How to split large diameter wooden logs. Preparing the cleaver for work

Sometimes already sawn firewood is too thick in diameter and does not fit into the firebox or wood-burning stove for which the firewood is actually intended. If you split them, even large logs will be used for firewood, and the firewood will dry out faster. A non-athletic person using the correct technique will chop wood faster than a huge athlete who will clumsily do the same. Learn how to properly split hardwood firewood using a sledgehammer and wedges.

Steps

Preparation

To split hard wood, use a sledgehammer or splitting wedges. A sledgehammer is essentially a thicker, wedge-shaped wood-splitting ax with a blunt end on the other side of the blade. A heavy sledgehammer, which is usually a couple of kg heavier than an ax, is much easier to chop wood.

• Splitting wedges are basically metal wedges that you drive into the log with the side of the tool. The advantage of wedges is that they can be inserted along the log and driven until the wedge splits the log.
• An ax is used to chop wood, not to split logs. If you want to split hard wood, it is better to take a sledgehammer and splitting wedges.

1. Saw the logs along their entire length. For a conventional wood stove and small fireplace, 16 to 20 inches (40 to 50 cm) of wood is suitable. The shorter the log, the easier it is to split. You need to cut the wood so that it is as convenient as possible to split it. The logs should be of such a size that it is convenient to chop, store and, in fact, use them later for their intended purpose.

   • Try to cut so that the edges of the log remain even. You will need to put them on the cut to split them, and if the cut is “crooked”, it will be more difficult to do this.

2. Prepare a block for chopping wood. Usually they take a wide cut of a tree trunk and put logs on it for splitting. This makes it easier to chop wood with an ax and reduces the load on your back. A log about 15 cm high is suitable for chopping.

   • To avoid dangerous ricochets during side impacts, the deck should not be low or high.
   • Always chop wood on a block or something similar. And never on the ground or concrete. You can clamp a log on the ground, but you will have to lift the sledge higher and you will get tired faster. Save energy and split wood on a log, especially if you have a lot of wood to chop.

3. Prepare a safe place. Find a place where it will be comfortable to stand and make sure there is no construction waste and nothing sticks out anywhere.

   • If the firewood has been lying around for a long time, then it is best to chop wood in frosty weather. In frosty conditions correct technique splitters and hardwood firewood will fall apart with a crash, making your work much easier.

4. Wear the necessary protective equipment. Be well prepared for the day you split wood. You will need to wear good quality gloves that will protect your hands from splinters, safety glasses and sturdy work boots, preferably with steel toes. Never chop wood yourself. There should always be a person nearby who can provide assistance if anything happens.

   Chopping wood with a sledgehammer

   1. Place the first log on the log. Make sure it is stable, if possible in the center of the deck.

      Before you chop a log, look at it carefully. Look for microcracks in the log. You need to hit so that the sharp part of the sledgehammer enters in the same direction as the crack.

      • Different tree species split differently. So adjust. For some reason, oak, even the widest logs, is easiest to split through the center. But maple is easier to split along the log.
      • Look where there are large knots in the log, i.e. places where, when the tree was sawed, the cut turned out to be uneven. It is better not to prick in such places. In these places the log is usually crooked or knotty and, if possible, it is better not to split the log in this place. You can spend the whole day trying to cut a log with branches.

   2. Take aim. Select the part of the log that you want to split the log through, place the sledgehammer on it and lean forward a little. If the crack is hard to see, you can make a small mark so you can see where to hit with the sledgehammer.

      Swing the sledgehammer and hit the log. Actually, you don't need to "swing" the sledgehammer, you don't need to put the sledgehammer behind your head to split the log. With your left hand, hold the end of the sledgehammer handle firmly, and with your right hand, hold the sledgehammer close to the tip. Bend your knees slightly, then straighten your arms and lift the sledgehammer straight above your head.

