My friend, who is very savvy mechanically, built a log splitter with a hydraulic ram, diesel engine, the whole nine yards. Never could get the hydraulics quite right, so he put one of these on an old Mercedes diesel sedan. Works like a champ. I affectionately named it "Ben Hur done that".




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And you must take after yer dad ;)

My dad used wood to suppliment his solar system (talked him into that when I was in college)... he loves his wood :D.

A few hours with a good splitter sure beats months of HARD labor....

Those daze are about over.... won't miss 'em.

I think of this all the time when I am at the cottage. It’s so much work to keep warm in the deep winter, and that’s with buying a cord of wood or two each winter. I can’t imagine what it would have been like 100 years ago when all the wood was harvested from the tree. Add to that hauling water . . .

I love it though. There’s nothing like a wood fire.

My folks retired to 16 acres of woods in central Texas where my dad, two brothers and I built a house. In the center of the living room we put a fire place with glass doors on all four sides supporting a steel hood and chimney pipe. Cold air feed comes in under the slab. There was a small gas furnace but that was mostly for keeping the pipes from freezing when they were traveling. Burned a lot of wood harvested from the property when they lived there. We still maintain the property and it gets used whenever someone is there and it is cold enough.
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Big Norwegians make good log splitters.

But only after she makes you a sammich first :)

Can’t imagine what his back feels like after a few hours.

It hurts just to watch it. I wouldn't be able to stand up straight after 10 minutes.

It'll be his back.... and not mine ;)

No way....

I have no idea what brand splitter I have, I don't think there is a brand marking on it.. its powered by a Briggs and Stratton 8.5hp? engine..

My neighbor and I chipped for it about 25 years ago, bought it from a logging supply store near our place in Vermont.. We've had to change the hydraulic hoses a few times other than that it just works..

I still do that....good stress relief.. and satisfying if you split with one good swing..

When I used to split by hand I used a maul and steel wedges. The wedges would start to mushroom at the top and sometimes pieces would fly off like shrapnel. Never feel it, just the blood running down my arm. Started filing them down after that.

^^^^ Ouch .... never had that happen. I still have a couple (my dad's) that look like Hiroshima too ;). I don't know what y'all are splitting with one whack tho' .... or mebbe yer just a big Norwegian woman :D.

OK ... mebbe Poplar.

Can’t always hit those wedges dead center. A glancing blow will send scrapnel flying. Old timers like me tell them youngins to file or grind them puppies down!

Usually 8 - 10 caliper dry hardwoods from around here, oak, maple, cherry, ash..

If you get your zen on.. the piece.. you might.. a few taps of persuasion with a sledge usually finishes the deal

Straight grained wood... dry..

8# maul

Pine and oak here. Pine splits better dry.... oak wet

I've always avoided pine until recent years, opting for hardwoods, like oak (red & white), hickory, etc. Usually big azz trees, 2-4' in dia. and since my splitter will do the task, I let the wood dry out first... makes a huge difference in the weight I have to lift. You're not gonna split those with a whack .... I promise ;). Trees like gum .... you'd better pack a lunch ....

I can still hit a wedge dead center if I have too :D.

Happy splitting fellas .... it is great exercize, made better using hydraulics :)

Got a granfors bruks a few years ago as a present to myself. But mostly use a pair of Fiskar’s splitters.