Dealing with Large-Diameter Wood

 I'm definitely not very accomplished when it comes to firewood splitting.  However, I have managed to develop some methods to deal with difficult wood.  One thing that's challenging is large-diameter logs.  Because splitting goes with the grain, if the piece being split is too large, the resulting wedge-shaped pieces will be too big to fit in the stove.

I had a large oak tree cut down a couple of years ago.  While I did split some smaller pieces, the main trunk was huge--three feet in diameter at the base.  I was a little nonplussed about how to proceed.  I wasn't sure I could split it myself.  Meanwhile, it sat in the yard decaying.

I finally decided to give it a try, and was able to make the first split with the maul pretty easily.

From there it was likewise not too difficult to get it into larger chunks, which then could be split into smaller pieces.

However, the wedges were, as noted previously, too large.  I was able to break them into two pieces across the grain using the wedge, but it was pretty tough work.

 

 

I eventually hauled much of it up to the electric splitter, and found it was able to split these relatively small pieces easily (they were only 10 inches long).  Bigger pieces might be a problem; as the pictures show, I have a lot of sections that are longer, up to 18 inches.

One thing I was pleasantly surprised by was the overall condition of the wood--it's still in relatively good shape, but I know the clock is ticking.  There are definite signs of insect infestation. They're returning to dust pretty quickly at this point.  This is probably the last good opportunity to harvest relatively unblemished wood.