      • Place your right hand down the handle so that your right and left are held close to each other and lower the sledgehammer onto the log. Next, gravity will do most of the work for you.
      • When you chop wood, you need to use less force and more technique. Furiously swinging a sledgehammer is both dangerous and quite tiring.

   3. If the log does not split on the first blow, remove the ax blade from it. If the blade is stuck deep in the log, you will have to wiggle it loose to get it out. To remove the axe, tilt it down a little and then up.

      • Or, you can use the stuck ax as a wedge and hit the blunt metal side of the ax. This is a very well-known and common method of chopping wood. If the ax hits the target or is stuck firmly, there is no need to waste energy trying to pull it out.

   4. Hit the log over and over again until it splits. Try to hit the same place as before or into a crack that may form after an impact.

   5. Chop and stack firewood. For each log you split, chop it into smaller pieces until you get firewood. required sizes. Typically, the log is split in half, and then in half again, until you have a maximum of 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) of firewood.

      • Stack the wood you've split so that there is air between it so it can dry out properly before you add it to the fireplace or wood stove. Cover the firewood to prevent it from getting wet and covered with growth. But you need to cover it so that there is good air circulation.

   Chopping wood with wedges

   1. You should have several wedges. Wedges are good for chopping wood with knots, firewood from especially hard trees, and very thick logs. This is because a wedge can be driven deeply into a tree without splitting it; it is important that you have spare wedges on hand, which you can use to continue the work if one wedge is not enough.

      • Usually, when working with wedges, it is good to have one sharp and narrow wedge that can be easily wedged into the log, and one dull and thick wedge that can be used to split the log by driving it into the groove already made by the first wedge.

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Chopping wood for a fireplace or sauna stove It won’t be a tedious task if you prepare well for the task and master the correct technique.

Where and how to chop wood

Competently organized place for splitting firewood - this is a platform the size of which is sufficient for the scattering of logs and the swing of a cleaver. There should be compacted earth or thick concrete under your feet, and free space above your head, sufficient to lift the tool with outstretched arms. The splitting logs are placed on a stable log - a wide, uncracked knee-high hemp, preferably with knots and ornate wood.

A professional view of the preparation of firewood separates the actions of “cutting” and “splitting”, carried out by various tools. Splitting axes, which have a sharp tip, cut wood, so they are used when removing knots, felling small trees, preparing wood chips, and cutting thin, freshly sawn stumps. Other types of tools are suitable for chopping wood:

A massive cleaver-sledgehammer, which has a blunt blade and splits logs like a wedge. It perfectly splits even impressive stumps, but when swinging it requires considerable effort.
- Lightweight modifications of classic weapons - cleavers with rhombic blades, “eared” or with other body protrusions that split wood. The blow comes out weaker, but they are easier to swing.

It would be better to have both types of tools in your household. The bulk of the firewood should be split with a long-eared cleaver, and a heavy tool should be used for large and branchy specimens. And a “spare” is always useful to finish the job if one tool breaks.

The weight of the tip, the material of the handle, its shape and length - these parameters are important when selecting a cleaver, but it is certainly possible to determine them only in practice, after working with different tools. When choosing an instrument, hold it in weight and try to swing it. The main thing is that the cleaver fits confidently in the hand and is comfortable.

It has been noticed that with a long handle it is easier to break thick logs, and for dry small stumps a handle 50–70 cm long is enough. Stumps large diameter more easily amenable to directly sharpened tips, semicircular cutting part promotes the splitting of resinous and damp wood. To split dense, knotty stumps, steel wedges driven into the cracks with a sledgehammer are useful.

Preparing the cleaver for work

Before chopping wood, a real owner will always inspect the tool, check the integrity of the ax and the fit of the metal part. Secure fixation wooden handle with the tip occurs through a wedge made of a steel plate and driven into the end of the wood.

The part of the handle under the tip, which is susceptible to crushing when missing, should be protected by a pad. If necessary, do this part yourself:

1) Taking a galvanized strip 20 cm wide, first beat off the tin at the corner.

