how to split a tree trunk?

[gorilla]

a friend of mine has just chopped down a tree that was ruining his patio, and i have the trunk in 3 x 5 foot long sections
i want to split it into planks for a watchmans chair, and all i have is a hammer, a rubbish hatchet, and wood that i can make into wedges
tips please?

 

[British Red]

Firstly you need to consult a real master axeman - and that sure isn't me. You need Old Jimbo on the case - this is what he can do with a mini hatchet

If you haven't twigged it - the thing sticking out of the log at the end is the Vaughan Mini he split that tree with!

Full details of how he did it are here

http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/tinyhatchets2.html

Now Jimbo really is the master

Red

 

[gunnix]

Very interesting page from old jimbo! Thanks for the link!

Incredible what he managed with that little axe!

At the end of the page he doesn't consider a pocket chainsaw to cut the log trough, guess he hasn't tried one out yet But such an axe with a small head and long handle is something I'd like to try out too!

 

[British Red]

Bet he has.....

I have one......don't rate them to be honest..they are better than those silly wire saws but no substitute for a real roll up saw!

Red

 

[Lodian]

Just do it the mors way stick a knife in it.

 

[falling rain]

a friend of mine has just chopped down a tree that was ruining his patio, and i have the trunk in 3 x 5 foot long sections
i want to split it into planks for a watchmans chair, and all i have is a hammer, a rubbish hatchet, and wood that i can make into wedges
tips please?

You didn't say what wood it is gorilla. Some woods split better than others. Sweet chestnut and pines are fairly easy -Oak and ( some hardwoods especially if they are twisted because the split will follow the twist) of course on the other hand are far harder. You can make a hefty maul and 3 - 5 wedges from a hardwood such as beech, ash or oak. Leave the wedges round and champfer the tops so they don't splay outwards when you hit them making the wedge shape further down the round.
8 inches long at least and 4 or so inches in diameter. The wedges, champfering, maul can all be made with your hatchet which you say is rubbish. Do you mean blunt? or small? or old? or about to fall apart?
If you have a good little sharp hatchet you can make countless other tools to help with bigger jobs. a few well crafted wedges will do a better job of splitting a large log than thinner splits as in Old jimbo's picture in my opinion as they'll force the wood apart if they're wider and won't split or splay so easily when struck if you champfer them.

 

[mr dazzler]

If the tree came off of a patio chances are it will have had lots of side branches, twist's, because it has probaly grown by itself. In woodland they dont usually get so much side growth. Do you know what speceis it is? Logs are nigh on impossible to split if theres big branch nodes like you get on EG leylandi, try splitting even a short length of fire wood that has a sizeable branch section in it That nice delicious log in the pic (cedar is it?) look straight and clean. I have done logs up to 8 foot and 12 inch (ash and oak) using exact same method as in the pic (Ihave a 1 1/4 pound sandvik's axe) I use LOTS of small wedges (at least 12 more would be better) I start the split at one end, add a wedge to relieve the axe, then insert the axe a little further along, drive it in, add a wedge to relieve, and continue in that fashion. Not too much pressure on each wedge until a crack line is established, then start driving one at a time a little at a time to evenly spread the splitting pressure as it increases. If you drive one wedge too much it starts to take too much load and the split might run off (ie go to one side or the otherinstead of parallele with the grain) You can hear and sense when its about to finally split and reveal whats there I use bits of oak to do wedges (ideally hawthorn but anything will do, they are effectively disposable) I have a wood mell I think its a laburnam head and an ash handle that gets re used, "heads" are disposable as well. I guess you could burn a hole for the handle to go in if you didnt have a bracev and bit in your pack!!

 

[mr dazzler]

PS Gorilla, what type of chair is a watchman chair? What construction type? Is it post and rung (like a shaker type) or a slab and stick (like a gibson or windsor style with wedged through tennons in a plank seat) or is it a joined style (done with regular mortices and tennons)? For a post and rung you need the best and cleanest wood you can get, also definately for thin split components such as spindles arms and legs on a gibson type (or even kayak ribs ). If theres short or cross grain or knot's it will seriously weaken the chair and it wont last, or take stres knocks etc. Do you have a picture of a watchman's chair?
cheers Jonathan

 

[gorilla]

i'm no expert, and didn't think to take a pic of the tree before chopping it down, but the bark is pretty smooth, and the inner wood is very pale with no visible grain. would a photo of the bits i have help?
it's not a leilandi or pine - and the bits i have are pretty free of branches. there's only one branch node in the piece i want to split which i can hopefully get around
i have borrowed an electric chainsaw which may help to start a split, but i sense it may all go the way of the pear and end up as firewood!

