How to Split Wood!

Happy splitting 🪓

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[jimclarke]

Excellent tutorial. If you are chopping wood that was not cut perfectly straight (like it was me with the chain saw), use a chopping block that has a little slope to it. That way, you can rotate the log you are chopping until it stands up vertically.

[brunomeral]

Nicole wants to thanks all the logs for their kind participation and their willingness to split on demand (if you don't count the ax persuation).

[GCGomez]

A tutorial everyone needs to watch in order to split wood safely and correctly. Nicole is a fountain of information with great demonstrations. CHOP ON NICOLE!!!❤

[dis-connect]

And def remember to let the tool do the work. The motion, guidance, momentum, that's all the lumberjack's purview but don't try to drive the axe into the wood. You will quickly exhaust yourself and the axe will bounce in weird directions. Y'all be safe! (and I hope you're safe with all the Canadian fires going on right now!)

[stevendelvecchio]

Thank you. Good info. Always impressed by your accuracy when you have the bigger pieces, the line of strikes is so straight.

[helenavanmaanen]

Having just bought a 100 year old house in Portugal and having the roof replaced your video has given me the confidence to give chopping the old wood a serious try. (61 year old woman) Thanks for being to the point.

[schmojo]

Unless your logs are perfectly cut, its better to use a slightly uneven stump so you rotate the log on top of stump till it stands up straight. Don't put the log you are trying to split in the center unless you have a huge stump. Put the log on the far end of the stump away from you so that when the axe or maul swings through the log it goes into the stump. Bending your knees near the end of the swing adds power and keeps the head of the tool more in line with the ground and is safer. Don't aim for the center of the log when splitting otherwise you will overstrike and damage your axe handle and you also gain more splitting leverage aiming for the end closest to you. Only aim in the far end and center if you got a big round you are trying to split across and you know isn't going to open on the first few swings so you establish a crack going across. If you have to split a log with knots, flip the log being split so that the biggest knot or knots are on the bottom so you have more leverage to potential split the knot. Sometimes just flipping the legs helps if you have been going at it from the other side and its not splitting easy. Even your maul needs to be sharp though it doesn't have to be shaving sharp like your axe should be. Reprofile your axe or maul to a sharp convex wedge if it isn't already as most cheap axes aren't properly profiled. Don't try to flick your wrist on a swing you think probably won't split the log as you can sprain your wrist. I've done that before. Not every log should be split down the center, sometimes its better to take chunks but follow the rings of the wood. Splitting wedges are your friend for logs that are tough as you will just wear yourself out if you try to only use a maul for everything. A sledge or maul landing a powerful strike a metal wedge can sometimes ring painfully loud and piercing so consider ear plugs or certain headphones for that. Cut yourself a really huge fat wedge to compliment your steel splitting wedges and to follow them in particular tough pieces if needed. Use the axe for small pieces and when you get comfortable and you have appropriate wood you can golf swing your axe and quickly split small stuff on the ground quickly and efficiently striking the end of the logs laying across the ground. Don't trip over the carnage. You can clean sticky sap off your axe so it goes smoothly through the wood with alcohol, and it works for your hands too.

[RaymondCalloway]

I find I am so much of a New York City boy that I never realized there is a logical method of easily chopping and splitting logs. Several times I have visited my sister who lives in southeastern Alaska and between your videos and what I have seen at my sister's, I would never make it up up north. It takes a special talent like you and my sister & her husband has, very impressive!

[aneffortlesssmile]

Only recently came across this channel, but I’m already greatly appreciative of your content! As of now, none of this information is relevant to me, but you never know. Good to be prepared than not! Thank you very much!

[suemiller]

Great to see a woman doing this and having such great technique. I was only ever any good at chopping cedar - splits like a dream, but I struggle with the hardwoods I burn in my wood stove.

[ongwhehonwhe]

Solid footwork is paramount to mastering the fundamentals of chopping wood. It feels replenishing for the soul watching an expert at work. Thank you for redefining the rulebook standards of the current chopper generation !

[hanbanaroda]

Excellent tutorial!

"let the axe do the work otherwise you will hurt yourself" told me one oldwoodchoper. Took a while to understand that 🙂

[dejavuwampas]

Excellent tutorial on reading the log, a very important part of splitting wood. With the checking she showed on the ends of the logs, the wood almost tells you where the split should go.

[thafff]

The synchronization of the two slow mo shots was really helpful and satisfying at the same time 💜

[brucehaulley]

Excellent example of a YouTube video that gets right to the point and is very entertaining. Thanks very much.

[tmneaves]

Thanks so much for your videos. I have NEVER chopped wood. My landscapers took out a huge mesquite tree in my back yard. I asked them to leave the wood for me, since I have a fireplace and also wanted to use it for bbq. They left huge pieces for me, so now I have to figure out how to get it into smaller pieces for my little bbq. I rather use my own wood than buy it from the local supplier, since it's very expensive. I just purchased my first axe ever thanks to watching a few of your videos. I'll ask my neighbor to watch and supervise, just in case someone needs to call 911 for me. Lol. Seriously, I think it'll be great exercise.

[TPark-rflt]

I had no idea wood chopping had so many elements to learn. plus the different axes. very cool! 😄

[robertm]

A couple more things:

- For big rounds, it's easiest to split near the ends rather than in the middle. Work around it until the round is a manageable size
- On tough rounds a shorter chopping block is best since it allows for a higher drop (more momentum) from your swing. 4" tall block is enough to prevent the ground absorbing force from the swing.
- as you showed but didn't mention, stand with legs apart so the maul passed between your legs if it missed or split through too easily. More of an issue with shorter handle splitting axes than mauls.
- For very large rounds from tough wood like locust or hickory, it's easiest to chainsaw it into smaller halves or quarters before splitting.
- put your rounds inside an old tire before splitting. This helps contain split halves so you don't need to pick them up to split into more pieces.
- keep your mauls and axes sharpened!

[jennya]

I think it's a mark of how great Nicole's videos are that I watched every second of this, fascinated. I don't own an axe.

[ethanramirez]

I promise, this has been the cleanest and informative video I’ve found as a beginner. Thank you