What did you make today?

[BigV]

Originally Posted by BigV

What did I make today?

A Tree. And a hernia (not shown).

Attachment 37293

Ok, it came in kit form. Last winter, three good sized Douglas Firs were blown over at my girlfriend's house. All's well, the damage has been repaired, etc. But the firewood has been endless. I've tried splitting this with a maul and a pair of splitting wedges. I give up. You might see stumps of branches on some of these rounds--those are unsplitable with muscle power. So tomorrow (depending on the efficacy of the ibuprophen), I'm going to rent a hydraulic log splitter. THAT should be fun.

Paul Bunyan, I'd tip my cap to you ... if I could raise my arm above my shoulder.

I made a pile of little ones out of stacks of big ones.

[BigV]

Dear Paul Bunyan

And by Paul Bunyan, I mean Griff, footfootfoot, glatt, zippyt.... and any other dwellar that's likely to have experience chopping/splitting their own firewood... I have a question.

I was gonna split all this by hand originally. You can see the stacked stuff in the back that I did actually split before my splitting maul and my back and patience wore out. And by wore out I mean broke off right at the head. I had to go to four stores today to find a replacement handle for my double bitted axe. And I could not find one at all for my maul/splitting axe. I did see new splitting axes like the godevil for around 40-50 bucks. But I didn't get one, I kinda want to fix what I have. And therein lies my question.

Should I buy a new fiberglass handled splitting axe with the built in wedgiewingie thingies or get a pickaxe handle and whittle down the head end so it fits into the hole on my maul/axe?

Thanks in advance.

[ZenGum]

Whatever it is, get an overstrike protector.

[Lamplighter]

I have it on YouTube authority that the difference
between the splitting maul and the godevil is about $30,
and what you call it depends on whether you are from
the northern or southern side of the Mason Dixie line.
Godevils are of southern descent.

[BigV]

here's a picture of the kind of axe/maul head I have. I just don't have this handle and I want to shop locally. I don't mind paring down a pickaxe handle ($16, hickory). Just wondering about your opinions.

[Griff]

I'm guessing that the pickax handle is gonna be a bit too big in diameter to grip effectively? Around here we usually can get a good hickory handle for about anything between the feed and and local hardware (not big box) stores. That's the direction I'd go.

[glatt]

I'm an old school kind of guy. I like hickory and when I've purchased replacement handles that's what I've always gone for.

But I've never tried fiberglass handles, so I could be missing out on a great thing. I wood also be curious to hear other opinions.

[Lamplighter]

I do think there is a difference in handles between chopping wood (ax) and splitting rounds (maul).

For splitting, my preference would be the fiber glass,
because it is carrying a heavier head (maul) so it's job is to carry on thru the wood.
But with the ax, I expect to have to pull the head back out of the cut.
So the shape (thinner and slightly curved) of the ax handle feels more "right"
Maybe it is just opinion and how I was raised !

Over time, leaving it out in the weather, the fiberglass beats wood,
but it's not at all pretty.

P.S. I've never tried a maul with the "wedgiewingie thingies",
but it might be interesting to see if they really help more than the traditional maul.
For the first break of a round, they might be better,
but then for splitting pieces into smaller firewood, I'm not so sure.

[Perry Winkle]

I hate fiberglass handles, but my experience is mostly with hammers. The vibration tends to be pretty bad and when they fail, they fail spectacularly. Never had a wood handle fail on me (I soak them in oil for at least a week before using them).

[footfootfoot]

Once again, I direct you to snow and nealley products. I see they let their domain name lapse, but they are still in business. http://cspoutdoors.com/snowneal8lbs.html here is a link to the maul. All mauls are not alike; the balance, weight and geometry of the head make a significant difference. Even if the difference were minor, multiply that difference by 10,000 reps and it adds up.

Replacing a fiberglass handle sucks like a bucket of ticks. Usually you will throw away the maul head before you can get the fiberglass out of the fucker. And as Perrywinkle and other point out, they suck.

Hickory has been prized for handles for a reason, or many reasons.

Stop fucking around and buy a Snow and Nealley maul.


eta: http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011...xe-review.html
This guy does not share my opinion and is worth reading. My feelings are based on a product bought over 25 years ago and may not reflect today's product.

[wolf]

I was going to make another keychain lanyard today, but the mob violence class turned out to be way more interesting that I expected and I actually paid attention through the whole thing.

[glatt]

I finished my ball in cage today.

[zippyt]

Cool !!!

[Clodfobble]

Neato. Now you just need to spend about 60 hours on ornate carvings around the legs and the ball, and you'll be done!

[classicman]

Thats very cool. Love the before/after shots the best.