 

[Ranger Bob]

Do you have a picture of a watchman's chair?
cheers Jonathan

Look here.... http://www.bushcraftuk.com/articles/skills--general/watchmans-chair.html

 

[mr dazzler]

Nice looking chair. I like the slight curves in the back and seat. I also like how its collapsible. Clear quality timber wont be quite so critical seeing as its basically 2 planks.
Gorilla, a blunt axe (believe it or not) is actually better for splitting than a sharp one. The ldea is as far as possible to retain the natural growth structure of the wood (after all nature does it best) If you start to disrupt the natural flow of the wood, you will get weaker material. You shoulnt need to start a split with a chain saw. A slightly wonky rake or hoe handle out of split wood is stronger than a perfectly straight one sawn wood. Sawing ignores the grain, spliting or cleaving recognises it, and will always result in stronger componets. Every tool handle should be selected from split timber. Your axe will work, I have no doubt, but you will need a weighty driver to start open your split. I use a mallet type made of 2 seperate bit's, but a wine botle type club is easier and simpler (Like an elongated carver's mallet made of a sinngle stout small log) either way a wood club wont mess up the axe poll, a sledge hammer will. You can split your wood believe me, you stand evry chance of sucess. When I first started I tried to split just from one end with a big steel wedge, and sometimes it works dividing into 2 equal pieces, but more often it fails as you have very little control once the wood start's to pop. so you end up with a giant pair of folding wedges, one large, and one even larger I found that lots of small thin wedges works, it just requires more patience. As you move along the log and insert the axe it allows you to correct the split if it is going off away to one side or the other, just open the split enough to get a wedge in, drive that just enough to release the axe, leave the wedge and move along a foot or so. Then when you have your 2 equal sections you willneed a sharp axe to hew them flat, cut the notches even do the mortices

 

[Eric_Methven]

i'm no expert, and didn't think to take a pic of the tree before chopping it down, but the bark is pretty smooth, and the inner wood is very pale with no visible grain. would a photo of the bits i have help?
it's not a leilandi or pine - and the bits i have are pretty free of branches. there's only one branch node in the piece i want to split which i can hopefully get around
i have borrowed an electric chainsaw which may help to start a split, but i sense it may all go the way of the pear and end up as firewood!

It could be sycamore from the description. Splitting it in twain shouldn't be a problem. Go with what the others have said, maul and wedges. Getting the split halves into planks might be more problematic. Repeated splittings will tend to run off leaving you with a plank that's thin at one end and massively thick at the other. A chainsaw with an alaskan mill attachment is the answer, but you really need to be trained professionally before playing with one of those. If I were nearer, I'd come and rip it down into planks for you.

In the olden days, a pit saw would be used but these are so hard to come by for a little job like this that it wouldn't be worth it even if you could find one.

Eric

 

[gorilla]

here are some pics;




the stripped log pictured on its own is the one i need to split - you can see the branch node i need to get round.
of course, my other option is to take it to a timber yard and see if they'll rip it for me. i have had trouble getting wood for this chair, and i don't want to goof it up. i can always have a go at splitting the other 2 bits by hand

 

[mr dazzler]

I think you would have a hard time finding a yard that would be prepared to rip your log's as they are normally very fussy. A hidden nail or washing line hook or something hidden in the log will very rapidly ruin there blade and cost them a lot in lost working time. But if you can find someone, maybe that's the way to go. But I'd still say have a go at cleaving . At the end of the day evrey single cubic centimeter of wood in this universe is unique. No 2 log's will react in the same way to being split open with wedges, even logs of the same speceies from the same wood land. Cleaving wood is daunting until you get used to it, because its a less predictable or manageable method than what sawing is. But it is infinitely more satisfying, and quieter and safer I think! You can take a few simple tools to the wood and do the work there. Its an ancient woodworking method that not only puts you in a much more direct relationship with wood as a tactile and strucrtual material, but it also helps you understand more about how our ancestors prepared trees to make boats, buildings, etc.. Only nowadays we dont have easy availability of prime virgin oak tree stock like what our viking ancestor's had to make boat planks for their superb boats for example. Any way what ever method you settle on, good luck with your chair project
cheers Jonathan