How to Split Wood for Your Campfire
Reading Time: 6 minutes A campfire requires a lot of wood in order to light it and feel the warmth around it, and this requires a large supply of split logs, and we will give you many tips and how to Split the wood throughout this article.
Wood is one of the best heating methods used on camping trips. So, you find family and friends spending quality time around the campfire by eating some delicious meals around the fire or telling some beautiful stories.
If you want to experiment with wood heating on camping nights, but do not know where to start, continue reading this article in order to learn how to Split firewood and the most important tips that you can benefit from.
What you’ll need?
Let’s get acquainted with the most significant equipment in order to start splitting firewood:
- Chopping block.
- Wedges for cutting large wood.
- Gloves.
- splitting axe.
- Safety goggles for eye protection.
Ways To Split Firewood
Wood chopping is like many skills that you can acquire. It requires the knowledge and the right tools in order to do wood chopping.
If you want to gain the knowledge of this skill, you must learn it from someone who masters it well, and the equipment that you can use, depends on the amount of wood you want to chop and the length of time you want to get the job done, and here are four options you can rely on for wood chopping:
Splitting ax
Splitting ax is one of the simplest ways to start chopping wood. Splitting ax features large, heavy steel blades that come in a wedge-shaped shape attached to a sturdy handle.
The idea of ​​Splitting ax is to swing down and then hit the thin edge of the ax into the top surface of the wood and split it, using enough force to split the wood in two and then prepare each half in order to cut it again and you can repeat the process for several times.
The splitting ax usually has a three-meter-long handle and a 7-pound head, and many other shapes and weights are available from this axe that you can use with ease.
Gas-powered inertia splitter
It is also called a kinetic splitter, and the device uses the combustion power to chop firewood faster than using a manual axe, and this type is characterized by the presence of a lever connected to a movable steel wedge by using a wheel and an internal belt.
But what is wrong with the Gas-powered inertia splitter is that it loses its strength over time and works for relatively long periods, and also the wood knots act as an obstacle in the face of the device and then require you to repeat the single step for several times in order to chop the wood correctly.
Read More: The best camping gear
Gas-powered hydraulic splitter
The Gas-powered inertia splitter is similar in appearance and operation to a hydraulic machine. It is usually slower than the Gas-powered inertia splitter but is much more powerful in terms of chopping wood.
Using hydraulics instead of belts gives this machine the power needed to cut the toughest wood from oak and maple.
Manual splitter
If you do not want to buy appliances that run on gasoline or electricity or do not want to use an ax, then the Manual splitter is the perfect choice for you. The thickening of the wedge leads to fine chopping and division of wood.
How to Split Wood for Your Campfire
There are some steps that you must follow while splitting the wood in order to make a campfire, and these steps are:
First step :
Place the log at the end so that you are in the middle of the chopping block. You must also make sure that the log is in a stable position.
Second step :
You must make large knots in order to remove the branches. This area has twisted grains that you must avoid and this is difficult to Split .
Third step :
Find some cracks or cracks that emanate from the middle area in the trunk. You must direct the blade in these places to Split it into a record easily.
Fourth step :
Make the edge of the blade on the log in order to Split it and adjust your foot to the correct position. It will help you in swinging the ax strongly and with great accuracy. Thus, you can split the log easily and with great success.
You must make sure of the position of your foot so that if anything goes wrong, you will not hit the integrated swing in your leg or your foot.
Fifth step:
Hold the ax or the handle using your hands where you should use your dominant hand near the head.
Raise the ax using your strong hand so that it is above the shoulder in order to swing downward quickly and steadily towards the log so that your movement is one chain move your strong hand towards the bottom of the handle in order to have a convergence with your weaker hand and this will help you to do By maintaining control. It will provide a more powerful hit than if both hands were together during the full swing.
Sixth step:
If there is a failure in the log during its split when you make the first strike, then you must pull the ax blade outward and then hit the log again in the same place.
If the blade is stuck, you must shake it towards you and away from you in order to release it, and you must not twist it from side to side, in order not to cause any cracks in the handle or disintegration of the ax head.
If this solution does not work, press a steel wedge into the crevice by using the hammer, not the ax, in order to be able to smash the head or break the wood.
Do not raise the stem with the blade stuck above your head to swing again because there may be a separation in the ax. Therefore, the log may fall on you.
Seventh step:
Divide the wood into a small blocks. So, they are small pieces in order to reach the desired size. In this way, you will divide one piece into two halves and then divide this piece again in order to reach a size of approximately 6 to 8 inches through the widest part.
After you have finished cutting the wood into large pieces, make some small pieces in order to ignite them.
Important Safety Notes
There are some notes that you must follow while cutting wood in order to maintain your safety, the safety of others and the safety of public property, namely:
- While you are cutting wood, do not use a concrete or asphalt slab as a surface for cutting wood, because once the ax passes completely through the tree trunks, you may damage the blade. Therefore, some pieces of concrete or asphalt will fly off. If you do not have any cutting block, put logs on bare ground.
- You must work in a safe area where there is a stable base, and you must also make sure that it is free of any debris, any limbs from hanging trees and power lines, and you must be away from windows, buildings or vehicles that may cause damage due to flying volatile wood.
- While you are working, you must make sure that the place is free of people and you must also make sure that it is free of animals, because there may be a slip of the ax from your hands or the head may slip off the handle.
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