wedges

[Chuck(G)]

Get (or rent) a log splitter. Use it for a day to split all the wood you're going to use for the winter. Use the wedges for felling trees. Splitting all of the wood at once and then stacking it will let it dry and season much faster.

(Honest)

[Dan Schultz]

Oh... I thought you were asking about wedgies!

Wedges, huh? Is there a Red Green forum where you could post such a question?

[MartyNeilan]

I used a Milwaukee Sawzall to cut off the cauliflowered steel on the top of one, and simply resharpened the other.

One is made in the USA and one is probably Chinese. I just painted one with some recently-manufactured green metallic paint (the American one) ...

Here is what you need to do:
1. Shorten the American wedge by removing about 1/9th from it.
2. Paint it silver. Beadblast it and paint it flat silver if you are really gung-ho.
The classic American wedges were outstanding but unfortunately built too long for current trends. You may also want to consider a German wedge, but that produces a different split from the type of split attained with an American wedge, although noone can accurately describe it.

[tubatooter1940]

A wedge problem, eh?
My problem, at first, was breaking handles on my sledge hammer when the handle struck the wedge instead of the hammer head.
I got my first maul this year (a wedge with handle attached) and haven't broken the handle yet but have had to use the old wedges and hammer when the maul got stuck, to break it out.
ChuckG's idea to rent or mooch a splitter is the smartest thing to do but us ole boys need excercise and splitting wood by hand helps a little.
I love my Milwaukee Sawzall too!

[Chuck(G)]

A wedge problem, eh?
My problem, at first, was breaking handles on my sledge hammer when the handle struck the wedge instead of the hammer head.

Get a rubber protector for those handles. They're cheap and if you hit something with the handle, it'll just bounce right off. Saves money in the long run.

The problem with splitting with a wedge is that you can't handle twisted knotty sections very well--you end up sawing them up, which is a waste of time. A log splitter will go through anything. If you buy one, make sure it has a double-acting cylinder--slow downward stroke but fast return. You'll easily double your throughput that way.

[Dan Schultz]

Hey, Joe!

Seeing that you are 'out in the country' now... you might try making yourself one of those new fangled black powder log splitters. I made one a few years back for a friend of mine and had the opportunity to witness how it works. Here's the URL:

http://www.gasenginemagazine.com/complete-archive/539/