2) Then bend the metal in half using a mallet.

3) Use scissors to trim the side opposite the bend.

4) Having placed the strip on the ax handle, crush the edge and grab the tin with a nail.

5) By going around the strip around the handle, cut off the excess metal.

6) Squeeze the protection with a clamp and bend it where necessary with a hammer.

7) Drill holes in the tin and finally secure with nails.

Before work, a cleaver with a wooden handle is dipped in water for 1–2 hours - the wood swells and holds better.

However, such measures can be used when there is slight wobbling of the handle. Severely dried out wooden part replaced by purchasing a ready-made handle or making an ax handle with your own hands.

Correct splitting of firewood

Planning the work greatly simplifies the process of collecting firewood. Dry or frozen logs split faster than freshly cut trees. It makes more sense to dry “green” hemp than to strain yourself with damp logs.

Remember safety - clear the site from extra items and ask those around you to move away. Wear strong boots and strong, non-slip mittens or gloves on your hands. Plastic safety glasses won't hurt either.

Place the stump on the deck with the knots down and turn the crack towards you. If there are no crevices, choose the split location between the knots. Make sure the log is in a stable position.

Stand in the correct position: your feet are wider than your shoulders, the deck is in the middle, the distance to the stump is such that you can touch its center with the blade. If you move further away, the cleaver will miss and hit the ground; if you get closer, you can hit it with the handle and knock off your hands.

Grab the bend of the handle with your left hand, and with your right take the cleaver almost at the tip. Bending your legs, lift the implement up with your arms straight. Slide right hand along the handle and with acceleration, strike into the crevice.

If it didn’t work out the first time, remove the cleaver by shaking it up and down. Repeat the blow, aiming for the same crack. Raise the tool high enough and lower it sharply, using the weight of the cleaver itself. Repeat the steps until the log is completely split.

Prick strong stumps using the technique of three blows in one line: the first in the center, the second in the farthest place, the third and final in the near part. Start splitting logs of large diameter from the edges, splitting off small logs and slowly moving towards the center. Use the cleaver stuck in the hemp as a wedge, hitting the butt with a sledgehammer.

Try to change the strength and speed of the swing, chop wood deliberately and do not rush. Gradually you will get an intuitive feeling of how hard you need to hit the block.

After splitting a decent amount of firewood, clean the area by putting the logs into the woodshed.

Over time, chopping wood will no longer seem like a difficult task and will become a common activity, maybe even exciting and gambling.

The wood, known in Rus' as “trembling poplar”, has many controversial opinions. You can’t build a house from aspen; the tree is inhospitable, cold, and crooked. A small bathhouse you can cut it down. But is it necessary in modern realities? The appearance of the aspen is too unsightly. It is undesirable to be guided by beliefs in antimicrobial and disinfecting properties alone (this is due to a persistent smell of rot).

Aspen tree - comes from the poplar genus (willow family). Its standing value as commercial timber is questionable. The quality is very different even on the same type of soil. Every second tree is rotten from the inside. Therefore, aspen is bought at the price of firewood. The cost of a cube is 700-1000 rubles. A significant number of trees suitable for construction (30-40 years old) have a trunk that is rotten from the inside or is damaged in the process. For example, for a small chapel at Lake Peipsi In 2004, carpenters spent a month selecting aspen timber. A minor plus of aspen is that the moderate curvature of the tree trunk due to its strong curvature is not very pleasing. This breed, unlike conifers, is never straight.

We must give the aspen its due - a fallen tree does not become weaker over time. Provided that it was initially healthy. Aspen can be buried in the ground. Not very afraid of water, just covered with a slimy coating unpleasant smell. The walls of the log bathhouse made of aspen will need to be scraped from time to time. To be fair: under the outwardly unsightly " protective coating", which appears when exposed to moisture, hides white wood that does not ignite easily. Fire protection is not required for aspen logs. Over time, street walls acquire a characteristic gray-silver tint. An aspen frame cracks in the same way as a pine/spruce frame. Needs caulk. After sanding, the log looks much more attractive.

