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Wood Splitters
To keep your wood-fired stove or fireplace
stocked with wood, you should consider getting
a wood splitter instead of having wood delivered.
Often you can find cut down trees or large
branches abandoned, where the owner is only
too glad to have someone cut it up and cart
it away.
Wood and log splitters make the
job of creating
firewood easier and safer. They
come in a
few types:
- Whole log splitters, which can split the
wood and cut it into typical fireplace length
(usually 16 inches); these are for big league
operations and cost quite a lot
- Small log splitters, typically vertically
oriented, gas/hydraulic powered, and used
with 16" trunk sections
- Heavy duty splitting maul, an axe-like tool
which splits wood vertically by it's shear
weight falling
- A wedge grenade, typically diamond or triangle
shaped, to be wedged into the wood and struck
by a sledge hammer
Most popular models for homeowners committed
to wood fired heat are about the size of
a lawn tractor, have a 10-20 HP engine and
feature a 4-way splitter wedge to take a
section and split it four ways at once. Most
need to be towed into place by a lawn tractor
or your vehicle.
Occasional or low volume wood
users will
get along fine with a maul or
wedge and an
axe or sledge hammer, provided
that trunk
and limb sections are delivered
pre-cut to
manageable lengths. Otherwise,
a chainsaw
needs to be used to work the
tree trunk down
to fireplace lengths |
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