Splitting Wood Using Sledge & Wedge

Showing some tips and tricks for splitting big rounds of wood apart. This allows you to save your back by picking up smaller pieces to put on the splitting machine, if you have one, or if your splitter does not go vertical. Like most jobs there is an easy way and a hard way.

[@FavorableNerd]

As a New homeowner who saved some money on tree service by doing self cleanup this was perfect! Thank you!

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Glad to hear feedback like that! Thank you.

[@bopitbull3957]

Thank you good video a lot of perfect little pointers in this video

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching!

[@sylvanpurity8038]

This is the kind of basic visual I needed to see 👍👍

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thanks for the feedback and for watching. I’m glad you found it useful.

[@jamessykes249]

Thank you Scott! This video was most helpful.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for the feedback! Happy splitting 😎

[@sassy6292]

I did find it useful. I watched a few videos of splitting wood and I pick up little tips in every one of them. In a very short time you taught me alot. I didn’t know the toughest part of the tree was the centre! Starting the wedge on the edge 👍 Also, no one said anything about how to deal with a branch. They have said to avoid them but that’s it. Thank you.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for watching and for the feedback! I’m glad it helped you.

[@theodorep9569]

This is the video everyone should be watching. Simple, direct, and valuable. So many hits on other videos like that Russian hacker guy where he fumbles and bumbles through, your video is great. Appreciate the guidance I got few big cherry logs to split

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Appreciate that feedback! That’s my goal, help others see that many tasks are not complicated and do not need the newest fanciest gadgets. Thanks for watching

[@quincyjones2431]

That's some easy splitting sticks. Rescue wedge , love it.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Appreciate you watching!

[@ledzepcleo]

Thanks Scott. This is great, can't wait to try.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for watching and for the kind words! Good luck to you

[@KarlDelphi]

Extremely helpful, thank you Scott!

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank your for the kind words and for watching. I’m glad it was useful!

[@bhavadasaacbsp3274]

Very instructive and helpful! Thanks.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching!

[@longbeach96]

You should grind the wedge down when it starts mushrooming. Learned my lesson yesterday a piece flew right into my leg had to go to urgent care and have the metal pulled out and stitched up not a good experience. Great vid though 👍

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for the tip, I plan on grinding the peen off before using again. Hope you heal fast, and thanks for watching!

[@cammieclark63]

Wedge care cannot be encouraged enough-and even then you should take precautions and wear protective gear. My brother was chopping wood when a small, jagged, and razor sharp piece of the wedge chipped off and hit him in the neck. He was 17 years old and it killed him-it was as traumatic as you'd imagine an accident like that being.

[@4drhtrd812]

Nice tips. I wish I would have known these when I was younger and split wood by hand. Great video.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

4drhtrd thanks! Have been splitting wood this way since I was a kid so have learned a lot of lessons the hard way.

[@feliperowen2370]

a trick : watch series at Flixzone. Me and my gf have been using them for watching a lot of movies these days.

[@brayanemmett702]

@Felipe Rowen yup, I have been using flixzone for since november myself :)

[@ZMaf11]

Awesome video. Thanks for the tips.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thanks for watching and for the kind words!

[@barrytanenbaum4157]

Great Video! Thanks for sharing with us! :)

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching!

[@mikerodriguez3132]

Very useful sir

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Happy to hear that, thank you!

[@jodypotosky522]

Thank you.

[@cszabo8899]

This is the way.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

This is the way, I love it! Thanks for watching and for the words.

[@kingleopold6011]

Awesome video thanks

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for watching!

[@bigbluebuttonman1137]

I tried splitting a fat piece of wood with a wedge in the center. In the end, I had to bring out an axe to finish the job. So I learned the hard way that I could get basically the same effect by moving the wedge to around the edge.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Yes, sometimes the hard way is a good teacher! Splitting near the edge of the round works best no matter if it’s a wedge, ax or hydraulic machine. Thanks for watching!

[@guillermo2k90]

Good tips thanks son .

[@jondrew55]

Good video. I'm disappointed there aren't dozens of comments telling you how you are doing this wrong. I come for the armchair splitting experts.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Appreciate the kind words! Yes it can be easy for some folks to critique others but all the suggestions I’ve gotten so far are useful or constructive. I know that’s not always the case but appreciate it here.

[@426superbee4]

I have to manual split my red oak logs. Cause there so big around and heavy. So i use a 4# cone wedge, and a 8# sledge hammer to bust them up. 3 hits its splits, Where i can pick them up

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Not sure where you’re located but a saw shop or other vendor that sells chainsaw equipment may be a good place to start. There’s always Amazon but I try to shop local when I can.

