When I was a child, most of my family members used firewood to cook our meal and to get through the cold winter. Therefore, I am quite familiar with the splitting maul that we used to cut the logs into smaller pieces.
I had never laid an eye on a splitting maul until one day; my neighbor got his hand damaged because he slipped off the maul’s handle. Since that accident, my villagers have learned some tips to protect themselves from injury and taught each other. I also got some useful knowledge of how to use the chopping axe safely, which I want to share with you in today’s post.
Yesterday, my friend asked me how to use the splitting maul safely to prepare firewood for his camping, because he could not find much information on the Internet. After having told him what I knew, I thought it would be helpful if I also shared with you. So, in this post, I am going to present to you all my knowledge which my villagers used to protect themselves when chopping the firewood with a splitting maul.
Follow me until the end of my post I am sure that you will get some valuable inputs of how to use the splitting maul safely next time!
What is the splitting maul?
First of all, for those who wonder what exactly the splitting maul is I will explain quickly.
Splitting maul is also known as the blockbuster, the block splitter, or the sled axe. It is a tool with long, thick handle, commonly used for dividing wood into smaller pieces. Its head is fat and blunt. In other words, one head side of the maul is similar to a sledgehammer; while the other has the same structure as an axe.
To chop the firewood, you can choose between different tools such as felling axes, Hudson Bay axes, broadaxes, and Carpenter axes. However, I recommend employing the splitting maul. The reason is that it is more convenient and efficient than the others when being used for cutting firewood at home.
Source: Pinterest.com
Currently, in the market, there are various types of splitting maul, depending on your utilizing purpose and personal preference you might determine on which one to buy. If you are looking for a log splitting maul, you might want to check some of them on Amazon.com website. They offer some excellent ones with affordable price. I just bought one for me a couple of weeks ago.
What is the difference between a splitting maul and an axe?
If you only pay attention to their appearance, you could not find any difference between a splitting maul and an axe. The only clear distinction between those tools is that the former is faster and a bit cumbersome while the latter is a traditional axe. Additionally, an axe normally has a shorter handle than a maul does.
What are the most efficient methods to chop the firewood?
You might see different people using the splitting maul differently. All methods are applicable. However, out of those practices, to help you choose the most effective one, I decided to share with you three most popular and efficient ways of splitting wood that I have learned from my villagers. They all have pros and cons, but you can consider deciding on the most appropriate technique to employ.
Now, let discover each method and understand them in detail!
Split firewood following the traditional method
Via: upload.wikimedia.org
Preparing carefully
First of all, before starting cutting wood, make sure that you have all necessary things such as gloves, boots or protective clothing. They are designed to protect yourself from unforeseen risks, especially hand or leg injury. Both of them are the most regular incidents that are likely to happen while cutting wood. Wearing secure accessories is vital if you want to work with a splitting maul.
Choosing a suitable splitting maul
Secondly, make sure that the handle of the maul is fit and comfortable in your hands. An appropriate maul could help you cut the wood quickly. On the other hand, an uncomfortable maul will bring troubles by giving you with more chance to be hit by the flying timber.
Additionally, the handle of the maul should not be made of metal. As when using it with force, the metal can damage your wedge. Last week, I cut my finger slightly while cutting the meat just because I used a knife with the metal handle. What happen if instead of the knife it is the maul? What happen if you use full mental maul with sweaty hands? Therefore, the prerequisite step to protect you from any possible harm is to choose the right splitting maul.
Position your wood properly
You can get the risk of damage if you put wood into unstable land because the wood could easily flip or fly. Stabilize wood with a rock or a recycled tire or even with another flat wood will prevent the maul from hitting your hand and leg.
In the traditional method, people suggest to use a chopping block and place it vertically on the ground. After that, position and stabilize your target log on that block and chop it carefully
Note the crack and the Knot
Here is my valuable tip. If the wood has any crack, try to split it first or use it as a beginning point. Moreover, if the log has s knot, you should cut it from the other side that doesn’t have the knot because if you chop the knot, you might get unwanted incident. I am a wood-cutting expert, but I try not to cut in the unusual situations. So, please remember the crack and the knot.
Split firewood without a chopping block
Similar to the previous method, you must be well-prepared with all necessary accessories such as protective gloves, glass, shoes, and so on.
The major difference of this approach is the way you use the chopping block. It is essential to use a steady block as a foundation to cut the firewood. However, with this method, you do not really need one to get your wood done.
Source: Pinterest.com
You only need a thick log and place it parallel to the ground. The next thing is to position the wood horizontally and chop it step by step as the instructions in the prior section.
Here is the video that I found informative and useful. You only need to follow the tutorial, and your firewood will be ready.
Split many logs at once
If you have a huge amount of wood to break and you do not have that much of time, check out this method. I was surprised when I got to know this way of chopping firewood.
The secret of this practice lays on the way you prepare the logs. Dislike other techniques, you do not cut the logs one after one, but you need to get many logs together at once. I recommend using a sturdy metal chain to bind 10 to 20 logs together. Make sure that they all have the same height and they are forced firmly. After that, use a splitting maul to chop them into pieces. Keep doing the task until you finish all the logs.
However, one disadvantage of this technique is that it takes considerable physical efforts to divide the logs into firewood.
Conclusion
That was all I know about how to use splitting maul safely. I hope you might find my post useful and enjoy reading it. If you have any tips to use splitting maul safely, please share your advice with me in the comments below.
I will appreciate if you share this post with your friends!
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Author Bio
Richard Clayton
Hi there! I’m Richard Clayton, an owner of a gardening blog. I love taking care of my garden. My website (My Greenery Life) is a place, where we can discuss everything about lawn care, DIY gardening and pest control topics.
