they will deliver the splitter for a nominal fee.