It is believed that it is better to harvest aspen for logs in the spring, when the buds swell, indicating the beginning of sap flow in the trunk. Moreover, first stain the logs for a month in the shade or in standing water. Aspen, unlike oak (which is also stained, although without access to oxygen), this only makes it stronger. A carpenter's ax bounces off, the wood becomes so ossified. The chainsaw quickly dulls on fresh aspen, and dust rather than sawdust flies out from under the tire.

In practice, log houses made of this breed look much more advantageous (more neat, snow-white, smell of grass) in winter time. In winter, by analogy with conifers, it is easier to trim aspen than to debark it. The debarker doesn't take it well.

There is a misconception that wood is not damaged by pests. The large aspen beetle Xylotrechus rusticus (pictured) and the large aspen creaker Saperda carcharias specialize in aspen and poplars. With their larvae.

There is no resin in the aspen trunk. Which is good only for the operation of a freshly cut bathhouse. U coniferous pine/ ate some time after the first heating, the contents of the resin pockets are melted. The result is a strong smell of turpentine. There is no such smell in the aspen steam room. Therefore, the atmosphere of the steam room is regarded as soft, the steam is not burning, enveloping, as if covered with a warm duvet.

This breed does not conduct heat well through walls. The sauna does not warm up for a long time, independently distributing heat from the heating zone along the wood fibers throughout the entire log house. But the aspen canopy does not burn the skin. Wood does not breathe; to avoid dampness, the premises must be well ventilated after visiting. What are the advantages of a log house made of spruce for a bath, as opposed to aspen - the ability of the wood to independently remove excess moisture to the street + natural convection of air through the walls.

In everyday life, the common aspen is a cursed tree (possibly due to the characteristic whisper of leaves) during its use it has acquired a trail of plausible and not so plausible myths and superstitions. From the ability to take away mental anguish and draw out illness from the human body, to the fight against evil spirits(aspen stake). In the old days in aspen baths they ruled, told fortunes, and took steam to protect themselves from damage and the evil eye. Got rid of melancholy and depression. As actually happens in any Russian bathhouse. It is considered useful to lean your head against an aspen tree. The pain and anxiety go away. If only every tree were healthy...

Wood has a remarkable property - it splits along the grain under the influence of a wedge. It is this property that we use when we chop wood and split a splinter. From ancient times until the invention of the saw, boards for construction and other household needs were obtained exclusively by splitting logs along the grain. But even later, when saws appeared, village architects preferred to make roofing boards the old fashioned way. And here's why. The saw, cutting the wood fibers, allowed moisture to enter the board, and this caused it to rot faster. In split boards, the integrity of the fibers was not compromised, which means that roofing made from such boards could last longer.

Roofing boards and wood chips have long been replaced by tin and slate, and the light with a birch beam has been replaced by electric lamps, but people still continue to use the wonderful ability of wood to split along the fibers. They are attracted by the high decorative value of split wood: its shine, beautiful textured pattern and rich amber shades.

Wall panels, lamps, pencil holders, newspaper holders and screens - this is not a complete list of what can be made from a splinter. But before you try to make even the most simple thing, you need to learn how to split wood correctly. To work, it is enough to have only two tools: an ordinary table knife with a wide blade and an ax that fits your hand. Any log can be split in two ways - in the tangential direction (Fig. 2a) and in the radial direction (Fig. 26). If you split a log so that the split plane passes through the core, you will end up with logs in which the split surfaces will be radial. And if you split in any other direction, then the cleavage surfaces will always be tangential. On any piece of wood, radial and tanhemtal chips can be determined by the pattern of the growth layers. In the first, the annual layers appear in the form of parallel

stripes, and on the second - in the form of characteristic arched wavy lines.

