Learning to split wood the hard way nearly cost me a month of Sundays

I grabbed a new-to-me maul from a yard sale in Amherst for $15 back in October. Figured I'd knock out my winter supply in a weekend. Four weekends later I'm still finding giant rounds I can't crack. Turns out green white oak in November is a different beast than the seasoned stuff I borrowed before. Anyone else end up spending way more time on this than they planned?

2 comments

2 Comments

janab821mo ago

I was just reading something the other day about how green white oak is basically like trying to split a tire, it's springy and wet and just laughs at you. A guy I know who heats with wood told me you gotta wait at least a year for white oak to dry enough to split easy, otherwise you're just asking for a sore back and a busted maul. Sounds like you got a real workout and a lesson in wood species at the same time. At least you didn't get hurt, I've heard horror stories of people getting the maul stuck and then it flies back at them when they try to twist it out. You'll have a blast next year when that stuff is finally seasoned though.

shane_wilson1mo ago

Ngl, I had a buddy who tried splitting green elm one time and it damn near threw his maul back at him. He was out there cussing up a storm for like an hour, and the wedge just kept bouncing off like it was rubber. Ended up having to leave the whole log in his driveway for a year and a half before it would crack open. He still brings it up every time someone mentions firewood, says that single log taught him more than any YouTube video ever could.