How hard is it to split Elm with knots? This is not for the faint-hearted.
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- čas přidán 10. 04. 2021
- This is a block/round of Elm with a big knot in it. I was fully expecting to fail in splitting this one and I had the chainsaw on hand to give assistance. For the same reason, I did not use my regular splitting block (which is in the right hand corner of the video). The 5kg (11 lb) and 6kg (13.2 lb) mauls were the main splitters and I needed the weight for stuff as tough as that. Also, I had a 16 pound sledge-hammer and some heavy wedges for the work. If Elm had a personality it would be 'evil': probably the toughest of all fire wood to split.
- Jak na to + styl
Good man Michael, cheaper than a gym membership and more productive. Keep the videos coming. Thank you.
Thanks Chris.
things like a trampoline lol elm is a nitemare even when there isnt any knots lol
Michael your a beast , I’d say you love the challenge of those tough ones 💪💪 feck log splitters and swing that axe 🪓, your a dying breed.
Thanks Andrew. This Elm fights back all the time. You never get an easy block to split.
I’m in the middle of splitting a Douglas fir tree and I’m sure it’s easier than elm. But serious thinking it’s time for a log splitter even a small 7t would be ok and now there are £270 so worth the spend. Swing the axe is hard work and takes a lot of time
Be careful with what you buy. Log splitters come in many different forms; some better than others. You might buy a splitter to deal with the tough rounds and find out afterwards that it is only effective on the 'easy' stuff. There is also the 'satisfaction' and exercise element in splitting with hand tools to be considered when making a choice.
Michael, it is good as always to see you splitting wood, true to form. Born and raised in Yorkshire, England, it was through the 70's and 80's that I cut down a lot of English Elm after they were decimated by the Dutch Elm Disease, a great tragedy, it was, as these trees were beautiful indeed. Many of the trees were over 80 feet high and 30" or more on the stump and I recall many hours beating on them and resorting to a variety of wedges to tear it apart piece by piece. After a couple of years my elbows were in pain and bound up. After a while all was good again. I still am splitting wood every week here in BC Canada, by hand and smile when local lads say you should try splitting this, that or the other...the truth is, I am still thinking about those old days spent splitting that old Devil, Elm. God Bless, WS
Chris: Great to hear from you again. You're one of the few that have worked on Elm and are still around. It must be the toughest of all to try and split. I believe that some of the Australian wood can also be a real ball breaker to work on. After some experimentation at first, I found the best way to open up Elm is to split along the rings, and gradually open up the block that way. Trying to split across them is simply impossibe to do. If you don't have a heavy maul, you'll have to do most of the work with sledge and wedges.
Having said that some of the so-called 'easy wood' can be hard work. Knotty ash from an old mature tree, especially around a fork, can be a match for Elm in difficulty. The toughest work-out I ever had at splitting was on a sitka spruce, a softwood, that was growing up on a ditch, with no other trees around it. The branches were growing from the trunk right down to ground level: everyone of them a knot. When I got to it, it had been on the ground for nine months which added to the difficulty, as it had dried out. I was younger then, and would not be able to do that kind of work to-day. Last Summer I took down a dead Elm and expect to start splitting that shortly. That should put manners on me for a while.
Regards,
M. Kearney.
@@michaelkearney5562 Thanks for your reply Michael, I agree that not all tough splitting is of hardwood logs, I may not need it, but thanks for the tip on splitting (Ulmus Procera) 'English Elm'. There is Elm in Canada that I have split, but it is nowhere near as tough to do so. I will try to attach a clip of me splitting logs with Buckin' Billy Ray Smith (CZcams Channel), I appear a few minutes in and he is sharing tips with me splitting some fairly tough Balsam Fir....czcams.com/video/di8LMZOmAVQ/video.html
@@michaelkearney5562 Michael I should mention that I was just recovering from a torn Trapezius Muscle in my back, twice this had happened in the summer, as we get older we must take time to warm up before heavy splitting as such injuries are very painful, I am currently 68 years of age and will be doing fitness training before the coming season, Thanks, WS
@@redcanoe14 Chris, We are exactly the same age. I'll have to watch your clip with Buckin Billy.
Chris, I looked at that clip. Buckin Billy is not a fan of mauls, but in this instance, both of you would have been much more effective if you had used a maul, at least for the first split, to break the blocks in half. Once that is done, you can change to the axe, when the splitting gets easier. You can expend a lot of energy trying to release an embedded axe from an un-coperative piece of wood. Often times a heavier tool make the work easier.
I leave all the Elm forks lying in the wood for the bugs to eat.
Better than breaking your heart and your tools!
Straight Elm splits fine, much like anything else, but Elm forks are a nightmare!
Good video though.👍
My experience is that there is no easy elm. It is all tough.
Elm has to be one of the toughest hardwoods out there to split, it’s just so stringy! I use a ochsenkopf splitting maul, a heavy one, for the nasty, knotty stuff. I enjoy your videos Michael, keep em coming.
Thanks, and best of luck with the splitting.
Michael, when the going gets tough the tough get going. Well done.
Thanks Roy. That's a well used comment in Athletics circles. I hope you're keeping well in these peculiar times.
Hello Michael. Here in Texas we have a lot of Cedar Elm, and it's tough! I recently used some to make a couple of axe handles which turned out rather nice. Thanks for the video!
Those handles should last a long time. Thanks for watching.
Great stuff Mick. Very good video. No easy way to split knotty elm.
Gerry,
When a cousin of mine saw the video, he said- probably out of pity-"go and get a log splitter: I'll pay for it."
Good to see you are doing well Michael!
Thanks ******. I see you're going up in the World-changing your avator from Tesla to the Jack Ass.
@@michaelkearney5562 well spotted :-)
@@roar40s 😊😊😊
The easy way to split elm knots with a maul is a log like you have cut it like 3 cuts across for your one then just go wham bam one hit elm splits. I split cuts on elm like 2" long. Then I don't kill myself trying. It's just going to the fire 🔥 anyway I've cut and split wood most of my life elm and sweet gum don't bust worth a
Nice work, you have good aim!
I should by now: I've had enough practice. And thanks for subscribing. You're returning the compliment. I subscribed to you years ago.
Hey Michael what can of splitting maul is that you're swinging there I want one.
The one with the blue head has a longer handle which I extended myself. It is 11lbs (5kg) in weight and made by Muller from Austria. The other one (black head) is 13.2 lbs (6kg). I got it online from Poland. They are very effective on heavy stuff, but you have to be able to swing them
I hope you're charging plenty per load Mick. Tough stuff.
Paul, You wouldn't want to be doing it all day. It makes you work constantly and if you go about it the wrong way it's torture.