In order to produce splinters with the desired cleavage, the annual layers in the blank bar must also have a certain direction. So, for example, splinters with tangential splitting planes can be obtained from a bar whose annual layers are parallel to its narrow edge (Fig. 3a). If the annual layers in the bar are parallel to its largest face, then the splinters will be obtained with a radial chip.

Keep in mind that not all trees split equally in all directions. For example, oak wood splits well only in the radial direction. The core rays, diverging in all directions from the core, coincide with the plane of the radial split and thereby facilitate splitting. With a tangential split, on the contrary, they pull the wood fibers together as if with harsh threads. Coopers take these features of oak into account when preparing split staves for cooperage utensils.

Thanks to poorly developed core rays, aspen and poplar wood splits well in all directions. Therefore, it is the main material in the production of matches.

Pine and spruce also split well in all directions*, although in the radial direction it is better than in the tangential direction.

The width of the growth rings also matters. Cleaner and more even chips occur in fine-grained wood.

If you place a splinter opposite a burning lamp, the splinter will seem to glow with a soft, warm light. Take several splinters from different types of wood at once and compare their color and pattern. Each of them will glow differently. When exposed to light, aspen wood fibers turn from white to golden-straw. Nearby, poplar and linden splinters acquire the same color. And the splinters of denser birch wood are less visible - they are painted a thick yellow-ocher color. The wood of coniferous trees is especially beautiful when illuminated: pine, spruce, larch and cedar. The splinters of these trees against the light seem to be filled with amber in a wide variety of shades - from light orange to crimson-red. Pine splinters have many shades. Almost Crimson They acquire those areas that are located close to the knots and contain a lot of resin. When exposed to light, the texture is clearly visible, which makes the wood even more expressive.

All these features must be taken into account first of all when working on various lamps. With decorative fields, the lampshade can be made from splinters with different colors, alternating pine with aspen, linden with spruce. Alternating two dark-colored splinters with one light-colored

conversely, you can build a composition on a clear rhythm of color spots. Splinters made from colored wood of alder, oak, apple, pear and cherry are almost not translucent at all, so they are rarely used for lamps.

In all chipped products, individual splinters must be tied together with twine made from hemp, flax, bast or pine, spruce and cedar roots. It is not advisable to use twine made from synthetic materials, which do not combine well with wood. For flexible connections, for example, a newspaper rack, you need linen, bast and hemp twines, and for rigid ones, for example, for lampshades, you need spruce, pine and cedar roots.

Since the lampshade must have a rigid structure, it is advisable to connect the beams to each other with spruce or pine roots. If it was not possible to prepare the roots, then use bast or hemp twine instead. Only in this case with inside For rigidity, reinforce the lampshade with hoops made from splinters or wicker rods.

In the forest where they grow coniferous trees, you can harvest roots at any time of the year, except winter. Roots need to be collected near uprooted trees - trees that have been uprooted by a storm. Most often, spruce trees suffer from windfalls because they root system located close to the surface. Do not look for thin roots on the everted rhizome - they are not there. When the tree fell, they were torn off from the rhizome and remained in the ground. This means that you should look for them along the edges of the hole left from the inverted root. Look closely and you will see the ends of the roots sticking out of the ground. Lightly pull this end and it will be in your hands. The length of individual spruce roots reaches several meters, although the thickness rarely exceeds the thickness of an ordinary pencil. Rinse the collected roots in water and remove the bark. Once peeled, they will become approximately twice as thin. Roll them into small balls and you can store them long years. Dried roots lose their elasticity. Therefore, before use, steam them for 5-10 minutes in hot water. The roots will become flexible. Split roots that are too thick into two to four parts.

Having prepared necessary materials, get to work. Before splitting the workpiece into thin splinters, moisten it: put it in some bowl and pour hot water. After half an hour, make a test. If the workpiece does not split well, then keep it in water. If, on the contrary, it is too swollen, then dry it a little. The knife you use to split the workpieces should not be very sharp. Otherwise, it will cut rather than split the wood, violating the integrity of the fibers. Splitting pro-

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