I'm told that the trees I felled a few years ago
will now be too dry and hard
and would blunt my chainsaw
so how to cut them?

I'm cutting up Ash and Sycamore today into one foot lengths.

But will the opposite apply to splitting-
will it be easier to split it in a few months?

And how best to split it - a 'grenade'?

I need the exercise!

[g]

george [dicegeorge] wrote:

I'm told that the trees I felled a few years ago
will now be too dry and hard
and would blunt my chainsaw
so how to cut them?

They may be a bit harder but the chainsaw will cut them. They needn't
necessarily blunt the saw more except wood that has been lying around often
gets contaminated with soil.

I'm cutting up Ash and Sycamore today into one foot lengths.

Bot good firewood, ash because it has a low moisture content when green and
sycamore , whilst still having a low mc, dries fast when split.

But will the opposite apply to splitting-
will it be easier to split it in a few months?

No, some woods, particularly elm in the past, are harder to split dry.

And how best to split it - a 'grenade'?

I still prefer a felling axe, not sharp as that is more liable to stick but
not badly blunt either. For awkward stuff I have a splitting axle
with "wings" on the cheeks to widen the split. I find mauls and sledge
hammer+wedge too heavy and will crosscut to smaller lengths to avoid having
to use them. If it takes more than 3 axe blows I'll rip with a chainsaw.

AJH

On Jul 16, 7:05*pm, "george [dicegeorge]"
wrote:
I'm told that the trees I felled a few years ago
will now be too dry and hard
* and would blunt my chainsaw
so how to cut them?

I'm cutting up Ash and Sycamore today into one foot lengths.

But will the opposite apply to splitting-
will it be easier to split it in a few months?

And how best to split it - a 'grenade'?

I need the exercise!

[g]

All wood is best chainsawed when green, the sap cools and lubricates
the chain. But you can still cut it, just more sharpening will be
needed.

Some timber is easier to split dry, some green . A lot of timber
displays radial cracks when dry. If split on the cracks it's much
easier.

Some timber is very hard to split (eg elm). Some is very easy (eg
sweet chestnut).

The grenade only works on the easy/small ones.

On the hard/big ones you will need a sledge hammer and steel wedges.

Assuming you are splittingby hand.

On Jul 16, 7:33*pm, andrew wrote:
george [dicegeorge] wrote:
I'm told that the trees I felled a few years ago
will now be too dry and hard
* and would blunt my chainsaw
so how to cut them?

They may be a bit harder but the chainsaw will cut them. They needn't
necessarily blunt the saw more except wood that has been lying around often
gets contaminated with soil.



I'm cutting up Ash and Sycamore today into one foot lengths.

Bot good firewood, ash because it has a low moisture content when green and
sycamore , whilst still having a low mc, dries fast when split.



But will the opposite apply to splitting-
will it be easier to split it in a few months?

No, some woods, particularly elm in the past, are harder to split dry.



And how best to split it - a 'grenade'?

I still prefer a felling axe, not sharp as that is more liable to stick but
not badly blunt either. For awkward stuff I have a splitting axle
with "wings" on the cheeks to widen the split. I find mauls and sledge
hammer+wedge too heavy and will crosscut to smaller lengths to avoid having
to use them. If it takes more than 3 axe blows I'll rip with a chainsaw.

AJH

Ash and sycamore are easy ones to deal with BTW.
Mediocre as firewood, not very dense. Oak and beech are better.

Important to dry out you wood before burning,storeout of the weather
in a well ventilatedplace when split.

On Sat, 16 Jul 2011 11:56:03 -0700 (PDT), harry wrote:

On Jul 16, 7:33*pm, andrew wrote:
Ash and sycamore are easy ones to deal with BTW.
Mediocre as firewood, not very dense. Oak and beech are better.

Beech is best cut and split green it goes hard when dry. For
splitting I use a splitting axe. One blow is normally all that is
required. Wedges and grenades seem like a faff to me you have to get
'em started before you can whack 'em, simple just to have you wedge
on the end of a stick. B-)

--
Cheers
Dave.

george [dicegeorge] wrote:
I'm told that the trees I felled a few years ago
will now be too dry and hard
and would blunt my chainsaw
so how to cut them?

I'm cutting up Ash and Sycamore today into one foot lengths.


chainsaw will do it. sharpen regularly.

But will the opposite apply to splitting-
will it be easier to split it in a few months?

ash always splits well. Sycamore. Hmm. probably will split OK

the *******s are poplar and willow, and they don't burn well either.

And how best to split it - a 'grenade'?


Probably. I've broken those. Try and get a forged rather than a cast one.
..

Also used a hatchet and a mallet, but use a gash one.

I need the exercise!

[g]