[@426superbee4]

@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees i got a good chainsaw THE 18" Oregon Electric cord chainsaw with a self sharping lever! SHE A BEAST cuts down huge red oak

[@426superbee4]

@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees I just have to bust these log up so i can pick them up and put on my 7 ton Electric log splitter its very fast

[@426superbee4]

@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees Located in East Texas

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

I don’t have any experience with those wedges. Sometimes I cut up the big rounds lengthwise with the chainsaw especially if they’re crooked. That might help get them small enough to pick up.

[@adi7795]

WOW nice work great explain how to do this. There is a few videos out there and the all Star in the middle with the wedge witch is wrong. The way you split it takes hardly no effort to split.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching. I think it’s natural to start in the middle and that’s why most people do. But luckily I learned the edge is the easiest and most effective.

[@RCPSU4]

In your opinion is it better to have a diamond style wedge compared to the traditional style?

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Good question. I have not used the diamond style and do not think there is anything wrong with them. I have good luck with the traditional style as long as you read the wood. Thanks for watching!

[@BenjaminPlaysRust]

How heavy is the sledge? I think my problem is my sledge is SO heavy. It's back breaking swinging it for any amount of time.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

I think this is a 10 lb. sledge. Definitely not my preferred one. I have an eight pounder that is much more user friendly but lose it from time to time.

[@shortyorc121]

Bro let gravity help you. You don't have to swing it hard or fast. It's best to have a nice controlled swing and hitting the wedge directly centered to drive it down. Also another tip is to have your log on top of a base either another log that is bigger or something hard that you don't care about screwing up. Do this because the ground will absorb the impact. As for backbreaking yeah for sure splitting wood is without a doubt one of the best full body workouts you can do. Look up techniques and proper way to swing a maul or sledge it will definitely help your back as you should keep your back straight at all times and bend your knees as you come down for impact.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

ShortyOrc 1 thanks

[@shortyorc121]

@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees no problem man. Enjoyed the video. Great explanation on the wedge placement. I have a wedge and a maul, but alway end up grabbing the wedge.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

ShortyOrc 1 it certainly is a good option to have. Since I’ve gotten a Fiskars x27 I really only use the wedge for really big stuff.

[@rockymountainfirewood3873]

This is great. Love the passion. I'll show you how I split firewood! Check out Rocky Mountain Firewood for all things firewoodin'

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Thank you for the kind words and for watching! I’ll check it out.

[@allanaaron2281]

This video thumbnail popped up randomly on my suggestions this morning, and instantly the first thing I saw was that the end of the log that's lying on the ground and facing the camera looks like someone's face. It actually kind of looks like (edit: a caricaturized version of) President Trump's face. I expected to see the comment section filled with that observation, but no. I did just wake up so maybe it's just a hallucination from my still sleep-fogged brain.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Haha that’s gold! Thanks for sharing that story and I hope your coffee kicks in soon!

[@allanaaron2281]

@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees thanks. I was sleeping in because I thought I had the day off but got called in to work anyway. Such is life. I wonder if anyone else sees the face in the log? It's like a face laying down

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

@@allanaaron2281 I think that’s the first I’ve heard of this, and I’ll have to watch and look. Thanks

[@meandnature6452]

when i did that a piece of metal flew like a bullet into my leg. It even made a hole in my pants

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

Scary stuff for sure! I need to get better about removing the mushroom caps that get peened over on the wedges. Thanks for watching.

[@ledzepcleo]

@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees can you explain what that means? What should I look out for on the wedge? I do have a brand-new wedge so at least it will start out good.

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

@@ledzepcleo when the wedge is used a lot or struck along the top corner where the cap meets the sides the metal can start to kind of peel down. If it goes far enough and is hit there again the metal can break loose and it has a lot of energy behind it. If you grind those down while they’re small it’s safer to use. Hope that helps!

[@ledzepcleo]

@@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees thank you trying to learn all I can. I was very unsuccessful splitting firewood for camping a few weeks. All I had at that time was a cheap hand ax. Not sure what that is good for. I am trying to get large branch pieces split, some Maple,some Oak

[@scottthornandhisbeesandtrees]

@@ledzepcleo don’t get discouraged! Small hatchets can be good for splitting wood into kindling. I have a Fiskars I use for most things and I really like it.