Splitting Wood the easy & correct way during the 2nd Great Depression: 2007-2014

Times are tough and it's time to get to back to basics and stop thinking some Jabroni corporate politician of the GOP-DEM fold is going to save the day. Splitting wood is as American as apple pie and baseball but somehow down the way you got sucked into believing you don't need to cut wood no more and because of that you haven't a clue on where to start.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• Splitting wood
• Splitting maul
• maul
• firewood
• arborist

[drackar]

A bit late to the party on this, but...I have to say I find the concept of a video giving advice on how to safely split firewood...while standing on iced over compacted snow, to be highly ironic. Slipping while swinging a maul and landing up on your back with the maul's head in your shin is also a rather nasty doctors bill.

[Bergred]

@drackar --You are late, the boots are spiked, welcome anyway and good advice.

[polishdickhead]

The squat you describe has been doctored up by the insurance industry to prevent back injuries. All it does is make you loose your balance and create less expensive knee injuries.

[Bergred]

@polishdickhead--If you loose balance while squatting down I would suggest you not cut wood and just pay for the high priced gas you will be purchasing or walk around in your house with much clothing and set thermostat to 50. You must really be uncoordinated as my grandma was splitting wood like this into her early 70s. I would suggest you get a personal trainer to teach you how to squat down, as I don't recall anyone falling back while squatting down, maybe babies beginning to learn to walk.

[ddieterich]

I never said free, split wood. I said free, ready to be split wood (like the stuff in your yard). If I'm to save money n have a meaningful retirement I need to fo as you do and find bucked wood to split. No truck, no trees.

[Bergred]

@ddieterich--I have no truck also but do have a 5 x 8 trailer I pull with van or the 4 door sedan, the trailer costed about $350 as it didn't have no floor or walls, I built the walls 2.5 feet high and can transport about a half to three quarters of a cord a load depending on sizes of wood. I get wood two ways...on the land I have and by scouring Craigslist and advertising on CL for free firewood in which I cut de-limb and throw in a pile which they burn. Got five cords via CL this fall.

[OEFvet1986]

Its crazy peopel dont know how to do this. The technique you teach wont work on knotted logs. Sometimes you do need to put alot more "muscle" behind it because just technique by itself wont work. No I wont donate to you, perhaps I should teach a wood splitting course and people could donate to me?

[msungs]

My family and I are building a house and we are getting one solar panel (it is all we can afford)...we live overseas. I want to have a chimney in case the SHTF with inflation once the Dollar and Euro collapse. It is too expensive to have this installed. Eventually we will get solar panels to be self sufficient (good investment and protection). In the meantime I at least know how to properly split wood (that could come in handy) once Ben Shalom Bernanke blows up the remaining worth of the $.

[SuperRoger1953]

I personally wouldnt split wood that close to a car.You have taken precautions with your positioning and maybe with that tyre (tire!) but novices in particular can send wood,or even the maul,flying considerable distances. Free wood is not so free if you have to pay for repairs to a car (or underlying driveway).If space is restricted its a good idea to stand the log inside an old tyre .Bits are much less likely to fly off.

[martialme84]

The 2nd great depression lasted till 2016, not just 2014.

Learn your history better!

[0HippyHunter0]

Thank god gas is below $3/mbtu! Know who to thank for that? Government? No. Environmentalists? No. Hippies? No. Big oil companies! Yep, scientists at massive companies figured out how to get heating costs down by half and ensure the energy furture of the US for a century.

[markus11b]

@Bergred -- I disagree, using a block requires you to lift up each piece to be split. I leave it on the ground, set up several pieces and swing away. Cutting forks and crotches shorter helps with them. Cold weather helps, plus I have more time in the winter. Good excersise and satisfying too.

[katwillny]

Great video HOMEBOY. I was using the Gibroni technique and my back would kill me afterwards. Thanks Rock.